What are industry terms?
An industry term is a word that has a particular meaning in a specific industry. People working in the same industry will be familiar with and use the same industry terms. For example, “Rack rate” is a term used in the hospitality industry to describe the price of a hotel room before any discounts are applied.
Industry terms can be used across several industries, but have a unique meaning in each industry. For example, the term “Conversion” means one thing to marketers and another thing to financial analysts.
When writing documentation for people outside your industry, keep in mind that they may not be familiar with your industry terms. For example, if you’re not a graphic designer, you probably won’t know what a “vector file” is and how it differs from a “PSD file.” To avoid confusion, list all the industry terms mentioned throughout your doc at the beginning, and explain what they mean.
Tip: When you’re an expert at something, it can be hard to distinguish between terms that are common knowledge and terms that are specific to your industry. Ask someone outside your industry to read your writing and highlight the terms they don’t understand.
Be consistent with your industry terms
Never interchange one industry term with another. For example, if you call a high-end model of a product “Premium”, don’t refer to it as “Enterprise”. Your audience could mistakenly assume that there are two different high-end versions of your product. Use “Premium” every time you refer to your high-end product throughout your entire document to maximize clarity.
