| Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior 179
Chapter 6 | Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior 179
Systems—a market leader in Web networking hard- ware, software, and services—as one of its “10 great B-to-B Web sites”: 8
To spur growth, Cisco Systems recently stepped up its focus on the small and midsize business (SMB) segment. Its award-winning new SMB-specific Web site is simple, action-oriented, and engaging but gives SMB buyers deep access. At the most basic level, customers can find and download informa- tion about thousands of Cisco products and ser- vices. Digging deeper, the site is loaded with useful video content—everything from testimonials to “how to” videos to informational and educational on-demand Webcasts.
Cisco’s SMB site gets customers interacting with both the company and its partner resellers. For example, its live click-to-chat feature puts users in immediate touch with Cisco product ex-
Online buying: The Cisco Systems site helps customers who want to
perts. WebEx Web-conferencing software connects
purchase online by providing deep access to information about thousands of products and services. The site can also personalize the online experience
potential SMB customers with appropriate Cisco
for users and connect them with appropriate Cisco partner resellers.
partner resellers, letting them share Web pages, PowerPoints, and other documents in a collabora-
tive online space. Finally, the Cisco SMB site can actually personalize the online expe- rience for users. For example, if it detects that someone from the legal industry is paying attention to wireless content, it might put together relevant pieces of content to create a page for that visitor. Such personalization really pays off. Customers visiting personalized pages stay two times longer than other visitors and go much deeper into the site.
Business-to-business e-procurement yields many benefits. First, it shaves transaction costs and results in more efficient purchasing for both buyers and suppliers. E-procurement reduces the time between order and delivery. And a Web-powered purchasing program eliminates the paperwork associated with traditional requisition and ordering procedures and helps an organization keep better track of all purchases. Finally, beyond the cost and time savings, e-procurement frees purchasing people from a lot of drudgery and paper- work. In turn, it frees them to focus on more-strategic issues, such as finding better supply sources and working with suppliers to reduce costs and develop new products.
To demonstrate these advantages, consider Kodak. When it remodeled its headquarters facilities in Rochester, New York, it used e-procurement only. From demolition to restora- tion, the massive project involved managing more than 1,600 contract bids from 150 contrac- tors. Throughout the project, e-procurement reduced paperwork and speeded up review and award times. In the end, the project was completed on time, and Kodak estimates that using e-procurement saved 15 percent on purchasing-process costs (including $186,000 on photocopying expenses alone). 9
The rapidly expanding use of e-procurement, however, also presents some problems. For example, at the same time that the Web makes it possible for suppliers and customers to share business data and even collaborate on product design, it can also erode decades-old customer-supplier relationships. Many buyers now use the power of the Web to pit suppli- ers against one another and search out better deals, products, and turnaround times on a purchase-by-purchase basis.
E-procurement can also create potential security disasters. Although e-mail and home banking transactions can be protected through basic encryption, the secure environment that businesses need to carry out confidential interactions is sometimes still lacking. Com- panies are spending millions for research on defensive strategies to keep hackers at bay. Cisco Systems, for example, specifies the types of routers, firewalls, and security procedures
180 Part Two | Understanding the Marketplace and Consumers
that its partners must use to safeguard extranet connections. In fact, the company goes even further; it sends its own security engineers to examine a partner’s defenses and holds the partner liable for any security breach that originates from its computers.
Institutional and Government
Author These two nonbusiness Comment organizational markets
provide attractive opportunities for many companies. Because of their
Markets (pp 180–182)
unique nature, we give them special So far, our discussion of organizational buying has focused largely on the buying behavior attention here. of business buyers. Much of this discussion also applies to the buying practices of institu-
tional and government organizations. However, these two nonbusiness markets have addi- tional characteristics and needs. In this final section, we address the special features of institutional and government markets.
Parts
» | Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value 3
» | Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value 11
» | Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value 13
» | Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value 25
» | Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value 29
» | Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 37
» | Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 41
» | Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 43
» | Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 51
» | Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 55
» | Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 57
» | Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 63
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 65
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 71
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 73
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 77
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 79
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 81
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 85
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 87
» | Analyzing the Marketing Environment 89
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 97
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 99
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 103
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 109
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 111
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 113
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 115
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 127
» | Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 131
» | Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior 133
» | Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior 137
» | Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior 141
» | Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior 143
» | Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior 159
» | Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior 163
» | Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior 165
» | Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior 175
» | Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior 179
» What is Eaton’s value proposition?
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 189
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 193
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 197
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 203
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 205
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 207
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 209
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 211
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 213
» | Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers 219
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 223
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 225
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 229
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 237
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 245
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 247
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 249
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 251
» | Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 257
» | New Product Development and Product Life-Cycle Strategies 259
» | New Product Development and Product Life-Cycle Strategies 271
» | New Product Development and Product Life-Cycle Strategies 273
» | New Product Development and Product Life-Cycle Strategies 279
» | New Product Development and Product Life-Cycle Strategies 281
» | Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 289
» | Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 291
» | Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 295
» | Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 299
» | Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 305
» | Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 307
» | Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value 339
» | Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value 347
» | Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value 351
» | Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value 367
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 373
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 377
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 379
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 393
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 395
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 397
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 401
» | Retailing and Wholesaling 405
» | Communicating Customer Value: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy 407
» | Communicating Customer Value: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy 411
» | Communicating Customer Value: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy 413
» | Communicating Customer Value: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy 415
» | Communicating Customer Value: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy 429
» | Communicating Customer Value: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy 433
» | Advertising and Public Relations 435
» | Advertising and Public Relations 439
» | Advertising and Public Relations 441
» | Advertising and Public Relations 443
» | Advertising and Public Relations 445
» | Advertising and Public Relations 447
» | Advertising and Public Relations 449
» | Advertising and Public Relations 453
» | Personal Selling and Sales Promotion 463
» | Personal Selling and Sales Promotion 469
» | Personal Selling and Sales Promotion 471
» | Personal Selling and Sales Promotion 481
» How is the sales force at Nestlé Waters structured? outsells its top competitors.
» | Direct and Online Marketing: Building Direct Customer Relationships 495
» | Direct and Online Marketing: Building Direct Customer Relationships 499
» | Direct and Online Marketing: Building Direct Customer Relationships 507
» | Direct and Online Marketing: Building Direct Customer Relationships 509
» | Direct and Online Marketing: Building Direct Customer Relationships 515
» | Direct and Online Marketing: Building Direct Customer Relationships 525
» | Creating Competitive Advantage 527
» | Creating Competitive Advantage 529
» | Creating Competitive Advantage 537
» | Creating Competitive Advantage 549
» | The Global Marketplace 551
» | The Global Marketplace 553
» | The Global Marketplace 561
» | The Global Marketplace 573
» | Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics 581
» | Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics 583
» | Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics 587
» | Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics 595
» | Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics 603
» | Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics 605
» | Marketing by the Numbers A21
» | Marketing by the Numbers A27
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