Kanban - see Just-In-Time Inventory System.
Keep-Out Pricing - a pricing practice, common in oligopolistic market
situations, in which the large companies maintain very low prices to discourage
smaller competitors and thus protect their own market shares. See Umbrella
Pricing.
Kennel-Keeper - a colloquial term used in reference to a marketer whose
products are largely "dogs" - those with a relatively small share
of a slow-growth market. See Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Analysis
Matrix; Dogs.
Key Influence People - opinion leaders, consultants, experts, etc whose
early and enthusiastic endorsement of a new product is sought by salespeople.
See Opinion Leader.
Kickback - a bribe or illegal payment offered to an organisational buyer
in order to obtain the business; commonly, the kickback is a percentage
of the salesperson's commission on the sale or an item of merchandise.
Kinesic Communication - body language; communication by body movement
- posture, stance, hand movements, winking, head nodding, etc. See Nonverbal
Communication; Proxemic Communication; Tactile Communication.
Kinked Demand Curve - the shape of a demand curve when any rise in price
above the customary level will result in a sharp decline in demand.
KIPS - abbrev. Key Influence People.
KISS Principle - acronym for "Keep It Simple and Straightforward"
Knocking Copy - advertising copy in which one manufacturer compares
a product to the product of another; under the Advertising Code of Ethics
administered by the Media Council of Australia, knocking copy is allowed
provided one does not "disparage identifiable products, services or
advertisers in an unfair or misleading way". See Comparison Advertising.
Knockoffs - a colloquial term used in reference to new product innovations
which are almost identical, look-alike copies of competitors' best-selling
items; knockoffs are common where the item copied fits nicely with the
manufacturing and marketing strengths of the company which copies it, and
are intended to take overall market share from the competitor.
Kotler's Black Box Model - a model devised by U.S. marketing academic,
Philip Kotler, to explain the hidden nature of consumer decision-making;
using the well-established analogy of the "black box" to represent
the human mind, Kotler describes the marketer's task as that of trying
to understand why, how, when, and from whom, consumers buy. See Consumer
Behaviour.
