Marketing is one of the newer management disciplines, having only been with us since the 1950s. However, there is still as yet no unified definition of the subject of marketing. Academics and practitioners continue to debate a precise meaning, as the term “marketing” can, and often does, mean different things to different people. The CIM Marketing Dictionary is the fifth edition of the Glossary of Marketing Terms first published in 1977. Containing over 3,000 terms, this dictionary covers the whole range of marketing and associated terminology. Advertising, exporting, market research, public relations, packaging, legal topics and selling are all covered. In addition, and new to this edition, is the inclusion of approximately 400 terms covering information technology terms of relevance to marketeers.
To anyone trying to understand the whole subject of marketing, it will come as no surprise that the longest definition in this dictionary is for marketing itself ‐ and the author requires more than one complete page to do so. The majority of definitions are between three and five lines in length. In compiling these, the author has drawn on his own wide experience of the subject. Norman Hart has written several books and is currently both a lecturer and marketing consultant.
The dictionary aims to cover current terminology. However, dealing with a subject area which is constantly changing, there are consequently omissions. The terms “woopies”, “empty nesters” and “yuppie” have made it, but other terms such as “dinky” ‐ double income, no kids, and “sinkie” ‐ single income no kids ‐ have not merited inclusion. The dictionary defines “GATT” ‐ General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ‐ but not its replacement, the World Trade Organization which came into being on 1 January 1995.
The real usefulness of this dictionary lies in the fact that it defines terms in a marketing context and hence will be particularly useful for students and anyone unfamiliar with the subject area. It will make a useful addition to the shelves of the business reference library.
