Chapter 8: Business Market and Buying Behavior
Online marketplaces where buyers and sellers can exchange information, goods, services, ideas, and payments are best described as _______.
B2B e-commerce sites
Interpersonal Influences
the relationships between people in the business; trust and collaboration are important
Stages of the Business Buying Decision Process
1. recognize problem 2. develop product specifications to solve problem 3. search for and evaluate possible products and suppliers (vendor and value analysis) 4. select product and supplier and order product (multiple and sole souring) 5. evaluate product and supplier performance
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
U.S. government code used to classify a firm by its type of business operations (replaced)
Price
a business customer views price as the amount of investment necessary to obtain a certain level of return or savings
Vendor Analysis
a formal, systematic evaluation of current and potential vendors
Modified Rebuy
a new-task purchase that is changed on subsequent orders or when straight-rebuy requirements are modified
Product Quality
a product must meet specifications
Straight Rebuy
a routine purchase of same products under approximately the same terms
Reciprocity
an arrangement in which two organizations agree to buy from each other (reciprocal agreements that threaten competition are illegal, but a certain amount still occurs
Value Analysis
an evaluation of each component of a potential purchase
New Task Purchase
an item is purchased to be used to perform a new job or solve a new problem
Sole Sourcing
an organization's decision to use only one supplier
Multiple Sourcing
an organization's desire to use several suppliers
Derived Demand
demand for business products that is the result of demand for consumer products
Inelastic Demand
demand that is not significantly altered by a price increase or decrease
Demand for Business Products
derived demand, inelastic demand, joint demand
Commodities and raw materials are typically purchased using which method of business buying?
description
The purchase manager of a cake and pastries store wanted to purchase supplies of milk. He told the seller that he wanted cow's milk that contained at least 10% fat. Which of the following methods of business buying did the purchase manager use?
description
Methods of Business Buying
description, inspection, sampling, negotiation
Government Markets
federal, state, and local agencies that buy goods and services to support their internal operations and provide products to their constituencies, spend hundreds of billions annually on a wide range of goods and services, government contracts are awarded to a wide variety of large and small firms in many industries
Sampling
entails taking a specimen of the product and evaluating it for suitability before purchase
Influences of the Business Buying Decision Process
environmental, organization, interpersonal, and individual
Which of the following markets may have complex buying procedures due in part to their public accountability?
government market
Organizational Influences
include company's objectives, purchasing policies, resources, and size and composition of the buying center
Environmental Influences
include competitive and economic factors, political forces, legal and regulatory forces, technological changes and sociocultural issues
Producer Markets
individuals and business organizations that purchase products to make profits by using them to produce other products or using them in their operations
Business Markets
individuals, organizations, or groups that purchase a specific kind of product for resale, direct use in producing other products, or use in general daily operations (also called B2B)
A price increase or decrease does not significantly alter demand for a product with _______.
inelastic demand
Reseller Markets
intermediaries (wholesalers and retailers) who buy finished goods and resell them to final consumers for a profit
Factors Resellers Consider
level of demand, resale price, space required, suppliers' ability to provide adequate quantities when and where needed, and availability of technical assistance
ACME Corp. has ordered widgets from Wiley Widgets several times before, but now it would like Wiley Widgets to offer a lower per-unit price in exchange for a larger order. ACME is using which of the following types of business purchases?
modified rebuy purchase
Types of Business Purchases
new task purchase, straight rebuy, modified rebuy
Services
offered by suppliers directly and indirectly influence customers' costs, sales, and profits
Primary Concerns of Business Customers
price, product quality, service, supplier relationships
Dell obtains most of its computer parts and chips from other producers and assembles them together into a desktop or a laptop, which is then sold to consumers. It can be said that Dell is a part of a(n) ______ market
producer
Gorton's Seafood buys large amounts of fish to use in its frozen dinners and dinner components. Gorton's Seafood belongs in which of the following business markets?
producer market
Four Categories of Business Markets
producer markets, reseller markets, government markets, and institutional markets
In business markets, individuals or groups purchase products for one of three purposes. These purposes are
resale, direct use in producing other products, and use in general daily operations
Which of the following markets includes wholesalers or retailers?
reseller market
International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC)
same as (SIC) but used mainly in Europe
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is a(n) _______.
single industry classification system used by the United States, Canada, and Mexico to generate comparable statistics
Negotiation
some purchases are based on negotiated contracts wherein buyers describe what they need, and sellers submit bids
The group of people within an organization who make business buying decisions are best described as _______.
the buying center
Business (Organizational) Buying
the purchase behavior of producers, government units, institutions, and resellers
George, the purchase manager for a car manufacturing company, was asked to collect the specifications of a new engine part from the production manager and the vendor specifications from the other departments before placing an order with a supplier. He was also asked to create the procedures for future purchases of the particular engine part that would help in increasing the car's mileage. Which of the following types of business purchase is the company going to make?
new-task purchase
B2B e-commerce Sites
online marketplaces where business buyers and sellers from around the world can exchange information, goods, services, ideas, and payments
Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that business transactions differ from consumer transactions?
orders by businesses are frequently small and inexpensive
Institutional Markets
organizations with charitable, educational, community, or other non-business goals, members can include hospitals, charitable organizations and private colleges, marketers may use special techniques to target them
Many suppliers and their customers invest time and resources to build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships which are often called
partnerships
Individual Influences
personal characteristics (age, education level, personality and tenure and position) of participants in the buying center
The Buying Center
the group of people within the organization who make business purchase decisions (roles include initiator/user, influencers, buyers, deciders, and gatekeepers)
To estimate the purchase potential of business customers, a marketer must find a relationship between a variable available in industrial classification data, such as number of employees, and the size of _______.
potential customers' purchases
When a business buyer invites vendors to bid to supply a specified good or service in competition with each other, with the lowest bidder winning the right to sell to the buyer, this is best described as _______.
reverse auction
Online marketing efforts make the buying process far more efficient because it _______ and _______
saves time; reduces costs
Purchasing agents at ACME Corp. are looking in company files and trade directories, contacting suppliers for information, soliciting proposals from known vendors, and examining various online and print publications. They are in which of the following stages of the buying decision process?
searching for and evaluating potential products and suppliers
Characteristics of Transactions with Business Customers
transactions between businesses tend to be much larger than individual consumer sales, discussions and negotiations associated with business purchases can require considerable marketing time and selling effort, (reciprocity)
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
used by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to help generate comparable statistics, useful for segmentation, most appropriate when used with other types of data, marketers must locate potential purchasers and estimate their purchase potential by finding a relationship between the potential purchases and a variable from the industrial classification data
Inspection
used with some products that have unique characteristics and vary in regard to condition
Examining quality, design, materials, and possibly item reduction or deletion to acquire the product in the most cost-effective way is best described as _______.
value analysis
Attributes of Business Customers
well-informed about products purchased, demand detailed info and technical specifications, help the firm achieve organizational objectives, engage in rational buying behavior, often form partnerships with suppliers
Description
when products are highly standardized, a buyer can order by describing quantity, grade, and other attributes
Joint Demand
when two or more items are used in combination to produce a product (demand for the product drives demand for both items)