Page 197 - Corporate Communication

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Glossary 185

Competence Knowledge of a certain (professional) area that is difficult
to emulate
Competitive advantage The product, proposition or benefit that puts a company
ahead of its competitors
Competitive forces The competitors and competitive threats posed to an
organization in a particular market or market segment
Competitors Companies that sell products or services in the same
marketplace as one another
Consumer An individual who buys and uses a product or service
Consumer behaviour The buying habits and patterns of consumers in the
acquisition and usage of goods and services
Consumer research Research into the characteristics,changes,usage and atti-
tudes of consumers
Contingency theory A branch of theory that suggests that variations in
structure are determined and explained by factors in an
organization’s environment
Continuous research Research conducted constantly to pick up trends, issues,
market fluctuations, etc
Coordination A mechanism by which activities and tasks are coordinated
mechanism within an organization
Copy The written words (storyline,formatting,etc.) to appear in
a communications medium (press release, commercial, etc.)
Copy date The date by which a publication or medium requires copy
Copy testing Research into reactions and responses to written copy
Copywriting Creative process by which written content is prepared for
communications material
Corporate advertising Advertising by a firm where the corporate entity, rather
than solely its products or services, is emphasized
Corporate citizenship Expressions of involvement of an organization in matters
concerning society as a whole
Corporate The function and process of managing communications
communications between an organization and important stakeholder groups
(including markets and publics) in its environment
Corporate identity The profile and values communicated by an organization;
the character a company seeks to establish for itself in the
mind of its stakeholders, reinforced by consistent use of
logos, colours, typefaces, and so on.
Corporate image The way a company is perceived, based on a certain mes-
sage and at a certain point in time; the immediate set of
meanings inferred by an individual in confrontation or
response to one or more signals from or about a particular
organization at a single point in time
Corporate objectives (Precise) statement of aims or purpose
and goals