Tech Industry Terminology Glossary

This glossary provides a breakdown of common tech industry terms, categorized by relevant roles.

For Everyone:

SaaS - Software as a Service: Software delivered over the internet, accessible via subscription (e.g., Spotify, Salesforce).
API - Application Programming Interface: A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other.
Cloud: Servers and data storage accessible over the internet, rather than being hosted on local physical servers in an office.
Agile: A project management approach emphasizing iterative development, collaboration, and continuous improvement, typically through short "sprints" rather than long, sequential projects.
B2B/B2C - Business-to-Business/Business-to-Consumer: Refers to the type of sales or market a company operates in. B2B sells to other businesses, while B2C sells directly to individual consumers.
Churn: The rate at which customers stop doing business with a company or cancel their subscriptions.
ARR - Annual Recurring Revenue: The predictable, recurring revenue a company expects to receive from its subscriptions over a year.
CAC - Customer Acquisition Cost: The cost associated with convincing a potential customer to buy a product or service.
LTV - Lifetime Value: A prediction of the net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer.
MVP - Minimum Viable Product: A version of a new product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development.

For Program Managers:

Scrum: An agile framework for managing complex projects, typically involving short iterations called sprints.
Kanban: A visual system for managing workflow, using cards on a board to represent tasks and their progress.
JIRA: A popular software tool used for issue tracking, project management, and agile development.
Stakeholder: Any individual or group that has an interest in or is affected by the outcome of a project.
Blocker: An impediment or issue that prevents a team or individual from making progress on a task.
Sprint: A short, time-boxed period (typically 2 weeks) during which a development team works to complete a set amount of work.
Backlog: A prioritized list of features, bug fixes, or other work that a team needs to complete.
User Story: A short, simple description of a feature told from the perspective of the end-user.
Roadmap: A high-level visual summary that maps out the vision, direction, and evolution of a product or solution over time.
OKRs - Objectives and Key Results: A goal-setting framework used by organizations to define and track objectives and their outcomes.

For Product Marketing:

GTM - Go-to-Market Strategy: A comprehensive plan that outlines how a company will introduce a new product or service to the market.
ICP - Ideal Customer Profile: A description of the type of company or customer that would benefit most from your product or service and is most likely to become a loyal customer.
Positioning: The process of defining where your product or company stands in the market relative to competitors, focusing on unique benefits.
Messaging: The core statements and themes used to communicate the value and benefits of a product or service to a target audience.
Funnel: A visual representation of the customer journey, from initial awareness to conversion and retention.
Attribution: The process of identifying which marketing touchpoints or channels influenced a customer's conversion or purchase.
PLG - Product-Led Growth: A business strategy where product usage drives customer acquisition, retention, and expansion.
SEO/SEM - Search Engine Optimization/Search Engine Marketing:
CRM - Customer Relationship Management: A technology for managing all your company's relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers.
PMF - Product-Market Fit: The degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand.

For Sales:

Pipeline: The collection of potential sales opportunities at various stages of the sales process.
Quota: A predefined sales target or goal that a salesperson is expected to achieve within a specific period.
Discovery: The initial stage of the sales process where a salesperson aims to understand a prospect's needs, challenges, and goals.
POC - Proof of Concept: A demonstration to verify that certain concepts or theories have the potential for real-world application.
Champion: An individual within a prospective client's organization who advocates for your product or service.
BANT - Budget/Authority/Need/Timeline: A lead qualification framework used to assess if a prospect is a good fit for a product or service.
Close: The act of finalizing a sales deal and getting a customer to sign a contract or make a purchase.
Upsell/Cross-sell:
Commission: Performance-based compensation paid to salespeople, usually a percentage of the sales they make.
Territory: A defined geographic area or a specific set of accounts assigned to a salesperson for sales activities.

For Customer Success:

Onboarding: The process of guiding new customers through the initial setup and usage of a product to ensure they derive value quickly.
QBR - Quarterly Business Review: A regular meeting between a customer success manager and a client to review performance, progress, and future plans.
NPS - Net Promoter Score: A metric used to gauge customer loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend a product or service.
Health Score: A composite metric that measures the overall satisfaction and engagement of a customer with a product or service.
Renewal: The process of extending a customer's contract or subscription for another period.
Expansion: Growing the value of an existing customer account, either through upsells, cross-sells, or increased usage.
Adoption: The extent to which customers are actively using and deriving value from the features of a product.
Time to Value: The speed at which a customer realizes the benefits or achieves their desired outcomes after starting to use a product.
Escalation: The process of raising an urgent or complex customer issue to a higher level of support or management.
Playbook: A standardized set of processes, strategies, and resources used by a customer success team to handle common customer scenarios.

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