The Authentic Glossary: The words behind our work to Overcome Random Acts of Marketing®
When businesses first begin working with us, one of the biggest surprises is how much clarity comes simply from speaking the same language. Modern marketing is full of jargon, trends, and “best practices” that often sound smart but don’t actually help leaders make better decisions.
At Authentic®, we believe language should create alignment—not confusion. Over the years, our team has developed a set of terms that shape the way we lead, plan, and operate inside entrepreneurial businesses. These aren’t buzzwords. They’re the building blocks of a strategic, accountable, system-led approach to marketing.
Whether you’re exploring what it’s like to work with an Authentic Fractional CMO, just getting started, or deep into your Authentic Growth® journey, this glossary is designed to help you—and your whole team—speak the same language, move faster together, and make marketing a real driver of confidence, clarity, and control.
And for more common marketing terms (that aren’t Authentic-specific), take a look at our Essential Marketing Glossary for Modern Business Leaders.
The Authentic Glossary
Below are the core terms, tools, and concepts that define how we help clients Overcome Random Acts of Marketing® and run on Authentic Growth®: our proven Marketing Operating System.
Authentic Ally Network™ – A carefully vetted community of specialist marketing partners who support clients with tactical execution—from content and design to digital, PR, and beyond. Guided by your Authentic Fractional CMO, the right experts are brought in at the right time to advance your strategy.
Authentic Fractional CMO™ – A highly experienced, W2-employed marketing executive who leads strategy, alignment, and execution using the Authentic Growth® Methodology. They serve as a long-term partner and strategic leader—helping build strong marketing maturity and teams.
Authentic Growth® Framework & Evolving Roadmap – A centralized dashboard of our client’s Authentic Growth® Journey, with real-time reporting and long-range planning.
Authentic Growth® Journey – The long-term progression of building a modern marketing function—advancing maturity, strengthening alignment, and continually scaling performance over time. It reinforces the belief that fractional leadership isn’t a temporary fix, but a sustained strategic advantage.
Authentic Growth® Marketing Inventory – An interactive “red / yellow / green” dashboard that documents strengths and gaps on a client’s Roadmap. This tool highlights foundational areas that need to be developed or improved so that the client achieves a more strategic and mature approach to marketing.
Authentic Growth® Marketing Maturity Matrix – A diagnostic framework that evaluates your level of maturity across ten key attributes: GTM Focus, Brand, Message, Buyer Journey, Technology, Data & Metrics, Budget, Team, Media Mix, and Channels.
Authentic Growth® Marketing Maturity Scale – The scoring lens used by Authentic Fractional CMOs to baseline and measure progress each quarter. Reviewed during the Quarterly Marketing Review (QMR).
Authentic Growth® Roadmap – The annual strategic plan that visualizes how your marketing system will operate and advance. The Roadmap includes your strategy, media mix, resourcing, budget, and quarterly priorities.
Authentic Growth® Survey – A discovery tool used to assess alignment, maturity, and perception across your team’s marketing-related responsibilities. Repeated annually to measure progress and identify new opportunities.
Attribute – One of the ten areas of marketing maturity evaluated in the Authentic Growth® Marketing Maturity Matrix. Together, these attributes provide a holistic view of how well your marketing engine is built for sustainable success.
Brand – The promise you make to the world and the experience your audience consistently receives in return. A strong brand is the alignment of your Promise, Personality, and Presentation.
Brand Personality – The voice, tone, and style that define how your business communicates and expresses itself.
Brand Presentation – The visual expression of your brand, including design, look, feel, and standards.
Brand Promise – The value you guarantee and what your customers can reliably count on, every time.
Buyer Journey – The documented path your ideal buyer follows—from first awareness, through consideration, to decision and advocacy. Your content, messaging, and pipeline stages are mapped to this journey to improve both experience and conversion.
Campaigns – A strategic, coordinated series of activities and messages executed across channels to achieve a specific marketing or business objective.
Channels – The primary pathways through which your business reaches and influences buyers (e.g., ABM, digital, partnerships, referrals, thought leadership).
Content – Educational, inspirational, or informative materials that build awareness, trust, and engagement. Content should always support the Buyer Journey—not add noise.
Component – One of the seven foundational elements within the Authentic Growth® Methodology. Each component must be built and matured for marketing to function as a system.
Data & Metrics – The intelligence that helps a business measure performance, gain insight, and make informed decisions. Within the Roadmap, this refers to your entire data architecture and reporting ecosystem.
Go-to-Market Focus – A clear articulation of who you serve, what you offer, the value you deliver, and where/how you compete. This includes product, price, place, people, and proposition.
Little m / Big M – A practical storyboard explaining the difference between reactive, tactical marketing (“little m”) and strategic, system-led marketing (“Big M”). Big M is where transformation happens.
Marketing Activation – The process of selecting the right channels and media mix—and deploying the campaigns, content, and programs that drive engagement, pipeline, and revenue.
Marketing Budget – The investment allocated to marketing resourcing, execution, and pace. Budget determines both the level of sophistication and the speed at which marketing can operate.
Marketing Foundation – The essential building blocks required for a scalable, measurable marketing function, including Message, Buyer Journey, Martech, and Data & Metrics.
Marketing Maturity – The level of sophistication, structure, clarity, and capability within a company’s marketing engine.
Marketing Operating System – The structure, methodology, tools, and rhythm that bring marketing strategy, planning, execution, and measurement into alignment and motion.
Marketing Team – The internal and external resources—led by your Authentic Fractional CMO—accountable for executing the marketing plan and operating your Marketing Operating System.
Marketing Technology (Martech) – The tools that enable audience engagement, measurement, automation, and scalability. The tech stack should evolve with your business—not outrun it.
Media Mix – The combination of paid, earned, shared, and owned channels used to reach and engage your audience.
Message – The way your company communicates its value, including universal messaging and persona- or segment-specific narratives. All messaging must ladder back to the brand.
Methodology (Authentic Growth®) – The proprietary Marketing Operating System pioneered by Authentic®. It includes seven core components: Leadership & Team, Alignment Cadence, Diagnostic Scores, Marketing Roadmap, Templates & Tools, Metrics & KPIs, and Community & Learning.
Mindshare – The collective intelligence of Authentic’s internal CMO community, professional development ecosystem, and Ally Network experts—all applied to support each client’s unique strategy.
Proven Process – The structured sequence Authentic uses to guide every engagement. It ensures clarity, consistency, and predictability throughout your work with an Authentic Fractional CMO.
Quarterly Commits – The top 3-7 initiatives that must be activated by the marketing team within a 90-day cycle. For companies running on EOS®, these would be called “Rocks”.
Quarterly Marketing Workshop (QMW) – A facilitated working session to review last quarter’s priorities and set the next quarter’s marketing focus. Designed to create alignment, clarity, and accountability.
Quarterly Marketing Review (QMR) – A leadership-level meeting to evaluate marketing performance, KPIs, wins, challenges, and strategic direction. The QMR informs company-wide decision-making and quarterly planning.
Random Acts of Marketing Score™ (RAMS) – A quarterly survey that invites leaders and team members to evaluate the organization across 20 essential marketing capabilities. RAMS measures alignment, maturity, confidence, and overall marketing health.Weekly Cadence – The consistent meeting rhythm that keeps marketing connected to company priorities. Authentic Fractional CMOs join leadership team meetings and lead weekly marketing team meetings to maintain clarity, momentum, and accountability.
If these terms feel both intriguing and a little overwhelming, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to navigate them on your own. We help leadership and marketing teams move from confusion to clarity by implementing Authentic Growth® one practical step at a time, until every part of the Marketing Operating System is embedded, understood, and operating smoothly.
Ready to begin your Authentic Growth® journey? Contact us today.
