Buying Behavior and the Buying Process
What are the different types of customers? How do organizations make purchase decisions? Which factors do organizations consider when evaluating
products and services? Who is involved in the buying decision? What should salespeople do in the different types of buying
situations? Which changes are occurring in organizational buying, and
how will these changes affect salespeople?
Some questions answered in this chapter are:
4-1
CHAPTER 4
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Types of Customers
• Producers– Products included in
manufacturing– Services to support the
manufacturing operation
• OEM purchasers– Goods to use in making
their products
• End users– Goods and services to
support their own production and operations
4-2McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Capital equipment items are major purchases such as mainframe computers and machine tools.
Maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies include paper towels and replacement parts for machinery.
Types of Customers (continued)
• Resellers– Finished products or services with
the intention to resell them.
4-3McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Profit margin is how much a reseller makes on each sale.
Turnover is how quickly an item sells, and how much effort it takes to sell.
• Government agencies– Goods and services valued at more than
$1 trillion annually
• Institutions– Different needs and buying processes
• Consumers– Products and services for use by
themselves or by their families
4-4
Types of Customers (continued)
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Organizational Buying and Selling
• Complexity of the organizational buying process– Purchasing agents– Evaluations and negotiations– Complexity is increasing
• Derived versus direct demand– Customer’s customers
4-5McGraw-Hill/Irwin
4-6
Steps in the Buying Process
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Step 9 Payment
• Steps in the buying process• Choices to attend a university related to
the 8 steps in the organizational buying process
• Creeping commitment– Narrowing range of alternatives– Critical that salespeople be involved in
the initial steps
4-7
How do Organizations Make Buying Decisions?
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• New tasks– A customer purchases a product or
service for the first time
• Straight rebuys– A customer buys the same product from
the original source
• Modified rebuys– The customer has purchased the
product in the past but is looking for new information
4-8
Types of Organizational Buying Decisions
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Who Makes the Buying Decision?
•Users •Gatekeepers
•Initiators •Deciders
•Influencers
4-9McGraw-Hill/Irwin
4-10
Factors Influencing Organizational Buying Decisions
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Economic criteria– Life-cycle costing (total cost of
ownership)
• Quality criteria– What are organizational buyers looking
for?
• Service criteria– Value analysis
4-11
Organizational Needs and Criteria
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
4-12
Life Cycle Costing
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Types of needs– Financial security– Self-esteem– Recognition
• Risk reduction– Collect additional information– Develop supplier loyalty– Spread the risk
4-13
Individual Needs of Buying Center Members
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Supply chain management– Logistics– Managing inventory while controlling
costs– Just-in-time inventory control system– Material requirements planning– Automatic replenishment– Electronic data interchange
4-14
Professional Purchasing’s Growing Importance
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Professional Purchasing’s Growing Importance (continued)
• Supplier relationship management– Identify the annual spend– Summarize the benefits and needs satisfied
by a supplier
4-15McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• The Internet and business-to-business selling– Extranets– Reverse auctions
4-16
Professional Purchasing’s Growing Importance (continued)
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Selling to organizations differs from selling to consumers because organizations are more concentrated, demand is derived, and the buying process is more complex.
• The organizational buying process consists of eight steps.
• The length of the buying process and the role of various participants depend on the customer’s past experiences.
• The people involved in the buying process are referred to as the buying center.
• Organizations are facing an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment.
• The Internet is playing a much more important role in business-to-business transactions.
4-17
Summary
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Based on the idea that people view a product as a collection of characteristics or attributes.
• Buyers evaluate a product by considering how each characteristic satisfies the firm’s needs and perhaps their individual needs.
• Performance evaluation of characteristics
• Importance weights4-18
Appendix: Multiattribute Model of Product Evaluation and Choice
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
4-19
Information about Laptop Computers
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
4-20
Performance Evaluation of Laptop Computers
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Overall evaluation
• Value offered
• Supplier selection
• Implications for salespeople
4-21
Appendix: Multiattribute Model of Product Evaluation and Choice (continued)
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
4-22
Information Used to Perform and Overall Evaluation
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
4-23
Value Offered by Each Brand
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Increase the performance rating for your product.
• Decrease the performance rating for a competitive product.
• Increase or decrease an importance weight.
• Add a new dimension.
• Decrease the price of your product.
4-24
Approaches for Changing Perceived Value
McGraw-Hill/Irwin