kotler07_im_Marketingmanagement笔记.doc

Chapter 7: Analyzing Business Markets7 ANALYZING BUSINESS MARKETS C H A P T E R LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading this chapter, students should:q Know what is the business market, and how it differs from the consumer marketq Know what buying situations organizational buyers face q Know who participates in the business-to-business buying processq Know how business buyers make their decisionsq Know how companies can build strong relationships with business customers q Know how institutional buyers and government agencies do their buyingCHAPTER SUMMARY Organizational buying is the decision-making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services, then identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers. The business market consists of all the organizations that acquire goods and services used in the production of other products or services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others. Compared to consumer markets, business markets generally have fewer and larger buyers, a closer customer-supplier relationship, and more geographically concentrated buyers. Demand in the business market is derived from demand in the consumer market and fluctuates with the business cycle. Nonetheless, the total demand for many business goods and services is quite price inelastic. Business marketers need to be aware of the role of professional purchasers and their influencers, the need for multiple sales calls, and the importance of direct purchasing, reciprocity, and leasing. The buying center is the decision-making unit of a buying organization. It consists of initiators, users, influencers, deciders, approvers, buyers, and gatekeepers. To influence these parties, marketers must be aware of environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and individual factors.The buying process consists of eight stages called buyphases: (1) problem recognition, (2) general need description, (3) product specification, (4) supplier search, (5) proposal solicitation, (6) supplier selection, (7) order-routine specification, and (8) performance review. Business marketers must form strong bonds and relationships with their customers and provide them added value. Some customers, however, may prefer more of a transactional relationship.The institutional market consists of schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other institutions that provide goods and services to people in their care. Buyers for governmental organizations tend to require a great deal of paperwork from their vendors and to favor open bidding and domestic companies. Suppliers must be prepared to adapt their offers to the special needs and procedures found in institutional and government markets. OPENING THOUGHT Students unfamiliar with business and business operations will have a difficult time understanding the concept of organizational buying. The major differences between the consumer market and the B2B market lie: in the complexity of the decision process and the amount of people involved in the final purchasing decision. Instructors can best serve their student audiences by incorporating guest speakers from the business community who are responsible for purchasing products and/or services to help students understand the complexity in the buying process for businesses. Salespeople, who sell to businesses, are also good resources to have as guest speakers when covering this chapter. Instructors can also use university situations or other common business examples to get across the concept of organizational buying to their students. TEACHING STRATEGY AND CLASS ORGANIZATIONPROJECTS1. At this point in the semester-long marketing project, no presentations are necessary unless the instructor has approved a business-to-business product or service. 2. Students should select a local firm and interview a member of that firms buying staff (buyer, head-buyer, purchasing manager, etc.) regarding their firms buying processes. Using Figure 7.1 of this chapter as an outline, the students should draw an organizational chart depicting all of the buying processes, members, and internal customers that would become involved in a major purchase decision. Subsequently, students should compare and contrast the complexity of that buying process to the ones noted in Chapter 6Analyzing Consumer Markets. How and where are the major points of differences between the two markets in their purchase intensions? Can a firm market its products to both the industrial and consumer markets with one strategy? Are there sufficient differences between markets for different products and strategies to be developed? 3. Sonic PDA Marketing Plan Business-to-business marketers have to understand their markets and the behavior of members of the buying center in order to develop appropriate marketing plans. Jane Melody has defined the business market at Sonic as mid- to large-sized corporations that need to help their workforces stay in touch and input or access important data from any location. She has asked you to find out: What specific types of businesses appear to fit the business market definition used at Sonic? What needs could Sonics PDA address for these businesses? Who would participate in and influence the purchase of PDAs for use in these businesses? Which environmental, interpersonal, and individual influences are likely to be most important to business buyers of PDA productsand why?Report your findings and conclusions in a written marketing plan or type them into the Market Demographics and Target Markets sections of Marketing Plan Pro.ASSIGNMENTSSmall Group Assignments1. In small groups (five students suggested as the maximum), have the students visit your college or universitys Central Purchasing or Procurement department (you may have to clear this with your administration before assigning). Have the students conduct interviews with purchasing personnel on how they buy, who is involved in a purchase decision, and what characteristics do the best salespeople who call on them share. Students should format their questions to the key concepts contained in this chapter. Student reports should also characterize the differences found between government or institutional buying, business-to-business buying, and consumer purchasing. 2. To improve effectiveness and efficiency, business suppliers and customers are exploring different ways to manage their relationships. Have the students visit each of the companys Web sites mentioned throughout the chapter. Which one(s) do the students feel most effectively and efficiently addresses the needs of the corporate buyer? Which Web sites do not? Why and what in their opinion is missing from the least effective Web sites? How can the firm do better in its execution? Individual Assignments1. The Marketing Memo, Small Business, Big Sales: The Burgeoning Small-Midsize Business Market, lists a number of sources regarding the growth of a new B2B market. Using the sources as a starting point, ask the students to research this phenomenon further by conducting Internet research and find, read, and comment on five additional articles. In their report, each student should take a position that this trend will or will not continue, and that the methods to reach this emerging market do or do not work well. 2. Have the students visit GEs Medical Systems Web site (/). In context to the major points of this chapter, have the students define how GE is addressing the needs of their hospital customers by the design of this Web site? Where and what is GE doing right, what is GE doing wrong, and where can GE improve? Think-Pair-Share1. Small businesses have been described as the “lifeblood” of the economy. Students, who have after school jobs in small business, should be assigned to interview their employers, managers, or purchasing departments to understand how small businesses purchase goods and services. How many of the concepts of this chapter small business owners actually employ (for example, is the purchasing habits of the students small business owner organized, how many decision makers are involved in purchasing, how important is the customer-supplier relationship to them, is their purchasing just transactional, etc.)? Students should prepare to present their findings to the class in either an oral or a written report. Students not employed should be prepared to question the presenting students as to their understanding of the “whys” for such actions. 2. Assign as extra reading material a sales or selling textbook used by your college or university or one of the articles cited as sources in this chapter. Have the students share their insights of information/material not contained in the chapter. How can this information be helpful to marketers in designing marketing plans and objectives? Does any of the information learned contradict the material in the chapter? Why do they think this occurred? MARKETING TODAYCLASS DISCUSSION TOPICSInvite local salespeople (those involved in B2B and those involved in consumer selling) to speak to the class about how they sellhow they gain and deliver strong customer relationships with their clients, what they believe are some of the necessary characteristics of a successful salesperson for their industry, etc. In a panel setting, conduct a discussion about the differences between the two types of selling and the similarities of these two types of selling. Engage the students to keep notes about both the differences and similarities discussed to help them understand these differences and the role that these differences play in marketing their products. END-OF-CHAPTER SUPPORT MARKETING DEBATEHow Different Is Business-to-Business Marketing?Many business-to-business marketing executives lament the challenges of business-to-business marketing, maintaining that many traditional marketing concepts and principles do not apply. For a number of reasons, they assert that selling products and services to a company is fundamentally different from selling to individuals. Others disagree, claiming that marketing theory is still valid and only involves some adaptation in the marketing tactics. Take a position: Business-to-business marketing requires a special, unique set of marketing concepts and principles versus business-to-business marketing is really not that different and the basic marketing concepts and principles apply. Pro: Business-to business marketing requires a unique set of marketing concepts and principles versus consumer marketing. The special set of concepts and skills needed in business-to-business marketing include professional salespeople; products that meet specific and sometimes specially engineered needs of a set of a few customers; marketing promotional aspects that deemphasize price in exchange for services; delivery terms; special financing arrangements; and other traditional “non-marketing” considerations. Finally, the other major difference between consumer and business-to-business marketing usually involves the amount of people involved in the sale: from both the sellers firm and the purchasing firm. In consumer selling, the user is generally the purchaser. In the business-to-business, marketing both the selling firm and the buying firm includes members of other disciplines (engineering, transportation, warehousing, finance, and others) from the beginning of the process to the time of actual purchase. The addition of these people fosters strong ties between the two firms but also lengthens the time and complexity of the sale.Con: Business-to-business marketing does not really differ from the consumer market in ones approach. The major differences between the two is not in “delivering value to the consumer” but in the implementation and time phase. Buyers still buy to “solve problems” and business-to-business marketing and consumer marketing still has to solve the buyers problems. Time and attention to detail may be extended for business-to-business marketers but the accepted marketing principles of price, place, promotion, and product still apply it is just their implementation and application(s) that differ. MARKETING DISCUSSIONConsider some of the consumer behavior topics from Chapter 6. How might you apply them to business-to-business settings? For example, how might noncompensatory models of choice work? Suggested Response:From Chapter 6 we have learned that consumer behavior is influenced by cultural factors, social factors, and personal factors. These are individual considerations that apply to the business-to-business market as well as to the consumer market. The difference is that all of the members of the buying center will possess different sets of these considerations and that the business-to-business marketer must try to appeal to all of these simultaneously. In addition, there are four main psychological processes: motivation, perception, learning, and memory apply as well to the business-to-business market. Again, in business-to-business marketing, each member of the buying center will exhibit different degrees of each of these processes.Finally, in the business-to-business buying situation, problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decisions, and post-purchase behavior will differ from the consumer market. The difference(s) lie in the amount of time involved, the degree of research expended, the decision-makers role and the evaluation of the product or service. In the business-to-business market, more attention is paid to information search, purchase decisions, the evaluation of alternatives, and the fact that the “user” may not be the final decision maker. In the business-to-business market, there are seven roles demonstrated by people within the company (initiators, users, influencers, deciders, approvers, buyers, and gatekeepers), each of which must be considered as a factor in the selling process. In the consumer market, many of these roles are included in the single role as buyer. Noncompensatory choice models and other “impartial” decision-making tools receive a greater degree of importance as the business-to-business buying center tries to remove personal choice options from the equation. MARKETING SPOTLIGHTGEDiscussion Questions1)What have been the key success factors for GE?a. Advertising campaigns that present a unified GE message and that portrays their innovation inherent in all its wide-ranging products.b. GEs success rests on its ability to understand the business market.2)Where is GE vulnerable?a.It must continue to understand the business-to-business market and the business buying processes around the world and those unique to each country and industry in which they compete. 3)What should they watch out for?a.Changes to business-to-business practices on the local, national, and international levels.4)What recommendations would you make to GEs senior marketing executives going forward? Do not get complacent or overly comfortable with their successes. 5)What should they be sure to do with their marketing? Continue to integrate the brand across all businesses and direct their marketing to each of their business-to-business customers. DETAILED CHAPTER OUTLINE Business organizations do not only sell, each buys vast quantities of raw materials, manufactured components, plant and equipment, suppliers, and business services. Much of basic marketing also applies to business marketers. What Is Organizational Buying? Webster and Wind define organizational buying as the decision-making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers.A) The business market consists of all the organizations that acquire goods and services used in the production of other products or services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others.B) More dollars and items are involved in sales to business buyers than to consumers.1) Business markets have several characteristics that contrast sharply with those of consumer markets:a. Fewer, larger buyers.b. Close supplier-customer relationship.c. Professional purchasing.d. Several buying influences.e. Multiple sales call.f. Derived demand.g. Inelastic demand.h. Fluctuation demand.i. Geographically concentrated buyers.j. Direct purchasing.Buying Situations The business buyer faces many decisions in making a purchase. The number of decisions depends on the buying situation: complexity of the problem being solved, newness of the buying requirement, number of people involved, and time required. There are three types of buying situations: the straight rebuy, modified rebuy, and new task. A) Straight rebuy is when the purchasing department reorders on a routine basis and chooses from suppliers on an “approved lists.”B) Modified rebuy is when the buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, delivery requirements, or other items. C) New task is when the purchaser buys a product or service for the first time.1) The business buyer makes the fewest decisions in the straight rebuy situation and the most in the new-task situation.2) In the new-task situation, the buyer has to determine product specifications, price limits, delivery terms and times, service terms, payment terms, order quantities, acceptable suppliers, and the selected supplier. This situation is the marketers greatest opportunity and challenge.3) Because of the complicated selling involved, many companies use a missionary sales force consisting of their most effective salespeople for new-task situations. Review Key