GREEN MARKETING

green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.[1] Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term.[1] Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing.

Three keys to successful green marketing Show potential customers that you follow green business practices and you could reap more green on your bottom line. Green Marketing isn't just a catchphrase; it's a marketing strategy that can help you get more customers and make more money. But only if you do it right. For green marketing to be effective, you have to do three things; be genuine, educate your customers, and give them the opportunity to participate. 1) Being genuine means that a) that you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign and b) that the rest of your business policies are consistent with whatever you are doing that's environmentally friendly. Both these conditions have to be met for your business to establish the kind of environmental credentials that will allow a green marketing campaign to succeed. 2) Educating your customers isn't just a matter of letting people know you're doing whatever you're doing to protect the environment, but also a matter of letting them know why it matters. Otherwise, for a significant portion of your target market, it's a case of "So what?" and your green marketing campaign goes nowhere. 3) Giving your customers an opportunity to participate means personalizing the benefits of your environmentally friendly actions, normally through letting the customer take part in positive environmental action.

Benefits and Pitfalls of Green Marketing Green marketing offers a number of significant benefits:
y

Marketers get access to new markets and gain an advantage over competitors that are not advocating greenness. Marketers can charge a premium on products that are seen as more eco-responsible. Organizations that adopt green marketing are perceived to be more socially responsible. Green marketing builds brand equity and wins brand loyalty among customers.

y y y

However, green marketing poses huge dangers for marketers if they get it wrong:
y y

Most customers choose to satisfy their personal needs before caring for the environment. Overemphasizing greenness rather than customer needs can prove devastating for a product. Many customers keep away from products labeled green because they see such labeling as a marketing gimmick, and they may lose trust in an organization that suddenly claims to be green.

Green marketers need to find out the value their customers place on green benefits. It is important that they position the product on the basis of the functional need it caters to and then talk about the additional benefits of greenness. Marketers need to find out whether, by adopting green marketing, their organizations will be perceived as more socially responsible. They need to know whether their customers understand the benefits of green products and value them enough. If they do not, then the marketers may also need to invest in customer education in order to make their marketing efforts successful Tips on Green Marketing
y

Judge your customers first. Find out whether they value the concept of green products and are concerned about the issues your product tries to address. Ensure that your customers derive a strong feeling of consuming your product. making a difference from

Make sure that you first satisfy the functional need of your product and that you do it well. Otherwise, you can forget about repeat purchases and new customers for your green product. Find out whether your customers are willing to pay a premium for your products because they are green. Ensure that customers believe your claims that the product is environmentally friendly. Don t exaggerate; be honest and transparent.

Green marketing is a new territory which is still being explored. Marketers thus face a lack of standards and benchmarks by which to validate their successes when they employ green marketing. As such, it is advisable that they test the efficacy of their green marketing efforts with a small audience first before ramping them up. Meanwhile, they should be ready for the following challenges:
y y y y y

A lack of awareness among customers about green products and their benefits Lack of customer willingness to go out of the way to buy a green product Unwillingness to pay a premium for a green product Difficulty in winning customer trust as to the greenness of the organization Huge investments in R&D for product innovation

Organizations are increasingly realizing that it is not enough to offer functional benefits alone to their customers. The opportunities and competitive advantages offered by environmentally friendly green products are becoming increasingly important for product sustainability.

CSR - Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business)[1] is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. The goal of CSR is to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. Furthermore, CSR-focused businesses would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, that is the core business of the company or firm, and the honouring of a triple bottom line: people, planet, profit.

The Adoption Process.

The Adoption Process (also known as the Diffusion of Innovation) is more than forty years old. It was first described by Bourne (1959), so it has stood the test of time and remained an important marketing tool ever since. It describes the behaviour of consumers as they purchase new products and services. The individual categories of innovator, early adoptor, early majority, late majority and laggards are described below.

Innovators are the first to adopt and display behaviour that demonstrates that they likely to want to be ahead, and to be the first to own new products, well before the average consumer. They are often not taken seriously by their peers. The often buy products that do not make it through the early stages of the Product Life Cycle (PLC).

Early adoptors are also quick to buy new products and services, and so are key opinion leaders with their neighbours and friends as they tend to be amongst the first to get hold of items or services. The early majority look to the innovators and early majority to see if a new product or idea works and begins to stand the test of time. They stand back and watch the experiences of others. Then there is a surge of mass purchases. The late majority tends to purchase the product later than the average person. They are slower to catch on to the popularity of new products, services, ideas, or solutions. There is still mass consumption, but it begins to end. Finally, laggards tend to very late to take on board new products and include those that never actually adopt at all. Here there is little to be made from these consumers. There are a number of examples of products that have gone through the adoption process. They include Ipods or DVD players (or even video players and digital watches). Initially only a small group of younger or informed, well off people bought into these products. Opinion leaders, or the early adoptors then buy the product and tend to be a target for marketing companies wishing to

gain an early foot hold. The early majority are slightly ahead of the average, and follow. Then the late majority buy into the product, followed by any laggards. New adoption process or curves begin all the time. Who knows what will happen with solid state technology or Internet purchases of media?

Technology sector

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Product management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning or forecasting or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle.Product development (inbound-focused) and product marketing (outbound-focused) are different yet complementary efforts with the objective of maximizing sales revenues, market share, and profit margins. The role of product management spans many activities from strategic to tactical and varies based on the organizational structure of the company. Product management can be a function separate on its own and a member of marketing or engineering.While involved with the entire product lifecycle, product management's main focus is on driving new product development. According to the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA), superior and differentiated new products ones that deliver unique benefits and superior value to the customer is the number one driver of success and product profitability.[1]

Product life cycle (PLC) Like human beings, products also have a life-cycle. From birth to death, human beings pass through various stages e.g. birth, growth, maturity, decline and death. A similar life-cycle is seen in the case of products. The product life cycle goes through multiple phases, involves many professional disciplines, and requires many skills, tools and processes. Product life cycle (PLC) has to do with the life of a product in the market with respect to business/commercial costs and sales measures. To say that a product has a life cycle is to assert three things:
y y y

Products have a limited life, Product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller, Products require different marketing, financing, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life cycle stage.

The four main stages of a product's life cycle and the accompanying characteristics are: Stage Characteristics 1. Market introduction stage

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

costs are very high slow sales volumes to start little or no competition demand has to be created customers have to be prompted to try the product makes no money at this stage

2. Growth stage 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. costs reduced due to economies of scale sales volume increases significantly profitability begins to rise public awareness increases competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market increased competition leads to price decreases

3. Maturity stage 1. costs are lowered as a result of production volumes increasing and experience curve effects 2. sales volume peaks and market saturation is reached 3. increase in competitors entering the market 4. prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products 5. brand differentiation and feature diversification is emphasized to maintain or increase market share 6. Industrial profits go down 4. Saturation and decline stage 1. 2. 3. 4. costs become counter-optimal sales volume decline or stabilize prices, profitability diminish profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than increased sales

SERVQUAL MAPS MODEL

Concept
SERVQUAL was originally measured on 10 aspects of service quality: reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding the customer and tangibles. It measures the gap between customer expectations and experience. By the early nineties the authors had refined the model to the useful acronym RATER:

y y y y y

Reliability Assurance Tangibles Empathy, and Responsiveness

SERVQUAL has its detractors and is considered overly complex, subjective and statistically unreliable. The simplified RATER model however is a simple and useful model for qualitatively exploring and assessing customers' service experiences and has been used widely by service delivery organizations. It is an efficient model in helping an organization shape up their efforts in bridging the gap between perceived and expected service. The five gaps that organizations should measure, manage and minimize: Gap 1 is the distance between what customers expect and what managers think they expect Clearly survey research is a key way to narrow this gap. Gap 2 is between management perception and the actual specification of the customer experience - Managers need to make sure the organization is defining the level of service they believe is needed. Gap 3 is from the experience specification to the delivery of the experience - Managers need to audit the customer experience that their organization currently delivers in order to make sure it lives up to the spec. Gap 4 is the gap between the delivery of the customer experience and what is communicated to customers - All too often organizations exaggerate what will be provided to customers, or discuss the best case rather than the likely case, raising customer expectations and harming customer perceptions. Gap 5 is the gap between a customer's perception of the experience and the customer's expectation of the service - Customers' expectations have been shaped by word of mouth, their personal needs and their own past experiences. Routine transactional surveys after delivering the customer experience are important for an organization to measure customer perceptions of service.

Gap analysis

STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as how
y y y y y

The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products, and retailers); The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media); The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions; Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome; How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer; and How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

One "official" definition of consumer behavior is "The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society." Although it is not necessary to memorize this definition, it brings up some useful points:
y

Behavior occurs either for the individual, or in the context of a group (e.g., friends influence what kinds of clothes a person wears) or an organization (people on the job make decisions as to which products the firm should use). Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as the study of how they are purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased consumption. Since many environmental problems result from product disposal (e.g., motor oil being sent into sewage systems to save the recycling fee, or garbage piling up at landfills) this is also an area of interest.

y y

Consumer behavior involves services and ideas as well as tangible products. The impact of consumer behavior on society is also of relevance. For example, aggressive marketing of high fat foods, or aggressive marketing of easy credit, may have serious repercussions for the national health and economy.

There are four main applications of consumer behavior:

y

The most obvious is for marketing strategyi.e., for making better marketing campaigns. For example, by understanding that consumers are more receptive to food advertising when they are hungry, we learn to schedule snack advertisements late in the afternoon. By understanding that new products are usually initially adopted by a few consumers and only spread later, and then only gradually, to the rest of the population, we learn that (1) companies that introduce new products must be well financed so that they can stay afloat until their products become a commercial success and (2) it is important to please initial customers, since they will in turn influence many subsequent customers brand choices. A second application is public policy. In the 1980s, Accutane, a near miracle cure for acne, was introduced. Unfortunately, Accutane resulted in severe birth defects if taken by pregnant women. Although physicians were instructed to warn their female patients of this, a number still became pregnant while taking the drug. To get consumers attention, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) took the step of requiring that very graphic pictures of deformed babies be shown on the medicine containers. Social marketing involves getting ideas across to consumers rather than selling something. Marty Fishbein, a marketing professor, went on sabbatical to work for the Centers for Disease Control trying to reduce the incidence of transmission of diseases through illegal drug use. The best solution, obviously, would be if we could get illegal drug users to stop. This, however, was deemed to be infeasible. It was also determined that the practice of sharing needles was too ingrained in the drug culture to be stopped. As a result, using knowledge of consumer attitudes, Dr. Fishbein created a campaign that encouraged the cleaning of needles in bleach before sharing them, a goal that was believed to be more realistic. As a final benefit, studying consumer behavior should make us better consumers. Common sense suggests, for example, that if you buy a 64 liquid ounce bottle of laundry detergent, you should pay less per ounce than if you bought two 32 ounce bottles. In practice, however, you often pay a size premium by buying the larger quantity. In other words, in this case, knowing this fact will sensitize you to the need to check the unit cost labels to determine if you are really getting a bargain.

There are several units in the market that can be analyzed. Our main thrust in this course is the consumer. However, we will also need to analyze our own firms strengths and weaknesses and those of competing firms. Suppose, for example, that

we make a product aimed at older consumers, a growing segment. A competing firm that targets babies, a shrinking market, is likely to consider repositioning toward our market. To assess a competing firms potential threat, we need to examine its assets (e.g., technology, patents, market knowledge, awareness of its brands) against pressures it faces from the market. Finally, we need to assess conditions (the marketing environment). For example, although we may have developed a product that offers great appeal for consumers, a recession may cut demand dramatically.

Consumer purchases are influenced strongly by or there are four factors. 01. Cultural Factor 02. Social Factor 03. Personal Factor 04. Psychological Factor.

01. Cultural Factor :y

Cultural factor divided into three sub factors (i) Culture (ii) Sub Culture (iii) Social Class o Culture: The set of basic values perceptions, wants, and behaviours learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions. Culture is the most basic cause of a persons wants and behaviour. Every group or society has a culture, and cultural influences on buying behaviour may vary greatly from country to country. o Sub Culture : A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations.  Each culture contains smaller sub cultures a group of people with shared value system based on common life experiences and situations. Sub culture includes nationalities, religions, racial group and geographic regions. Many sub culture make up important market segments and marketers often design products. o Social Class:-

Almost every society has some form of social structure, social classes are societys relatively permanent and ordered divisions whose members share similar values, interests and behaviour.

02. Social Factors :y

A consumers behaviour also is influenced by social factors, such as the (i) Groups (ii) Family (iii) Roles and status o Groups : Two or more people who interact to accomplish individual or mutual goals.  A persons behavious is influenced by many small groups. Groups that have a direct influence and to which a person belongs are called membership groups.  Some are primary groups includes family, friends, neighbours and coworkers. Some are secondary groups, which are more formal and have less regular interaction. These includes organizations like religious groups, professional association and trade unions. o Family: Family members can strongly influence buyer behaviour. The family is the most important consumer buying organization society and it has been researched extensively. Marketers are interested in the roles, and influence of the husband, wife and children on the purchase of different products and services. o Roles and Status : A person belongs to many groups, family, clubs, organizations.  The persons position in each group can be defined in terms of both role and status.  For example. M & X plays the role of father, in his family he plays the role of husband, in his company, he plays the role of manager, etc. A Role consists of the activities people are expected to perform according to the persons around them.

03. Personal Factors :y y

It includes i) Age and life cycle stage (ii) Occupation (iii) Economic situation (iv) Life Style (v) Personality and self concept. o Age and Life cycle Stage: People changes the goods and services they buy over their lifetimes. Tastes in food, clothes, furniture, and recreation are often age related. Buying is also shaped by the stage of the family life cycle. o Occupation : A persons occupation affects the goods and services bought. Blue collar workers tend to buy more rugged work clothes, whereas white-collar

workers buy more business suits. A Co. can even specialize in making products needed by a given occupational group. Thus, computer software companies will design different products for brand managers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, and doctors. o Economic situation : A persons economic situation will affect product choice o Life Style : Life Style is a persons Pattern of living, understanding these forces involves measuring consumers major AIO dimensions.  i.e. activities (Work, hobbies, shopping, support etc) interest (Food, fashion, family recreation) and opinions (about themselves, Business, Products) o Personality and Self concept : Each persons distinct personality influence his or her buying behaviour. Personality refers to the unique psychological characteristics that lead to relatively consistent and lasting responses to ones own environment. 04. Psychological Factors :y y y

It includes these Factors. i) Motivation (ii) Perception (iii) Learning (iv) Beliefs and attitudes Motivation :o Motive (drive) a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction of the need Perception :o The process by which people select, Organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world. Learning:o Changes in an individuals behaviour arising from experience. Beliefs and attitudes :o Belief is a descriptive thought that a person holds about something o Attitude, a Persons consistently favourable or unfavourable evaluations, feelings, and tendencies towards an object or idea

y y

y y

1. Problem/Need Recognition
How do you decide you want to buy a particular product or service? It could be that your DVD player stops working and you now have to look for a new one, all those DVD films you purchased you can no longer play! So you have a problem or a new need. For high value items like a DVD player or a car or other low frequency purchased products this is the process we would take. However, for impulse low frequency purchases e.g. confectionery the process is different.

y y

2. Information search

So we have a problem, our DVD player no longer works and we need to buy a new one. Whats the solution? Yes go out and purchase a new one, but which brand? Shall we buy the same brand as the one that blew up? Or stay clear of that? Consumer often go on some form of information search to help them through their purchase decision. Sources of information could be family, friends, neighbours who may have the product you have in mind, alternatively you may ask the sales people, or dealers, or read specialist magazines like What DVD? to help with their purchase decision. You may even actually examine the product before you decide to purchase it.

3. Evaluation of different purchase options.

y

So what DVD player do we purchase? Shall it be Sony, Toshiba or Bush? Consumers allocate attribute factors to certain products, almost like a point scoring system which they work out in their mind over which brand to purchase. This means that consumers know what features from the rivals will benefit them and they attach different degrees of importance to each attribute. For example sound maybe better on the Sony product and picture on the Toshiba , but picture clarity is more important to you then sound. Consumers usually have some sort of brand preference with companies as they may have had a good history with a particular brand or their friends may have had a reliable history with one, but if the decision falls between the Sony DVD or Toshiba then which one shall it be? It could be that the a review the consumer reads on the particular Toshiba product may have tipped the balance and that they will purchase that brand.

y y

4. Purchase decision
Through the evaluation process discussed above consumers will reach their final purchase decision and they reach the final process of going through the purchase action e.g. The process of going to the shop to buy the product, which for some consumers can be as just as rewarding as actually purchasing the product. Purchase of the product can either be through the store, the web, or over the phone.

y y

Post Purchase Behaviour

Ever have doubts about the product after you purchased it? This simply is post purchase behaviour and research shows that it is a common trait amongst purchasers of products. Manufacturers of products clearly want recent consumers to feel proud of their purchase, it is therefore just as important for manufacturers to advertise for the sake of their recent purchaser so consumers feel comfortable that they own a product from a strong and reputable organisation. This limits post purchase behaviour. i.e. You feel reassured that you own the latest advertised product.

Factors influencing the behaviour of buyers.

Consumer behaviour is affected by many uncontrollable factors. Just think, what influences you before you buy a product or service? Your friends, your upbringing, your culture, the media, a role model or influences from certain groups? Culture is one factor that influences behaviour. Simply culture is defined as our attitudes and beliefs. But how are these attitudes and beliefs developed? As an individual growing up, a child is influenced by their parents, brothers, sister and other family member who may teach them what is wrong or right. They learn about their religion and culture, which helps them develop these opinions, attitudes and beliefs (AIO) . These factors will influence their purchase behaviour however other factors like groups of friends, or people they look up to may influence their choices of purchasing a particular product or service. Reference groups are particular groups of people some people may look up towards to that have an impact on consumer behaviour. So they can be simply a band like the Spice Girls or your immediate family members. Opinion leaders are those people that you look up to because your respect their views and judgements and these views may influence consumer decisions. So it maybe a friend who works with the IT trade who may influence your decision on what computer to buy. The economical environment also has an impact on consumer behaviour; do consumers have a secure job and a regular income to spend on goods? Marketing and advertising obviously influence consumers in trying to evoke them to purchase a particular product or service. Peoples social status will also impact their behaviour. What is their role within society? Are they Actors? Doctors? Office worker? and mothers and fathers also? Clearly being parents affects your buying habits depending on the age of the children, the type of job may mean you need to purchase formal clothes, the income which is earned has an impact. The lifestyle of someone who earns 250000 would clearly be different from someone who earns 25000. Also characters have an influence on buying decision. Whether the person is extrovert (out going and spends on entertainment) or introvert (keeps to themselves and purchases via online or mail order) again has an impact on the types of purchases made.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

y

Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs theory sets out to explain what motivated individuals in life to achieve. He set out his answer in a form of a hierarchy. He suggests individuals aim to meet basic psychological needs of hunger and thirst. When this has been met they then move up to the next stage of the hierarchy, safety needs, where the priority lay with job security and the knowing that an income will be available to them regularly. Social needs come in the next level of the hierarchy, the need to belong or be loved is a natural human desire and people do strive for this belonging. Esteem need is the need for status and recognition within society, status sometimes drives people, the need to have a good job title and be recognised or the need to wear branded clothes as a symbol of status. Self-actualisation the realisation that an individual has reached their potential in life. The point of self-actualisation is down to the individual, when do you know you have reached your point of self-fulfilment? But how does this concept help an organisation trying to market a product or service? Well as we have established earlier within this website, marketing is about meeting needs

y y y

and providing benefits, Maslows concept suggests that needs change as we go along our path of striving for self-actualisation. Supermarket firms develop value brands to meet the psychological needs of hunger and thirst. Harrods develops products and services for those who want have met their esteem needs. So Maslows concept is useful for marketers as it can help them understand and develop consumer needs and wants. For further information on motivation theory please visit www.learnmanagement2.com

Types of buying behaviour.

There are four typical types of buying behaviour based on the type of products that intends to be purchased. Complex buying behaviour is where the individual purchases a high value brand and seeks a lot of information before the purchase is made. Habitual buying behaviour is where the individual buys a product out of habit e.g. a daily newspaper, sugar or salt. Variety seeking buying behaviour is where the individual likes to shop around and experiment with different products. So an individual may shop around for different breakfast cereals because he/she wants variety in the mornings! Dissonance reducing buying behaviour is when buyer are highly involved with the purchase of the product, because the purchase is expensive or infrequent. There is little difference between existing brands an example would be buying a diamond ring, there is perceived little difference between existing diamond brand manufacturers.

What is Consumer Buying Behavior?

Definition of Buying Behavior: Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products.

Need to understand:
y y y

why consumers make the purchases that they make? what factors influence consumer purchases? the changing factors in our society.

Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of the ultimate consumer. A firm needs to analyze buying behavior for:
y y

Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firms success. The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy. Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies.

Return to Contents List

Stages of the Consumer Buying Process

Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Actual purchasing is only one stage of the process. Not all decision processes lead to a purchase. All consumer decisions do not always include all 6 stages, determined by the degree of complexity...discussed next.

The 6 stages are:

1. Problem Recognition(awareness of need)--difference between the desired state and the actual condition. Deficit in assortment of products. Hunger--Food. Hunger stimulates your need to eat. Can be stimulated by the marketer through product information--did not know you were deficient? I.E., see a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates your recognition that you need a new pair of shoes. 2. Information search-o Internal search, memory. o External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word of mouth). Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping; public sources etc. A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the evoked set.

Hungry, want to go out and eat, evoked set is

chinese food indian food burger king klondike kates etc Evaluation of Alternatives--need to establish criteria for evaluation, features the buyer wants or does not want. Rank/weight alternatives or resume search. May decide that you want to eat something spicy, indian gets highest rank etc. If not satisfied with your choice then return to the search phase. Can you think of another restaurant? Look in the yellow pages etc. Information from different sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to influence by "framing" alternatives. Purchase decision--Choose buying alternative, includes product, package, store, method of purchase etc. Purchase--May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product availability. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. Cognitive Dissonance, have you made the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc. After eating an indian meal, may think that really you wanted a chinese meal instead.
o o o o

3.

4. 5. 6.

Handout...Pillsbury 1-800#s 1-800 #s gives the consumer a way of communicating with the marketer after purchase. This helps reduce cognitive dissonance when a marketer can answer any concerns of a new consumer. Return to Contents List

Types of Consumer Buying Behavior

Types of consumer buying behavior are determined by:
y y

Level of Involvement in purchase decision. Importance and intensity of interest in a product in a particular situation. Buyers level of involvement determines why he/she is motivated to seek information about a certain products and brands but virtually ignores others.

High involvement purchases--Honda Motorbike, high priced goods, products visible to others, and the higher the risk the higher the involvement. Types of risk:
y y y

Personal risk Social risk Economic risk

The four type of consumer buying behavior are:

y

Routine Response/Programmed Behavior--buying low involvement frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision effort; purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks, snack foods, milk etc. Limited Decision Making--buying product occasionally. When you need to obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category, perhaps. Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering. Examples include Clothes--know product class but not the brand. Extensive Decision Making/Complex high involvement, unfamiliar, expensive and/or infrequently bought products. High degree of economic/performance/psychological risk. Examples include cars, homes, computers, education. Spend alot of time seeking information and deciding. Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel etc. Go through all six stages of the buying process. Impulse buying, no conscious planning.

The purchase of the same product does not always elicit the same Buying Behavior. Product can shift from one category to the next. For example: Going out for dinner for one person may be extensive decision making (for someone that does not go out often at all), but limited decision making for someone else. The reason for the dinner, whether it is an anniversary celebration, or a meal with a couple of friends will also determine the extent of the decision making.

Return to Contents List

Categories that Effect the Consumer Buying Decision Process

A consumer, making a purchase decision will be affected by the following three factors: 1. Personal 2. Psychological 3. Social The marketer must be aware of these factors in order to develop an appropriate MM for its target market. Return to Contents List

Personal
Unique to a particular person. Demographic Factors. Sex, Race, Age etc. Who in the family is responsible for the decision making. Young people purchase things for different reasons than older people. Handout...From choices to checkout... Highlights the differences between male and female shoppers in the supermarket.

Return to Contents List

Psychological factors
Psychological factors include:
y

Motives-A motive is an internal energizing force that orients a person's activities toward satisfying a need or achieving a goal. Actions are effected by a set of motives, not just one. If marketers can identify motives then they can better develop a marketing mix. MASLOW hierarchy of needs!!
o o o o o

Physiological Safety Love and Belonging Esteem Self Actualization

Need to determine what level of the hierarchy the consumers are at to determine what motivates their purchases. Handout...Nutrament Debunked... Nutrament, a product marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb originally was targeted at consumers that needed to receive additional energy from their drinks after exercise etc., a fitness drink. It was therefore targeted at consumers whose needs were for either love and Belonging or esteem. The product was not selling well, and was almost terminated. Upon extensive research it was determined that the product did sell well in inner-city convenience stores. It was determined that the consumers for the product were actually drug addicts who couldn't not digest a regular meal. They would purchase Nutrament as a substitute for a meal. Their motivation to purchase was completely different to the motivation that B-MS had originally thought. These consumers were at the Physiological level of the hierarchy. BM-S therefore had to redesign its MM to better meet the needs of this target market. Motives often operate at a subconscious level therefore are difficult to measure.

Perception--

What do you see?? Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information inputs to produce meaning. IE we chose what info we pay attention to, organize it and interpret it. Information inputs are the sensations received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch.

Selective Exposure-select inputs to be exposed to our awareness. More likely if it is linked to an event, satisfies current needs, intensity of input changes (sharp price drop). Selective Distortion-Changing/twisting current received information, inconsistent with beliefs. Advertisers that use comparative advertisements (pitching one product against another), have to be very careful that consumers do not distort the facts and perceive that the advertisement was for the competitor. A current example...MCI and AT&T...do you ever get confused? Selective Retention-Remember inputs that support beliefs, forgets those that don't. Average supermarket shopper is exposed to 17,000 products in a shopping visit lasting 30 minutes-60% of purchases are unplanned. Exposed to 1,500 advertisement per day. Can't be expected to be aware of all these inputs, and certainly will not retain many. Interpreting information is based on what is already familiar, on knowledge that is stored in the memory.
Handout...South Africa wine.... Problems marketing wine from South Africa. Consumers have strong perceptions of the country, and hence its products.
y

Ability and Knowledge-Need to understand individuals capacity to learn. Learning, changes in a person's behavior caused by information and experience. Therefore to change consumers' behavior about your product, need to give them new information re: product...free sample etc.

South Africa...open bottle of wine and pour it!! Also educate american consumers about changes in SA. Need to sell a whole new country. When making buying decisions, buyers must process information. Knowledge is the familiarity with the product and expertise.

Inexperience buyers often use prices as an indicator of quality more than those who have knowledge of a product. Non-alcoholic Beer example: consumers chose the most expensive six-pack, because they assume that the greater price indicates greater quality. Learning is the process through which a relatively permanent change in behavior results from the consequences of past behavior.
y

Attitudes--

Knowledge and positive and negative feelings about an object or activity-maybe tangible or intangible, living or non- living.....Drive perceptions

Individual learns attitudes through experience and interaction with other people. Consumer attitudes toward a firm and its products greatly influence the success or failure of the firm's marketing strategy.
Handout...Oldsmobile..... Oldsmobile vs. Lexus, due to consumers attitudes toward Oldsmobile (as discovered by class exercise) need to disassociate Aurora from the Oldsmobile name.

Exxon Valdez-nearly 20,000 credit cards were returned or cut-up after the tragic oil spill. Honda "You meet the nicest people on a Honda", dispel the unsavory image of a motorbike rider, late 1950s. Changing market of the 1990s, baby boomers aging, Hondas market returning to hard core. To change this they have a new slogan "Come ride with us". Attitudes and attitude change are influenced by consumers personality and lifestyle. Consumers screen information that conflicts with their attitudes. Distort information to make it consistent and selectively retain information that reinforces our attitudes. IE brand loyalty. There is a difference between attitude and intention to buy (ability to buy).
y

Personality--

all the internal traits and behaviors that make a person unique, uniqueness arrives from a person's heredity and personal experience. Examples include:
o

Workaholism

o o o o o o o o o o o

Compulsiveness Self confidence Friendliness Adaptability Ambitiousness Dogmatism Authoritarianism Introversion Extroversion Aggressiveness Competitiveness.

Traits effect the way people behave. Marketers try to match the store image to the perceived image of their customers.

There is a weak association between personality and Buying Behavior, this may be due to unreliable measures. Nike ads. Consumers buy products that are consistent with their self concept.
y

Lifestyles-Recent US trends in lifestyles are a shift towards personal independence and individualism and a preference for a healthy, natural lifestyle.

Lifestyles are the consistent patterns people follow in their lives. EXAMPLE healthy foods for a healthy lifestyle. Sun tan not considered fashionable in US until 1920's. Now an assault by the American Academy of Dermatology.
Handout...Here Comes the Sun to Confound Health Savvy Lotion Makers.. Extra credit assignment from the news group, to access Value and Lifestyles (VALS) Program, complete the survey and Email alex@udel.edu the results. This is a survey tool that marketers can use to better understand their target market(s). Return to Contents List

Social Factors
Consumer wants, learning, motives etc. are influenced by opinion leaders, person's family, reference groups, social class and culture.
y

Opinion leaders-Spokespeople etc. Marketers try to attract opinion leaders...they actually use (pay) spokespeople to market their products. Michael Jordon (Nike, McDonalds, Gatorade etc.)

Can be risky...Michael Jackson...OJ Simpson...Chevy Chase

Roles and Family Influences-Role...things you should do based on the expectations of you from your position within a group. People have many roles. Husband, father, employer/ee. Individuals role are continuing to change therefore marketers must continue to update information.

Family is the most basic group a person belongs to. Marketers must understand:
o o o o o

that many family decisions are made by the family unit consumer behavior starts in the family unit family roles and preferences are the model for children's future family (can reject/alter/etc) family buying decisions are a mixture of family interactions and individual decision making family acts an interpreter of social and cultural values for the individual.

The Family life cycle: families go through stages, each stage creates different consumer demands:
o o o o o o o o o o

bachelor stage...most of BUAD301 newly married, young, no children...me full nest I, youngest child under 6 full nest II, youngest child 6 or over full nest III, older married couples with dependant children empty nest I, older married couples with no children living with them, head in labor force empty nest II, older married couples, no children living at home, head retired solitary survivor, in labor force solitary survivor, retired Modernized life cycle includes divorced and no children.

Handout...Two Income Marriages Are Now the Norm Because 2 income families are becoming more common, the decision maker within the family unit is changing...also, family has less time for children, and therefore tends to let them influence purchase decisions in order to alleviate some of the guilt. (Children influence about $130 billion of goods in a year) Children also have more money to spend themselves.
y

Reference Groups-Individual identifies with the group to the extent that he takes on many of the values, attitudes or behaviors of the group members.

Families, friends, sororities, civic and professional organizations. Any group that has a positive or negative influence on a persons attitude and behavior. Membership groups (belong to) Affinity marketing is focused on the desires of consumers that belong to reference groups. Marketers get the groups to approve the product and communicate that approval to its members. Credit Cards etc.!! Aspiration groups (want to belong to) Disassociate groups (do not want to belong to) Honda, tries to disassociate from the "biker" group. The degree to which a reference group will affect a purchase decision depends on an individuals susceptibility to reference group influence and the strength of his/her involvement with the group.
y

Social Class-an open group of individuals who have similar social rank. US is not a classless society. US criteria; occupation, education, income, wealth, race, ethnic groups and possessions.

Social class influences many aspects of our lives. IE upper middle class Americans prefer luxury cars Mercedes.
o o o o o o o

Upper Americans-upper-upper class, .3%, inherited wealth, aristocratic names. Lower-upper class, 1.2%, newer social elite, from current professionals and corporate elite Upper-middle class, 12.5%, college graduates, managers and professionals Middle Americans-middle class, 32%, average pay white collar workers and blue collar friends Working class, 38%, average pay blue collar workers Lower Americans-lower class, 9%, working, not on welfare Lower-lower class, 7%, on welfare

Social class determines to some extent, the types, quality, quantity of products that a person buys or uses.

Lower class people tend to stay close to home when shopping, do not engage in much prepurchase information gathering. Stores project definite class images. Family, reference groups and social classes are all social influences on consumer behavior. All operate within a larger culture.
y

Culture and Sub-culture--

Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are accepted by a homogenous group of people and transmitted to the next generation.

Culture also determines what is acceptable with product advertising. Culture determines what people wear, eat, reside and travel. Cultural values in the US are good health, education, individualism and freedom. In american culture time scarcity is a growing problem. IE change in meals. Big impact on international marketing.

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning together comprise a three stage process. We first (1) determine which kinds of customers exist, then (2) select which ones we are best off trying to serve and, finally, (3) implement our segmentation by optimizing our products/services for that segment and communicating that we have made the choice to distinguish ourselves that way.

Segmentation involves finding out what kinds of consumers with different needs exist. In the auto market, for example, some consumers demand speed and performance, while others are much more concerned about roominess and safety. In general, it holds true that You cant be all things to all people, and experience has demonstrated that firms that specialize in meeting the needs of one group of consumers over another tend to be more profitable. Generically, there are three approaches to marketing. In the undifferentiated strategy, all consumers are treated as the same, with firms not making any specific efforts to satisfy particular groups. This may work when the product is a standard one where one competitor really cant offer much that another one cant. Usually, this is the case only for commodities. In the concentrated strategy, one firm chooses to focus on one of several segments that exist while leaving other segments to competitors. For example, Southwest Airlines focuses on price sensitive consumers who will forego meals and assigned seating for low prices. In contrast, most airlines follow the differentiated strategy: They offer high priced tickets to those who are inflexible in that they cannot tell in advance when they need to fly and find it impractical to stay

over a Saturday. These travelersusually business travelerspay high fares but can only fill the planes up partially. The same airlines then sell some of the remaining seats to more price sensitive customers who can buy two weeks in advance and stay over. Note that segmentation calls for some tough choices. There may be a large number of variables that can be used to differentiate consumers of a given product category; yet, in practice, it becomes impossibly cumbersome to work with more than a few at a time. Thus, we need to determine which variables will be most useful in distinguishing different groups of consumers. We might thus decide, for example, that the variables that are most relevant in separating different kinds of soft drink consumers are (1) preference for taste vs. low calories, (2) preference for Cola vs. non-cola taste, (3) price sensitivitywillingness to pay for brand names; and (4) heavy vs. light consumers. We now put these variables together to arrive at various combinations. Several different kinds of variables can be used for segmentation.
y

y y

Demographic variables essentially refer to personal statistics such as income, gender, education, location (rural vs. urban, East vs. West), ethnicity, and family size. Campbells soup, for instance, has found that Western U.S. consumers on the average prefer spicier soupsthus, you get a different product in the same cans at the East and West coasts. Facing flat sales of guns in the traditional male dominated market, a manufacturer came out with the Lady Remmington, a more compact, handier gun more attractive to women. Taking this a step farther, it is also possible to segment on lifestyle and values. Some consumers want to be seen as similar to others, while a different segment wants to stand apart from the crowd. Another basis for segmentation is behavior. Some consumers are brand loyali.e., they tend to stick with their preferred brands even when a competing one is on sale. Some consumers are heavy users while others are light users. For example, research conducted by the wine industry shows that some 80% of the product is consumed by 20% of the consumerspresumably a rather intoxicated group. One can also segment on benefits sought, essentially bypassing demographic explanatory variables. Some consumers, for example, like scented soap (a segment likely to be attracted to brands such as Irish Spring), while others prefer the clean feeling of unscented soap (the Ivory segment). Some consumers use toothpaste primarily to promote oral health, while another segment is more interested in breath freshening.

In the next step, we decide to target one or more segments. Our choice should generally depend on several factors. First, how well are existing segments served by other manufacturers? It will be more difficult to appeal to a segment that is already well served than to one whose needs are not currently being served well. Secondly, how large is the segment, and how can we expect it to grow? (Note that a downside to a large, rapidly growing segment is that it tends to attract competition). Thirdly, do we have strengths as a company that will help us appeal particularly to one group of consumers? Firms may already have an established reputation. While McDonalds has a great reputation for fast, consistent quality, family friendly food, it would be difficult to convince consumers that McDonalds now offers gourmet food. Thus, McDs would probably be better off targeting families in search of consistent quality food in nice, clean restaurants.

Positioning involves implementing our targeting. For example, Apple Computer has chosen to position itself as a maker of user-friendly computers. Thus, Apple has done a lot through its advertising to promote itself, through its unintimidating icons, as a computer for non-geeks. The Visual C software programming language, in contrast, is aimed a techies.

Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema suggested in their 1993 book The Discipline of Market Leaders that most successful firms fall into one of three categories:
y

Operationally excellent firms, which maintain a strong competitive advantage by maintaining exceptional efficiency, thus enabling the firm to provide reliable service to the customer at a significantly lower cost than those of less well organized and well run competitors. The emphasis here is mostly on low cost, subject to reliable performance, and less value is put on customizing the offering for the specific customer. Wal-Mart is an example of this discipline. Elaborate logistical designs allow goods to be moved at the lowest cost, with extensive systems predicting when specific quantities of supplies will be needed. Customer intimate firms, which excel in serving the specific needs of the individual customer well. There is less emphasis on efficiency, which is sacrificed for providing more precisely what is wanted by the customer. Reliability is also stressed. Nordstroms and IBM are examples of this discipline. Technologically excellent firms, which produce the most advanced products currently available with the latest technology, constantly maintaining leadership in innovation. These firms, because they work with costly technology that need constant refinement, cannot be as efficient as the operationally excellent firms and often cannot adapt their products as well to the needs of the individual customer. Intel is an example of this discipline.

Treacy and Wiersema suggest that in addition to excelling on one of the three value dimensions, firms must meet acceptable levels on the other two. Wal-Mart, for example, does maintain some level of customer service. Nordstroms and Intel both must meet some standards of cost

effectiveness. The emphasis, beyond meeting the minimum required level in the two other dimensions, is on the dimension of strength. Repositioning involves an attempt to change consumer perceptions of a brand, usually because the existing position that the brand holds has become less attractive. Sears, for example, attempted to reposition itself from a place that offered great sales but unattractive prices the rest of the time to a store that consistently offered everyday low prices. Repositioning in practice is very difficult to accomplish. A great deal of money is often needed for advertising and other promotional efforts, and in many cases, the repositioning fails. To effectively attempt repositioning, it is important to understand how ones brand and those of competitors are perceived. One approach to identifying consumer product perceptions is multidimensional scaling. Here, we identify how products are perceived on two or more dimensions, allowing us to plot brands against each other. It may then be possible to attempt to move ones brand in a more desirable direction by selectively promoting certain points. There are two main approaches to multi-dimensional scaling. In the a priori approach, market researchers identify dimensions of interest and then ask consumers about their perceptions on each dimension for each brand. This is useful when (1) the market researcher knows which dimensions are of interest and (2) the customers perception on each dimension is relatively clear (as opposed to being made up on the spot to be able to give the researcher a desired answer). In the similarity rating approach, respondents are not asked about their perceptions of brands on any specific dimensions. Instead, subjects are asked to rate the extent of similarity of different pairs of products (e.g., How similar, on a scale of 1-7, is Snickers to Kitkat, and how similar is Toblerone to Three Musketeers?) Using a computer algorithms, the computer then identifies positions of each brand on a map of a given number of dimensions. The computer does not reveal what each dimension meansthat must be left to human interpretation based on what the variations in each dimension appears to reveal. This second method is more useful when no specific product dimensions have been identified as being of particular interest or when it is not clear what the variables of difference are for the product category.

Marketing for B2B vs. B2C

Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing is different. Some people think marketing is marketing and whether you are marketing to consumers or marketing to businesses, you are still just marketing to people, right? Well, yeah they are people, but a person buying a product for themselves verses buying for their company is a very different, emotional experience. In fact, there are profound differences that you must remember when developing your marketing activities. B2B depends on relationship building marketing efforts. Using consumer-focused strategies to market your B2B business will, at best, just cost you money. And, in some cases, it may cost you customers.

What is B2B and B2C Marketing

These terms were coined to differentiate Internet commerce businesses that sold to primarily to consumers verses those whose market are other businesses. These terms have expanded their

definitions to refer to any business who sells primarily to the end customer (B2C) or to other businesses (B2B), both online and offline. Although the marketing programs are the same for each type of business (events, direct marketing, internet marketing, advertising, public relations, word of mouth and alliances), how they are executed, what they say, and the outcome of the marketing activities differ. The first step in developing your marketing strategy for B2B is similar to the first step in a B2C strategy: identify who the customer is and why they need to hear your message. From there, the marketing activities diverge. The highlighted boxes summarize the differences between B2B marketing and B2C marketing. Your marketing plan needs to take into account the differences and ensure you are developing the right types of activities for your particular market.

Businesses that Sell to Consumers

B2C
y y y y y y y

Product driven Maximize the value of the transaction Large target market Single step buying process, shorter sales cycle Brand identity created through repetition and imagery Merchandising and point of purchase activities Emotional buying decision based on status, desire, or price

The ultimate goal of B2C marketing is to convert shoppers into buyers as aggressively and consistently as possible. B2C companies employ more merchandising activities like coupons, displays, store fronts (both real and Internet) and offers to entice the target market to buy. B2C marketing campaigns are concerned with the transaction, are shorter in duration and need to capture the customers interest immediately. These campaigns often offer special deals, discounts, or vouchers that can be used both online and in the store. For example, the goal of an email campaign for a B2C company is to get consumers to buy the product immediately. The email will take the consumer to a landing page on the web site that is designed to sell the product and make purchasing very easy by integrating the shopping cart and checkout page into the flow of the transaction. Any more than a couple of clicks and the customer is likely to abandon the shopping cart. One interesting aspect of B2C marketing, however, is that many companies have realized the importance of loyalty. Amazon, Best Buy, and Staples combine merchandising and education to keep customers coming back. Add great customer service, and you get a winning combination.

Businesses that Sell to Businesses

B2B

y y y y y y y

Relationship driven Maximize the value of the relationship Small, focused target market Multi-step buying process, longer sales cycle Brand identity created on personal relationship Educational and awareness building activities Rational buying decision based on business value

Although the goal of B2B marketing is to convert prospects into customers, the process is longer and more involved. A B2B company needs to focus on relationship building and communication using marketing activities that generate leads that can be nurtured during the sales cycle. B2B companies use marketing to educate various players in the target audience because the decision to purchase is usually a multi-step process involving more than one person. For example, the goal of an email campaign for B2B is to drive prospects to the web to learn about your products and services. The e-mail to a business must contain contact information for offline communications and the landing page should contain information on features, benefits, and possibly pricing. This marketing activity is usually the first step in a longer, integrated touch campaign that may include direct mail, telemarketing, Web casts, newsletters and follow up by sales representatives who will discuss the businesses requirements in more detail and move the prospect through the sales cycle. Content is king for B2B marketing and white papers, newsletters, and coverage of your products and services by the media helps companies educate their prospects.

The B2B Buyer vs. the B2C Buyer

The business buyer is sophisticated, understands your product or service better than you do, and wants or needs to buy products or services to help their company stay profitable, competitive, and successful. Marketing copy must talk to a sophisticated audience. Your typical reader has a high interest in and understanding of your product (or at least of the problem it solves). Therefore, writing marketing copy is more complex and requires research to ensure you deliver the necessary information to the buyer. The B2C buyer is usually looking for the best price and will research the competition prior to shopping. Another factor that does come into play, however, is whether the buyer trusts the retail outlet, either the store front or on the Internet. Although you can find the products on the Internet at many different price points, many consumers will still buy from a trusted source. In that respect, B2C marketing needs to convince the person to buy and build trust and loyalty with their customers. Both buyers are interested in quality customer service. B2B customer service comes into play prior to ever making that first sale and begins with a customers very first contact with your company, whether you call them or they call you. B2C customer service helps build customer loyalty where customers will be willing to pay a slightly higher price to know that they can return the product easily and can trust the source they are dealing with. In other words, customer service is critical and although may not be considered marketing, bad customer service can render all of your marketing efforts useless.

Importance of Brand
A strong brand is important to both the B2B and the B2C markets, but for different reasons. With B2C, a strong brand can encourage the consumer to buy, remain loyal and potentially pay a higher price. In B2B markets, brand will only help you be considered, not necessarily chosen. Business buyers are using more rational thought when selecting a product or service for their company. They are motivated by saving money, increasing productivity or raising profitability. Consumers are motivated by desire, style and prestige. For consumers, brand plays into the equation since we are more apt to buy status brands, such as BMW, Lexus, Rolex or Nike even though we most likely will pay more for the brand. In businesses today, however, the adage no one ever got fired for buying IBM no longer rings true. This is not to say that a professionally developed brand is not important for a B2B business. A quality brand is needed in any business in order to make a good first impression, but putting excessive marketing dollars into building brand awareness is not what counts in your B2B marketing plan.

Plan Before You Begin to Market

The bottom line is that the difference between B2B and B2C marketing comes down to the buyers emotional perspective about the purchase. Consumers make buying decisions based on status, security, comfort and quality. Business buyers make buying decisions based on increasing profitability, reducing costs and enhancing productivity. If you are a B2B business offering products and services to other businesses, put your marketing dollars into marketing programs and materials that offer your target what they need to make a rational buying decision. Help them determine the value of the product and service you offer through quality materials, testimonials, and other activities that build credibility. If you are a B2C business, understand what motivates your buyer and the emotional aspect of the buying decision. Create compelling materials that build awareness for your brand, enhance their comfort in buying from you, and project quality service and best price. As you create your marketing plan for the coming year, remember what is important to your target audience and create your marketing programs to speak to them.
How B2B differs from B2C

The most obvious difference between B2B and B2C is the customer requirement. B2C focuses on individual customer transactions, whereas B2B focuses on other businesses as the consumer. This difference creates different needs for B2B applications. One difference between B2B and B2C is the type of order. For example, when you order office supplies or parts, you usually order the same products as well as the same amounts at fairly regular intervals. Repeat and standing orders are a common B2B requirement. Type of payment is also a different requirement for B2B transactions. When your company makes a purchase, you rarely use a credit card for payment. More likely, you will have varied forms of payment such as lines of credit and open orders. B2B applications are designed with these requirements in mind.

Another difference is the type of search function in B2B applications. A catalog to browse through is not necessarily a requirement, depending on the type of B2B purchase you want to make. When shopping for specific items, your company may benefit from a configurator and bid function rather than browsing and searching an online catalog. Lastly, the type of connection between B2B and B2C differs. When you are connecting to a B2B application to make a purchase, you are normally connecting to one partner (a buy-side or sell side application) or several trusted partners (an e-marketplace or Trading partner agreement application). Because you are dealing with a relatively static list of trading partners, virtual private network (VPN) technology may be used to provide secure access to selected applications inside your firewall, thus avoiding the need to replicate data and applications outside your firewall. In summary, B2B applications have these unique characteristics that set them apart from B2C applications:
y y y y

Different types of purchases and authorizations Unique contracts, terms, and conditions for different business customers Participation in customer's supply chain Variety of customer sizes, demands, and requirements

Innovation in Marketing
Marketers in many industries know that innovation through new product development is vital to remain competitive. But product decisions are not the only areas affected by new developments. As weve discussed throughout the Principles of Marketing Tutorials, innovation can affect almost all marketing areas. Below is a sampling of how innovation has affected different marketing areas:

Marketing Area Marketing Research

Effect of Innovation Creates new ways to conduct research including more sophisticated methods for monitoring and tracking customer behavior and analyzing data. Allows for extreme target marketing where marketing-to-person is replacing mass marketing. For customer service, technology makes it easier to manage relationships and allows for rapid response to customer s needs. Creates new digital products/services. Incorporation of innovation into existing product/service enhances value by offering improved quality, features & reliability at a lower price.

Targeting Markets

Product

Promotion

New techniques allow better matching of promotion to customer activity and individualized promotion. Makes it easier for sellers to offer product suggestions and promotional tie-ins. Creates new channels for distribution and transaction (e.g., electronic commerce) that include making it easier for buyers to place orders. Allows more control over inventory management and closer monitoring of product shipment Enables the use of dynamic pricing methods.

Distribution

Pricing

Arguably the external force possessing the greatest potential for changing how marketers and industries compete are those associated with innovation. When most people think of innovation they immediately assume it has to do with computers and other high-tech equipment. While the majority of innovative new products rely in some way on computer technology, it is not a requirement for something to be considered innovative. Instead, an innovation is viewed as anything new that solves needs by offering a significant advantage (e.g., more features, more convenient, easier to use, lower cost, etc.) over existing ways (e.g., products, services). For example, a designer of automobiles may develop a new layout for a cars dashboard using existing products (no new technologies). This new design reduces the amount of time a driver must take his eyes off the road in order to select a new music station. If this new layout is viewed positively by customers, governmental groups and the media it may gain widespread acceptance by other vehicle manufacturers who will make similar designs available in their products. As noted in the above example, for an innovation to be truly important it must be widely adopted within a targeted group (e.g., within an industry, by a target market). Once adopted an innovation becomes important if it leads to behavioral changes including changing how consumers and business satisfy their needs. These changes present both opportunities and threats to marketers. For instance, over the last few years several small companies have created productivity software products (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet) that operate over the Internet. These products do not require the software be downloaded to a users computer. While these innovative products are not new in terms of the features they offer, they are new in terms of convenience in accessing documents from anywhere and the ability to share with others. It remains to be seen whether these products will alter behavior, though it appears that one leading maker of traditional productivity software, Microsoft, has recognized this as a threat and is expected to respond with its own version of web-based software. Because of the potential innovation has in affecting products and industries it is no surprise that many marketing organizations direct a significant amount of funds to researching this external force. In fact, in many industries, such as pharmaceuticals and computers, spending on technological research and development represents a significant portion of a companys overall budget.

Business Buying Behavior

The business market is comprised of organizations that, in some form, are involved in the manufacture, distribution or support of products or services sold or otherwise provided to other organizations. The amount of purchasing undertaken in the business market easily dwarfs the total spending by consumers. Because the business market is so large it draws the interest of millions of companies worldwide that market exclusively to business customers. For these marketers understanding how businesses make purchase decisions is critical to their organizations marketing efforts. In some ways understanding the business market is not as complicated as understanding the consumer market. For example, in certain business markets purchase decisions hinge on the outcome of a bidding process between competitors offering similar products and services. In these cases the decision to buy is often whittled down to one concern who has the lowest price. Thus, unlike consumer markets, where building a recognizable brand is very important, for many purchase situations in the business market this is not the case. However, in many other ways business buying is much more complicated. For instance, the demand by businesses for products and services is affected by consumer purchases (called derived demand) and because so many organizations may have a part in creating consumer purchases, a small swing in consumer demand can create big changes in business purchasing. Automobile purchases are a good example. If consumer demand for cars increases many companies connected with the automobile industry will also see demand for their products and services increase (we will later refer to these companies as supply chain members). Under these conditions companies will ratchet up their operations to ensure demand is met, which invariably will lead to new purchases by a large number of companies. In fact, it is conceivable that an increase of just one or two percent for consumer demand can increase business demand for products and services by five or more percent. Unfortunately, the opposite is true if demand declines. Trying to predict these swings requires businesses to not only understand their immediate customers but also the end user, which as we will discuss, may be well down the supply chain from where the business operates. This section of our highly detailed Principles of Marketing Tutorials discusses the unique characteristics of the business market. We will see that marketers must appeal to business customers in ways that are distinct from how they would approach consumers. While marketers selling to other businesses operate with most of the same marketing tools used by marketers of consumer products, how they employ these tools to reach their marketing objectives may be quite different.