Page 94 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Unit 4: Business Markets and Business Buyer Behaviour

Notes

Task Collect three advertisements from trade magazines. Study and determine
who the target is? What are the objectives of these advertisements? Are
they appropriate?

Self Assessment

Fill in the Blanks:
5. Usually negotiation between buyers and sellers is a …………………… process.

6. A garments manufacturer would have demand for threads, buttons, fabrics etc. Such type
of demand is known as …………………… demand.

4.4 Factors Influencing Organisational Buyer Behaviour

The broad categories of factors that influence organisational buyer behaviour include:
1. Organisational culture
2. External influences on culture
3. Internal influences on culture
4. Purchase situation

4.4.1 Organisational Culture

Members of an organisation have certain beliefs and attitudes regarding the organisation and
how it operates. R. Deshpande and F. E. Webster, Jr, note that organisational culture (also
referred to as corporate culture) is much like lifestyle in that organisations vary dramatically in
how they make decisions and how they handle risky problems, innovation and change.
Organisational needs and desires are shaped and reflected in their culture and these, in turn,
influence how organisations approach decision-making.
4.4.2 External Influences on Culture

As gender, age, education and income refer to consumer demographics, the term firm graphics
refers to size, activities, objectives, location and industry category of an organisation.
Large organisations tend to have specialists in different disciplines that handle functions such as
purchasing, finance, marketing, production, engineering and general management etc., while
smaller ones may have just one or two individuals to handle all these responsibilities. Because
of their size, large organisations are generally complex as more individuals are involved in
managing the operations and often multiple individuals take part in making purchase decisions.
This means that supplier firms must direct their advertising and sales personnel efforts targeting
various functions. In case of a smaller firm, the same purchase decision might involve only the
owner or manager and a different media would be required to reach this person and one
message should be designed to address all the key purchase issues.
Activities and objectives of organisations are important factors that influence their style and
behaviour.

Example: The Indian Air Force would operate differently in purchasing fighter aircraft;
Indian Airlines approach would be totally different in acquiring Boeing aircraft for commercial
services.

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