Exam 7: Business Markets and Buying Behavior

The buying center is an informal group whose size and composition vary among purchase situations and firms.

You've just started a new job as the marketing director for a company that makes and sells printing presses. On your first day, the sales manager storms into your office and demands your help with a long-time, valued customer. Because you understand the importance of product in the B2B market, you:

Consumers are demanding more and better services from retailers these days, and you've recognized this as an opportunity. You can envision businesses--everything from grocery stores to office supply stores to dry cleaners--hiring your company to deliver orders to their customers. You obviously want to market your company to the businesses that are most likely to use your service, so which of these demographic characteristics should you use to segment your prospects?

Amy works for a small business firm that specializes in the home furnishing design business. She is the head of the textiles department and coordinates with 25 textile manufacturers around the world to ensure that her firm has the best supplies on the market. Each quarter, Amy meets with each of the manufacturers and then brings back her top picks to share with the rest of her team at her company. The company's owner values Amy's opinions, especially since the company's profits have continually increased for 10 years. This year, however, the company's overhead costs have increased, and Amy and her team need to figure out why. Which of the following can be said is a drawback of having Amy to serve in the role described above?

You own a public relations firm in Sacramento, California. Several months ago, the campaign manager for one of California's senators hired your company to handle PR for the upcoming re-election campaign, and you've been working with the campaign team continuously ever since. This morning you received an email from the campaign manager, saying she'd like to schedule a meeting. In the context of the typical organizational buying process, what would you anticipate discussing in this meeting?

Your company manufactures specialty fabrics, and your engineers have just developed an incredibly durable, yet breathable and lightweight fabric that will be ideal for running and walking shoes. Given this development, which environmental factor should you emphasize when marketing this new product to shoe manufacturers?

As a freelance website and app developer, you are responsible for marketing and selling your own services. You've been trying to get your foot in the door of a large corporation in your city, but you're getting stonewalled and cannot determine who you need to connect with to make a sales presentation. You're having issues with understanding:

You're a partner at O'Leary, Ford, and Bradley Legal Services, and one of your responsibilities is to get new business for your law firm. You've heard from a friend that a mid-sized corporation in your city has terminated their agreement with their old law firm and is looking for a new one that's a better fit for their needs. What do you expect them to do next, and how should you respond?

Describe the major approaches used by marketers to segment business-to-business markets.

You're a sales rep for a company that manufactures picture frame moldings, which you sell to independent picture framers in your region. Your company has just rolled out a new line of premium, gold-leaf frame moldings, which are slightly more expensive than most of your products but are absolutely beautiful. You're about to make a sales pitch to one of your favorite customers, Marianna Garcia, a framer you've enjoyed doing business with for more than five years. Which of the following is most likely to have the greatest influence over Marianna's decision to start carrying your new line?

When Cannondale purchases aluminum for use in its bicycle frames, the company is participating in the commercial market.

At the Union, New Jersey, headquarters of Bed, Bath, and Beyond (BB&B), Tiana receives product information from manufacturers about sheets, towels, and other similar products. After reviewing the literature to determine which products meet BB&B's general requirements, she forwards only the pertinent information on to her boss. Tiana is a ______ at BB&B.

Which of the following buying center participants chooses a good or service, although another person may have the formal authority to complete the sale?

Located in countless cities across the United States, SalonCentric is part of the reseller business market, providing wholesale hair and beauty products exclusively for licensed cosmeticians.

Governmental organizations represent the largest segment of the B2B marketplace.

Great news! You're on the phone with the operations manager of a group of five office parks in the Pacific Northwest, and she's telling you that you've been awarded the contract to become their new paint supplier. She asks, "Where do we go from here?" How do you respond?

A buying center is a basic component of a firm's formal organizational structure.

B2B relationships tend to last longer than those in the consumer market.

Name any product sold by a reseller and describe (a) who the customer for the product is and (b) at least three types of organizations in the commercial market that contribute components used in producing the product.

As compared to business-to-business marketing, consumer marketing puts greater emphasis on advertising.