When
trying to market products, the consumer market can be a hostile world. You could grab any Sunday newspaper and find
a dozen ads marketing the same type of product with competitive prices. For instance, refrigerators have a large,
competitive consumer market. Consumers
can be influenced by several factors when making a decision on a product. A consumer may be influenced by price,
product features, manufacturer’s reputation, or even visual appeal.
When
marketing, it is important to consider the five stages of a buyer’s decision
process (http://www.udel.edu/alex/chapt6.html):
1.
Need recognition
2.
Information search
3.
Evaluation of
alternatives
4.
Purchase
5.
Post-purchase
evaluation
A buyer must first understand his/her need for a new
product. Once a need is recognized, the
buyer will do research on the best possible solutions to his/her need. This research may include pricing, comparing
models, and/or reading reviews of products/companies. After research is done, the buyer will more
than likely have a decision in mind.
He/She may evaluate the alternatives to the product or even alternatives
to the original need. The buyer will
then make the purchase. Finally, the
buyer will evaluate the product and determine whether the product was a
valuable investment or not.
When a
new product is released, it is typically diffused into the market in five
stages(faculty.swosu.edu/.../New%20product%20adoption%20&):
1.
Innovators –
well-educated risk takers
2.
Early adopters –
opinion leaders
3.
Early majority –
middle class
4.
Late majority – older,
conservative
5.
Laggards/non-adopters
– traditional, conservative, refuses change
A business market is defined as “actual or nominal place
where forces of demand and supply operate, and
where buyers and sellers interact (directly or
through intermediaries) to trade goods, services,
or contracts or instruments, for money or barter”
(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/market.html) There are several factors that influence a
business buyer’s behavior:
1.
Cultural factors – culture/social class
2.
Social factors – family, roles
3.
Personal factors – personality/lifestyle
4.
Psychological – perception/learning
There are eight general steps in the business buying process:
1.
Need recognition
2.
Definition of characteristics and quantity
3.
Development of specs
4.
Search for suppliers
5.
Proposal or quote solicitation
6.
Evaluation of proposals and supplier selection
7.
Selection of an order routine
8.
Performance evaluation and feedback
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