How to talk explain marketing to non-marketers

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Sometimes, marketers love their job a little too much and start using jargon nobody outside of the marketing function understands or cares about.

GEO, SERP, CTA, CPC, CTR…

Use these (online) marketing abbreviations with subject matter experts or management and you are in for a world of confusion and disappointment.

Instead, try to avoid as much marketing jargon as possible.

I always try to explain the essence of marketing and sales like this:

“In a business, you create something of value, you deliver that value, and then you get paid. Right?”

When my audience nods in agreement, I go on:

“In order to deliver the value you’ve created, you sometimes need a bit of marketing and a bit of selling.

You’ll need to create awareness for urgent challenges and generate an interest in your distinct solutions.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to remove any barriers that prevent the sale of your solutions.”

“This is exactly what marketing and sales functions are all about: successfully bringing your solutions to market.

In order to do this, they need to understand exactly what value your solutions can bring, to whom, and in what situation.

Also, you need to agree on the business goals you’d like to achieve – which in marketing and sales obviously evolve around revenue.

Only then, marketing and sales can decide on what is required to guide prospective clients through the buyer journey and achieve those goals.”

“But, that’s not all the marketing function is responsible for.

Sometimes, they undertake actions that do not result in revenue straight away.

Instead, they help you build a brand that your target groups can recognize, remember and trust.

Their efforts are aimed at making your brand known to more (or the right) people and increase brand awareness.

Or, they strengthen your reputation in specific industries. They create clarity on what your brand stands for and how your target groups could benefit from a collaboration.

No solutions involved. No revenue goals. Pure brand building – for the longer term.”

And that’s it. That’s what the marketing and sales function are all about.

Let me know if you find this useful – especially in creating commercial synergy within your organization.

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Thank you for reading MBD Spark #103, sent on March 10, 2026.