Exam 7: Business Markets and Buying Behavior

Businesses follow a defined buying decision process in order to ensure the goods and services they purchase will meet their organization's needs. The process has multiple stages; in one of the stages, the business will consider a proposal usually given to them in writing by a supplier. This stage may include competitive bidding depending on the company. This proposal consideration takes place in which of the following stages of the business buying decision process?

Both consumer and business purchase decisions begin when the recognition of problems, needs, or opportunities triggers the buying process.

When the B2B market is segmented on the basis of product specifications issued by buyers, it is known as _____ segmentation.

You are marketing MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines, which are extremely expensive medical devices. You've just received a database containing all kinds of information about hundreds of medical facilities across the country. Which piece of information might be most useful in determining which facilities are most likely to be able to afford your machines?

Paolo sells telephone systems for medium and large businesses. He's just heard through the grapevine that InfoTech, a company with about 500 employees, will soon be in the market for a new telephone system, and he would love to land the account. Which of the following organizational factors is least likely to help Paolo earn this business?

Which of the following stages of the organizational buying process involves comparing vendors' proposals?

You are a sales representative for a major computer products company in Nashville, Tennessee. Lowe's Home Improvement is one of your major clients, and you like to entertain the company's employees regularly to maintain good business relationships. Because you do not have an unlimited entertainment budget, you must be selective in regard to the company employees whom you entertain. You want to make sure you are getting the greatest benefit for your entertainment dollars. You have found that the most influential people in the company are those who control the flow of information to everyone else in the organization. These are the people you want to spend your time and money entertaining. Based on this finding, you should:

Marketers need to be thoroughly familiar with the organizational buying process, which always follows a sequence of seven steps.

You're an account manager for a company that makes highly customized laser-cutting machine tools. One of your long-time customers, Claymore Custom Cabinetry, has indicated that they might be in the market for a new laser cutter for cutting granite countertops as demand for these custom products has been steadily increasing. What do you do to encourage them to take the next step?

Marketers must be well versed in the technical features of their products, to effectively address the concerns of all the people involved in the buying decision.

Megan is looking for a graphic designer to create her company's next annual report, so she is reviewing portfolios from about a dozen different designers. Now she needs to choose five, and ask each one to submit a written proposal describing their ideas, process, timeline, and fees. Which of the following actions will have the greatest interpersonal influence on her choice of five designers?

For more than 20 years, your company has been working closely with the U.S. military to design and build unmanned drones. Now that your products have become so well known, you feel it's time to capitalize on their popularity by selling to a different market category. What would be your best option?

As the marketing manager for Uniforms R Us, a company that sells, cleans, and repairs company uniforms, you're looking for regional businesses that supply uniforms to their employees. Which set of characteristics should you use to develop a list of qualified businesses to target?

The buyer has the formal authority to select a supplier and to implement the procedures for securing the good or service.

Connor is a sales representative with Sherwin Williams. He typically calls on facility managers in hospitals, office buildings, apartment complexes, and schools to discuss their paint and specialty coating needs. He's talking with his aunt at Thanksgiving and trying to explain the difference between his role as a sales representative and the counter or inside sales representative that his aunt might encounter within the Sherwin Williams retail store. Which of the following characteristics might be true for Connor in his role as a B2B sales representative with Sherwin Williams?

You are the manager of a clothing manufacturing firm with operations in different countries. Your Vietnamese manufacturing facility is dedicated solely to producing elementary school uniforms for the U.S. market. Most of your product output is sold to a larger school uniform company in the United States called School Uniforms, Inc. School Uniforms, Inc. has major contracts with (and sells its uniforms to) school districts such as the San Diego Unified School District. In this scenario, the San Diego Unified School District is part of which of the following business markets?

Your Pies Inc. supplies desserts to restaurants. Its purchasing decision makers are subject to many influences; among the most important are the state of the economy, the cost of flour, food safety regulations, and competition. All of these influences have certain characteristics in common. They are:

A manufacturer who produces glass for microwave oven doors, shower enclosures, and patio tabletops is likely to segment his business customers on the basis of:

The function performed by the gatekeeper in the company buying center is to:

A firm deciding to purchase more energy-efficient machines in response to rising fuel prices illustrates the first step in the business buying process.