Glossary of marketing automation & digital marketing
Here you will find the most common terms in newsletters, marketing, events, automation and SaaS. We explain them simply – without the hassle – and show how they connect with Paloma's platform. Perfect for you who want to understand the basics or brush up on your knowledge.
A
A/B testing – When you compare two versions of an email, e.g. different subject lines, to see which one works best. Paloma supports A/B tests.
Account-based marketing (ABM) – A strategy where marketing is aimed at selected companies instead of broad target audiences.
ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) – Revenue that recurs every year, a key metric in SaaS.
ARR multiple – A common measure in SaaS valuation (company value in relation to ARR).
Attribution – Determining which channel or activity contributed most to a conversion.
B
Blacklist – A list of addresses/domains that are blocked from sends.
BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) – The last part of the funnel, where the customer makes a purchase decision.
Bounce rate – The share of emails that are not delivered to the recipient's inbox.
Burn rate – How fast a SaaS company uses up its capital.
C
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) – The cost of acquiring a new customer.
Call to Action (CTA) – A prompt, e.g. “Try for free” or “Book a demo”.
Churn – When customers stop paying for your service. Important to counteract in SaaS.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) – The share who click a link in your email.
Cohort analysis – Following a specific group of users over time.
Conversion – When recipients do what you want, e.g. sign up.
Conversion rate – How large a share does what you want, e.g. signs up.
CPM (Cost per Mille) – Cost per thousand impressions in ads.
CPC (Cost per Click) – Cost per click in ads.
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) – A measure of customer satisfaction through survey questions.
Customer Health Score – An assessment of a customer's risk and engagement.
Customer journey – The path from first contact to loyal customer.
Customer journey mapping – A visual map of the customer journey.
Customer success – A way of working that helps customers get maximum value.
D
Dark funnel – Invisible activities that influence the buying journey (social, word of mouth).
Deliverability – How well your emails reach the inbox. Paloma uses SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
DKIM – A security standard that verifies the sender of an email.
DMARC – A policy that prevents forged email.
Double opt-in – When subscribers confirm via email, important for GDPR.
DAU/MAU (Stickiness ratio) – Measures how often a SaaS product is used.
E
Email Service Provider (ESP) – A platform for newsletters, like Paloma.
Engagement rate – A measure of interaction, e.g. opens and clicks.
Event management – Planning, marketing and managing events. Paloma has an event module.
Expansion revenue – Extra revenue from existing customers, through upselling or cross-selling.
F
Fallback domain – A backup domain used for sends if the main domain does not work.
First-party data – Data you collect yourself, e.g. through newsletters.
Freemium – A free version of a SaaS product with the option to upgrade. Paloma has a Free package.
Frequency – How often someone is exposed to your message.
Funnel – The model that describes the path from visitor → customer.
Flywheel – A growth model built on a flywheel rather than a funnel.
G
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) – The EU's data protection regulation. Paloma is GDPR-compliant.
Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) – How much revenue is retained without expansion.
Gross margin – An important metric in SaaS.
Growth hacking – Fast, creative tactics for growth.
H
Hard bounce – When an email cannot be delivered because of a permanent error.
Heatmap – A visual analysis of where recipients click.
I
- Inbox placement – How large a share of emails ends up in the inbox.
K
- KPI (Key Performance Indicator) – A key figure that measures success.
L
Lead – A contact who has left their information.
Lead nurturing – Nurturing leads until they become customers.
Lead scoring – Scoring leads based on activity.
List fatigue – When a list loses engagement.
List segmentation – Dividing contacts into groups.
Lookalike audience – A target audience in advertising that resembles your existing customer base.
LTV (Lifetime Value) – The total value a customer brings over time.
M
Marketing automation – Automated flows based on triggers. Paloma has an automation module.
MOFU (Middle of Funnel) – The middle part of the funnel, where interest is built.
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) – Revenue that recurs every month.
Multi-tenancy – A SaaS architecture where several customers share the same platform.
N
Net Dollar Retention (NDR) – Measures customer revenue minus churn in currency.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) – A measure of loyalty based on the question “How likely is it that you would recommend us?”.
Net Revenue Retention (NRR) – Shows growth or decline in revenue from existing customers.
NIS2 – An EU directive on cybersecurity that affects SaaS providers.
O
Onboarding – The process of helping new customers get started.
Offboarding – The process when a customer ends their service.
Open rate – How many open your email.
Opt-out – When someone unsubscribes.
P
Payback period – How long it takes to earn back the CAC.
Personalization – Adapting content to the recipient.
Pipeline – An overview of potential deals at different stages.
PLG (Product-led growth) – When the product drives growth, often through freemium.
Preheader – Text shown right after the subject line in the inbox.
Prospect – A more qualified contact than a lead, ready for dialogue.
R
Retention – How well you keep customers over time.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – The return on advertising.
ROI (Return on Investment) – The return on investments.
Runway – How long a company can keep going on its current capital.
Retargeting – Reaching people who have previously shown interest.
S
SaaS (Software as a Service) – When software is delivered as a subscription. Paloma is a SaaS.
Seat-based pricing – A SaaS model where the price is based on the number of users.
Segmentation – Dividing contacts into groups.
Spam filter – A program that sorts out junk mail.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) – A security protocol for email.
Stickiness – How well a product keeps active users.
Subject line – The heading of the email, which determines the open rate.
T
TLS (Transport Layer Security) – Encryption of email traffic.
TOFU (Top of Funnel) – The first step of the funnel, creating awareness.
Third-party cookies – Data from external parties, on the way out.
Trial – A free trial period of a service.
Trigger email – A send that is triggered by an event.
Transactional email – An email response after an action, e.g. buying a ticket.
U
Upsell – When a customer buys a larger plan or more features.
Usage-based pricing – A SaaS model where the price is based on usage.
UTM tags – Tracking parameters in links, used in Google Analytics.
Unsubscribe rate – The share who end their subscription.
W
Webhook – Automatic notifications between systems.
Whitelist – A list of approved senders in email.
Whitelist request – When you ask recipients to add the domain as safe.
Z
Zero-party data – Data that customers share voluntarily themselves, e.g. in a survey.
See also:
What is a customer journey and how can I use it in my marketing?
How to create more leads for B2B
How to succeed with your event
Free newsletter tool
SMS sends for businesses
Event platform for registrations and tickets