Glossary - Gleantap

A

A/B Testing

A method of comparing two versions of a message, email, landing page, or campaign to determine which one performs better based on a specific metric like open rate or conversion rate.

An artificial intelligence system that can autonomously handle customer interactions such as answering questions, booking appointments, qualifying leads, and routing conversations to the right team member.

Anonymous Visitor Identification

Technology that identifies website visitors who have not filled out a form or logged in, using behavioral signals and data enrichment to match them to real identities.

Attrition Rate

The percentage of customers who stop doing business with a company over a given time period. Also known as churn rate.

Automation Workflow

A sequence of automated actions triggered by specific customer behaviors or events, such as sending a follow-up email after a trial sign-up or a win-back SMS after 30 days of inactivity.

B

Behavioral Segmentation

Grouping customers based on their actions and behaviors — such as purchase history, visit frequency, email engagement, or app usage — rather than demographics alone.

Behavioral Trigger

An automated action initiated when a customer performs (or fails to perform) a specific behavior, such as missing a check-in, abandoning a cart, or clicking a link.

Bounce Rate

In email marketing, the percentage of emails that could not be delivered to recipients. In web analytics, the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page.

Brand Advocacy

When satisfied customers voluntarily promote a brand through word-of-mouth, reviews, referrals, or social media — often the most trusted form of marketing.

C

Campaign Attribution

The process of identifying which marketing campaigns, channels, or touchpoints contributed to a conversion or sale, helping businesses understand ROI.

Conversational AI

Artificial intelligence technologies that enable machines to understand, process, and respond to human language in natural, human-like conversations — going far beyond traditional rule-based chatbots.

Churn Prediction

Using data analytics and machine learning to identify customers who are likely to cancel or stop engaging, allowing businesses to intervene before it happens.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of people who click on a link in an email, SMS, or ad, calculated by dividing clicks by total impressions or deliveries.

Cohort Analysis

A type of analytics that groups customers by shared characteristics or timeframes (e.g., sign-up month) to track behavior and retention patterns over time.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of prospects or visitors who complete a desired action, such as signing up for a trial, booking a demo, or becoming a paying member.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Software that helps businesses manage customer interactions, track leads, store contact data, and automate sales and marketing processes from a single platform.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A system that unifies customer data from multiple sources — billing, POS, website, email, SMS — into a single, persistent customer profile accessible across all tools.

Customer Journey

The complete series of interactions a customer has with a brand, from first awareness through purchase, onboarding, retention, and advocacy.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over the entire duration of their relationship. A key metric for understanding long-term profitability.

Customer Retention Rate

The percentage of customers a business retains over a specific period, calculated by comparing the number of customers at the start and end of that period.

D

Deliverability

The ability of an email or SMS to successfully reach the recipient's inbox or phone without being blocked, bounced, or filtered as spam.

Drip Campaign

A series of automated messages sent over time based on a schedule or customer behavior, designed to nurture leads or re-engage existing customers.

Dynamic Content

Content within an email, SMS, or webpage that automatically changes based on the recipient's profile data, behavior, or segment membership.

E

Email Automation

The use of technology to send emails automatically based on predefined triggers, schedules, or customer behaviors — without requiring manual creation and sending of each message.

Email Open Rate

The percentage of delivered emails that are opened by recipients. A key indicator of subject line effectiveness and sender reputation.

Engagement Score

A composite metric that measures how actively a customer interacts with a brand across channels — including visits, purchases, email clicks, and app usage.

Event-Based Marketing

Marketing triggered by real-time customer events such as a birthday, membership anniversary, missed appointment, or purchase milestone.

F

First-Party Data

Data collected directly from your customers through your own channels — website visits, purchase history, form submissions, app usage — as opposed to third-party data bought from external sources.

Follow-Up Automation

Automated messages sent after a customer takes (or doesn't take) a specific action, such as a post-visit thank you, a missed appointment reminder, or a trial expiration nudge.

Funnel

A model that represents the stages a prospect moves through on their way to becoming a customer — typically awareness, interest, consideration, and conversion.

G

Gamification

Applying game mechanics — points, badges, leaderboards, challenges, and rewards — to non-game contexts like customer loyalty programs to increase engagement and retention.

Geo-Targeting

Delivering marketing messages or content based on a customer's geographic location, useful for multi-location businesses promoting location-specific offers.

H

Hyper-Personalization

Using real-time data, AI, and behavioral signals to deliver highly tailored messages and experiences to individual customers — going beyond basic personalization like first-name insertion.

I

Inbound Lead

A prospect who initiates contact with your business — through a form submission, phone call, or message — as opposed to an outbound lead generated through cold outreach.

Integration

Connecting two or more software systems so they can share data automatically. For example, syncing a billing system with a CRM to keep member records up to date.

K

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A measurable value that shows how effectively a business is achieving its key objectives. Examples include conversion rate, churn rate, revenue per member, and speed to lead.

L

Lead Nurturing

The process of building relationships with prospects through targeted content and communication at every stage of the buyer's journey until they are ready to convert.

Lead Routing

Automatically assigning incoming leads to the right salesperson or team based on criteria like location, inquiry type, lead source, or round-robin rules.

Lead Scoring

Assigning numerical values to leads based on their behavior and profile data to prioritize which prospects are most likely to convert.

Loyalty Program

A structured rewards system that incentivizes repeat purchases and engagement through points, tiers, perks, or exclusive offers.

M

Marketing Automation

Technology that automates repetitive marketing tasks like email sends, SMS campaigns, social posts, and lead nurturing workflows, allowing teams to scale without adding headcount.

Member Engagement

The degree to which members actively interact with a business — measured through visits, purchases, class attendance, app usage, and communication responsiveness.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Reaching customers through multiple communication channels — email, SMS, social media, web, push notifications, and in-app messages — in a coordinated strategy.

N

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

A customer satisfaction metric that measures how likely customers are to recommend your business on a scale of 0-10. Scores are categorized as Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8), and Detractors (0-6).

No-Show Rate

The percentage of booked appointments or reservations where the customer fails to show up, a critical metric for service-based businesses like salons, gyms, and healthcare providers.

O

Omnichannel

A unified approach to customer engagement where all communication channels — SMS, email, social, web chat, phone — are connected so conversations flow seamlessly regardless of channel.

Omnichannel Marketing

A marketing strategy where all customer communication channels are connected and coordinated to deliver a seamless, unified experience — so conversations, data, and context flow across every touchpoint.

Onboarding

The process of guiding new customers or members through their first interactions with your business, setting expectations, and helping them get value quickly to reduce early churn.

Opt-In

A customer's explicit consent to receive marketing communications via a specific channel. Required by regulations like TCPA (SMS) and CAN-SPAM (email).

P

Personalization

Tailoring marketing messages, offers, and experiences to individual customers based on their data, preferences, behavior, and history with your brand.

Pipeline

A visual representation of where prospects and deals are in your sales process, typically shown as stages on a kanban board from initial inquiry through to conversion.

Predictive Analytics

Using historical data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning to forecast future customer behaviors like churn risk, purchase likelihood, or optimal contact time.

Push Notification

A message sent directly to a user's mobile device or browser, even when they're not actively using your app or website, used for time-sensitive updates and re-engagement.

R

Referral Program

A structured system that rewards existing customers for referring new customers to your business, leveraging word-of-mouth as a growth channel.

Reputation Management

Monitoring and responding to online reviews across platforms like Google and Facebook, and proactively requesting reviews from satisfied customers to build social proof.

Retention Rate

The percentage of customers a business keeps over a specific period. It is one of the most important metrics for subscription and membership businesses — and the inverse of churn rate.

Retention Campaign

A targeted marketing effort designed to keep existing customers engaged and prevent them from leaving, such as win-back sequences, loyalty rewards, or re-engagement offers.

Revenue per Member

The average revenue generated by each customer or member over a given period, including membership fees, add-on purchases, and upsells.

S

Segmentation

Dividing your customer base into distinct groups based on shared characteristics — demographics, behavior, purchase history, or engagement level — to deliver more relevant marketing.

SMS Marketing

Using text messages to communicate with customers for promotions, reminders, follow-ups, and transactional updates. Typically sees 90%+ open rates within minutes.

Speed to Lead

The time it takes for a business to respond to a new inquiry or lead. Research shows responding within 60 seconds dramatically increases conversion rates.

T

Trial Conversion Rate

The percentage of trial users or visitors who convert to paying customers or full members, a critical metric for businesses with free trial or intro offer models.

Triggered Message

An automated message sent in response to a specific customer action or event, such as a welcome email after sign-up, a reminder before an appointment, or a win-back text after inactivity.

Two-Way Messaging

Communication channels that allow both the business and the customer to send and receive messages, enabling real conversations rather than one-way broadcasts.

U

Unified Inbox

A single interface that consolidates all customer conversations from every channel — SMS, email, social media, web chat, and phone — so your team can respond from one place.

Upsell

Encouraging an existing customer to purchase a higher-tier product or add-on service, increasing their lifetime value. For example, upgrading from a basic gym membership to a premium plan.

V

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

Technology that enables phone calls over the internet rather than traditional phone lines, allowing businesses to make and receive calls directly from their CRM or browser.

Visitor Tracking

Monitoring and recording which pages a website visitor views, how long they spend on each page, and what actions they take — used to understand intent and personalize follow-up.

CRM & Customer Engagement Glossary

A