Business Buying Behavior
Read this chapter, which provides an overview of business-to-business buying behavior. This chapter discusses how B2B markets differ from B2C markets, types of B2B buyers, buying centers, and stages of the B2B buying process. The chapter wraps up with a discussion of international B2B markets, e-commerce, and ethics in the B2B market. From this reading, you will learn what a buying center is and will be able to name the members of buying centers and describe their roles. Pay special attention to the concepts of the decision-making unit (DMU) and the purchase process.
Buying Centers
Key Takeaway
Buying
centers are groups of people within organizations who make purchasing
decisions. The buying centers of large organizations employ professional
buyers who, in a sense, shop for a living. They don't make all the
buying decisions in their companies, though. The other people who
provide input are users, or the people and groups within the
organization that actually use the product; influencers, or people who
may or may not use the product but have experience or expertise that can
help improve the buying decision; gatekeepers, or people who will
decide if and when a seller gets access to members of the buying center;
and deciders, or the people who make the final purchasing decision.
Interpersonal dynamics between the people in a buying center will affect
the choices the center makes. Personal factors, such as how likeable a
seller is, play a part because buyers are often overwhelmed with
information and will find ways to simplify their decision making.