In consumer marketing, consumers make buying decisions based on certain mental stages such as need recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. But, in industrial markets the buying decision making process includes observable sequential stages involving many people in the buying organisation. The understanding of these steps/phases of buying-decision making is helpful to an industrial marketer to develop an appropriate selling strategy. The purchasing activities of industrial buyers consist of various steps/phases in buying decision making process. The importance of each step depends upon the type of buying situation. The industrial marketers should understand both (step in decision-making process and the type of buying situations) to market the product or service. In 1967, Robinson, Faris, and Wind developed Continue reading
Industrial Marketing
Industrial marketing, also known as business-to-business (B2B) marketing, is a branch of communications and sales that specializes in providing goods and services to other businesses, rather than to individual customers.
Nature of Demand in Industrial Markets
The demand for industrial products and services does not survive by itself. It is derived from the ultimate demand for consumer goods and services. Therefore, industrial demand is called derived demand. Sometimes, the demand for industrial product is called joint demand, when the demand for a product depends upon its use along with the existence of other product or products. Cross elasticity of demand exists for some substitute products in industrial market. These concepts are detailed as follows: Derived Demand The single most important force in marketing of industrial products and services is derived demand. Industrial customers buy goods and services for making the use in producing other goods and services and finally produced product/service sold to the consumers. In Continue reading
Application of Direct Marketing Tools in Industrial Marketing
Direct Marketing is a recent activity that has come up and is used extensively by the industrial marketers. The various tools used in direct marketing are direct mails, telemarketing and online marketing channels. A direct marketing channel does not involve any intermediary and the sale is done by the company by directly contacting the target customer. As the cost involved in direct marketing activity is much less compared to the cost of company sales force directly meeting the customers, many industrial organizations prefer this tool. This tool aids the sales force to gain entry into prospective customer’s office where prospective customers are identified beforehand and are informed about the company products. Direct Mail The existing and prospective customers are mailed Continue reading
Sales Promotion in Industrial Marketing
Sales promotion is an activity used by the industrial marketer to boost the immediate sales of a product or service. It is used to increase the sales by impressing the customers, rewarding them and also motivating the sales force to get more business. There are different techniques used in a industrial sales promotion activity like a free-sample campaign, offering free gifts, arranging demonstrations or exhibitions, organizing competitions with attractive prizes, temporary price reductions, door-to-door calling, telemarketing, using personal letters, etc. More than any other element of the promotional mix, sales promotion is about “action”. It is about stimulating customers to buy a product. It is not designed to be informative — a role which advertising is much better suited to. Continue reading
Publicity and Public Relations in Industrial Marketing
Publicity When any significant news about a product is made known to the people through a published medium like radio, television, newspaper or otherwise, such kind of act is known is publicity. Publicity has very high credibility in the eyes of organizational buyers as the sponsor does not pay anything for publicity and it is not a part of any promotional program. It is the least costly promotional alternative available for the company that is very effective. Publicity helps to generate sales leads and improves relationship with customers. Technical articles published in trade journals about a company or products with the identity of authors (such articles are called as signed articles) improve the image of the company and the products. Continue reading
Industrial Marketing Environment
Industrial buyers and sellers operate in a dynamic environment. One constantly poising new opportunities and threats. The industrial marketing environment could be divided into three levels namely the interface level, the public’s level and the macro environment level. The Interface Level This involves those key participants who immediately interface with an industrial firm (buyer or seller) in facilitating production, distribution and purchase of firm’s goods and services. Supply inputs are transformed by a company and its competitors into outputs with added value that move on to the end markets, the move being made through the firms interface with industrial distributors and dealers, manufacturers representatives and the company’s own sales people. That move is made possible by a firms interface with Continue reading