Download Dea Meloche - Chapter 6 Homework

Dea Meloche
Marketing Fundamentals
Mr. Fieber
Chapter 6
2. Compare and contrast the buying behavior of final consumers and organizational buyers. In
what ways are they most similar and in what ways are they most different?
Final consumers and organizational buyers both make purchases to satisfy needs. However, final
consumers buy for many different reasons to meet many different needs; organizational buyers
typically make purchases to satisfy their customers and make a profit. Organizational buyers do
not buy emotionally, they buy economically. They are focused on total cost of the purchase and
the profit (or benefit) it will provide.
Organizational buyers, like consumers, conduct research when considering a purchases but
organizational buyers must meet specifications set by the organization when choosing a vendor
or product. Most companies have purchasing managers who are experts in their particular area.
Consumers don’t usually have the benefit of having expert knowledge before they make a
purchase decision.
Both consumers and organizational buyer’s purchases involve behavioral dimensions; however,
consumers can make a decision without having to get a lot of people with a lot of different
agendas to agree. Also, organizational buyers have to be aware of ethical conflicts, which the
consumer probably isn’t faced with.
Lastly, consumers must decide how much they are willing to spend as do organizational buyers.
The difference is that consumers don’t have to consider as many dimensions of the cost of the
purchase as organizational buyers. Organizational buyers have to consider the original cost, the
ongoing cost, the quality, the dependability, and the profitability of the purchase.
10. Would a tool manufacturer need a different marketing strategy for a big retail chain like
Home Depot than for a single hardware store run by its owner? Discuss your answer.
The marketing strategy for Home Depot and a single hardware store owner would have to be
different. Home Depot would require a more quantitative presentation. The potential vendor
would have to show that they are already successful with other retailers or have a very
innovative product. The agreement would involve contract negotiations which may even involve
relationship-specific arrangements and would definitely involve a lot of people. Once the
relationship is established, the quality of the products would probably become more important
than a personal relationship between seller and buyer.
The marketing strategy for a single hardware store owner would probably focus more on a
personal relationship, although providing quality products would still be important. It would be
a more one-on-one sales and marketing strategy and not require all the paperwork and
negotiations because the owner more than likely makes the purchasing decisions on their own.
11. How do you think a furniture manufacturer’s buying habits and practices would be affected by
the specific type of product purchased? Consider fabric for upholstered furniture, a lathe for
the production line, cardboard for shipping cartons, and lubricants for production machinery.
A furniture manufacturer would probably have several vendors they deal with for fabric and
probably would make frequent purchases based on trends. When purchasing equipment like a
lathe, which is probably an infrequent purchase, they would more than likely do research and
find the best model they can afford. The company would most likely have a specific vendor that
produced their shipping cartons because the cartons would probably have the furniture
manufacturers name or logo to identify it. When purchasing lubricants for production
machinery, this would probably be purchased in bulk to get a better price and they may have
one or two vendors that they deal with.
16. Some critics argue that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act puts U.S. businesses at a
disadvantage when competing in foreign markets with suppliers from other countries that do
not have similar laws. Do you think that this is a reasonable criticism? Explain your answer.
I think it is naïve to think that it doesn’t put American businesses at a disadvantage but, by
making it illegal, America has maybe curtailed it a bit. It is horrible that corrupt governments
would line their own pockets when their citizens suffer and if America were to allow our
businesses to conduct themselves that way, we would only be condoning the corruption. It
makes it more difficult but American businesses seem to be doing well internationally so they
have obviously found ways around it. With the amendment of the law in 1988, they can just say
it is “grease” money, of course, and that it is customary in the local culture.