Terms

Business Continuity

What is Business Continuity?

Business continuity refers to an organization's ability to maintain critical functions during and after unexpected events, such as natural disasters, cyber attacks, or supply chain disruptions. It involves proactive and reactive planning to prevent operational interruptions and ensure a swift return to normalcy when disruptions occur.

Understanding Key Components

Understanding the key components of business continuity is crucial for effective planning and management. Three main aspects to consider are:

  • Resiliency: The ability of an organization to withstand disruptions and continue functioning with minimal impact. This includes designing systems and processes that can adapt to changing circumstances.
  • Recovery: The process of restoring normal operations after a disruption. This involves identifying critical functions, setting recovery time objectives, and developing strategies to meet those objectives.
  • Contingency: Preparing for unexpected events by developing alternative plans and strategies. This includes identifying potential risks, assessing their impact, and creating contingency plans to address them.

Steps to Ensure Continuity

To ensure continuity, organizations should follow these steps:

  • Conduct a business impact analysis: Evaluate the importance of different business functions and identify the most critical elements to maintain during a disturbance.
  • Establish clear communication: Keep all stakeholders informed about their roles and responsibilities during an emergency, coordinate recovery efforts, and provide updates on the recovery process.
  • Regularly review and update plans: Ensure business continuity plans remain effective and relevant by incorporating changes in the organization's structure, technology, or processes, and lessons learned from previous incidents.
  • Identify critical functions: Understand organizational structures, dependencies, suppliers, and stakeholders through business continuity planning and management.
  • Create a response team: Develop a team responsible for implementing reactive measures to return to an acceptable level of operations following an interruption, disaster, or crisis.
  • Train and test: Prepare and exercise business continuity plans to ensure they perform as anticipated, and provide necessary training to staff.
  • Perform risk assessments: Identify potential hazards, their potential impact, and likelihood to help prioritize recovery efforts.
  • Develop recovery strategies: Set recovery time objectives (RTOs) for different systems, networks, or applications, and establish resource inventories, third-party agreements, and alternative spaces for mission-critical functions.
  • Document the plan: Create a comprehensive business continuity plan that considers unpredictable events and potential threats, enabling the organization to maintain at least minimal operations during a crisis.

Common Challenges

Organizations face several common challenges when it comes to business continuity, including security breaches, natural disasters, power outages, equipment failures, and sudden staff departures. Overcoming these challenges requires a proactive approach and strategic planning.

Some effective strategies to address these challenges include conducting a business impact analysis to evaluate the importance of different functions, ensuring systems and processes are resilient and can withstand disruptions, and having contingency plans in place for unforeseen events. By implementing these strategies, organizations can maintain critical functions, recover from interruptions more quickly, and minimize the risk of financial, personal, and reputational loss.

Best Practices

Adopting best practices in business continuity can help organizations maintain critical functions and recover from disruptions more effectively. Some of these practices include:

  • Evaluating Business Functions: Conduct a business impact analysis to assess the importance of different business functions.
  • Maintaining Critical Elements: Create a plan to maintain the most critical elements during a disturbance.
  • Testing Procedures: Test tools and disaster recovery procedures before an actual disaster occurs.
  • Proactive Measures: Implement proactive measures to prevent operational interruptions, crises, and disasters.
  • Reactive Measures: Develop measures to enable the organization to return to acceptable operations within a desired timescale after an interruption, disaster, or crisis.
  • Risk Awareness Culture: Encourage a culture where employees are aware of everyday risks and their responsibility to report, manage, and mitigate these risks.
  • Clear Guidelines: Establish clear and comprehensive guidelines for maintaining operations during disruptions.
  • Response Prioritization: Define different levels of response, prioritizing the most vital functions and scheduling less critical functions to come back online later.
  • Flexible Response Plan: Create a flexible response plan to address potential risks, detailing how these risks will affect operations and outlining safeguards and procedures for disaster scenarios.

Other terms

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Field Sales Rep

A field sales representative, or outside sales rep, travels to meet prospects in person, selling products or services directly within their territory.

Field Sales Rep

Firmographics

Firmographics are descriptive attributes of organizations, used to segment companies by characteristics like industry, size, and location.

Firmographics

Account-Based Marketing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a focused B2B strategy where marketing and sales collaborate to target and convert high-value accounts.

Account-Based Marketing

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a desired goal, like a purchase or sign-up, out of the total number of visitors.

Conversion Rate

Sales Cycle

A sales cycle is the series of steps a company takes to close a new customer. It starts with prospecting and ends with a signed deal.

Sales Cycle

Outbound Leads

Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.

Outbound Leads

CRM Analytics

CRM analytics is the process of analyzing data from your CRM to uncover insights that help you better understand and serve your customers.

CRM Analytics

Sales Enablement Platform

A sales enablement platform centralizes content, training, and analytics to help sales teams engage buyers and effectively close deals.

Sales Enablement Platform

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service that offers essential compute, storage, and networking resources on-demand.

Infrastructure as a Service

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a business function that aligns a company's sales, marketing, and customer service teams to drive predictable revenue.

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

Statement of Work

A Statement of Work (SoW) is a document that outlines a project's scope, deliverables, and timeline. It acts as a contract between parties.

Statement of Work

Gone Dark

Going dark is when a once-responsive prospect suddenly stops all communication, leaving you wondering what went wrong.

Gone Dark

Shipping Solutions

Shipping solutions are services or software that streamline the logistics of getting products to customers, from label printing to final delivery.

Shipping Solutions

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and data from digital attacks, theft, and unauthorized access.

Cybersecurity

Sales Intelligence Platform

A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.

Sales Intelligence Platform

Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) uses software bots to mimic human actions and automate repetitive, rules-based tasks on digital systems.

Robotic Process Automation

Data Management Platform

A Data Management Platform (DMP) is a software that collects and organizes audience data from various sources for targeted marketing efforts.

Data Management Platform

Technographics

Technographics is data that outlines a company’s technology stack, helping B2B teams identify prospects based on the software and hardware they use.

Technographics

InMail Messages

LinkedIn InMail messages are a premium feature that lets you directly message any LinkedIn member, even if you're not connected to them.

InMail Messages

Sales Coach

A sales coach is a mentor who trains and guides sales reps to enhance their skills, boost performance, and ultimately close more deals effectively.

Sales Coach

Agile Methodology

Agile methodology is an iterative approach to project management and software development, focusing on delivering value in small, incremental steps.

Agile Methodology

Lightning Components

Lightning Components is a UI framework for building dynamic web apps for mobile and desktop devices on the Salesforce Lightning Platform.

Lightning Components

Progressive Web Apps

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are websites that look and feel like native mobile apps, offering features like offline access and push notifications.

Progressive Web Apps

B2B Data Solutions

Learn about B2B data solutions, including unlocking the power of B2B data, & key components of effective B2B data solutions.

B2B Data Solutions

Digital Rights Management

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is technology that controls access to copyrighted digital content, restricting its use, modification, and distribution.

Digital Rights Management

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-hoc reporting is the creation of one-off reports to answer specific business questions as they arise, providing instant, targeted insights.

Ad-hoc Reporting

Value Gap

A value gap is the difference between the value a customer expects from a product and the actual value they receive, often leading to churn.

Value Gap

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method where all expenses are re-evaluated and must be justified from scratch for each new budget period.

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

B2B Sales

Learn about B2B sales, including key strategies for B2B success, types of B2B sales models, & B2B vs. B2C sales: understanding the differences.

B2B Sales

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where affiliates earn a commission for promoting another company’s products or services.

Affiliate Marketing

Data Security

Data security protects digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.

Data Security

Electronic Signatures

An electronic signature is a digital method for getting consent on electronic documents. It's a legally binding way to sign agreements online.

Electronic Signatures

Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open-source system for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

Kubernetes

Day Sales Outstanding

Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) is a financial ratio that shows the average number of days it takes for a company to receive payment for a sale.

Day Sales Outstanding

Decision Buying Stage

The decision stage is where a well-researched buyer chooses a vendor. They compare specific products and pricing before making their final purchase.

Decision Buying Stage

SDK

A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of tools that allows developers to create applications for a specific software package or platform.

SDK

Account Click Through Rate

Account Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of individuals from a target account who click on a link in an ad, email, or on a webpage.

Account Click Through Rate

Sales Pipeline

A sales pipeline is a visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process, from the first contact to the final sale.

Sales Pipeline

Headless CMS

A headless CMS is a back-end content repository that delivers content via API to any front-end, decoupling the content from its presentation layer.

Headless CMS

Complex Sale

A complex sale features a long sales cycle, multiple stakeholders, and a high-value transaction, demanding a strategic, consultative approach.

Complex Sale

User Experience

User Experience (UX) refers to a person's overall feelings and perceptions while interacting with a product, system, or service.

User Experience

B2B Contact Base

Learn about B2B contact base, including building an effective B2B contact base, & strategies for expanding your contact base.

B2B Contact Base

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospect who has shown interest based on marketing efforts but isn't yet ready for a sales conversation.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

SPIN Selling

SPIN selling is a sales technique using a sequence of questions—Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff—to uncover a buyer's needs.

SPIN Selling

Hard Sell

A hard sell is an aggressive sales technique that uses high-pressure tactics to push a customer into making an immediate purchase decision.

Hard Sell

Mid-Market

Mid-market companies are businesses larger than small businesses but smaller than large enterprises, often defined by revenue or employee size.

Mid-Market

Dynamic Segment

Dynamic segments are self-updating lists that group contacts based on real-time data, ensuring your outreach is always timely and relevant.

Dynamic Segment

Compounded Annual Growth Rate

Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) measures the mean annual growth of an investment over a specified period of time longer than one year.

Compounded Annual Growth Rate

Demand Forecasting

Demand forecasting is the process of predicting future customer demand for a product or service based on historical data and market trends.

Demand Forecasting

Cohort Analysis

Cohort analysis is a behavioral analytics tool that groups users with common traits to track their actions and engagement over time.

Cohort Analysis

Buying Process

The buying process is the journey a customer takes from first realizing a need to making a final purchase decision and evaluating it afterward.

Buying Process

Email Engagement

Email engagement measures how your audience interacts with your emails. It includes key actions like opens, clicks, replies, and forwards.

Email Engagement

Forward Revenue

Forward revenue is the total value of all active, committed contracts that are expected to be recognized as revenue in the future.

Forward Revenue

Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty is a customer’s devotion to a brand, shown by their repeat purchases and engagement, driven by positive experiences and trust.

Customer Loyalty

Lead Routing

Lead routing is the automated process of distributing incoming leads to the right sales reps based on predefined criteria.

Lead Routing

Pipeline Management

Pipeline management is the process of tracking and managing potential customers as they move through the different stages of your sales process.

Pipeline Management

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance (QA) is the systematic process of ensuring a product or service meets specified quality standards from development to delivery.

Quality Assurance

Territory Management

Territory management is the process of segmenting customers into groups by geography or other factors to optimize sales efforts and resources.

Territory Management

Target Account List

A Target Account List (TAL) is a focused list of high-value companies that a business specifically aims to convert into customers.

Target Account List

Value-Added Reseller

A Value-Added Reseller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product, then resells it as an integrated solution.

Value-Added Reseller

Smile and Dial

"Smile and dial" is a high-volume sales tactic where reps make numerous cold calls from a list, often with little to no prior research.

Smile and Dial

Account-Based Analytics

Account-Based Analytics measures engagement and impact across target accounts, not just individual leads, to guide B2B sales and marketing efforts.

Account-Based Analytics

Fulfillment Logistics

Fulfillment logistics is the entire process of getting an order to a customer, from storing inventory to picking, packing, and final shipment.

Fulfillment Logistics

Economic Order Quantity

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) is the ideal order quantity a company should purchase to minimize its total inventory-related costs.

Economic Order Quantity

Account Mapping

Account mapping is comparing your customer list with a partner's to find common prospects and unlock new sales opportunities.

Account Mapping

Page Views

Page views count the total number of times a page on your website is loaded. This metric is a key indicator of your site's overall traffic.

Page Views

Closed Won

Closed Won is a CRM status for a sales deal that has been successfully concluded, resulting in a signed contract and a new customer.

Closed Won

Customer Churn Rate

Customer churn rate is the percentage of subscribers or customers who cancel their service with a company during a given time frame.

Customer Churn Rate

Lead Enrichment Tools

Lead enrichment tools are platforms that automatically add missing data to your leads, like contact info, firmographics, and buying signals.

Lead Enrichment Tools

No Cold Calls

No Cold Calls is a sales strategy that replaces unsolicited calls with warm outreach to prospects who have already demonstrated interest.

No Cold Calls

Brand Equity

Learn about brand equity, including understanding its importance, building strong brand equity, measuring brand equity, & real-world applications.

Brand Equity

On-premise CRM

An on-premise CRM is a system hosted on a company's own servers, offering complete control over data, security, and system maintenance.

On-premise CRM

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Sales and marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing performance data to maximize effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI).

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Tokenization

Tokenization is the process of breaking down text into smaller units called tokens, such as words or characters, for AI to process.

Tokenization

Sales Manager

A Sales Manager leads a sales team, setting goals, analyzing performance, and developing strategies to drive revenue and meet targets.

Sales Manager

Sales Funnel

A sales funnel is a model illustrating the customer's journey from initial awareness to the final purchase, narrowing down leads at each stage.

Sales Funnel

Sales Operations Analytics

Sales operations analytics is the practice of analyzing sales data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire sales process.

Sales Operations Analytics

ABM Orchestration

ABM orchestration aligns marketing and sales actions across channels to deliver seamless, personalized experiences to high-value accounts.

ABM Orchestration

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

A Representational State Transfer (REST) API is a web service that uses a simple, stateless architecture for systems to communicate online.

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

Microservices

Microservices is an architecture where apps are built as a collection of small, independent services that communicate with each other over APIs.

Microservices

Sales Rep Training

Sales rep training is the process of equipping your sales team with the skills, knowledge, and tools to effectively sell and hit their targets.

Sales Rep Training

Digital Advertising

Digital advertising is the practice of delivering promotional content to users through various online and digital channels like social media or search engines.

Digital Advertising

Drip Campaign

A drip campaign is a series of automated messages sent to prospects or customers over time to nurture leads and drive engagement.

Drip Campaign

Customer Relationship Management Hygiene

CRM hygiene involves regularly cleaning and updating your customer data to ensure your CRM system remains a powerful and reliable tool.

Customer Relationship Management Hygiene

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical method for estimating the relationships between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables.

Regression Analysis

Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling is a B2B strategy where sales and marketing treat high-value accounts as markets of one, using personalized outreach.

Account-Based Selling

Market Intelligence

Market intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing data about your target market, competitors, and industry to guide business strategy.

Market Intelligence

Email Verification

Email verification is the process of confirming that an email address is valid and deliverable, which helps improve campaign performance.

Email Verification

Predictive Lead Scoring

Predictive lead scoring uses AI to analyze data and rank leads by their likelihood to convert, helping sales teams prioritize their efforts.

Predictive Lead Scoring

FAB Technique

The FAB technique is a sales framework connecting product features to advantages and then to the specific benefits for the customer.

FAB Technique

Load Balancing

Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers, ensuring no single server is overworked.

Load Balancing

Triggers

Triggers are predefined conditions that, when met, automatically launch a workflow or action, ensuring timely and relevant outreach.

Triggers

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

ETL

ETL, short for Extract, Transform, Load, is a data integration process for moving raw data from various sources to a central data warehouse.

ETL

Latency

Latency is the delay between a user's action and a system's response. It's the time it takes for a data packet to travel to its destination.

Latency

Adobe Analytics

Adobe Analytics is a leading web analytics solution for gaining real-time insights into user activity across websites and mobile applications.

Adobe Analytics

Sales Intelligence

Sales intelligence is technology that gathers and analyzes data to help salespeople find and understand prospects and existing clients.

Sales Intelligence

Subscription Models

Subscription models are a business strategy where customers pay a recurring fee at regular intervals for access to a product or service.

Subscription Models

Sales Operations Key Performance Indicators

Sales Operations KPIs are measurable metrics that track the efficiency and effectiveness of a sales team's operational processes.

Sales Operations Key Performance Indicators