Data
information and facts about a specific problem.
Data Analysis
the process of evaluating information that may include comparisons with data or presentation of the data in different formats.
Decisive Personality
a basic type of customer personality characterized by the customer's asking for specific items, having a businesslike nature, acting in a direct manner, knowing what he or she wants and/or shopping quickly.
Decline Stage
the product life cycle stage in which sales and profits fall rapidly.
Delegate
to assign authority or responsibility to another person.
Delivery Receipt
a form signed by a purchaser to show that goods were received.
Demand
the quantity of a good or service that buyers are ready to buy at a given price at a particular time.
Democratic Leaders
individuals who like to exercise only a moderate degree of control over employees and tend to involve employees in decision-making and problem-solving.
Demographics
information used to describe a population.
Demographic Segmentation
the division of a market on the basis of characteristics people have in common that affect their purchasing power.
Deny It Method
a method of handling objections in which the salesperson directly denies the customer's objection.
Departmentilized Purchasing Structure
a way of organizing purchasing which combines elements of centralized and decentralized purchasing, dividing responsibility and authority between a central purchasing group and departments and managers.
Dependent
needing or relying on someone or something.
Depression
a long period of decline in the gross national product characterized by a period of severely lowered production, curtailed purchasing of goods and services and high unemployment.
Design
the way in which a product functions or the way it looks.
Difficult Customer
customer with problems that interfere with their ability to communicate satisfactory or to function in a normal or pleasant manner.
Direct Close
the most simple and natural of all closing techniques, merely asking the customer to buy.
Direct Competition
competition between or among businesses which offer similar type of goods or services
Direct Distribution
a channel of distribution in which goods and services move directly from the producer to the consumer.
Directing
the process of motivating and leading people to accomplish the goals of a business.
Discount
the amount by which the price of something is reduced; often expressed as a percentage.
Discount Store
a retail store competing on the basis of low prices and offering limited customer service.
Discovering Customer Needs
the phase of the selling process in which the salesperson determines what a customer needs or want through the use of questioning and listening.
Dishonest Customers
customers who intentionally attempt to avoid paying part or all of the price for a good or service.
Dispersed Buying Strategy
a tactic of purchasing from many vendors which can lead to merchandise variety, alternate sources of supply and competition between sources.
Display
visual, non-personal presentation of goods and services to prospective buyers; categorized as interior or window display.
Disposable Income
the amount of income people have left to spend or dispose of, often they have paid their taxes; also called real or discretionary income.
Distribution
in economics, the process or activity by which income is divided among resource owners and producers; in marketing, a marketing function which is responsible for the physical movement or the transfer of ownership of a good or service from the producer to
Distribution Center
a facility that holds goods in storage and fills orders for those goods.
Distribution Channels
paths or routes, that goods or services take from the producer to the ultimate consumer or industrial user.
Distribution Systems
the combination of distribution activities that a company uses to distribute its goods or services.
Dividend
a sum of money paid to an investor or stockholder as earning on an investment.
Division of Labor
dividing a large job into units or job tasks and assigning an individual to do each of the tasks.
Docks
platforms where goods are delivered by carriers.
Dollar Control
keeping track of inventory according to the dollar value of the stock.
Domestic
pertaining to that occurring within a country.
Domineering Superior Customer
overly confident customers who feel they know more and are better than the average person.
Downward Communication
information from a superior to a subordinate.
Dry Storage
storage of goods in locations other than the refrigerator or freezer.
Durability
how long a product will last.
Durable Goods
tangible items which should last a long time.
Duty Tax
an extra tax, usually on imported goods.