Beware the acronyms / why I speak in plain English
If you’ve ever spoken to a digital agency, you’ve probably felt like you’ve stumbled into a secret club where everyone speaks in acronyms. They’ll happily throw a three-letter abbreviation at you every other sentence - and if you don’t know what they mean, all the better.
Because if it sounds complicated, it must be working?
Not quite.
Acronyms agencies love to use (they’re not scary)
Here are some of the classics:
CPC – Cost Per Click. Literally: how much you pay when someone clicks your ad. That’s it.
CTR – Click Through Rate. The percentage of people who saw your ad and actually clicked it.
ROAS – Return on Ad Spend. How much revenue you made compared to how much you spent. £5 in, £20 out = 400% ROAS. Not exactly rocket science.
POAS – Profit on Ad Spend. This one’s actually more useful. ROAS tells you revenue, but POAS tells you what really matters — profit. Because £20 in sales isn’t worth much if it cost you £19.50 to deliver the product.
CPA – Cost Per Acquisition. A fancy way of saying “how much did it cost you to get a lead or a customer.”
KPI – Key Performance Indicator. Aka: “the number we’re going to show you in the report so we look good.”
Why Agencies Love Acronyms
Because acronyms create distance. If you don’t understand what’s going on, you’re more likely to nod along and assume that everything’s working.
But most of this stuff can be explained in plain English.
So, if someone can’t explain it simply, it’s usually because:
They don’t really understand it themselves
They’re trying to make you think it’s more complicated than it is
The Core Truth
Smart marketing isn’t about acronyms. And it definitely isn’t about reports that look like the cockpit of a Boeing 747.
At its core, marketing is simple:
Reach the right people, at the right time, with the right message.
That’s it.
Everything else - every CPC, CTR, ROAS (and yes, even POAS) - is just a way of measuring whether that’s happening.
So here’s my advice: if someone can’t explain your marketing in plain English, don’t assume they’re all over it. Ask them to make it simple. If they can’t do that, assume they’re bluffing.
👉 Want marketing explained without the jargon? That’s exactly what I do. No acronyms for the sake of it. Just clear strategies that make sense, and results you can actually see.
