Post a total of 3 substantive responses over 2 separate days for full participation. This includes your initial post and 2 replies to other students.
Due Thursday
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
· Discuss the ways in which business to business buying behavior differs from consumer purchasing. Consider in your discussion the purchasing decision as well and ways to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
COMMENT IN 100 WORD COUNT TO TWO PEERS
BY JAC
In recognizing the strategies and specificity of one’s consumer, the ways business to business buying behaviors are implemented are different from consumer’s purchasing and targeted population. In business to business buying behaviors, the recognition of challenges must be understood prior to influencing buying behaviors. For example, building the relationship/interfacing with the buyers from another business, fewer larger buyers in marketplace, professional purchaser who are knowledgeable and can not be easily influenced by marketing tactics alone, etc. In recognizing these challenges, the need to understand roles and processes of the Buying Center. According to the text, buying center have the:
- The initiators: Staff who request something to be purchased.
- Users: Intent and expectation of the product’s functions
- Deciders: Staff who makes decisions on suppliers
- Buyers: Staff/department who have the power to decide the suppliers
- Gate Keepers: staff preventing from reaching the buying center directly
Once understanding the roles, behavioral influences comes into play with targeting the organization such as types of business (large sales to small businesses or vice-versa). Some influential behaviors or practices are to focus on benefits, specifics, practical usage, budget pricing, offering specifications on products, solutions to company’s issues, gained positive recognition by their consumers if used. In my opinion, a major difference in business to business buying than consumer purchasing is the professional buyer who is making decisions for the organization and basing on knowledge and experience. Therefore, strategies are different. In keeping the consumers happy and loyal, research and follow-up after a purchase is also highly recommended. Feedback on the functionality of the product sold. Did the product meet the consumer’s expectation or are there room for improvement when feedback is not positive. Research as also shown that cutting back on a short few questions survey gives feedback on sales and products. More sophisticated ways of keeping consumers satisfied and loyal is by tracking and trending needs. Improving or changing as feedback is obtained.
Reference:
Kolter, P.; Kelly, K. (2016): Marketing Management. 15th edition. Pearson Education, Inc.
Sarah Haag
Business-to-business buying behavior is different from regular consumer purchasing because there are different roles within the buying organization. According to our text, the buying organization is the buying center with the following seven roles: Initiators, Users, Influencers, Deciders, Approvers, Buyers, and Gatekeepers. Consumers generally do not have as many roles in their buying decisions. For instance if I need to buy a new computer I will go to the store and buy one; when I needed a new laptop I had to not only ask permission from my manager, but I had to justify why I needed it and how it would help me be more productive. I then had to go to the division that has actually does the ordering for computers and request one, again providing justification. I had two choices a mac or a PC but not what kind of PC or even screen size, then after it was approved through my division leader I got my laptop. In that situation there was no personal preference on the buyers part, they could only offer what they were allowed to offer. Even simple things like pens have to go through a process at work and in my normal life I just go and get pens. At work, if my student needs pens, she has to ask me and send me what she would like. I can order them, but we only have a contract one distributer for office supplies, so if they don’t have what she wants I have to pick a substitute. If what she wants is considerably more expensive than alternatives, I have to get the alternative. After I place the order it has to get approved by the procurement folks and then the pens are ordered. In the pens case I would be an influencer and am considered a buyer because I am one of 1000 trained people that can order (our lab has over 11,000 employees).
In business – to – business buying there are other factors the buyer has to think of beyond what a consumer would think of. Are there purchasing standards in place that prevents certain things from being purchased. We have to purchase recycled office supplies if they are available, like paper for instance. It is part of the institutions social responsibility. A regular consumer does not have to follow the