1. Copyright ©The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display
4-1

2. Chapter 4
Organizational
Buyer Behavior
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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3. SELLING BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
SUCCESSFULLY. UNDERSTANDING WHAT
MAKES BUYERS BUY
THE THEORIES OF BUYER MOTIVATION
• BUYING DETERMINATES THEORY
- THINK: WHAT FACTORS AFFECT THE BUYER?
• ROLE THEORY
- THINK: WHAT ROLE IS A BUYER PLAYING?
• BEHAVIOR CHOICE THEORY
- THINK: WHAT STEPS WILL A BUYER TAKE?
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4. BUYING DETERMINANTS THEORY
Environmental factors
Market factors
Organizational
factors
Individual
factors
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Exhibit 4-1
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5. BUYING CENTER ROLES
PERSON ROLE
•Secretary •Initiator-reports that fax
keeps breaking down
•Vice President •Controller-sets budget for
purchase of new fax
•Office Manager
•Gatekeeper-gathers review
from vendors.
•Secretary & Office Manager
•Influencers-view demonstrations
narrow choices
•Office Manager
•Recommender-recommends a
particular product to decision
maker
•Vice President of Operations
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Business Marketing, 4/e •Decision Maker – Selects fax to
Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 4-5
purchase

6. DIMENSIONS OF BUYING CENTERS
• TIME DIMENSIONS
• TIME IS HIGHLY FRAGMENTED: Many participants for short
time participation
• TIME IS NOT FRAGMENTED: Same people stay through entire
process
• VERTICAL DIMENSIONS
• How many layers of management are involved in decision-making
• HORIZONTAL DIMENSIONS
• How many departments are involved in decision-making
• FORMALIZATION DIMENSION
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• Purchasing tasks and roles are guided and enforced by written

7. TIME FRAGMENTATION INFLUENCES
SELLER’S MARKETING EFFORTS
INVOLVEMENT INFLUENCE
NUMBER OF DECISION MAKERS
HIGHLY MANY FEW MINIMALLY
FRAGMENTED A LITTLE A LOT FRAGMENTED
TIME SPENT ON DECISION STAGES
DECISION CYCLE TIME INFLUENCE
SIZE OF BUYING CENTER
LONGER LARGE SMALL SHORTER
DECISION CYCLE A LITTLE A LOT DECISION CYCLE
EXPERIENCE OF DECISION MAKERS
Sales objective is to move to the right on the continuum
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8. RECOGNIZING THE
BUYER’S DILEMMA: RISK
THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF RISK TO OVERCOME
• FINANCIAL RISK
• POTENTIAL FOR LOST REVENUE WITH
FAULTY PRODUCT
• PERFORMANCE RISK
• PRODUCT WON’T PERFORM AS INTENDED
• SOCIAL RISK
• THE PURCHASE WILL NOT MEET APPROVAL OF A
REFERENCE GROUP
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 4-8
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9. OVERCOMING RISK
• THREE OPTIONS BUYERS USE TO REDUCE
RISK
• GATHER MORE INFORMATION FROM
MORE SOURCES
• USING LOYALTY TO PRESENT SUPPLIERS—
BUILD TRUST
• SPREAD THE RISK BY USING MORE
DECISION MAKERS OR GETTING MORE
SUPPLIERS
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10. USING INFORMATION TO REDUCE RISK
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Personal selling
Personal selling Sales literature
Sales literature
Trade shows
Trade shows Advertising
Advertising
Commercial
Telemarketing
Telemarketing Websites
Websites
E-mail
E-mail Direct mail
Direct mail
Word ofof mouth from
Word mouth from
Noncommercial colleagues,
colleagues,
Trade publications
consultants, and
consultants, and
coworkers
coworkers
Personal Impersonal
EXHIBIT 4-5
4-10

11. BEHAVIOR CHOICE MODEL
1. IDENTIFY SITUATION
Company and self-orientation
2. EVALUATE PERSONAL RELEVANCE
Determine Rewards
3. ASSESS ACTION ALTERNATIVES AN
REQUREMENTS
4. CHOOSE A BEHAVIOR STRATEGY
Defensive or Offensive
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
EXHIBIT 4-6
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12. EXPANDED BUYING DETERMINANTS THEORY
Environmental factors
Market factors
Organizational Factors
Extrinsic reward systems Policies supporting
Role expectations vertical and horizontal
Corporate culture and dimensions
intrinsic rewards
Cross-functional
purchasing teams
Individual factors
Experience: new buy straight rebuy
Choice of reward-Role orientation
Valence of reward
Probability perceptions
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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