Glossary
Glossary: campaign management and data protection clearly explained
19 terms that come up again and again in conversations about campaigns, customer journeys and data protection – each with a short definition, an example and a distinction. Free to read, no registration. The legal entries reflect the status as of September 2026 and do not replace legal advice.
Terms from A to Z
A
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Data processing
Data processing (processing on behalf) takes place when a service provider processes personal data on behalf of and on the instructions of a controller (Art. 4(8), Art. 28 GDPR). Unlike the controller, the processor does not itself decide on the purposes and means of the processing.
LAW · STATUS 09/2026 Full entry: Data processing
C
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Churn prevention
Churn prevention covers all measures that address customers with a recognisable risk of leaving in good time and in the right way, before they cancel. Unlike win-back, it starts before cancellation – while the customer is still a customer.
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Compliance gate
A compliance gate is a mandatory checkpoint immediately before every send: a message only passes if consent, withdrawal status, contact rules and content review are satisfied. Unlike the one-off approval of a campaign, it checks every single contact at the time of sending.
PBM TERM Full entry: Compliance gate
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Customer journey
A customer journey is the path a customer takes across several touchpoints towards a goal – for example from the first notice to an advisory appointment. In a campaign platform, “journey” also refers to the automated sequence of steps, waiting times and branches that controls this path.
D
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Double opt-in
Double opt-in is a two-step sign-up process: after signing up, the person receives an email with a confirmation link; only after clicking it are they added. Unlike single opt-in, the process proves that the consent actually comes from the owner of the email address.
LAW · STATUS 09/2026 Full entry: Double opt-in
E
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Consent management
Consent management is the systematic recording, documentation, checking and implementation of consents and withdrawals – per person, purpose and channel. Unlike a website’s cookie banner, it controls who may receive advertising and personalised communication via which channel.
LAW · STATUS 09/2026 Full entry: Consent management
F
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First-party data
First-party data is data that a company collects itself and directly in its relationship with its customers – for example contract, master and interaction data from its own channels. Unlike third-party data, it does not come from data brokers or other websites.
J
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Journey orchestration
Journey orchestration is the automatic control of many customer journeys at the same time: for each contact, it decides which journey, which channel and which next step applies – taking into account consents, priorities and contact limits. Unlike journey mapping, this is about execution, not planning.
K
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Contact frequency management
Contact frequency management limits how often a customer is contacted within a period – across all campaigns and channels. Unlike the frequency capping of a single email tool, it also counts letters, SMS and landing page invitations.
L
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Lead nurturing
Lead nurturing is the step-by-step support of prospects, tailored to their information needs, until they are ready to buy. Unlike a one-off promotion, it delivers suitable content over weeks or months and hands over to sales as soon as signals indicate an intention to buy.
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Lead scoring
Lead scoring rates contacts with a score according to how strongly their responses indicate purchase interest – for example landing page visits, offers read or appointment requests. Unlike lead nurturing, it is not a communication process but a metric that controls processes.
M
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Multi-tenancy
Multi-tenancy refers to software that serves several separate customers (tenants) in a shared installation – logically separated, but on shared infrastructure and often with a shared database. With single-tenant, by contrast, each customer receives their own isolated installation.
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Micro-conversion
A micro-conversion is a measurable intermediate step on the way to the actual goal – for example a landing page login or reading an offer. Unlike a macro-conversion, such as signing a contract, it does not end the journey, but it shows where customers stand and where they drop off.
N
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Next best action
Next best action refers to selecting the most useful next step for a customer at that moment – an offer, service content, an advisory appointment or deliberately no message at all. Unlike a pure product recommendation, it weighs customer benefit, business goal, consent and contact frequency together.
P
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Personalisation
Personalisation is the individual addressing of every single recipient: content, argument, image, channel, timing and sender are selected on the basis of their data and behaviour. Unlike classic personalisation, it changes not just the salutation but the entire message.
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Profiling
Under Art. 4(4) GDPR, profiling is any automated processing of personal data used to evaluate personal aspects of a person – for example to analyse or predict preferences, interests, behaviour or economic situation. Unlike mere segmentation by existing attributes, it produces an evaluation.
LAW · STATUS 09/2026 Full entry: Profiling
S
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Single-tenant
Single-tenant means that each customer receives their own fully isolated installation of a piece of software – with its own database and its own infrastructure. Unlike multi-tenant, no companies share the same data.
T
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Trigger campaign
A trigger campaign starts automatically as soon as a defined event, date or behaviour occurs – for each customer individually, at their own moment. Unlike a newsletter, the occasion on the customer’s side determines the time of sending, not the editorial schedule.
Missing a term?
We are continually expanding the glossary. Write to us at info@personal-business-machine.com and tell us which term you would like explained.