Business Colocations

1. Do business

To do business is to enter into a business relationship with another person or company.

According to an article in Entrepreneur, there are many risks to consider if you’re planning to do business in other countries.

2. Create money, Make money, Generate money

To _________ simply means to earn a profit from your business.

2. Make money

To make money simply means to earn a profit from your business.

While waiting for a job offer, he’s trying to make money as a seller on Amazon.

3. Join forces

To join forces means to team up and work together with another person or business.

The Sales and Marketing Departments will join forces to promote the next product campaign.

4. Go bankrupt, Split bankrupt, Leave bankrupt

To_________ is a situation where a company doesn’t have enough money to pay its debts.

4. Go bankrupt

To go bankrupt is a situation where a company doesn’t have enough money to pay its debts.

The weak economy is causing many companies to go bankrupt.

5. Run a company

To run a company is to be in charge of the operations of a company. The verb run here refers to the act of managing a business activity or store.

After I retire, I plan to move to the countryside and run a small business.

6. Chair a meeting, Drive a meeting, Manage a meeting

To____________ is to play the role of a chairperson at a meeting.

6. Chair a meeting

To chair a meeting is to play the role of a chairperson at a meeting.

It’s your turn to chair the sales meeting this week.

7. Lead a team, Direct a team, Drive a team

To______ is to be the leader of a group of people working together on a business activity.

7. Lead a team

To lead a team is to be the leader of a group of people working together on a business activity.

Robert doesn’t have enough experience to lead the team.

9. Suffer losses

In business English, to suffer losses means your costs are more than your earnings. It’s usually used to talk about business investments, markets, etc.

He suffered losses in the stock market recently. That’s why he follows the market news closely every day.

10. Build trust

To build trust is to develop a strong relationship with others, where you both expect the best of each other. You wouldn’t hear an English speaker say create trust, make trust, etc.

One way to build trust with our customers is by keeping our promises to them.

15. Brand name, Brand label, Brand sign

A ______ is the name a company gives to its product that makes it easy for people to recognize it. It’s typically used to refer to very well known products and indicate a certain level of quality.

I’m sure you know of famous ________ like Toyota, Kleenex, etc.

15. Brand name

A brand name is the name a company gives to its product that makes it easy for people to recognize it. It’s typically used to refer to very well known products and indicate a certain level of quality.

I’m sure you know of famous brand names like Toyota, Kleenex, etc.

Many people will only buy brand name products

20. Product launch

A product launch refers to the act of introducing a new product to the market for the first time. This usually involves marketing activities where the company draws attention to the new product.

It seems the best time for a product launch of beverages is in April, just before summer begins.

5. Skip a company, Rush a company, Run a company

To _________ is to be in charge of the operations of a company. The verb ____ here refers to the act of managing a business activity or store.

11. End a product, Discontinue a product, Abandon a product

To _________ is to stop manufacturing or selling the product.

17.Business image, Business model, Business picture

A ________ refers to a business plan of how a company intends to successfully make a profit. This includes many details such as the business goals, financing, products and services, market, etc.

3. Blend forces, Join forces, Connect forces,

To ________ means to team up and work together with another person or business.

1. Do business, Make business, Send Business

To _____ is to enter into a business relationship with another person or company.

19. Market captain, Market leader, Market chief

A _________ is the company with the highest sales and largest market share in the industry.

17. Business model

A business model refers to a business plan of how a company intends to successfully make a profit. This includes many details such as the business goals, financing, products and services, market, etc.

Let’s review the success other companies have had using a business model like this one.

9. Suffer losses, Endure losses, Undergo losses

In business English, to ________ means your costs are more than your earnings. It’s usually used to talk about business investments, markets, etc.

13. Customer service

You may already know this one. Customer service is about providing your customers quality support and assistance, and ensuring they’re happy with your product or service.

Good customer service is one of the main reasons customers keep coming back.

19. Market leader

A market leader is the company with the highest sales and largest market share in the industry.

We have to work much harder this year to maintain our position as the market leader.

11. Discontinue a product

To discontinue a product is to stop manufacturing or selling the product.

Since this line of sportswear isn’t doing well, the company may decide to discontinue the products.

13. Customer service, Customer duty, Customer benefit

You may already know this one. _________ is about providing your customers quality support and assistance, and ensuring they’re happy with your product or service.

More collocations...

join forces

Final Thoughts:

Vocabulary

go bankrupt

chairing a

meeting

attract new investors

1. Apple and Samsung are usually rivals so it is unlikely that they will ______ on a new project.

2. The company has not made a profit for the last ten years so I think it will ____.

3. I have just been promoted to the leadership team so this will be my first time ________.

4. Profits have been up for the last three quarters so the company hopes to _____ this year.

5. Several children have been injured playing with the toy so the company will have to _______.

6. The administrative staff would be working overtime this weekend so they could _____ of their new project.

7. Nike and Adidas have both been lowering their prices. Investors are afraid this will lead to a ________.

8. The company's ______ was to reach a high end __________.

discontinue the product

11. Discontinue a product

12. Meet a deadline

13. Customer service

14. Price war

15. Brand name

16. Sales figures

17. Business model

18. Customer base

19. Market leader

20. Product launch

1. Do business

2. Make money

3. Join forces

4. Go bankrupt

5. Run a company

6. Chair a meeting

7. Lead a team

8. Attract investors

9. Suffer losses

10. Build trust

meet the deadline

1. Have you ever "chaired a meeting"? If so, explain the situation. If not, would you like to "chair a meeting"? Why or why not?

2. Talk about a time two companies you know had a "price war". What were the results?

3. When was the last time you had to "meet a deadline"? Did you succeed?

4. Why do companies "discontinue products"? Describe a famous situation where a company where a company had to "discontinue a product".

5. Is it more important for a company to reach new customers or keep their "customer base"?

Introduction

The business world has lots of its own, specific collocations. Because these collocations are popularly and universally understood by business professionals all over the world, it’s important to recognize and be able to use them.

To become familiar with collocations, you simply have to memorize them and their meanings. This is the best way to learn because it may not always be possible or correct to translate them directly from your native language.

price war

business model\

customer base

Business model

Price War

Meet the deadline

Attract new investors

Discontinue the product

customer base

Chairing a meeting

Join Forces

Go bankrupt

16. Sales numbers, Sales figures, Sales total

_________ are used, in general, to refer to the number and amount of sales made by a business or industry over a period of time.

18. Customer base, Customer purchaser, Customer patron

A _________ is a group of customers who repeatedly buy your products and services.

20. Product launch, Product opening, Product throw

A _________ refers to the act of introducing a new product to the market for the first time. This usually involves marketing activities where the company draws attention to the new product.

18. Customer base

A customer base is a group of customers who repeatedly buy your products and services.

The sporty design of this watch will appeal to a young customer base.

12. Meet a deadline, Face a deadline, Engage a deadline

To ________ is to complete a task or job by the scheduled date.

16. Sales figures

Sales figures are used, in general, to refer to the number and amount of sales made by a business or industry over a period of time.

Don’t forget to include last year’s sales figures in your report as well.

10. Build trust, Assemble trust, Make trust

To ________ is to develop a strong relationship with others, where you both expect the best of each other.

8. Draw investors, Attract investors, Invite Investors

To __________ is to promote a business in such a way as to encourage people and companies to invest in it.

14. Price conflict, Price struggle, Price war,

A _______ refers to a period of intense competition between businesses where they continually lower their prices to gain more customers and increase their market share.

8. Attract investors

To attract investors is to promote a business in such a way as to encourage people and companies to invest in it.

This Forbes article shows you how to attract investors to fund your own start up company.

14. Price war

A price war refers to a period of intense competition between businesses where they continually lower their prices to gain more customers and increase their market share.

The best time to book your plane ticket is when airlines are having a price war.

12. Meet a deadline

To meet a deadline is to complete a task or job by the scheduled date.

The whole team has been working long hours to meet the deadline.

Introducing Business Collocations