Plain-English definitions for every metric and tactic we touch.

Abandoned Cart Rate

Abandoned cart rate is the percentage of shoppers who add items to a cart but leave without purchasing. Historically 65–75% across e-commerce.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is the annualized, predictable subscription revenue. MRR × 12, adjusted for annual contracts.

Average Order Value (AOV)

Average Order Value (AOV) is the average revenue per order across a defined period. Total revenue divided by total orders.

Cart Recovery Rate

Cart recovery rate is the percentage of abandoned carts that successfully complete purchase after a recovery touch (email, SMS, voice, or retargeting).

Checkout Abandonment

Checkout abandonment is the share of shoppers who reach the checkout page but leave before completing payment. A narrower, more recoverable metric than cart abandonment.

Churn Rate

Churn rate is the percentage of customers who stop paying or stop buying within a defined period. The inverse of retention.

Conversion Rate (CR)

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a target action. Typically purchase, signup, or lead form submission.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total sales and marketing spend required to acquire one new paying customer over a defined period.

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) is the total revenue a customer is expected to generate over the entire relationship with your business.

First-Time Fix Rate (FTF)

First-time fix rate (FTF) is the percentage of service jobs a field engineer completes on the first visit, without needing a return trip for parts, access, or information.

Gross Margin

Gross margin is the percentage of revenue remaining after subtracting cost of goods sold (COGS). What's left to cover everything else.

LTV:CAC Ratio

The LTV:CAC ratio is the value of a customer divided by the cost to acquire them. The headline efficiency metric of any subscription or e-commerce business.

Missed-Call Rate

Missed-call rate is the percentage of inbound business calls that go unanswered, sent to voicemail, dropped, or ringing out, over a given period.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable, normalized monthly revenue from all active subscriptions.

Payback Period

Payback period is how long it takes for the gross profit from a customer to repay the cost of acquiring them. Usually measured in months.

Retention Rate

Retention rate is the percentage of customers who continue to buy or subscribe over a defined period. The inverse of churn.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is the revenue generated per €1 of advertising spend. Total revenue from ads ÷ total ad spend.

Channels

7 terms

AI Receptionist

An AI receptionist is a software agent that answers or returns business phone calls using a natural voice, then books the job, qualifies the caller, or routes urgent calls to a human.

AI Voice Agent

An AI voice agent is a software system that conducts real-time phone conversations using a synthesized voice and large language model reasoning.

IVR (Interactive Voice Response)

IVR is the legacy telephony system that lets callers navigate a menu of options via touch-tone or voice. "press 1 for sales, 2 for support."

SMS Marketing

SMS marketing is the use of text messages to promote products, recover carts, and engage customers. Typically as part of a multi-channel flow.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-Speech (TTS) is the AI technology that converts written text into natural-sounding spoken audio in real time.

Voice Cloning

Voice cloning is the technique of generating a synthetic voice that matches a specific person's voice using a short sample (often 10–60 seconds).

WhatsApp Business API

The WhatsApp Business API is Meta's enterprise messaging interface for sending templated and conversational messages at scale.

Tactics

8 terms

Callback Automation

Callback automation is the practice of automatically returning a missed or abandoned inbound contact, by AI voice call, SMS, or email, within seconds, rather than waiting for a human to get to it.

Dunning

Dunning is the process of communicating with customers about overdue invoices or failed payments. Typically escalating from gentle reminder to formal demand.

Lead Qualification (BANT)

Lead qualification is the process of evaluating an inbound prospect against a fit framework like BANT. Budget, Authority, Need, Timing. Before passing to a sales rep.

No-Show Rate

No-show rate is the percentage of booked appointments where the customer fails to attend. A major source of lost revenue for clinics, salons, and service businesses.

No-show recovery is the practice of reducing missed appointments by confirming, reminding, and re-booking customers, increasingly with automated voice, SMS, and email, before and after a slot is missed.

Post-Purchase NPS

Post-purchase NPS is the practice of asking customers 7–14 days after delivery how likely they are to recommend your product on a 0–10 scale.

Speed to Lead

Speed to lead is the time elapsed between a prospect submitting an inbound inquiry and the first sales response. The single highest-leverage variable in inbound conversion.

Win-back Campaign

A win-back campaign is a marketing or sales sequence aimed at reactivating customers who have stopped buying or subscribing.

Compliance

7 terms

Data Processing Agreement (DPA)

A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is the legal contract between a data controller (you) and a data processor (your vendor) defining how personal data may be handled.

EU AI Act

The EU AI Act is the European Union's comprehensive regulation of AI systems, including specific disclosure requirements for AI-generated voice and content interacting with humans.

EU AI Act Article 50 (AI disclosure)

Article 50 of the EU AI Act is the transparency rule requiring that people be told when they're interacting with an AI system, applicable from 2 August 2026.

FCA Consumer Duty

Consumer Duty is a UK Financial Conduct Authority standard requiring regulated firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers, across products, price, understanding, and support.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

GDPR is the EU privacy regulation governing collection, processing, and storage of personal data for any organization handling EU residents' information.

PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations)

PECR is the UK law governing electronic marketing, calls, texts, email, and automated messages. It sits alongside UK GDPR and is enforced by the ICO.