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Slide 3: Dwyer-Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Table of Contents Preface I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities 6. Marketing Strategy 7. Weaving Marketing into the Fabric of the Firm III. Business Marketing Programming 8. Developing and Managing Products: What Do Customers Want? 9. Business Marketing Channels: Partnerships for Customer Service 10. Managing Customer Relationships 11. Communicating with the Market: Advertising, Public Relations & Trade Shows 12. IMC: The One-to-One Media 13. Sales and Sales Management 14. Pricing and Negotiating for Value IV. Managing Programs and Customers 15. Evaluating Marketing Efforts 16. Customer Retention and Maximization Cases Bama Pie, Ltd. BGH-Motorola Calox (A) (B) Carslberg United Breweries Ltd. Daynor Chemical Company ExhibitsPlus Fearless Eye Jewelmart.com Little Tikes Commercial Play Systems MacTec Control AB Majsperk (A) (B) (C) Marketing in the Hardwood Industry Metropol Base-Fort Security Group Northcrest Salmon
Slide 4: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Front Matter Preface © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Preface Preface Welcome to the second edition of Business Marketing: Connecting Strategy, Relationships and Learning. In the time that we’ve spent revising the first edition, the rapid change of business marketing has confirmed for us the need for this type of textbook. The revision still has each chapter opening with a profile of a company and its activities in the particular area of business marketing. As a provocative collage, they well capture the key dynamics in the business marketing arena. Information technology, especially the Internet, has brought new avenues for efficiency and market performance. It has also provided a latticework for new means of interfirm collaboration and coordination of value creation. Indeed, the imperatives for high performing buyer-seller relationships–e.g., supply chain management, customer lifetime value, R&D synergies–are stronger than ever. A bevy of new tools offer promise. Clearly, when considered in light of the continuing trend of global competition, the new information technologies buyers a range of new options and expectations. Business marketing today demands a sophisticated and intense customer focus combined with turn-on-a-dime strategic nimbleness. With that in mind, the 2nd edition of Business Marketing offers the following distinctions from other business marketing books. • No compartmentalization of the Internet! Yes, some books have dedicated chapters on it. And we pondered the merchandising lever it would give our McGraw-Hill/Irwin reps: “See, Chapter 6 is brand new coverage of eB2b.” But the Internet is a dynamic and ubiquitous tool that is rightly treated for its utility across many, many marketing strategies and tactics. The roles of the new information technology are highlighted throughout the text. Intense focus on relationships–developing, managing, maximizing. Attention to broad types of relationships–customers, channel partners, suppliers, network constituents and virtual communities. Development of marketing’s key role in the learning organization. Thorough and integrated treatment of marketing communications. • • • • Our Philosophy We named our book to distinguish it from the rest. Connecting was chosen because it is only through connecting that marketing works. Connecting new knowledge with developed knowledge is the essence of learning, and xxv
Slide 5: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Front Matter Preface © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 xxvi Preface learning is the essence of being market-driven. Connecting knowledge to people and people to knowledge is the essence of relationships. All of these connections are made in the context of marketing strategy. Truly, this book represents a unique approach to business marketing. Relationship marketing is not a buzzword or a set of sales techniques, nor is it a business fad to be quickly adopted and then dropped just as quickly. Nor does relationship marketing operate as an exclusive organizational philosophy or strategy. We believe that relationship marketing is a strategic choice, enabled by technology, driven by global competition, capable of being taught. Hence, we have created a true relationship marketing text and teaching package. Critical to this strategic choice is the organization’s ability to learn—hence our emphasis on learning organizations. Some may say that learning organization theory is not marketing—yet being market-driven requires an understanding of learning organizations and making learning happen. This text is theory-driven, but at the same time, we’ve worked hard to make it as howto as possible. Theory will guide people facing changing markets; the how-to will help them get started. We assume that students have had principles of marketing and now plan to explore the field of business marketing and perhaps enter the field after they graduate. Therefore, we want paint with vivid colors the creativity, dynamism, and nobility of business marketing. Furthermore, we want students to hit the ground running but capable of adapting to the changes that are bound to occur. Another objective is to integrate this course with others. You’ll find some material in this book that is unusual for a marketing text, but it is here because we hear from all sides that we have to break down the silos in academia. Readers should come away from this book with an understanding of the importance of not only other marketing courses, but also areas such as organizational behavior, accounting and finance. Business marketers don’t operate in a vacuum, so we’ve tried to sensitize them to the needs and contributions of others. A textbook is really only a part of the experience. We welcome your feedback regarding the package. We hope you’ll share with us your victories and your concerns when teaching business marketing. Teaching Features There are a number of features unique to this text. For example, each chapter begins with an opening vignette, a focus on a firm or industry that illustrates the importance of the material in the chapter. Then, throughout the chapter, reference is made to that firm or industry. This running example highlights the importance of the opening vignette, increasing readership and helping each chapter come alive. Each opening vignette is followed by action-oriented learning objectives. While an excellent test bank has been developed using these objectives, we hope you will also find them useful in preparing essay and short-answer questions. Research indicates that students who use these are more able to identify important points as they read, increasing their learning, so we’ve taken great care in creating meaningful learning objectives. Another related feature is the Business 2 Business box. Each chapter has two of these boxes, which are designed to encourage reflective learning. Most are tied to the opening vignette, and each one will cause students to pause and reflect on the material they have just read. Not just a discussion question, a Business 2 Business box provides additional detail and orients students to a deep consideration of how business marketing principles are applied.
Slide 6: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Front Matter Preface © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Preface xxvii A Technology Icon flags Internet and other IT applications in business marketing. We’ve found this device directs students to etrapolate to additional uses of the new IT. It also enhances their perceptions of the “hip-ness” of business marketing, not to mention the text’s currency in the absence of a wrong-headed chapter on the Internet. Two From the Field boxes are included in each chapter, one of which focuses on an international issue or practice. These short stories illustrate key concepts as they’ve been applied by firms as big as IBM and as small as Freeman Exhibit Company. Our students tell us that these detailed examples are interesting and fun to read as well as helpful in keying on what is important in the chapter. Many From the Fields are original to this text, as we’ve conducted interviews and researched companies in order to create a feature that truly adds value to the student. Key terms can be found at the end of each chapter. Each key term is in bold print in the chapter’s sentence in which you find its definition. Further, each key term can also be found in what is probably the most comprehensive glossary of any business marketing text. We’ve made a significant effort to include both academic terms and the jargon of the field. Students familiar with these terms will enter the field speaking the language of business marketing. Each chapter has at least 10 discussion questions, which can be used in class or as homework. You’ll find questions that apply concepts, integrate material from earlier chapters, or require deep analysis of principles as well as questions that simply review the chapter. This variety of question types means that any reader, whether professor or student, can use these discussion questions for both in-class use and study. An Internet exercise is also offered for each chapter. These exercises are, for the most part, designed to encourage students to further explore concepts presented in the chapter within the context of the focus firm. For example, students are expected to find and evaluate press releases about Intel, the focus firm of the advertising, publicity, and trade show chapter. These exercises will increase students’ familiarity with the web while also encouraging them to conduct company research, applying concepts from the chapter. Two cases also follow each chapter. Cases are designed for homework and class discussion focusing on the immediate chapter. You’ll notice that many have data that require analysis, but the level of analysis is not as rigorous as with a longer case. Students will, however, have to carefully formulate their responses, synthesizing the concepts of each chapter with application. Additional readings are provided for upper-level courses. These readings represent recent research papers that provide relevant detail to the concepts covered in the chapter. Professors may want to assign these when using the book at the graduate or senior level, whereas undergraduate students can use these to begin research on term papers. Comprehensive cases can be found at the end of the book. These full-length cases are designed to integrate material across several chapters, and some are video cases, making use of video introductions to the written case. Many of these cases are new, some written especially for this text. Because we’ve developed an innovative text that deals with issues such as marketing’s role in the learning organization, it was often impossible to locate cases that fit, so we created new ones. We also found a number of colleagues who shared our concerns about existing cases and wrote their own, which they’ve contributed to this text. As a result, you’ll enjoy a number of cases involving global marketing issues presented within the context of typical marketing issues such as marketing communications planning. The 2nd edition features 5 cases new to the text. While many cases are newly published, all have been used by the case authors and they’ve given us excellent case notes.
Slide 7: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Front Matter Preface © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 xxviii Preface You’ll find these and other teaching tools in the Instructor’s Manual. Both of us have taught classes using this text and we’ve incorporated our years of experience in developing course outlines, lecture suggestions, class exercises, question answers, and transparencies (many of which are not from exhibits in the book). We are passionate about teaching quality, and believe you’ll find many useful ideas in the Instructor’s Manual. We would like to thank Professor Davis Folsom, University of South Carolina– Beaufort, for creating a Test Bank of the highest quality to accompany this text. Questions are tied directly to the learning objectives and the material covered in the discussion questions. Key terms are also an important element covered in the test questions. One of the most exciting features about this package, and certainly one that has been fun to put together, is the videotape library. After pressuring our contacts in the field to provide us with videotape that isn’t a part of other text packages, we’ve managed to locate some outstanding videos. You’ll also find the video cases in this library. Acknowledgments Bringing a textbook to the market is not a solitary endeavor. To have a really good package requires the support and input of a lot of people, and we’ve been blessed with an excellent team. You’ll notice an international flavor to this reviewer list. That was a purposeful move in order to ensure the global applicability of the book. The reviewers for this text were outstanding, and we’d like to acknowledge their contributions: Jeffrey Blodgett, University of Mississippi Brett Boyle, DePaul University William Carigan, III, Cintas and University of Cincinnati Robert Dahlstrom, University of Kentucky Altan Erdem, University of Houston, Clear Lake David Faulds, University of Louisville Don Glover, Metro State University Amjad Hadjikhani, Uppsala University, Sweden Suzanne Hertz, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden Frank Johnson, University of Western Sydney, Australia Vaughn Judd, Auburn University at Montgomery Karl Mann, Tennessee Technical University Ron Michaels, University of Central Florida Jakki Mohr, University of Montana Alfred Quinton, The College of New Jersey Mary Lou Roberts, University of Massachusetts, Boston Michael Smith, Christian Brothers University Steven Thrasher, Pacific Lutheran University David Urban, Virginia Commonwealth University Elizabeth Wilson Woodside, Louisiana State University
Slide 8: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Front Matter Preface © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Preface xxix Other faculty around the world gave us their cases. These wonderful people put a lot of time and effort into making these cases outstanding teaching tools. In appreciation of their gifts to the book, we thank Sven Gibson, Baylor University Mauricio Gonzales, ITESM, Mexico Tom Leigh, University of Georgia Faye McIntyre, Rockhurst College Ralph Oliva, Penn State University Jacqueline Pels, University Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina Lou Pelton, University of North Texas Some colleagues deserve a special thank-you. Thanks to Jim Comer, B.J. Zirger, Larry Chonko, and Mary Anne Raymond—colleagues with good examples and research with flesh and bones to hang on the data skeleton. Thanks also to Dave Wilson and the Institute for the Study of Business Markets for sparking research and interest in this field. Thanks to Constantine Polychroniou—and his students—for testing some of the revised chapters and cases in his business marketing class. Thanks to Bob Dahlstrom for encouraging us to showcase all the vistas in business marketing—not just steel and chemicals, but financial and marketing services, franchising, nonprofit customers, foodstuffs, and more. With the number of original From the Fields and opening vignettes, we’ve had to rely on the assistance of many practitioners. Without their help, the book would not be nearly as exciting, so we would like to thank them here: Denise Breiner, Kendle International, Inc. Courtney Chamberlain and Steve Sind, Center for Exhibition Industry Research Howard Gardner III, Florida Furniture Industries Jim Gudmens, First Data Corp. Pete Jones, Hydrotech Bernie Joyce, Martiny & Company Tim Keane, Retail Target Market Systems Richard Langlotz, Minolta Business Systems Joe McGrath, Xerox, The Document Company Laurie Spar and Dick Montesi, Direct Marketing Educational Foundation Lester Wells, Bradburn Company The creative support and encouragement from the McGraw-Hill/Irwin staff has been exemplary. We really appreciate the support of Linda Schreiber, Sarah Crago and the staff assembled for this project. Kudos too to Mary Reeg who found most of the photographs, Carol Bielski, who coordinated the production of the book. A number of people helped us with the manuscript preparation, including Cindy Lawless, Clint Dudley, Susan Seago, Amy Hereford, Elizabeth Vaughn, Dorynda Westbrook, and Patty Herbst. In addition, we’ve received helpful comments from our students who have used the text. They deserve our thanks, as do others who prefer to remain anonymous. Bob Dwyer Dwyerfr@email.uc.edu Jeff Tanner jeff_tanner@baylor.edu
Slide 9: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Front Matter Preface © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003
Slide 10: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing PART 1 BUSINESS MARKETS AND BUSINESS MARKETING Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior PART 2 FOUNDATIONS FOR CREATING VALUE PART 3 BUSINESS MARKETING PROGRAMMING PART 4 MANAGING PROGRAMS AND CUSTOMERS Chapter 15 Evaluating Marketing Efforts Chapter 16 Customer Retention and Maximization Chapter 17 The Future of Business Marketing Chapter 5 Market Opportunities Chapter 6 Marketing Strategy Chapter 7 Weaving Marketing into the Fabric of the Firm Chapter 8 Developing and Managing Products Chapter 9 Business Marketing Channels Chapter 10 Managing Customer Relationships Chapter 11 Communicating with the Market Chapter 12 IMC Chapter 13 Sales and Sales Management Chapter 14 Pricing and Negotiating for Value
Slide 11: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 C ongratulations! You have opened the book—really the door—to the dynamic world of business marketing. Get ready to explore a world that is brand new to most students. • We have organized Business Marketing into four parts. Briefly, Part I orients you to some of the unique phenomena and players in business markets. Part II delves into the world of strategic scanning, planning, and spanning in a business context in order to deliver superior value to customers. Part III covers the key areas of business marketing programming, from product development and channel management to the integration of advertising, trade shows, personal selling, websites, and more into a fitting communication strategy. Part IV closes the book with critical concepts for evaluating and controlling marketing efforts, and retaining customers. • Has Nestlé ever sent a specialist to your home to help you make the perfect iced tea for your weekend barbecue? In business markets, a seller’s personnel sometimes work directly with the customer. They help the customer define specifications and test new products; plan delivery schedules; train production, sales, and service personnel; and, inevitably, “fight fires.” In fact, exchange of personnel is just one means that buyer and seller in business markets relate. Part I provides the spectrum of buyer-seller relationships in business markets and addresses key motivations and challenges for their longevity. • Part I also distinguishes the business market from the more familiar consumer market in terms of its magnitude and volatility. More than a limited exposure to the varied relationships between organizations, we bet you have not purchased $40,000 of Steelcase furniture or invited participation by Service Master, Cintas, and other in a reverse auction for the opportunity to clean your apartment, nor have you received an invitation to stop by the Westvaco (envelopes) booth at the Promotion Management Association’s Trade Show and Convention. Thus, Part I previews important distinctions on the concentration of participants, the types of products and customers, and formal and social dimensions of the purchasing process. • So let’s get down to business. Part I introduces the fundamental character of business markets and the nature of decision making and purchasing by organizational customers—the very foundation for the strategic thinking we take up in Part II. •
Slide 12: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter BASF 4 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing What is BASF? You may own a videotape or cassette made by BASF, but most of its products are not available directly to consumers. From its advertising campaigns, it appears that it doesn’t exactly make anything (actually it makes chemicals), but it does make snowboards stronger, mattresses softer, boots drier, houses livelier, and carpets longer lasting. Can you go out and buy a BASF product to make your carpet longer lasting? No. So why does it advertise on TV? Who is its audience? • Its advertising is directed at the women and men who purchase products for their companies and to those people who design products such as snowboards, mattresses, and carpets. The purpose of the television ads is to create the image that BASF creates value in those products. BASF hopes that when its salespeople call on the buyers for snowboard, mattress, and carpet manufacturers, those buyers will recognize the BASF name, remember what BASF does, and let the salesperson in. • BASF further supports its salespeople with a website, advertising in trade publications, and exhibits at trade shows that continue the same theme of making things better. All of these marketing efforts are aimed at reaching the persons responsible for deciding what the final product (be it a mattress, snowboard, or carpet), will be, how it will be designed to compete, and the bundle of benefits it will provide. • The German company has annual revenues greater than 29 billion euros (or $26 billion), with 20 percent of its business in North America. The com-
Slide 13: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 http://www.basf.com pany operates five divisions: oil and gas, plastics and fibers, chemicals, colorants and finishing products, and health and nutrition. As you can see, most of its products are intended for commercial users. of the products you buy better.” • BASF says, “We don’t make a lot of the products you buy; we make a lot • Visit BASF’s home page: www.basf.com LEARNING OBJECTIVES • As you can see from the BASF story, you’ve probably encountered businessto-business marketing (or just business marketing, for short) without actually realizing it. Students are more familiar with consumer marketing, because they are the targets of consumer marketing. But the opportunities for careers in marketing are particularly attractive for students who enter business marketing (the marketing of products and services to other businesses). In this chapter, we introduce business marketing. After reading it, you should be able to • Define and explain the nature of business marketing. • Illustrate the different types of business markets and how they differ from consumer markets. • Discuss the nature of demand for business products and services. • Explain the different approaches to business marketing, as typified in the relationships between buyers and sellers. Business marketing is not the same as marketing to consumers. As you will see in this chapter, there are many differences that make business marketing unique and stimulating. At the same time, you will find what you learned in previous marketing courses to be helpful as you advance through this course. 5
Slide 14: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 6 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 1–1 Distribution of Salt Business marketing Business marketing McDonald’s Salt is added to fries. Consumer marketing You Salt mine Salt is mined. Morton’s Salt Salt is processed into food-grade or industrialgrade salt. Krogers Salt is sold in shakers. General Foods Salt is added to frozen dinners. THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS MARKETS How much salt does the average household in the United States use each year? Total food-grade salt sales for the United States are 1.33 million pounds annually. Consumption in the household, however, is 7–8 grams per day per person, which only equates to 824 thousand pounds. Why the difference? The consumption figure doesn’t count the amount of salt that is in processed foods (such as frozen dinners) or foods we purchase in restaurants. Businesses purchase and use over 500,000 pounds of food-grade salt per year, or almost 40 percent of total salt sales, for such purposes as making pickles, breakfast cereals, and other food products.1 Add to this amount the volume of industrial-grade salt (for such uses as chemical processes and salting frozen roads), and the industrial purchases of salt tower over consumer purchases. To look at the magnitude of industrial purchases a little differently, consider that General Motors spends more than $50 billion per year on products and services—more than the gross national product of Portugal or Greece. General Motors employs over 1,350 purchasing agents, who each spend over $31 million annually! There are few consumers with that kind of spending power! Most students, when they think of marketing, consider the marketing aimed at influencing their personal purchasing, which is marketing to consumers. Consumer purchases, however, represent a smaller dollar value than business purchases. Although marketing to consumers may be more obvious, more students will enter business marketing after graduation than consumer marketing. Business marketing is marketing products or services to other companies, government bodies, institutions (such as hospitals), and other organizations. McDonald’s and other companies buy products, such as salt, and services to use in the production of their product. Exhibit 1–1 illustrates a few of the possibilities for food-grade salt. Morton Salt also sells salt to food processors like General Foods (which use it in the food products they make) and to retailers (which sell salt to you). With the exception of the purchase you make, all of the buying and selling in the exhibit involves business marketing. Business marketing also includes the marketing of products and services that facilitate their operations. For example, McDonald’s purchases paper to run through its copiers. Copies facilitate McDonald’s real business, which is making hamburgers and fries. Marketing to government agencies and institutions (which also buy salt for cafeterias and other such uses) such as your college or university is also business marketing.
Slide 15: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 7 1–1 FROM THE FIELD Careers in Business Marketing M ore marketing majors begin their careers in business marketing than in consumer marketing; that is, their company’s customers are other companies, not consumers. One example is Jim Lesinski, one of Business Marketing’s Power 10 (the 10 most effective business marketers), who made the top 10 only seven years after graduating. In fact, fast movement often characterizes careers in business marketing. Stephanie Stewart is one example. She began in an entry-level marketing communications position with Ericsson (a Sweden-based global telecommunications company) immediately on graduating. Her duties included developing sales brochures, graphic design for trade show booths, and other general marketing responsibilities. She quickly moved up, taking a sales position and doubling her income. Stephanie’s not alone. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, marketing manager is one of the fastest growing positions. Nationally, 40 percent of all firms plan to increase their marketing hiring. For many companies, that means promoting people out of the sales force. Richard Langlotz started that way for Minolta Business Systems; after only a few years, he now heads up one of the leading branch offices. His responsibilities include managing the technical support staff, inventory management, and sales management. The trends look great for pay, too. Surveys show marketers’ salaries rising by 10 to 15 percent per year in fields such as industrial manufacturing and business-to-business high tech. Opportunities in small and large companies alike look to be strong for years to come. Sources: “Power 10,” Business Marketing (April 1999), pp. 21–26; Sam Allis, Marc Hequet, and David Jackson, “15 of the Hottest Fields,” Time (January 20, 1997), pp. 58–61; James Heckman, “Marketers Making $$$ in High Tech,” Marketing News (November 23, 1998), pp. 1, 20; Cyndee Miller, “Job Picture Brightest in Years,” Marketing News (August 29, 1994), pp. 1–2. Why Study Business Marketing? Business marketing is an exciting area of study. Students may be more familiar with consumer marketing; after all, everyone is a consumer. Business marketing, however, is new to most students. It is not the same as consumer marketing, and there are several compelling reasons for studying business marketing. Marketing Majors Begin in Business Marketing Are you a marketing major? As you can see in From the Field 1–1, more marketing majors find jobs with businesses that sell products or services to other businesses rather than with businesses that sell to consumers. For that reason alone, it seems worthwhile to study business marketing. Indeed, the majority of business school graduates—whether in accounting, finance, logistics, management, production, real estate, or quantitative methods—will find themselves working at firms doing business with other organizations. Many companies have awakened to the fact that they must be market-driven if they are to survive. Being marketdriven means that customer satisfaction and operational efficiency are the order of the day for every department and individual employee or associate. Market-driven means that at many organizations, individuals with complementary expertise and skills work in
Slide 16: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 8 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing teams to constantly strive to serve organizational customers better, to innovate, and to develop the means to approach new institutional markets. This book prepares you to make positive contributions to such teams in the business marketing environment. Magnitude of Business Marketing One reason that more marketing majors begin their careers in business marketing than in consumer marketing is because of the magnitude of business marketing. Purchases by organizations such as companies, government agencies, and institutions account for more than half of the economic activity in industrialized countries such as the United States, Canada, and France, making business marketing an important activity. As mentioned earlier, few consumers have the purchasing power of an organization. Understanding how organizations buy is important to marketers who want to capitalize on the size of the business market. Business Marketing Is Unique There would be no point in having a separate business marketing class if business marketing were the same as marketing to consumers. If one type of marketing fits all situations, then only one set of classes would be required. The way organizations buy is radically different from the way consumers purchase products and services, which results in different marketing requirements. Let’s examine some ways in which business marketing is unique. HOW BUSINESS MARKETING IS UNIQUE Business marketing is unique in that channels of distribution are shorter and more direct, there is more emphasis on personal selling and negotiation, the Web is fully integrated, and complex buying processes result in unique promotional strategies. Relationships are also different between buyer and seller when both are organizations than when one is an individual consumer. Because relationships are so important (indeed, relationship marketing is a major theme of this book), we’ll discuss it first. Buyer–Seller Relationships In consumer markets, there are few industries where close personal relationships exist between buyer and seller. Perhaps in those instances where personal selling is the most important element of the marketing mix and where customer service is also important, relationships between buyer and seller may exist. These situations, however, are rare. In business marketing, situations where strong personal and business relationships grow between buyer and seller are not as rare. The strategic importance of many purchases is too great for companies to always shop around when making a purchase; they need to make absolutely sure that the product fits their needs and that it will be available when needed at the right cost. Therefore, many companies enter into long-term contracts, build relationships that enable buyers and sellers to plan jointly, and work to secure the future for both companies. For example, BASF is a world leader in carpet fiber manufacturing. General Motors is constantly looking for ways to make cars and trucks less expensive to manufacture, as well as increasing the value delivered to consumers. BASF and GM work together with Gaskell plc. (a British carpet manufacturer) to improve the quality as well as the looks and life of automotive carpets. Note that the relationship extends from BASF to Gaskell
Slide 17: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 9 1–1 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Fishing for Business O ne company holds a series of fishing tournaments in which company employees are paired with customers and they compete for prizes. At first, the company was unsure of these tournaments’ value. After all, not everyone likes to fish. Over time, however, it found friendships developing between employees and customers who ordinarily wouldn’t have a chance to communicate, yet whose livelihoods depended heavily on each other. Not only has business grown as a result, both employees and customers are more satisfied with the company. Just how important are social relationships in business? to GM; a common element of business marketing is deep relationships between organizations at various levels of the industry. From the perspective of BASF, it makes sense to have a strong relationship with its customer, Gaskell. But it also makes sense for BASF to include Gaskell’s customers so that they can all work together. Shorter Distribution Channels In most cases, distribution channels do not include anyone between the manufacturer and the customer who uses the product, or user. Many manufacturers sell directly to the user, which reflects a large difference between business marketing and consumer marketing. (Note that in some consumer situations, such as with Allstate Insurance or Burpee Seeds, there are direct channels, but companies with direct channels are much fewer there than in business marketing.) In situations where industrial distributors are used, there are still fewer steps between the consumer and manufacturer. Shorter channels contribute to the closer relationship between manufacturer and buyer. Buyers can have more direct input into the product planning process. Direct relationships between various functional areas within both companies can result; for example, the accounts payable department of the buyer may talk directly with the billing department of the seller if problems arise. Emphasis on Personal Selling Stronger relationships and shorter channels are two reasons why there is a greater emphasis on personal selling in business marketing. Direct communication between buyer and seller also increases the need for strong personal selling, because someone is needed to coordinate that communication. Salespeople are the members of the organization responsible for coordinating their company’s efforts at satisfying their customers. That responsibility is greater when the organization is concerned about creating and maintaining partnerships with its customers. Complex buying procedures involving many members of the buying organization also require personal selling. Only through personally getting to know each individual and coordinating the sales–purchase process can a business be successful. Multiple personal relationships can strengthen organizational relationships, and these relationships are the responsibility of the salesperson.
Slide 18: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 10 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Trade shows are like temporary industrial shopping malls. A customer’s size and a direct channel also influence business marketing by increasing the importance of negotiation. Large orders sold directly by the manufacturer to the user or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) buyer increase the likelihood of negotiation because changes can be made to the product and price. There is greater flexibility in the seller’s offering, increasing the potential for negotiating the final deal and adding to the importance of personal selling. Greater Web Integration One unique aspect of business marketing is how the Web is used. The Web becomes the backbone of a supplier/customer communication network that enables customers to track shipment information, order products at prices and terms agreed to by the salesperson and buyer, and access other account information that helps manage the supply process. For example, if you visit the BASF website, you wouldn’t know that they have special websites for customers. But if you visited Dell’s site, you would see password-protected access for special customers. BASF has created special pages, in conjunction with customers, that are not linked to the general public site. Although the strategy for access differs between Dell and BASF, the general principle is the same. The Web is fully integrated into their customer relationship strategy. Contrast this form of integration with that of consumer marketing, where the marketer does not involve the consumer in the creation and development of the site, and therefore the marketer must advertise to drive traffic to it. Unique Promotional Strategies The complex buying process and inclusion of several people from different functional areas impact the business marketing promotional strategies, too. In a family, for example, the person who determines the budget is likely to be the person who makes the purchase
Slide 19: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 11 Exhibit 1 – 2 Business Marketing Is Unique How Business Marketing Differs Buyer–seller relationships vary more Example Relationships can be deep and involve several layers of the industry: BASF partners with Gaskell and GM, for example. BASF sells fibers direct to DuPont for the manufacture of carpet; through distributors to smaller companies—consumer goods sold through distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. BASF salespeople work directly with fire departments to sell the latest fire-fighting chemicals and ensure that they are used properly. BASF uses its cc-markets website to create a communication space with special customers. BASF exhibits at trade shows like Powder Coatings Europe, a show held every January in Amsterdam. Distribution channels are shorter Greater emphasis on personal selling Greater Web integration Unique promotional strategies and decides what is needed. When an organization makes a purchase, however, personnel from several different departments will together determine what the organization needs. Each different department may have a separate set of needs and interests, which may influence how marketers promote their products. For example, BASF’s carpet fiber may be advertised as a low-cost product to the finance department of carpet manufacturers. BASF’s advertising to carpet manufacturers’ marketing departments, however, would focus on how carpet companies’ customers want longer-lasting carpet made with BASF’s fiber. Additionally, consumers can go to shopping malls for their purchases. Few business shopping malls exist, so trade shows or expositions are created. These shows last for a few days and bring together buyers from all over the world. As you can see, business marketers engage in many unique promotional activities that are different from what you see as a consumer. As summarized in Exhibit 1–2, business marketing is unique, with stronger buyer– seller relationships, shorter channels of distribution, a greater emphasis on personal selling, and unique promotional strategies. Another factor that makes business marketing different from marketing to consumers is that the buyers are different. In the next section, we explore the types of buyers for business products and services. BUSINESS MARKETS There are numerous differences between purchasing by organizations and purchasing by consumers. Many of the differences are due to the fact that consumers purchase for personal consumption, and in most cases individuals within organizations do not. They purchase to satisfy needs of the organization. Other factors, too, influence the nature of business buying, making it different. These factors are the types of customers, the types of products they buy, the size and location of customers, the complex processes and rigorous standards of purchasing, the nature of business relationships, and the nature of demand. It is important to understand these differences so that you can appreciate the special challenges facing business marketers and so that you can better apply what you have already learned about marketing.
Slide 20: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 12 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 1 – 3 Types of Customers Companies That Consume Original equipment manufacturers Users Government Agencies Country State or Province Local—county, parish, city Institutions Hospitals Schools, colleges, and universities Resellers Wholesalers Brokers Industrial distributors Types of Business Customers There are four types of business customers, as illustrated in Exhibit 1–3: firms that consume the product or service (such as original equipment manufacturers), government agencies, institutions, and firms that purchase and resell the product. This book focuses on the first three—those organizations that purchase for consumption. We will discuss those firms that purchase and resell products, but we focus on industrial distributors that distribute products consumed by other organizations, rather than wholesalers and retailers of consumer products. Original Equipment Manufacturers When a company purchases a product or service to be included in its own final product, the company is called an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). For example, General Motors may buy gauges for installation in the dashboards of its automobiles. In this instance, General Motors is an OEM. Users When GM purchases copier paper from Xerox, General Motors is considered a user, or the business equivalent of the final consumer. General Motors is also a user of market research purchased from service bureaus such as Donnelly and JD Power as well as other services such as accounting and computer services. When GM purchases machine tools used to assemble cars, GM is still considered a user, even though the tools are used in the manufacturing process. Because the tools and research are not part of the final product, GM is considered a user to manufacturers of tools, research, and other such products or services. Government Agencies In the United States, the government is the largest single purchaser of products and services, buying more than $300 billion worth each year. The federal government is also the country’s largest single landlord, renting and maintaining more property than any other individual organization. As such, the government buys and uses many products. In this and other countries, the government may be the only customer for some products. In all countries, the government is probably the only buyer of tanks and other ar-
Slide 21: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 13 Carparts.com sells parts directly to users like you; Industria is an internet site specifically for manufacturers to source plant equipment.
Slide 22: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 14 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 1–2 FROM THE FIELD Me Tarzan—You Buyer? T rade shows are typically thought of as a marketing jungle, with seller Tarzans trying to carry off buyer Janes. The General Services Administration (GSA), however, is different. As the country’s largest landlord, GSA has a captive market: the U.S. government. GSA isn’t looking for buyers. So why does it exhibit at trade shows? Alicia Astrich, marketing communications specialist for the GSA’s Office of Business Development, explains, “We use trade shows to attract potential suppliers, to inform suppliers, and to strengthen our relationship with suppliers. Our job is really to act as a consultant for the government, and to find the best suppliers who will actually provide the product or service.” The government has many programs designed to assist small and disadvantaged businesses that might otherwise pass the government by. These programs, such as the Mandatory Source Program, Subcontracting Program, Minority Bank Deposit Program, and Rural Area Business Program, need promotion in order to achieve the goals set by Congress. “Our objectives are twofold,” notes Astrich. First, the GSA wants to make suppliers aware of procurement programs and opportunities. The emphasis here is on identifying new suppliers as well as making current suppliers aware of new opportunities. The second objective is to strengthen relationships with current suppliers. Being government, business is often conducted at arm’s length. “At the same time, however, we want to be open to suggestions for service improvement, cost containment, and other ideas our suppliers might have,” says Aldrich. Shows offer an excellent forum for such discussions and strengthen relationships with suppliers. “We need strategic partnerships, just as any profitbased organization does, and for the same reasons. We find our exhibiting at shows helps us identify potential partners and develop stronger relationships.” Source: John F. Tanner Jr., “Me Tarzan, You Buyer?” Ideas (September 1995), pp. 4–5. mored weapon systems. In the United States, companies can own their own telephone system for internal use. On the other hand, in some countries, all telephone systems must be leased from the government. The government, then, is the only customer for telephone switching equipment. The purchasing processes used by the government can be frustrating and complex, particularly because the government seeks to accomplish social objectives through purchasing. Policies designed to encourage the growth of minority- or women-owned businesses as well as small businesses are examples of social objective policies that influence government purchasing. The government goes to great lengths to find and support these businesses, as illustrated in From the Field 1–2, “Me Tarzan—You Buyer?” Once the qualifications for designation as minority- or women-owned or small business are met, however, such companies can grow significantly if they are successful in selling to the government. The federal government is not the only government customer. State governments also purchase goods and services, as do local institutions. In addition to buying such products as copiers, buildings, and roads, they also buy salt, both for applying to roads and for use in jails, employee cafeterias, and other uses!
Slide 23: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 15 Institutions Institutions include organizations such as schools (kindergarten through 12th-grade systems as well as colleges and universities), hospitals and nursing homes, churches, and charitable organizations. Some of these organizations may use purchasing procedures similar to those utilized by government agencies, whereas others may follow less standardized procedures. Hospitals, nursing homes, and psychiatric and substance abuse centers make purchases related to the medical services they provide and may use criteria similar to those used by OEMs in making these purchases. Churches purchase products and services for use to facilitate the services they provide, with criteria and buying processes that may vary widely from church to church. Because of the special purchasing needs of institutions, many firms have special divisions or sales forces for these markets. Xerox, for instance, offers educational and medical institutions the same prices as government agencies (the lowest that Xerox offers) and has special salespeople for institutional markets. Industrial Distributors Industrial distributors are those organizations that supply industrial companies with products and services. For example, Brazos Valley Equipment supplies farmers and ranchers with John Deere tractors, harvesters, and other farm implements. Waco Hotel and Motel Supply provides central Texas hotels and motels with janitorial, office, pool, and restaurant supplies and just about anything else anyone needs to run a hotel or motel. C. M. Tanner Wholesale Grocery in Carrollton, Georgia, delivers produce, meats, and other groceries to institutions including West Georgia State College. These distributors provide services similar to those delivered by wholesalers and retailers of consumer goods; they make large purchases of certain products, and then sell smaller quantities of individual products—within a wide assortment of products—to industrial users or OEMs. Types of Products Products are generally classified on the basis of the type of organization purchasing the products and for what purpose. Whether the product is part of the organization’s final product or facilitates the organization’s activities is the primary difference in determining product type. Because the buying organization has its own customers with their own demand for quality, doing a superior job of buying products that become part of the final product can be a competitive advantage. Therefore, understanding the types of products bought and sold in business markets is important. Products used in the final product include raw and manufactured materials, component parts or OEM parts, and assemblies. Raw materials, or materials processed only to the point required for economic handling and distribution, are also sold to OEMs for use in the products they manufacture. Gold and silver, for example, are purchased by companies such as AT&T for use in the manufacture of telecommunications equipment. Raw materials are often further processed into manufactured materials, such as steel. Iron is the raw material that is then processed into steel. GM may buy sheet steel, which is called a manufactured material because the material, which has been transformed from the raw material, requires further processing before GM can use it; the sheets must be
Slide 24: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 16 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing cut to the proper size and so forth. If BASF supplied its carpet treatment product to GM for application to carpets in cars and trucks, the BASF product would be considered a manufactured material. Component parts, or OEM parts, are parts assembled into the final product without further transformation. In some instances, a company may purchase OEM parts and assemble these to make a component for installation into the final product by another company. The component may then be called a subassembly or assembly. For example, Gates Controls may purchase plastic casing (a component part) from Plastech and parts from Metric Devices and then assemble these into a tachometer that is sold to GM. GM would then put the tachometer into its cars or trucks. GM may refer to the part as an assembly. Other products are facilitating products; they facilitate the company’s achievement of its objectives, but are not part of the final product. Hand tools, such as sanders, routers, portable saws, and other light tools, are called accessory equipment. Office equipment, such as personal computers and desktop printers, would also fit in the accessory equipment category. Capital equipment, also called installations, refers to large equipment used in the production process that requires significant financial investment. Capital equipment would include overhead cranes, blast furnaces, industrial robots, and other manufacturing equipment as well as forklifts, road graters, and other heavy construction machinery. The difference between accessory and capital equipment is important when it comes to marketing the equipment to users. Capital equipment is much more expensive, and its purchase may involve more members of the organization than purchase of accessory equipment. Marketing requirements are different as more members of the organization must be reached by marketing efforts. Products sold to users for use in the company’s operations are often labeled MRO items (maintenance, repair, and operations products). Operating supplies would include the copier paper mentioned earlier. Another term is facilitating supplies or facilitating services, because they support company efforts but are not part of the final product. Banking services, marketing research services, advertising services, and transportation services also fall into this category. Maintenance products or services include janitorial products, painting contractors who paint the buildings, plumbing services, and heating and air conditioning services. The term repair products and services usually refers to repair of the manufacturing equipment and tools rather than repairs to the facility. For example, GM purchases MRO items to maintain its plants and equipment. At the same time, GM buys OEM parts for use in its cars. GM will purchase both, but the classification system enables us to recognize the different decision processes used for each and the different marketing requirements brought about by those processes, which we will discuss in later chapters. Exhibit 1–4 is a matrix that illustrates which types of customers purchase which types of products. Size and Location of Customers Size and location of customers create unique challenges for business marketers that are not faced by those who market directly to consumers. As we indicated earlier, General Motors purchases $50 billion in products and services per year. There are no individual consumers with that kind of purchasing power. Business customers are larger than individual consumers, so each business customer is more important to the financial success of the business marketer. At the same time, there are fewer individual business customers. For
Slide 25: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 17 Exhibit 1–4 Customer and Product Types— IBM is an example of a company that buys all types of products from all types of companies, and sells many types of products to different types of companies. Components Raw materials Assemblies OEM parts Manufactured materials Subassemblies Original equipment products Capital equipment Accessory equipment Facilitating services and products Users OEM Distributors ValueIBM added resellers Integrated solutions vendors Supply houses Components Raw materials Manufactured materials Maintenance, repair, and operations supplies Maintenance, repair, and operations supplies example, if a company’s product is components used in new cars, there are only a few manufacturers to sell to. One dissatisfied customer can have a significant impact on the firm. Business customers are also more likely to be geographically concentrated. Industries tend to arise around key resources. For example, steel manufacturing requires iron ore, limestone, energy, access to labor, and access to customers. Through the mid-20th century, the Great Lakes and major river systems enabled Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh to access ore from the Minnesota Iron Range; coal from the Dakotas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania; and major steel markets in Detroit and the eastern seaboard. Breakthroughs in water transport and scale economies in production have now made steel an internationally traded commodity, but the early steel industry was located near those sources of supply. For technology-driven companies, a key “raw material” is personnel, so some industries form around pockets of qualified personnel. For example, the “silicon prairie” (Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas) is the U.S. home of many global telecommunications companies, including Nortel (formerly Northern Telecom) from Canada, Alcatel from France, and Ericsson from Sweden. New companies locate in the silicon prairie because of the availability of engineers with telecommunications experience. Geographic concentration has an influence on marketing to these organizations. Firms that supply telecommunications companies also locate in the silicon prairie, which lowers their costs of serving these accounts. Whereas Coca-Cola has to be concerned with consumer access to Cokes in even remote parts of the country, electronics wholesalers may find most of their telecommunications market located in one metropolitan area.
Slide 26: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 18 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing At the same time that business markets tend to be geographically concentrated, they are also globally oriented. Because customers are fewer in number and tend to be larger and geographically concentrated in various parts of the globe, competition for business tends to be more global. Also, the large-scale operations and transportation systems that made steel an internationally traded commodity have made other markets more global. Cement is another example of an industry that was once regionally competitive. Constrained by rail and truck transportation, cement companies located near their major markets and competed in a limited geographic area. Today’s specialized ships enable cheap water transport to complement production-scale economies. Cement companies are now more global, with CEMEX headquartered in Mexico being the world’s largest producer. Consider again the silicon prairie. Its importance at the advent of the handheld calculator was quite high, as Texas Instruments was a leader in developing both the silicon prairie and calculators. Initial product success hinged principally on the sophistication of the integrated circuitry. Now that the market has matured and circuitry is quite standard, efficient assembly is critical for success. Offshore assembly is now the norm; marketers of calculator parts may sell to assemblers in China one year, in Costa Rica the next. Note that these generalizations about geographic concentration and global orientation do not hold for all business marketers. Xerox, for example, sells to all types of businesses and is less concerned with geographic concentration than with global orientation. Xerox must provide the same level of service for the products it sells in the most remote parts of the country as in urban centers. Xerox copiers can be found on U.S. Navy submarines, in oil fields, and on ranches and farms, as well as in offices of companies large and small. Although there are more copier users in New York City than in Bismarck, North Dakota, companies like Xerox face many of the distribution and marketing challenges that consumer products companies must overcome. Purchasing Standards and Processes What fraction of any five-year-old’s Christmas presents survived to New Year’s Day? What percentage of new car buyers applied spreadsheet models to compare purchasing against leasing? Was the Smith family’s decision to vacation in Disney World a result of Dad’s formal proposal being stronger than Mom’s proposal for the Alaskan cruise? These questions invite you to consider some key distinctions between household and organizational buying. These distinctions preview material covered later in the text. Strict Standards When college roommates find that last week’s reheated spaghetti tastes foul, they toss the stuff and call for a pizza. But if the food served on Delta flight 34J to Salt Lake City is foul, no pizza can substitute. Frequent flyers are apt to fume. They may spend their company’s travel budget on United next time. When a power company must brown out or purchase auxiliary power because a bad expansion joint has left a boiler out of commission, you can bet both purchasing agent and vendor will get called on the carpet. As you can see, business buyers apply strict performance standards to their purchases. Professional purchasers and multiperson buying teams have formal responsibility for product and vendor evaluation. Inputs often must conform to design specifications, cost constraints, delivery windows, and the like. A host of organizational mechanisms support the application of such strict standards.
Slide 27: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 19 Business marketers are more likely to conduct business globally and face global competition than are consumer marketers.This website helps buyers find suppliers anywhere in the world. Purchasing Processes The larger number of people involved in organizational purchasing contrasts sharply with typical household buying. Within families, purchasing roles are more flexible, often arising from implicit negotiation, expertise, and habit. Although in both cases, someone may purchase a product for use by someone else, the sheer size and complexity of organizations and the number of people involved often lead to a more complex purchasing process. Furthermore, many organizational controls are in place to assist professional purchasers—and evaluate them. Comprehensive vendor scoring systems are commonplace. Quality inspection at origin, cost accounting systems, and cash flow management have only crude equivalents among consumers. For example, almost every home owner you know has probably complained about inadequate closet space. But do they calculate the “warehousing” costs of their golf clubs, camping gear, and heirlooms? Do they measure inventory carrying costs (e.g., spoilage, opportunity cost of money) on toilet paper or apples by the case? Even before you take up the chapters on purchasing and distribution, you can well anticipate these important distinctions in business purchasing.
Slide 28: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 20 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 1–5 Demand for BASF’s carpet treatment is derived from demand for new homes. The homes need carpet, which needs treatment. The Nature of Demand Demand for business products does not always operate in the same fashion as demand for consumer goods. In part, the nature of demand in business markets is due to the types of products sold, varying for raw materials, component parts, and so forth. Understanding demand is important for business marketers because decisions concerning which markets to serve, what business to be in, and where to invest company resources are based on projections of demand. Two concepts, derived demand and joint demand, are useful in understanding how demand for business products can be determined. Derived Demand When business analysts and economists focus on consumer spending and consumer confidence, they are looking for indicators that affect the entire economy. Consumer and government spending ultimately drives all of the economy. Business marketers must recognize that the demand for their products and services is derived demand; that is, demand for their products and services is derived from the demand for their customers’ products and services (whose demand may also be derived). Ultimately, most demand is derived from consumer demand, the exception being demand derived from government purchases such as arms sales. In the salt example at the beginning of this chapter, it is easy to see how Morton Salt can predict salt sales based on the predictions of sales for institutional foods, meals purchased outside the home, and home purchases. The demand for salt is derived from the demand for, among other things, fast food. Similarly, as illustrated in Exhibit 1–5, the demand for BASF’s carpet treatment product is derived from the demand for buildings, vehicles, and other products that use carpets as well as the demand for remodeling existing facilities and homes. For suppliers to manufacturers of consumer products, the issue of derived demand may not be too great. In this situation, there is virtually a one-to-one relationship; for every consumer product purchased, there is a one-to-one relationship with the supplier of a component of that product. If we made bottle caps and sold them to Coca-Cola, for example, then the demand for bottle caps would be the equivalent of the unit demand for bottled Cokes. As we move further away from the consumer market, however, derived demand can cause wide swings in demand, called volatility. For example, assume we make a machine that processes salt and makes it ready for human consumption. Morton Salt will
Slide 29: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 21 Exhibit 1–6 Volatility of Derived Demand Time Period Demand for Salt Machines Needed to Handle Demand Worn-Out Machines Machines Available New Purchases 1 100% 50 2 95 47 10 40 7 3 105 52 7 40 12 4 100 50 12 40 10 At the beginning of Period 1, 50 machines are required based on forecast of sales. At the end of the year, 10 are worn out but 7 are purchased because only 47 are needed. Over year 2, 7 machines wear out, but 52 are needed so 12 are purchased. decide how many of our machines to purchase based on the need for salt. Morton has let’s say, 50 such machines. Assume that in a year of steady sales, Morton Salt will purchase 10 machines to replace those that are old and worn out. In year one, salt demand goes down 5 percent, and Morton Salt may decide that it can get by with purchasing only seven new machines. In year 2, demand goes up 10 percent. How many will Morton Salt now replace? If demand of 100 percent equals 50 machines, 95 percent demand equals approximately 47 machines, while 105 percent demand means roughly 52 machines (52.5 to be exact). Based on a replacement rate of 20 percent, as illustrated in Exhibit 1–6, demand for our machines went from 7 to 12 to 10. Demand for our machine went up almost 50 percent, then down 20 percent, as compared to the change in salt demand of 5 percent to 10 percent. Derived demand can cause wide swings, or volatility, in the demand for industrial products. Demand elasticity is also affected by derived demand. Demand elasticity is the percentage change in sales relative to the percentage change in price. In a consumer market, demand elasticity means that as price goes up, consumers will look for alternatives or do without, and sales will go down. In many business markets, doing without is not an option. Morton Salt may choose to do without our salt processing machines, but if the price of raw salt went up, Morton Salt would have little option but to pay the higher price. So for products without substitutes, there is inelastic demand—it is not affected greatly by price. On the other hand, there are many more substitutes for some industrial products than for consumer goods. When assembling a product, a manufacturer can choose between rivets, nuts and bolts, adhesives, and other forms of fasteners. When there are many substitutes and the choice of one or the other has no visible impact on the final product, demand will be more price elastic, or more affected by price. Price elasticity is also driven by derived demand. If consumer demand is inelastic, so will demand for components be relatively unaffected by price. Conversely, if consumer demand is driven by price, suppliers for components will find their customers very price conscious. Because of the importance of the concept of derived demand, business marketers are always paying close attention to consumer demand forecasts and reports. You may notice the importance paid by the news media to two types of consumer demand: that of new housing (often reported in terms of new housing starts) and that of new cars. The demand for so many industrial products and supplies is derived from the demand for housing and cars that they are important bellwethers of the economy as a whole.
Slide 30: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 22 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 1–2 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS BASF and Derived Demand C onsider the demand for BASF’s product for making fabrics brighter and longer lasting. From what products would demand be derived? Is this situation more or less volatile for the marketing manager than with the carpet treatment product? Why? How would this influence the way you market these products? Joint Demand Joint demand, in contrast to derived demand, is a relatively simple concept to understand. Joint demand refers to situations where two products are used together and are demanded together. One example is Palm Pilot software. The demand for Palm Pilot software exists as long as the demand for Palm Pilot computers exist. One cannot operate without the other. Should the entire world migrate to Windows for handheld computers, Pilot-based programs would no longer be in demand. In one way, you could consider the demand for Pilot-based software to be derived from that for Palm Pilot handheld computers, but then the demand for Palm Pilot computers is based on the demand for the applications. Devoted Palm Pilot users base their devotion on the application, which takes advantage of hardware provided by the Palm Pilot. Joint demand can create especially difficult marketing challenges for technologybased products because the company is dependent on the technology. If a better technology comes along and the company cannot make use of it, the company may lose out as demand for the technology it uses goes down. For example, there are many ways to receive a television signal: via a cable (which can be one of several types of wire, such as coaxial), via satellite, or via broadcast received by a regular antenna. Commercial networks that rely on only one form of delivery (i.e., broadcast to regular antennae) are finding that the demand for their product offerings is negatively affected by the decrease in demand for broadcast delivery systems or the technology they depend on. Similarly, in the computer-aided design (CAD) market, the demand for computers capable of operating CAD software is a function of the demand for newer CAD programs and vice versa. The difference between joint demand and derived demand is that with joint demand, the demand for both products is somewhat simultaneous because both products or services are consumed at the same time. With derived demand, the end product is consumed much further downstream by a consumer several steps or more away from the producer. THE ENTIRE SYSTEM So far in this chapter, we’ve used two companies as running examples: GM and BASF. Let’s put it all together and examine the flow of goods and services that go into one car. Exhibit 1–7 illustrates this flow.
Slide 31: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 23 Exhibit 1–7 The Entire System Transported via facilitating services Raw materials Manufactured materials Subassembly Assembly Component parts Finished car Purchase order copied—facilitating product Amount and type of car determined by research— facilitating service At the beginning are the suppliers of raw materials. The plastic, steel and other metals, rubber, and glass used in automobiles are manufactured materials derived from such raw materials as petroleum, iron ore, and sand. A mining company may sell the raw material to a mill that produces the manufactured material. The mill may then sell the material to a contract manufacturer, which creates the component part for GM. For example, sheet metal may be stamped into hoods for Chevy Luminas. Another company may supply gauges to GM. These gauges are assemblies composed of parts purchased from other manufacturers. BASF supplies manufactured materials, such as a carpet treatment product to make the carpet last longer and a velour treatment product to make the seats last longer. GM assembles and paints the cars, using robots to spray each car with the correct amount of paint. The robots are capital equipment. Colors are chosen through marketing research, which determines which shades will sell best. That research, as is the transportation of the cars to GM’s customers, is a facilitating service. Each purchase order is copied on a Xerox copier (accessory equipment). At the end of each day, all offices are cleaned by the personnel of local janitorial companies, an MRO service. All of this is necessary so that GM can serve its customers. GM’s customers include government agencies, such as the armed services, which buy cars for staff transportation; institutions, such as universities, which purchase vans to transport students on field and athletic trips; rental car companies; fleet users, such as BASF, whose salespeople drive company cars to visit their customers; and retail dealers, which resell their cars to you and other consumers. With all these customers to satisfy, it is no wonder that GM purchases over $50 billion each year in goods and services! As you have seen, quite a few purchases must be made before GM can build a car, Shaw Industries can make a carpet, or McDonald’s can salt your fries. Each of those purchases is part of a marketing process conducted by vendors such as BASF and Morton Salt. In this section, we examine the marketing process that is the subject of the rest of the book. Understanding the Market Many organizations begin with a vision—the reason why the organization was created. Usually, that reason for being is based on some general need or set of needs that has been identified in the market, and the organization is created to satisfy that need. Simply recognizing the need, however, is not enough. It wasn’t until Chester Carlson invented xerography, the process that makes Xerox copying possible, that the Xerox Corporation was possible. The means to fulfill the need must also exist. When the recognition of a need and the means to satisfy it come together, an organization or business can be created.
Slide 32: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 24 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing The vision also reflects the stage of the organization. Organizations operating under the partnering philosophy would have a far different vision than those operating in the production era. Most firms, though, are at least in the marketing stage and recognize the importance of satisfying the customer. Thus, the business marketing process often begins with an understanding of the buyer, what the buyer wants, and how that buyer makes decisions. This understanding is then combined with technology, or what a company can do, and the vision is created. Both Kodak and IBM were offered xerographic technology; both turned it down as it did not fit their vision. Another Rochester, New York, company, the Haloid Supply Co., recognized the value of Carlson’s invention and renamed itself Xerox. In recognition of the importance of understanding the market, the first part of the book is designed to give you an understanding of business marketing in general. The second part continues to build this understanding through a study of organizational buying behavior or why organizations buy. Based on this understanding, you can then appreciate how marketers evaluate markets, targeting only certain segments and creating offerings that meet the needs of those segments. These offerings constitute the marketing mix, which is the topic of the third part of the book, and the method by which marketing creates value. The Marketing Mix Creates Value The marketing mix consists of the usual four Ps you probably learned in principles of marketing. The four Ps—product, place, price, and promotion—are based on the utilities, or general benefits, provided by marketing, which are having the product the buyer wants, where the buyer wants it, at the right price, and letting the buyer know about it. The four Ps illustrate that marketing is a process of creating value. Through marketing, we know just what to do with that iron ore that was dug out of the ground so someone can use it. When the iron ore is turned into steel, and the steel into a building material so that a factory can be built so that fish can be turned into fish sticks so you can eat tonight, value is created. Knowing that it needs to be done is the realm of marketing. How it is done is through the application of steelmaking technology using marketing information. Polaroid, for example, developed its own process of making copies using regular paper in the early 1980s. Polaroid management, however, decided that there was not enough incremental value in its process, or competitive advantage, so the company never manufactured any copiers past prototypes. A competitive advantage is something that provides incremental value when compared to other offerings. The advantage can be gained through any of the four basic values of price, product, place, or promotion, either alone or in combination. When BASF says that it doesn’t make the carpet, it makes the carpet last longer, the company is describing the value it adds to the process of bringing you carpet. If it did not provide value, it would not be part of the process. Refer back to Exhibit 1–7 illustrating the complete system. That diagram illustrates what is called a value chain, or system of value creation. Each organization adds its value to whatever it is that the system is creating, in this case a mode of transportation. Therefore, the third part of this book discusses the process of creating value. The section begins with a chapter covering the processes relating to developing an overall strat-
Slide 33: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 25 egy and is followed by chapters concerning product development, channels of distribution, and integrated marketing communications. Two chapters examine portions of the communications mix, first advertising and trade shows, and then selling and sales management. A chapter on pricing rounds out this section. Marketing Is an Integrative Process The final part of the book reflects the integrative nature of business marketing. You should already have glimpsed that a high degree of interaction and cooperation is needed among members of a value chain. Each member is both buyer and seller to other members of the chain, which often results in a different form of relationship between buyer and seller than in consumer markets. Customer retention and relationship building are important elements of success in today’s business marketing environment. For relationships to be strong, the entire organization must be dedicated to solving the needs and satisfying the wants of each business partner. Careful internal integration and coordination are needed in relationship-building strategies. This part of the book should integrate much of what you have learned in the prior chapters. Summary Business marketing is an important element in the economies of industrialized nations, accounting for more than half of the economy. Business marketing includes marketing to companies that buy products in order to make other products or to facilitate their companies’ operations; marketing to government agencies, including state and local governments; marketing to institutions such as universities and hospitals; and marketing to resellers, including retailers, and industrial distributors. Most marketing majors will begin their career in business marketing. Understanding business marketing is also important because of the magnitude of business marketing and because it is different from marketing to consumers. Business marketing differs from consumer marketing in the types of customers served, their relative sizes and locations, the nature of buyer–seller relationships, and the nature of business demand. Organizations that consume products as part of their normal operations include OEMs, which use products as part of their own products. They buy raw materials, manufactured materials, assemblies, and component parts, which all become part of their final product. Users are those organizations that use a product in their operations but not as part of their own product. Users use accessory equipment, capital equipment, MRO items, facilitating services and supplies, and other products. The government is an important user of products and services. Governments work to achieve political and social objectives through set-asides, technology subsidies, target zone development policies, and more. Institutions such as universities, churches, and hospitals also use products and services. Business marketers are more likely to find their buyers geographically concentrated, but are also more likely to serve global markets and face global competition. Business buyers are larger than individual consumers, giving each business buyer more power in relation to the seller.
Slide 34: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 26 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing At the same time, relationships between buyers and sellers tend to be stronger in business marketing. Although some business relationships are transactional, many companies seek partnership status with their customers. Demand for business products operates differently than does consumer demand. Business product demand is derived from the demand for consumer products. As a result, business marketing demand can be quite volatile. These factors make business marketing different from marketing to consumers. Channels of distribution are shorter, and there is a greater emphasis on personal selling. Relationships must be carefully managed. At the same time, unique promotion strategies such as trade shows are part of the business marketing mix. Key Terms accessory equipment business marketing capital equipment competitive advantage component parts demand elasticity derived demand facilitating services (or supplies) inelastic demand joint demand maintenance, repair, and operations products (MRO) manufactured material OEM parts original equipment manufacturer (OEM) raw materials user value chain volatility Discussion Questions 1. Suppose that your company manufactures power tools used in sawmills to turn trees into lumber. Demand for what consumer goods would influence the demand for your power tools? Would overall demand for your products be likely to be more or less volatile than that for the salt production equipment discussed in the chapter? Why? 2. Identify three television advertisements you see regularly that appear to target a business market. What benefits are they trying to sell? How does their advertising differ from beer commercials, car commercials, and other consumer ads? Why do you think there is a difference? 3. How would marketing long-distance services to businesses be the same as marketing to consumers? How would it be different? Why? 4. Across the top of the page, list each type of product (such as an OEM product). Then list a product that would fit each category. Try to use products not mentioned as examples in the chapter. Use BASF as your buying company. 5. How can derived demand cause volatility when, at the same time, distribution channels are short and tend to be direct in business marketing? 6. Assume you work for Shaw Industries, a carpet and flooring manufacturer. How would your marketing be different for the university market, the GSA (the General Services Administration of the federal government), and commercial real estate developers? 7. What is the relationship between price and value? How does marketing provide value? What are the types of value that marketing provides?
Slide 35: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing 27 8. One business marketing student said, “All this stuff on relationships just means that it is who you know that counts. The good old boy network is what is important.” Based on what you’ve read in this chapter, how would you respond to that statement? 9. Not all firms have moved into the partnering era. What might inhibit a firm’s ability to shift from one operating philosophy to another? What might enhance that ability? What value would there be in moving earlier than competitors? 10. How would the firm’s approach to doing business influence the way the firm implements the business marketing process? Internet Exercise Go to the BASF home page (www.basf.com) and answer the following questions: WWW I N T E R N E T 1. Go to the BASF Corporation (North America) page, then to Product Divisions, where you should find a list of products offered. What products does it make? 2. Go to the intumescent materials page. Describe its customers for these materials based on what you can learn from the home page. Who would buy those products? What position would they hold in what types of companies? What types of companies (based on Exhibit 1–4) are the customers for intumescent materials? What type of product (based on the exhibit) is intumescent materials? Cases Case 1.1 Ferguson Industries Gabe Ferguson needed a loan. Business was great this year for the family business, a company that made small fans used to cool personal computers. With business going so well, Gabe wanted to expand plant capacity by 25 percent. Unfortunately, the bank with which he had done business for over two decades was reluctant to provide him with the loan. As Jaime Trevino, president of the local North Crest Bank branch, explained, “I know sales are great this year. But last year, sales were barely at break-even and three years ago, you lost 10 percent when you lost the Apple account. As it is, you still have four customers accounting for 75 percent of your business. I think you need more steady growth.” “But Jaime, without more plant capacity, I won’t be able to get that steady growth,” Gabe complained. “Gabe, let’s look at ways you can get steadier sales first. Then if the expansion is still warranted, we’ll make the loan.” 1. Why would sales vary so greatly for Gabe’s company? 2. How can Ferguson Industries stabilize sales? Case 1.2 Magnusson Manufacturing Magnusson Manufacturing is a European maker of computer-automated manufacturing software. The company would like to enter the U.S. market, but has had difficulty. It exhibited its products at COMDEX, the large computer trade show, and at AASC, an engineering show, but few orders were taken. Sven Gibson, marketing manager, was considering another approach. He felt that the company should hire and train four U.S. citizens to sell the products. Most of the companies that would use Magnusson software were located either in the Detroit–Chicago
Slide 36: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 1. Introduction to Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 28 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing area, in a region including New York City to Baltimore, on the west coast, or in Houston. He felt the company could follow up on leads identified at the trade shows and make more sales by putting a rep in each area. 1. What are some alternatives that Sven should consider? 2. Discuss the factors that should affect the decision, paying particular attention to the factors influencing the types of organizations Magnusson should sell to or through. Additional Readings File, Karen Maru. “Is There a Trillion Dollar Family Business Market?” Industrial Marketing Management 24 (1995) pp. 247–255.
Slide 37: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 30 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY With a 57 percent share of the business jet market and sales at $2 billion, Cessna executives knew they’d have to be more efficient and quality conscious to thrive in the 21st century. When the Textron subsidiary launched its supply chain management initiative in 1997, Cessna had supplier on-time delivery running around 45 percent, supplier prices and costs escalating, extensive rework and redundant inspections making quality very costly, and top management raising questions about what should be made inside versus outside the company. • Hired to move the paper-clogged, transaction-oriented procurement function to an integrated process, Michael Katzorke, vice president of supply chain management, began to move the company out of its functional orientation to one that integrated three critical processes: new product development, strategic sourcing, and sustaining production. New product development required more supplier involvement in design and administration of specifications, as well as life-of-part contracting. Strategic sourcing implied specific sourcing plans for categories of inputs, long-term agreement negotiations that specified supplier integration into Cessna business processes, as well as supplier improvement processes. Sustaining production meant sharing production plans with suppliers, materials released against long-term agreements, and sustained efforts to purge waste. • Cessna uses full-time, cross-functional commodity teams to lead the transition. Each team has specialists from purchasing, manufacturing, engineering, quality, product design, product support, and finance working to improve supplier performance and meld them into Cessna’s design and manufacturing process. For example, Cessna needed electronic data interchange (EDI) for just the rudiments of company-to-company integration, but EDI has been impeded in the past by financial and personnel constraints at small suppliers. Thus, Cessna developed a Web-enabled system that mimics EDI—avoiding time delays and the need to rekey (correct) data. • As Cessna untangled its legacy of vertical integration, management saw not only letdowns in areas of capacity planning and inventory management, but also hints of an identity crisis. One executive frankly confessed the need to rediscover core
Slide 38: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 http://www.cessna.textron.com competencies: “It seemed we were just doing too much. We had no idea what our real costs were.” As a result of this assessment, Cessna forged an outsourcing agreement with Alcoa for all coil, sheet, and plate aluminum that may one day establish a local Alcoa facility allowing electronic ordering and daily delivery. In another Cessna supplier agreement, Honeywell maintains a stockroom in-house and makes deliveries as needed on the production floor. Honeywell handles all ordering and scheduling and, along with other major suppliers, participates in the Cessna planning process for sales and operations. Using a large storyboard on the wall at Cessna headquarters, every associate knows their role in the supply chain management process. Foremost, the overall objective is to deliver value to the airplane customer.1 Visit the Cessna website at http://www.cessna.textron.com • • LEARNING OBJECTIVES This chapter aims to broaden your exposure to the realm of business marketing, introduce a bigger lineup of players in the field, and preview some of their roles for firms and the larger economy. We will emphasize the key marketing challenge of coordinating work that creates value. We begin with a brief review of the amazing performance of markets. For technically complex and specialized products, markets may need tweaking. Buyers and sellers complement their reliance on the price mechanism with a host of other means for coordinating action. As you might guess, the chapter discusses business relationships—long-run exchange between firms. We examine the motivations for relationships and how they develop. We also consider the special challenges of managing and sustaining business relationships. The closing section of the chapter underscores the connections each relationship has to a larger network of organizations. We want you to strive to examine any marketing problem within its broad context, the web of participants in value creation. After reading this chapter, you should be able to • Describe the effectiveness of price for coordinating business transactions to create value. • Explain how value is determined in exchange. • Identify conditions that impair the performance of pure markets to coordinate business exchange. • Summarize the range of buyer and seller motivations to develop and maintain an exchange relationship. • Describe a relationship development process for parties able to gradually deepen their interdependence. • Identify three complementary mechanisms for coordinating business transactions. • Describe the network of participants in the value chain. • Illustrate the marketing efforts one firm might take with each member of the network. 31
Slide 39: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 32 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Markets can be made. THE MAGIC OF MARKETS It might have Waldo or your school logo on it. Maybe it’s yellow with some green printing or teeth marks. In a matter of seconds you could put your hands on a pencil. It probably sold for less than $.25 whether purchased singly or by the box. But where did it come from? Did the Regional Bureau of Pencils contract for all inputs and schedule productions for the holidays or back-to-school rush? No. Did you solicit bids for contract production of your pencil? Of course not. This handy tool of business came from the market. Markets Coordinate Often taken for granted, markets provide a most amazing mechanism for meeting individual and organizational needs and allocating productive resources within a society. Office Depot knows that nearly every business needs pencils. Thus, it buys them by the gross from Dixon Ticonderoga or another supplier without a moment of thought about how a pencil might come into being. Similarly, anticipating summer orders from Office Depot, Dixon Ticonderoga orders more dowels and gum erasers, perhaps without any detailed knowledge of their origins. Let’s look briefly at the work that almost magically gets done to yield a tool to sketch a budget, mark a board for cutting, or fill in bubbles on an answer sheet. Detailed in a remarkable little story, “I Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E. Read,”2 pencil manufacturing involves the participation of scores of businesses, including thousands of individuals in many distinct steps. Indeed, the pencil boldly asserts in this story that “not a single person . . . knows how to make me.” First, straight grain cedar is cut from forests in the Pacific northwest by loggers using saws, trucks, and other
Slide 40: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 33 gear. Then it is cut into slats, and the material is transported to the pencil manufacturer. Here is added the lead center, really graphite, possibly mined in Ceylon. The eraser or “plug” is made by reacting Indonesian rape seed oil with sulfur chloride. And so it goes on. No single person could measure up to this task of pencil making. Markets coordinate nearly all the work necessary to give you or the Boeing Corporation pencils that do their job. The following sections review the fundamental elements and mechanisms of markets. We briefly see how they work to improve productivity, quality, and living standards. Buyers Gauge Value First of all, the buyer—you or Boeing—determined the value of the pencil when paying for it. Circumstances play a role in what buyers are willing to pay. Boeing’s purchasing department may stock the supply cabinet with pencils ordered at $1.40 per box. Yet a forgetful industrial psychologist from Kansas City, staying in Minneapolis to give an assessment test to employees at Honeywell, might well pay $1 each for pencils from the hotel where she’s staying. Nothing in the pencil has changed its worth. Clearly, the value of one pencil is less to a party who has several than to a party who has none. The buyer’s circumstances play a great role in determining the value of any product or service. Sellers Opt In or Out Of course, the seller has a role in valuation. If costs of delivering a pencil are higher than what potential users are willing to pay, why make or deliver them? As producers reduce the number of shifts or lines devoted to pencil production, in time pencil supplies will shrink. When buyers find that pencils are more difficult to come by, seller promotions and discounting will be less common and, in effect, buyers will tend to bid up the price. But notice that costs do not make for value. Would a handcrafted pencil made from hickory wood find buyers at $7.50 each? It seems doubtful. Would your bookstore sales clerk convince you that the $5 pencil was a real bargain because it cost $6 for UPS overnight delivery? Of course not. Price coordinates the activities of the various businesses, from loggers to retail clerks. A boost in demand may tax current supplies. Price increases can slow purchases until new supplies arrive. Input prices will rise the same way, prompting input suppliers to hike the wages of loggers (to draw more to the forests) and graphite miners. On the other hand, a pencil glut will prompt deep discounting and eventually rollbacks in production and production capacity in various stages of manufacture. In this amazing system, prices serve as both signals and outcomes. Marketers in this type of business environment must be attuned to changes in demand and sharpen their firm’s attention to quality, particularly the quality aspects valued by end users. The system rewards efficient sellers with profits and penalizes flabby sellers with weak profits or even losses. Thus, sellers should always strive for economy and take precautions against becoming complacent. Competitive intelligence and adaptability are advised too. BEYOND MARKET COORDINATION Let’s now consider situations where the market may fail. This sounds ominous, doesn’t it? Actually, in today’s world of commercial trading, the prevalence of transactional exchange—sometimes also called spot markets or discrete markets—is severely limited by
Slide 41: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 34 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing technical complexity, exacting buyer standards, and a variety of dependencies between buyer and seller that arise from the initial exchange. In this complex and dynamic environment, price (the market) must be complemented with other mechanisms for coordinating work between two parties. Otherwise exchange will not take place, or exchange will prove unsatisfactory, even highly frustrating, for at least one of the parties. Some examples will clarify how markets can fail. Countless products need mechanical fasteners in their assembly. Markets work extremely well for the provision of standard rivets, screws, staples, and bolts. Nearly 10,000 distributors carry the lines of scores of fastener producers in order to serve over 180,000 original equipment manufacturers. A manufacturing company using tens of thousands of standard fasteners will have its purchasing agents seek to obtain the best delivered price. Indeed, a handful of potential suppliers can vie for the order, and a savvy purchasing agent will often make each order a bidding contest. The low-price supplier in March has no advantage in April’s reorder and may very well be replaced by a vendor with a price difference of just pennies per case. As you can see, transactional exchange works quite well to keep suppliers on their toes, ever striving to offer the lowest price. Although there may be an adversarial character to the interaction (a consequence of short-run self-interest and the impersonal mechanism of the market), buyers benefit from low-cost inputs. And they don’t have to needle underperforming suppliers to get proper service. Buyers work at arm’s length from vendors and simply order from another source the next time around. But transactional exchange has a limited range of effectiveness. Many products have a level of complexity and significance in the creation of value that are poorly served by transactional exchange. The purchasing agent seeking the lowest delivered price on standard fasteners might really do a disservice for the firm by not properly accounting for costs of defects, late delivery, inventory costs, ordering costs, and so on. In short, the benefits of transactional exchange might be improved on by using additional means to coordinate activities between customers and suppliers. We can illustrate this more concretely with more examples. Obviously, some product designs—for functional or aesthetic reasons—require special fastening (e.g., tiny clips or large, lightweight, reversethreaded bolts). Few distributors carry these items, at least not at inventory levels apt to satisfy start-up production levels. Possibly, the design calls for fasteners that do not yet exist. Supply Chain Management If you are thinking that a company needing special fasteners ought to post its specifications on a website or take its distributor to lunch, you have a sense for supply chain management, proactively planning and coordinating the flow of products, services, and information among connected firms focusing on creating and delivering value to end users.3 Vividly illustrated by Cessna’s initiatives in the beginning of this chapter, supply chain management involves information sharing, joint planning, and coordination to improve business performance by eliminating waste, innovating, improving quality, and providing flexibility. In the case of our OEM needing new fasteners, supply chain management can be used to coordinate work in situations where markets need a little push or lubrication. In theory, it gives attention to the entire value-added process. In the last two decades, the strategic role of supply management (discussed in Chapter 3) has taken on new significance at many companies. Part of this interest stems from the global nature of competition in today’s business markets. Indeed, companies formerly
Slide 42: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 35 Exhibit 2–1 Profit Impact from Marketing and Supply Management Base Case Income Statements Net revenue Cost of goods sold Gross profit Promotion General and admin. Net earnings $ (000) $12,000 $9,000 $3,000 $1,000 $1,500 $500 % 100% 75% 25% 8% 13% 4% Case A: Marketing Impact Case B: Supply Management Impact $ (000) $13,200 $9,900 $3,300 $1,200 $1,500 $600 % 100% 75% 25% 9% 11% 5% $ (000) $12,000 $8,100 $3,900 $1,000 $1,700 $1,200 % 100% 68% 32% 8% 14% 10% isolated from other players in the industry by cultural or geographic divides now find aggressive and creative rivals for market share. This has precipitated two related thrusts in business: (1) a press for accountability and effectiveness in marketing efforts (discussed in Part II), and (2) an invigorated quest for operational efficiency, the elimination of any waste. Often the profit impact from purchasing and logistical efficiencies outweighs that from market penetration. Efficiency Gains To illustrate, Exhibit 2–1 shows the impact on profits from two different business efforts. Case A shows a 10 percent sales increase over the base case as a result of a $200,000 promotional effort. Gross profits also surge 10 percent to $3.3 million. And netting out the program costs, net earnings before taxes show a 20 percent gain. Case B shows the results of a $200,000 expenditure on supply management—especially collaboration in production planning and quality control. Later in the book we detail the purchasing and collaboration process, but for now let’s presume that as a result, supplier costs are trimmed, prices are reduced, defects are nearly eliminated, and the need for rework processes are all but forgotten. Consequently, costs of goods sold (COGS) are decreased by 10 percent from the base case. With sales unaffected, gross profits jump 30 percent and net earnings climb to $1.2 million—a 140 percent bump from the base case and twice the impact of the promotion program. A 10 percent COGS savings can be tough to come by, but the payoffs of efficiency due to strategic purchasing management can be striking. Successful suppliers look beyond the receiving dock to recognize how they can support the efficiency and effectiveness goals of their customers. In this vein, notice that Case B hints at a comprehensive approach to efficiency. That is, rather than simply negotiating for lower and lower prices on inputs, as we would see in transactional exchange, many buying firms—with the help of their suppliers—are looking at the bigger picture. It takes a bit of analysis to answer the questions: Is a $4.19 part a better buy than another at $4.65 if defects average 0.01 percent in the former and 0.0001 percent in the latter? What if the former comes in monthly shipments by rail car versus skids deployed on the shop floor as needed, just-in-time, for the latter? Clearly, acquisition costs don’t tell the whole story on efficiency.
Slide 43: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 36 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Suppliers can be well integrated into the value-added process for competitive advantage. Effectiveness Payoffs We must emphasize that there is more to the story than efficiency. Savvy buyers are using their suppliers to make market share gains. A case in point is Brown–Forman Beverage Company’s collaboration with Inland Container of Louisville, Kentucky, which makes corrugated containers.4 Don Harris, Inland’s account executive, spends three days a week in a Brown–Forman office. He gets involved in the design process from the idea stage. Recently, Harris helped design a packaging and shipping container for Tropical Freezes, a frozen drink sold at retail in pliable plastic pouches. Harris came up with a solution that protected the pouches from being crushed, made them in the optimum size, and made the product safe from accidental damage caused by retailers cutting open a case. Thus, Inland’s role in making the product secure and convenient for retailers enhanced the product’s strength in the market. We illustrate the nature of business markets by taking the fastener case a little further. Consider a design calling for a brand new fastener, a tension-spring clip, for Hewlett–Packard’s (HP’s) new printer. HP must find a supplier with both interest in and capabilities for making the tiny parts. HP might send specifications to candidate suppliers and invite bids, but what assurance does it have that the low-priced supplier will be able to deliver reliably or provide zero defects? What assurances will suppliers need in order to invest in the capability to supply HP? Will HP be vulnerable to price gouging at renewal time? These are just a few of the issues pertinent to buyers and sellers in business markets if they are interested in making a relationship work for an extended period.
Slide 44: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 37 Exhibit 2–2 The Realm of Buyer–Seller Relationships Seller’s motivation to relate High Seller-maintained relation Joint relationship maintenance Buyer’s market Low Buyer-maintained relation High Buyer’s motivation to relate Discrete exchange (spot contracts) No exchange Seller’s market Low SOURCE: Adapted from F. Robert Dwyer, Paul H. Schurr, and Sejo Oh, “Developing Buyer–Seller Relationships.” Used with permission from the Journal of Marketing, published by the American Marketing Association, vol. 52 (April 1987), p. 15. Relationship Management Buyer interest in maintaining a high-performance relationship often has its counterpart on the supply side. That is, the supplier may be attracted by the promise of recurring purchases due to their volume and relative certainty. But the supplier has valid concerns about set-up, administrative costs, long-run payoffs, and vulnerability. Does it make sense to assign a team to prepare a bid? How much managerial attention will this customer require? Will the company need to dedicate personnel or production systems to this account? Can the company work with the other firm’s people? How much training is involved? Will it compromise operations with current customers? What is the long-run promise of this particular account? In what competitive position does this put the company at renewal? A Map of Motives to Relate Obviously, the stakes of both buyer and seller must be considered as factors of the exchange environment.5 Exhibit 2–2 is a useful summary of our discussion to this point. It depicts each party’s range of motivations for forging and sustaining a trading relationship. The horizontal axis represents the possibilities for a buyer. The buyer can be highly motivated to establish and maintain a relationship with a sole source supplier or a small set of vendors. Alternatively, the buyer may have little interest in a relationship or even a transaction.
Slide 45: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 38 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing The vertical axis shows that a seller has a similar range of stakes in a relationship. This surprises some readers. Doesn’t a selling firm want to do business with all comers? The answer is no. Some business marketers choose not to sell to government agencies because the paperwork is too thick and the margins too thin. A business consultant in the Midwest declined business opportunities with a prospective client because the expected followup business was inadequate in light of the anticipated service burdens. Potential customers in a particular region or business sector may be bypassed to avoid head-to-head competition with a specific rival firm. Suffice it to say that sellers have motives to build and maintain relationships that vary from one prospect or customer to another. Spotting Transactional Exchange Our discussion of pencils and standard fasteners in the opening section of the chapter actually previewed the lower left sector of Exhibit 2–2. What are essentially transactional relationships or spot exchanges, money traded for easily measured commodities, include General Mills buying various wheat and other grains on commodities markets, a restaurant buyer at a cash-and-carry produce market, or a rail freight service offering standard boxcars to any shipper. Communication content is quite narrow between transacting parties, and their identity is hardly relevant. Trading terms are simple and clear. Performance is practically immediate. The new information technology has supported the creation of a new and important enterprise—market making. For example, FreeMarkets uses the Internet and its proprietary software to conduct online auctions for raw materials, commodities, and industrial parts. A successful auction sends business to the most-efficient suppliers and can yield purchasers savings upwards of 30 percent, compared to other purchasing approaches. But a successful auction demands lot of front-end work. FreeMarkets consultants work closely with managers on the purchasing side in order to specify needs precisely and to accurately communicate them to potential suppliers (bidders) before each auction. Bidders, in turn, receive training in FreeMarkets’ Bidware® software so they participate in the live auction. Online auctions have their limits. Many products and services, like, complex components, engineering services, or system installations, can’t be fully specified. Perhaps their performance depends critically on a supplier’s personal expertise and deft problem solving. Although market makers like FreeMarkets will strive to qualify supplier participants in the auctions, not all such factors are captured in the process. Indeed, Gene Richter, former chief of procurement officer for IBM, concedes that reverse auctions can work well between fully qualified suppliers—those meeting standards of delivery and quality. Practically, however, “suppliers are almost never equal in every aspect and an auction sends a dangerous message that the buyer only cares about price.” Richter recommends picking the best source from the set of quotations—considering price, quality, delivery, technology—and then negotiating a better price, but a price yielding sufficient profits for the supplier to invest in new equipment, materials, and so forth. Richter’s approach neatly moves us from a discussion of spot markets to a practical examination of relationships.6 Unequal Interest in Relating The upper right sector of Exhibit 2–2’s relationship map captures our immediate discussion of relationships. Here, at least one party is motivated to build and keep a relationship.
Slide 46: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 39 In the upper sector we find the situation typified by today’s mainframe computer industry. The value of any system depends on the depth and quality of ongoing support given by the vendor. Users are hardly locked in, as they might have been a decade ago. Open architectures, used systems, and plug-compatibles make relationship management the chief role of the supplier. For instance, if Digital Electronics Corporation does not provide its users with high-quality system training, upgrades, troubleshooting, and software installations, it risks losing accounts for good. The right sector maps the realm of buyer-managed relationships. The chapter’s opening vignette described the proactive management of the tiny suppliers to Cessna Aircraft. Another example, Korea’s LGS (formerly Lucky Gold Star) runs its highly automated VCR assembly plant using components from suppliers it established with capital equipment, training, and personnel. Similarly, Toyota shares its production schedules and orchestrates a giant network of suppliers in its Toyota City complex. Joint Interest in a Relationship Between these two lopsided cases of seller-managed and buyer-managed relationships is an area where buyers and sellers have mutual stakes in a sustained trading relationship. A strategic partnership results when both parties have keen interests in maintaining an ongoing exchange. The strategic essence of the partnership rests on the significance of the resources and long-run consequences of the efforts. Thus, a three-year contract for a single supplier of lubricants to provide for all factory needs is apt to be regarded as less strategic than a joint R&D effort on new pollution controls. Many of the strategic partnerships that characterize business markets have been sparked by the “quality revolution,” a management process of renewed dedication to customer satisfaction and efficiency. Leaders in the quality movement—Xerox, Procter & Gamble, Dana Commercial Credit Corporation, and others—evidence an all-hands effort at continuous improvement in the systems of business: social (teamwork, creativity, motivation, etc.), technical (tool, machines, analytic techniques), and management (information flow, policies, adaptation of the other systems). Quite fittingly, suppliers have been brought into this process. From the Field 2–1 sketches supplier involvement at a Malcolm Baldrige Award winner. Key Managerial Implications of Relationships Many companies have found it necessary to reduce the number of suppliers as they expand their involvement with source firms. When buyer and seller share forecasts and plans, they usually find they can reduce inventories. Buyer participation in the vendor’s production setup and quality control processes eliminates the costly process of coping with defective inputs (rework, reorders, and scrap). This sort of managerial attention by the buyer could be spread too thin if given to several competing suppliers. Reducing the number of suppliers, of course, reduces the number of competitive bidders and thereby dampens the power of the marketplace to affect prices. But often the parties can establish a commodity index or some standardized costing method to cope with this hazard. At the same time, when the buyer consolidates purchases, it often obtains a volume-justified price break from the supplier. Furthermore, with fewer suppliers, buyers often experience reduced variation on key part characteristics and service. This reduced variation enables higher uniformity and quality control in buyer operations.
Slide 47: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 40 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 2–1 FROM THE FIELD ADAC Laboratories A DAC Laboratories is a 1996 winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and a Silicon Valley–based manufacturer of high technology health care products. Established in 1970, ADAC Laboratories designs, manufactures, markets, and supports products for nuclear medicine imaging, radiation therapy planning, and managing health care information. About 85 percent of its $250 million in revenues come from diagnostic imaging cameras. Exports have steadily increased to $65 million. In 1993, it instituted a new approach for increasing customer satisfaction by eliminating a body of executives called the Quality Council, replacing it with two weekly meetings open to all employees, customers, and suppliers. At these meetings numerous employees present data on key measures of customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, and operational and financial performance. At the same time, a corporate planning process was instituted to focus on key business drivers and align plans and continuous improvement efforts. Significant investments were made in information systems tracking design defects and customer support calls. The results of the program include the trimming of operational expenses from 40 to 26 percent of revenue. Significant gains in supplier performance have also been achieved. In 1992, ADAC instituted a program to certify its suppliers. By the end of 1996, over 80 percent of nearly 5,000 different parts received at ADAC came from certified suppliers. The number of purchased parts rejected in assembly have decreased 70 percent, and defect rates, as measured at final inspection, have fallen by 40 percent. As a result of this, the volume of service calls in the first 30 days after installation has been cut in half and customer retention rates have increased from 70 to 93 percent.7 On a related front, OEM buyers have worked with suppliers of component parts and materials to eliminate costly inventories and frequent handling costs by establishing justin-time (JIT) relationships. Chapter 3 will address JIT as a purchasing strategy. Here we introduce its relationship character. A JIT relationship “requires the supplier to produce and deliver to the OEM precisely the necessary quantities at the necessary time, with the objective that products produced by the supplier conform to performance specification every time.”8 Unfortunately, some of the early JIT relationships were underachievers because buyers simply used their purchasing muscle to push inventories up the supply chain; no system efficiencies resulted. Others represented a simplistic attempt to mimic Japanese systems without thorough examination of the distance and climatic challenges posed for stockless throughput. Indeed, maybe the inefficiencies of a safety stock are more desirable than risking all-night truck driving on black ice or worse. An assessment of JIT by suppliers to U.S. automakers showed evidence of missed opportunities. Fully 30 percent of the suppliers see JIT as merely an upstream shift of inventories, and only half the suppliers get stable delivery schedules from their customers.9 Clearly, the terms relationship and strategic partnership often convey trendy images or managerial intentions more than actions. In a depth interview with a marketing executive at a leading manufacturing company, one of the authors asked some of the standard questions used to assess a firm’s intentions to forge relationships. The executive indicated his degree of agreement or disagreement to items such as “We expect our relationship with our supplier to last a long time” and “This company is (not) just another supplier.” Intentions were good. Then the interview got to specific activities: Do you share market forecasts with your supplier? (No.) Do you involve this supplier in your production process? (No.) It went on like this. Good intentions and platitudes are not enough to make a relationship work.10
Slide 48: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 41 DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS Because we have already introduced the notion of motivations to sustain a relationship, we should elaborate on what it means when a relationship works. We can then consider the process by which relationships develop. High-Performance Criteria As you might guess, managers want their relationships to be profitable. But the particular routes to profitability for trading partners don’t strictly coincide with each other. To better understand the nature of business markets, let’s look at the preferences of sellers and buyers. Sellers Sellers want substantial and reliable purchase volumes at adequate margins. And they want account management expenses, promotions, and other allocated costs to leave a large portion of the gross profit intact. A little cost accounting and historical comparison can reveal the profitability of newly established customer relationships. For example, a steel service center will strive to carry the specialty wires, I-beams, and alloys needed by manufacturers in its trade area. Its salespeople make regular calls and quotes, perhaps to attain a 40 percent share of State Fabricating’s (SF’s) purchases. If the steel service center can negotiate a contract supplying 80 percent of SF’s needs at a price break of 10 percent, it can compute the incremental gross profit and add, say, 15 percent of the inventory reduction from knowing SF’s production schedule, and the cost of 10 sales calls per year. It would then deduct the equivalent of 25 percent of the full cost of an inside salesperson now dedicated to the SF account. A similar analysis can gauge the profitability of other accounts or customer groups. Buyers Buyers often turn to supply partnerships motivated by evident inefficiencies in the production process—costly safety stocks, high return rates, numerous reorders, or long lead times. These forces have prompted purchasing directors to seek suppliers that will work collaboratively to eliminate waste and improve system economies. In the beginning of such a relationship, any efficiency gains can be measured against historical data. Continuing our example from the previous paragraph, as State Fabricators moves to a JIT system from its steel supplier, the regional steel service center, SF can determine its own inventory reduction savings, productivity gains from decreased line shutdowns, and labor savings in its purchasing operation. Designing New Standards After three or four years of JIT service from the steel supplier, the usefulness of historical data has waned for both parties. There is no obvious new performance yardstick. In this situation, partners rely on two broad types of assessments: internal and external. Internal Assessments Some companies do periodic supplier evaluations, combining data on internal operations with assessments from their own managers on supplier professionalism, responsiveness, quality, technical capability, and vision. Hewlett–Packard, for example, evaluates its suppliers on technology, quality, responsiveness, delivery, and cost. The last two dimensions
Slide 49: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 42 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 2–3 Sales Agent Performance for the Gamma Corporation Agencies Webster (Milwaukee–Madison) Batham (Rochester) Smalz (Phoenix) Lincoln (Durham) Maxington (Peoria) Average 1 No. of Estimated Reps Market Size 3 $16,500 2 15,200 4 17,100 3 16,800 3 15,900 3 16,300 Gamma Sales $2,800 $1,600 $4,800 $2,320 $3,240 $2,952 Gamma % 17% 11 28 14 20 18 Competitive Intensity Index1 4 5 3 3 4 4 5 high, 1 low. have gotten the focus of supplier attention since the ratings were instituted in 1985, largely because they are objectively measurable. That most suppliers have improved their on-time delivery by 20 to 30 percent, some even by 50 percent, supports the adage that what gets measured is what gets done. Cessna’s supply chain initiative resulted in a scoring system for defects that considered not so much the cost of the part, but the cost to rectify given the stage of the assembly process. Thus, a defect discovered in final assembly is weighted 100 times higher than one detected at incoming inspection. Likewise, sellers track key accounts against sales and profitability objectives, reorders, inventory and service burdens, and promise of future business. It is possible to do the cost accounting to result in a simplified income statement for each key account or group of accounts. External Measures Sometimes a company can evaluate relationships on a relative basis against external norms provided by trade associations or consulting companies. Large firms may even produce their own profiles using supply relationships with various company operations. In this case each particular relationship can be compared to an external standard or profile derived from other relationships. It is not uncommon for electronics manufacturers to compare the performance of their independent sales agents across the country. Although agencies are autonomous businesses and are paid a standard commission on sales, most participate in manufacturer training programs and may purchase demonstration equipment. Terminations and start-ups are far from costless. Cooperation between the manufacturer and agent enhances marketing effectiveness. Thus, comparing sales and market penetration rates between agents in similar markets helps the manufacturer to identify and analyze high-performance agency relationships. We can see how external measures can be applied in an example. Exhibit 2–3 reveals that the Smalz agency in Phoenix is a high performer. Its market is less competitive than Batham’s in Rochester, but the comparative data also reveal Batham’s use of what appears to be an undersized sales force. Gamma might now effectively press Batham to add selling resources. Models such as these can be critical to the evaluation and direction of sustained business relationships. Higher Standards When buyers or sellers in business markets are asked what makes a good relationship, they always punctuate with more than dollar signs. They want integrity, fairness, loyalty, flexibility, consideration in partner’s strategy, partner’s participation in their own strate-
Slide 50: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 43 gies, and compliance with established administrative procedures. Most companies have internal value systems that support these behaviors in contractual relations. They stand behind the product and honor commitments. With perhaps millions of business transactions conducted each week, these nonlegal sanctions seem to work reasonably well. Sellers who shirk obligations, misrepresent their abilities, and issue empty promises stand to lose accounts. Their tarnished reputation limits their ability to gain new ones. Buyers who are rigid in their demands and foreclose supply partners from planning impair their own productivity. Good suppliers in some industries have chosen not to deal with such customers. Others simply pull back on their inputs to the relationship, performing at minimum levels to retain the account or milk it of its waning value. So what’s the relative importance of profits and propriety in business relationships? An executive who had terminated a well-known supplier summarized his decision: “It was not so much what they failed to do for us, but what they tried to do to us that led us to quit.” Indeed, commercial trading cannot be sustained in the absence of virtue. Fortunately, many forces in the business environment induce good conduct. The potential for repeat business and the reputational ripples through the market from each excellent—or awful—exchange provide simple but powerful sanctions for ethical behavior and cooperation in relationships. As this behavior is reinforced, reciprocated, reinforced again, and so on, businesses often deepen their relationship. Hydrotech, a Cincinnati-based distributor of hydraulics, proved instrumental in machine tool development at Cincinnati Milacron in the late 1980s. Hydrotech developed expertise in new hydraulics from Europe and—based on deep knowledge of Milacron’s product line—was able to help Milacron improve the hydraulic systems in its tools. Since then, Hydrotech’s involvement in applications engineering at Milacron has expanded, particularly to its plastic molding machines, now the core business at Milacron. The next section explores a provocative model for the development of such buyer–seller relationships. A MODEL OF RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT Many metaphors have been used in business and research to bring understanding to the complex phenomena of buyer–seller relationships. Indeed, the utility of a metaphor is in what it simply reveals about something very complicated. This book’s authors have seen and heard metaphors of gardening, chemical bonding, child rearing, the symphony, and more. They have their place, but we have found the metaphor of courtship and marriage to more effectively illuminate facets of business relationships. The language of business marketers reflects this. You may have heard them talk about “getting better acquainted,” “courting a prospect,” “setting up house with XYZ,” or “tying the knot.” Theodore Levitt has offered a concise and illustrative observation: The relationship between a seller and a buyer seldom ends when a sale is made. Increasingly, the relationship intensifies after the sale and helps determine the buyer’s choice the next time around. Such dynamics are found particularly with services and products dealt in a stream of transactions between seller and buyer—financial services, consulting, general contracting, military and space equipment, and capital goods. The sale, then, merely consummates the courtship, at which point the marriage begins. . . . The quality of the marriage determines whether there will be continued or expanded business, or troubles and divorce.11
Slide 51: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 44 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 2–4 The Relationship Development Process Relationship phase 1. Awareness Phase characteristics 1. No interaction. Unilateral considerations of potential partners. Enabling Subprocesses for Deepening Dependence Attraction Communication & bargaining Power & justice 2. Interaction between the parties occurs. A gradual increase in dependence reflects probing and testing. Termination of this fragile association is simple. 3. One party has made a successful request for adjustment. Both parties are satisfied with some customization involved. Additional benefits from products, services, or terms are sought from the current partner rather than from an alternative partner. 4. Some means of sustaining the relationship result: contracts, shared ownership, social ties. Inputs are significant and consistent. Partners adapt and resolve disputes internally. 2. Exploration 3. Expansion Norm development Expectations development 4. Commitment Shared values and decisionmaking structures support joint investment in relation. 0 Seller’s dependence on buyer SOURCE: Buyer’s dependence on seller 0 Adapted from F. Robert Dwyer, Paul H. Schurr, and Sejo Oh, “Developing Buyer–Seller Relationships.” Used with permission from the Journal of Marketing, published by the American Marketing Association, vol. 52 (April 1987), p. 21. This section of the chapter develops the marriage metaphor using business examples to illustrate concepts and implications from research on interpersonal relationships. Exhibit 2–4 complements our discussion, showing buyer and seller in four stages of relationship development. Awareness In the awareness stage, buyer and seller independently consider the other as an exchange partner. Supplier advertisements and trade show exhibits might be noticed by the prospective buyer. At the same time, the supplier may collect information about product specifications, buying process, and the like at the prospective customer. This stage may last indefinitely, or the parties may move to the next stage of the process by engaging each other in some form of interaction. Exploration In the exploration stage, we find the parties probing and testing each other. The prospective buyer may attend a seminar given by the supplier. The supplier may make several sales calls. Even initial purchases can take place in this stage. They are part of a trial process. In the exploration phase, a relationship is very fragile. The parties have not sig-
Slide 52: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 45 nificantly invested in the exchange. Neither party depends highly on the other. The association is easily terminated. But in this stage, the interplay of five enabling processes supports the developing relationship. Attraction Attraction is the degree to which the interaction between buyer and seller yields them net payoffs in excess of some minimum level. The payoffs are tangible and intangible rewards from the association, less economic and social costs. Practically, this can be illustrated by the buyer’s purchasing director and a supplier’s sales manager sharing college memories and striking a friendship at a Big Ten Alumni picnic in Atlanta. Atop these social rewards from the association the buyer looks for quality, technical know-how, a fair price, and logistical service. The supplier looks for steady orders at a fair margin plus a chance to satisfy additional needs within the buying organization. Both want minimal order costs, delays, and foul-ups. In a fascinating case study in the automotive industry, business professors James Comer and B. J. Zirger (1995) detail the relationship development stages between an auto manufacturer, dubbed Zenith, and a supplier of vibration dampeners, labeled Alta.12 Mechanical systems and road use in automobiles cause harmful vibrations that, unless dampened, cause mechanical stress and limit durability. Vibration dampers typically consist of a metal inner ring and outer rings separated by a ring made of a complex rubber compound. The product is not technically sophisticated, but a large number of variables in the design—width, thickness, metal and rubber composition, fit to other designs in the automobile—complicate product development. The attraction between Zenith and Alta was triggered by the emergence of a new paradigm in the industry. Cost containment and reengineering in the late 1980s and early 1990s prompted automakers to examine long-standing supply relationships and explore value-added opportunities from engaging suppliers in product development. Suppliers, which had often dealt exclusively with a single automaker and simply priced dampers on the basis of blueprints received, began to send sales reps to engineers at prospect accounts. Their job was to find out what the prospective customer was working on and what problems it was facing, and then to develop credibility as a provider of solutions. In the case study, Alta’s salesperson responsible for new account development invited Zenith officials, primarily product engineers, to Alta’s plant to demonstrate abilities, introduce the highly competent personnel, and ask for an opportunity to compete for an upcoming damper project. A few months later, Zenith had some problems with its current supplier’s damper and engineers suggested blueprints be sent to Alta for a bid. Alta received the prints and gave them number one priority by assigning topflight people to a bid management team. Communication and Bargaining In the development of relationships, communication and bargaining are the processes by which the parties rearrange the distribution of their obligations, rewards, and costs. Parties to most budding relationships hesitate to clearly state their needs, preferences, or goals. They talk around the issues or provide only vague hints of what they are after in the exchange. Not until they develop a level of comfort and familiarity do they begin to make disclosures. These disclosures will probably require reciprocation—a similar action returned by the other—if the association is to grow into a productive relationship.
Slide 53: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 46 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Behavioral scientists tell us that there are dramatic effects on a relationship when parties bargain. After all, for parties to “take the trouble, go to the bother, and expend the psychic and physical energies necessary to negotiate,” the partners must see some potential for a rewarding association.13 See if this principle applies to your own social relationships. Asking your third-time date to meet you promptly might be a bold request. It could fracture the fragile relationship or it could lead to an accommodation that signals your date’s interest in sustaining the association too. Likewise, a buyer who asks for delivery between 3:00 and 3:30 A.M. from a supplier whose delivery runs begin at 4:00 A.M. risks forgoing service from this supplier. Should the supplier arrange to make 3:00 A.M. deliveries, the exchange relationship may start to crystalize or even expand. In the case of vibration dampers, Alta used a multifunctional team to provide a set of cost estimates for the design provided by Zenith. Purchasing people at Alta contacted paint, material, and component suppliers, while manufacturing identified assembly time, tooling, scrap, and so on. Tech center personnel determined that more computercontrolled machining equipment would be needed for the job. After four weeks Alta sent Zenith a preliminary bid that met specifications for Zenith and profitability requirements at Alta. Moreover, Alta recommended some design changes to improve performance. Power and Justice Adjustment in an exchange is a critical facet of relationship development. Concessions sought or granted in the bargaining process result from the just or unjust application of power. Power—an ability of one organization, Alpha, to get another organization, Beta, to do what it would not do otherwise—derives from Beta’s dependence on Alpha for valued resources that are not easily obtained elsewhere. These valued resources can take many forms: status, economic rewards, expertise, and applied or ended punishments. Justice—the rendering of what is merited or due—results from the fair and respectful use of power. Evenhandedness and honesty characterize the just use of power. In contrast, the unjust application of power attempts to control another’s actions against its will or without its understanding or in the absence of fault. Akin to the significance of bargaining for marking progress, the successful (just) exercise of power sparks the transition from an exploratory relationship to one heading into the expansion phase. The premium dog food manufacturer IAMS enjoyed a strong market position among kennel owners. When it sought to penetrate the consumer market, it paid each kennel owner $5 per name for every new owner of a dog purchased from its kennel. Thus, instead of having to comply with some new requirement to obtain IAMS products or credit terms, kennels were delighted by the advent of a new profit center and a foundation for new kinds of cooperation with the IAMS company. It was the just application of power that established this basis for additional joint efforts between IAMS and kennel owners. Zenith engineers reviewed Alta’s bid for about three months before ultimately giving tentative acceptance. This meant that Zenith was willing to continue to work with Alta. Prices were in a reasonable range, and the redesign proposal was worthy of further examination and collaboration. This was a milestone in the developing relation, a platform for deeper cooperation. Norms Development Business relationships are forged to accomplish tasks and attain goals sought by each party. Simply put, there is work to be done. Norms are standards of behavior for the parties, the guidelines by which the parties interact. Some norms exist prior to and are
Slide 54: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 47 brought to the exploratory phase. For example, buyer and sales rep share many elements when asked to outline a “script” for different types of sales calls.14 Such scripts have less commonality when the parties come from different cultures or professions. As the parties interact, they customize their patterns of interaction. Practically, this means they may teach each other the language of their respective companies, meet with a negotiated frequency, communicate by mutually agreeable—even automated—channels, and begin to organize evaluation, planning, and decision-making tasks. Zenith and Alta relied on common norms of exchange in their initial interactions. Professional courtesies, the language of automotive engineers, plant tour protocol, and the conveyance of blueprints inviting bids are general norms that enabled the two firms to begin to collaborate. The preliminary acceptance launches an opportunity for more customization of their patterns of interaction: frequency and locale of meetings, prototype development schedules, and product testing procedures. Expectations As the parties interact and explore the potential for ongoing exchange, they develop expectations. Foremost among expectations is trust, “the belief that a party’s word or promise is reliable and a party will fulfill his or her obligations in an exchange relationship.”15 The trusting party derives confidence from a belief that the other party is consistent, honest, fair, responsible, and helpful. These expectations can be shaped in part by the other party’s image advertising and reputation in the industry. Based on industry reputation and limited interaction, Alta expected Zenith to give it a fair opportunity for its business and it risked four weeks of team effort in the preparation of a serious bid. On the other end, Zenith regarded Alta as a credible potential supplier, sent its personnel to Alta’s plant, and took a risk itself by disclosing its designs. Neither Zenith nor Alta saw large investments yet, only small exposures to risk for the promise of cooperation and higher payoffs. Positive outcomes from these occasions of vulnerability build trust. We should look for direct experience to play a key role in the migration of the relationship past the exploration phase. The relationship must be solidified in the expansion phase, to be taken up next, and satisfy the critical prerequisites for the commitment phase! Expansion In the expansion stage the association moves from one of testing and probing to one of enlarging rewards and the scope of exchange. Account development, cross-selling, and up-selling are manifestations of the expansion phase. Consider the experience of TMSS, a company providing consulting and administrative services in select fields. It is not uncommon for an advertising agency or financial service firm to use TMSS initially for mail, courier, and distribution services. Clients may then turn to TMSS for printing and reproduction services, later desktop publishing and creative services, and finally perhaps file and document management. As a client increasingly outsources or spins off internal functions to an outside provider, TMSS may realize a higher and higher proportion of its business from this particular client. Both firms find their dependence on the other has escalated. From the Field 2–2 illustrates an expansion in a novel purchasing arrangement. The essence of the expansion phase is increasing dependence between the exchange partners. For Alta and Zenith the expansion is manifested in their interactions following their agreement on two critical documents: the “Presource Agreement” and a “Release to
Slide 55: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 48 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 2–2 FROM THE FIELD A New JIT Relationship T he BOSE Corporation is a leading manufacturer of high-fidelity audio speakers, systems, and components. In 1990, BOSE’s director of purchasing and logistics, Lance Dixon, conceived of a new form of structuring relationships with suppliers. Dubbed JIT II, Dixon’s system involved placing vendor representatives in the BOSE plants and empowering them to authorize BOSE purchase orders. The system uses the vendor professional, called an “inplant,” to replace the traditional buyer and salesperson. The inplant develops intimate knowledge of customer needs, performs concurrent engineering with customer engineers, determines order quantities, manages inventories, uses customer computers, and is generally regarded as a customer employee, although paid by the vendor. The JIT II program at BOSE has been highly successful. Now many other companies have looked to Dixon and BOSE to see how they might apply it in their procurement process. For example, Honeywell visited with Dixon and sev- eral inplant representatives at BOSE to see if JIT II principles might be applied in its operation. Honeywell had already initiated corporatewide pooled purchasing and promoted strategic supplier relationships to increase quality, shorten lead times, and improve delivery, but this was still a far cry from the supplier intimacy of JIT II. Now Honeywell’s Home and Building Control Strategic Materials and Procurement group has several on-site suppliers involved in planning, forecasting, scheduling, placing orders, working with design engineers, expediting deliveries, and consulting with users—sometimes on cross-functional teams. Other Honeywell facilities have set up similar arrangements for purchasing printing services, raw materials, packaging, and trucking services. Honeywell sees payoffs beyond the reassignment of buyers and expediters. It sees reduced cycle times for designs, lower-cost designs, parts consolidation, reduced inventory, better delivery, and more effective value analysis that has brought lower prices.16 Tool.” The former precipitated the formation of a development team consisting of representatives from various areas of Alta’s manufacturing, purchasing, and technical centers, along with fixed and floating representatives from Zenith as well as Alta’s suppliers. Weekly meetings alternated between Zenith’s and Alta’s facilities as the changes were made to damper designs as a result of ways that Alta and its suppliers knew to cut costs. Some of the lowercost approaches involved redesign of other engine components. The ripple effect of such collaboration clearly reflected the growing interdependence of the two companies. The “Release to Tool” agreement was a consequence of testing several hundred prototypes at Zenith’s facility over the course of more than a year. But the words of the agreement—essentially a contract to purchase a specified quantity over a period of time at an agreed-upon price—were complemented by key bonding behaviors by each party. Zenith “desourced” its previous supplier of dampers for this application. Alta purchased special manufacturing equipment and made financial investment in prototypes beyond Zenith’s reimbursement schedule. Both parties made concrete behavioral pledges to the relationship, in addition to reaching a verbal agreement. They were nearing the commitment phase. Commitment Commitment is a lasting desire to maintain or preserve a valuable, important relationship. Thus, this commitment phase is characterized by the parties exchanging significant resources. When the parties share a common belief in the effectiveness of future exchange
Slide 56: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 49 in the commitment phase, they dedicate resources to maintain the relationship. Some buyers use a panel of suppliers to act as tribunals to arbitrate disputes. Buyer and seller may exchange employees in order to fully identify with the trading partner. Other means of cementing relations include the dedication of equipment and systems and even anniversary celebrations to reinforce the critical social bonds between the two companies. Commitment enables relationships to survive either party’s foul-ups and environmental disturbances—blizzards, fires, truckers’ strikes—that are neither party’s fault. Two months after reaching the “Release to Tool” agreement, Zenith hired a new purchasing director who was charged with instituting major cost reductions in parts purchasing. Alta renegotiated a new price schedule. Meanwhile, Alta’s paint supplier caused several prototypes to fail corrosion tests. The relationship survived this breakdown because Alta secured a more capable paint supplier prior to the testing of production samples. Dissolution In the early phases of relationship development, either partner can walk away from the exchange without trouble. As mutual dependencies increase and the costs of switching to another exchange partner take on significance, ending a relationship can become a knotty problem. Dissolution—termination of an advanced relationship—can make assets dedicated to the relationship obsolete and require additional search, negotiation, and set-up costs for both parties. Indeed, it took more than a year for Alta and Zenith to forge a supply relationship. In some cases, costly litigation and emotional scars can add to the toll of termination. What little research we have in this area suggests that dissolution is a multiphase counterpart to the process of relationship development.17 Briefly, we know that parties remain in business relationships for two broad reasons: (1) they want to remain—the relationship is financially, strategically, or psychologically rewarding—or (2) they have to stay— exit is too costly, or no alternatives exist. If a party wants to be in the relationship, it doesn’t matter so much that it might have to be. Thus, the effects of a dissatisfying event depend on the overall attitude of the offended partner toward the relationship. If the attitude is favorable, episodes of dissatisfaction will be endured or redressed. When the partner has had to endure several letdowns, lingering dissatisfaction darkens the view of the future held by the “custodian” of the relationship, perhaps a sales manager or purchasing director. This person with dayto-day responsibility for the relationship sorts through the options then makes a case to the firm’s top management. For example, the marketing manager at a medical insurance company may note the sustained weak performance of a particular agency, despite a variety of assistances and slack for extenuating circumstances, and make a presentation to the home office to terminate. Formal dialogue between the two firms may strive to address the status of the relationship. Likely, the insurance company will give 30 days notice of termination of the agency. Cause may be given as substandard performance or policy breaches. Then in the aftermath, we can look for the dissemination of public accounts of a breakup and counterpart accounts for internal consumption only at the respective firms. Let’s not expect company and agent always to tell the same story. Model Assessment The marriage metaphor seems to apply to business relationships in many contexts. For situations that allow gradual testing and expanding reliance on a trading partner, the metaphor seems particularly useful. It focuses on mutual problem solving, the develop-
Slide 57: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 50 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Buyer–seller relationships in the commitment phase pivot on more than a low bid price. Courtesy Inland Steel; agency: Esrock Advertising. ment of efficient routines, and the reinforcement of trusting behaviors. The perspective also lends its insights particularly to exchange relations between firms that have a key individual doing deals and renewal. Because it does not recognize (1) the dynamics of decision making by the crossfunctional work teams, which are becoming common at large firms, and (2) different levels of authority of relationship custodians across organizations, the marriage metaphor represents a gross simplification of the process. The model also is nearly silent on the effects of the larger exchange network on the relationship, such as Alta’s suppliers or even their suppliers. We will amplify these in a later section. Likewise, because the model neglects the business equivalent of marriage without courtship, the next section will discuss alternative means of securing relationships. SAFEGUARDING RELATIONSHIPS A variety of mechanisms can be used to cement strategic relationships. These mechanisms take on particular significance when there is no real chance to test the relationship. Indeed, some exchanges involve large-scale and long-run commitments. It may take 15 years to complete an oil field installation or start up a chemical plant. The Department of Defense has planned for 20-year horizons in the development of certain new weapons systems. When Apple brought Sony in as a supplier of key components in its notebook computers, there may have been little opportunity for either partner to prove itself directly in the specific relationship prior to committing to substantial quantities at preset delivery schedules. Savvy business purchasers and marketers will set up terms and unique structures for the exchange to ensure its effectiveness over the long run.
Slide 58: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 51 2–1 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Partnerships M any western companies are trying to build business relationships in China. Although rigorous research has only just begun to study the process, we can identify a number of obstacles to the development of effective and lasting business partnerships. Perhaps due to the Confucian ethic stressing harmony in society and strong interpersonal bonds, business partnerships and joint ventures in China hinge on interpersonal relationships. In initial interactions, managers from Chinese and western cultures must first develop a level of trust that allows greater interdepen- dence. How do business professionals overcome language barriers and a history of hundreds of years as adversaries? The Chinese culture exhibits a reliance on an extended family or ingroup called zijiren. Western culture is more individualistic and measures time in shorter increments. Does it surprise you that some western firms fracture relationships by prematurely pressing for written contracts? Would you expect some Chinese businesses to seek deals that in a demonstrable way “serve China”?18 Think back to the Hewlett–Packard printer that needed special fasteners. HP and prospective suppliers seem likely to be motivated to establish an effective working relationship. At the same time, each is uncertain about the other, not to mention facets of its own business. House Calls Perhaps HP could send a couple of its managers—or an agent—to visit prospective suppliers. Do they have smooth-running shop floors? Is a supplier’s personnel competent and dedicated to quality? Does it have access to the technology to do the job in the future? Activities such as these were part of the development of the Zenith–Alta relationship and are called supplier verification. They are formal efforts to obtain evidence of supplier capabilities and commitment. From a marketing perspective, it is important to recognize that the expertise, dedication to quality, professionalism, teamwork, and allaround customer focus of the supplier organization—not merely the sales rep—speak volumes to the prospective customer. Trading Places Buyers and sellers may exchange personnel to provide assurances. Procter & Gamble engineers assist their suppliers with the setup and testing of new production processes, such as the cutting of material for use in disposable diapers. Intel invited its furniture supplier to bring its expertise to reside in Intel’s growing 1,600-person office in New Mexico. The supplier met with the building planners, Intel customers, and construction contractors, thereby reducing planning time. The furniture supplier then placed all orders, assuring accuracy and tight coordination with its factory.19 In this same way, HP could request its custom fastener supplier to come to its plant to become familiar with its workings and oversee the supply function.
Slide 59: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 52 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Managing Dependence Alternatively, HP might set up two suppliers or do some of the manufacturing itself to avoid vulnerability to failures or “hold up” by the sole supplier. This is one example of a generic safeguarding strategy called dependence balancing.20 In this approach a buyer reduces its dependence on the supplier by cultivating relationships with other exchange partners. You can easily see how the number one supplier might be motivated to give exceptional service if HP has a very attractive backup supplier. Recognize that this strategy may confound work flow by (1) introducing variation in delivery and parts performance and (2) stretching the supplier coordination and management resources across two partners. That is, the buyer may need to host two or more supplier teams in its product design efforts. Supplier Pledges We saw this versatile strategy at work in the vibration dampers case when Zenith desourced its previous supplier. That bold move came after months of trust development with Alta at a time when it was important to signal its commitment. It also motivated Alta to reciprocate by investing in specialized machinery.21 Similar pledges could likewise be initiated by a supplier. Consider a supplier with a proprietary product. The supplier can empathize with a prospective buyer that is very reluctant to commit to any exclusive source, perhaps risking price gouging or restricted supply after production or marketing commitments that make switching impractical. As a pledge of good faith intentions to give good service and fair prices over the course of the relationship, the supplier could license its proprietary know-how to another company. This licensee would then be poised to serve the buyer in the event of performance breakdowns by the original source.22 Contracts The same effect, sustained commitment to the exchange, is sometimes achieved by inventive means of distributing the ownership of assets involved. For example, if HP wants a specially manufactured part that no other firm is known to need, prospective suppliers will require assurances that their investments in the ability to produce this product will pay out. Perhaps the parties could hammer out a complex contract with terms for long-run purchases at preset prices, with contingency clauses for every foreseeable circumstance—good and bad. But chances are good that the negotiators cannot anticipate every possible circumstance. Writing a rule now for how the parties will behave in the new environment four years from now could take more meetings than either firm wants to attend. This problem of indefinite haggling can be solved by HP’s ownership of the machinery to produce the part. HP can buy the machines to install in the supplier’s plant, acquire and set up the supplier, or start up its own facility from scratch. Ownership of just the machines still leaves some control issues unsettled—issues such as training, maintenance, repair, and exclusivity. But these issues are not beyond the limits of contracts. Relational contracts are contracts that don’t try to bring every future contingency up for consideration in the present, but establish means of continuous planning, adjusting, and resolving conflicts. Relational contracts can specify decision-making authority by issue (material standards, shutdowns, training, and maintenance) and establish procedures or structures for planning to assure ongoing effective exchange.23 Relational contracts play a key role in Cessna’s supply chain management initiative.
Slide 60: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 53 Baja Oriente joined AlliedSignal’s roster of preferred suppliers by cutting costs more than 5 percent annually. In return, Baja sales to AlliedSignal are up 1100 percent. Axel Koester/Sygma. Ownership Vertical integration, bringing a function or technology within the boundary of the firm, assures continuity in the relationship because suppliers are now hierarchically connected employees. That is, employees work in an environment of formal rules, authority, reporting structures, and special responsibilities. Goals tend to be shared and, overall, control of activities is enhanced. Firms make a strategic choice to use distributors or their own sales force, outside research agencies or their own research department, third-party logistical services or their own traffic department, contract suppliers or in-house manufacturing, and much more. Coordination of the selling, research, transportation, manufacturing, or other functions can be enhanced by a firm’s own formal and informal communication systems, structured work roles, and decision-making processes. But there are real downsides to this solution to the safeguarding problem. Vertical integration swells fixed costs and may not well duplicate the motivation of owners of independent businesses. As Cessna discovered, integration also broadens the activities a firm tries to perform well and can dilute managerial focus. In short, it can’t solve very many problems without seriously complicating the question, What business are we in? We will expand on this issue in Chapter 6. RELATIONSHIPS IN LARGER NETWORKS We began this chapter with a quick review of the magnificent ability of markets to coordinate work. Then we focused on the special challenges of developing and safeguarding relationships, which are necessary for the exchange of complex, specialty, and risky products. This focus on buyer–seller relationships can be myopic, however, because the parties are not the only entities in the marketplace. They are connected in a network, a much larger and strategically significant web of organizations. We provided a preview of the significance of the network in our brief discussion of dependence balancing. In two examples, a party attempted to manage a focal relationship by purposely structuring another relationship. Håkan Håkansson, a leading expert in business networks from Sweden,
Slide 61: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 54 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 2–2 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Make-or-Buy Carburetors? R ochester Products develops and produces carburetors and fuel injection systems. Product testing is quite extensive because fuel distribution systems play such a key role in a car or truck’s operation and because systems must perform in a wide range of situations. Indeed, the systems need to operate in both Alaska and Tucson, in both Denver and Miami. They need to perform using gasolines that conform to different standards across the country. Are you surprised to learn that Rochester Products is a division of General Motors? Assess the benefits this gives to GM. What other means besides outright corporate ownership could GM use to be assured of good fuel systems? paints the picture quite vividly. He reminds us that Swedish filmmakers like to make movies about marriage. The intrigue in these movies, however, invariably comes from introducing a third person. Intrigue in business relationships comes from new buyers (rivals to the incumbent), from new vendors, or from customers of the buyer or suppliers to the supplier. In any case, we agree with Håkansson that a triangle makes for drama. But relevant business networks can be much larger than triangles. Rob Bestwick runs a public relations company with just four employees. His sustained growth is a result of a network of independent copywriters, designers, photographers, and other technical specialists that enable him to compete as a fleet-footed “virtual company.”24 In the automotive field again, Chrysler has reorganized its entire product development process around the concept of simultaneous engineering. In practice this involved six Mexican firms in the engine design for a new-generation vehicle.25 SUMMARY OF TYPES OF BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS Markets are highly efficient mechanisms for the sale and purchase of commodities and general-use parts. Exemplified in cash-and-carry wholesaling, and online auctions, we’ve classified these exchanges as spot or transactional relationships. Self-interest motivates the exchange, and parties give little thought to future interaction. At the other end of the business relationship continuum is the partnership, which many writers liken to a marriage. A partnership is a relationship characterized by mutual commitment, intense communication and collaboration, high trust, and common goals. With partnership status come opportunities to develop new business, a chance to gain access to valuable information, and many other benefits. Many marketing organizations aim to achieve partnership status with a range of customers. Likewise, many buying organizations look to form partnerships with a subset of suppliers. Obviously, a buyer–seller match in partnership motives yields a mutually maintained relationship whereas mismatches skew the relationship management responsibility to the party more interested in relating. It should also be clear that business relationships can be distinguished on two other dimensions: the social dimension and the contractual/structural dimension. Social re-
Slide 62: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 55 lationship is the term we use to describe a trading association supported principally by social bonds and habit. The “glue” holding together a social relationship includes interpersonal attraction and friendship between buyer and seller, similarity in background, a track record of successful cooperation, efficient communication, and general satisfaction. A transactional exchange could evolve into a social relationship as the parties forge customized routines, provide extraordinary performance, develop implicit and explicit understandings about needs and roles, trade favors, discover they both (dis)like fly fishing, French wines, the pope, Bob Marley . . . , and start liking each other. The social bonds and the positively reinforced interactions that support the social relationships are important to most business relationships. Sometimes parties need more assurance than friendship—or prior to the possibility of developing social ties—that the relationship can be sustained. This includes assurances that the other party will stay motivated to perform up to established standards. These assurances usually involve some type of contract or “hostage” that constitutes a pledge for performance. Thus, such relationships are called safeguarded relationships because contracts or structural and technical ties bond the parties to the ongoing exchange. Contracts may have large penalties for termination and detailed procedures for resolving conflicts and adjusting to new working environments. For example, Unamin sells silica sand to Dow Corning, delivering 300 tons per day. The sand must meet very specific size and quality standards. If Unamin fails to deliver the right quality at the right time, the company must pay Dow Corning a substantial fee. Of course, Dow Corning has structurally tied its operations to Unamin and would also have to shut down the plant in the face of late deliveries and defects. The contractual provisions for the penalties, then, balance Dow Corning’s implicit pledge in sole-sourcing silica and are a way of safeguarding by sharing risk. Corporate relationships are exchanges safeguarded by ownership or vertical integration. A university assures itself of sustained access to printing services by having its own printing operation. A medical equipment manufacturer may acquire a wholesaler to provide the selling and distribution services. In each example the trading relation becomes circumscribed by an employment relationship. Generally, employees work with a set of explicit rules and under an authority structure that is difficult—but not impossible—to duplicate in contracts between independent organizations. The success of Cessna Aircraft depends on much more than its own humming production process. It critically rests on its selection of top-drawer suppliers, collaboration with key suppliers and their supplies in the development of high performance components, and sound design and administration of the dealer network that serves its ultimate customers. Many business marketers would point to some 15 years of supply chain management as our most significant breakthrough in network thinking. Indeed, a 1998 survey by the consulting arm of Deloitte and Touche found 90 percent of respondent companies planning supply chain improvements for the coming year.26 No wonder! The market leadership of Dell and Cisco can well be traced to strategic supply management that yields quality, speed, performance, and service levels that net out to superior value for their customers. Historically, bringing elements of the value network together and into managerial focus has been no mean feat. It has happened only with the impetus of dynamic leadership and imagination, such as provided by G.W. Carver and today’s top supply chain executives.
Slide 63: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 56 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing The Internet enables new types of B2B networks. Today, global network convergence is one of the most exciting Internet phenomena for business marketing. At VerticalNet.com, “hubs” or virtual communities for over 50 business-to-business industries are just a few keystrokes from any manager’s desktop. Each hub is a door to various discussion forums, trade groups, and the “storefronts” of buyers and sellers who pay VerticalNet $6 thousand per year to be there. Started in 1995, VerticalNet exists to provide Internet environments where business can be conducted faster and more efficiently. Within its communities, its mission is to “provide the foremost online information resources, communication vehicles and e-commerce channels for industrial, professional, and technology-based businesses.”27 If we back away a bit from the intimidating complexity of networks, we should be able to focus on the essential linkages for resources and skills in the creation of value. Consider George Washington Carver, a scientist most often celebrated for his development of scores of products made from peanuts. But Carver was not simply a productive laboratory dabbler. His efforts with “goobers” followed his vital research and demonstration projects involving crop rotation. His work at Tuskegee Institute was aimed at increasing cotton yields among Alabama’s struggling small farmers. Planting peanuts restored nitrogen to the soil, enabling rich cotton harvests in subsequent seasons. Carver and the farmers seemingly had a productive relationship. But the farmers’ success with peanuts glutted the market. Their bountiful harvests had no value. Thus, not until consumer preferences for peanut butter cookies built demand for peanut butter processors, which bid up the price of peanuts, did cotton growers benefit significantly from crop rotation. George Washington Carver’s endeavor to develop markets for peanuts reflects his insight into the connectivity of any enterprise to the larger network creating value. You know from Chapter 1 that today’s business marketing is not just peanuts. Multiple firms interacting with one another are using and discovering a host of mechanisms to coordinate their activities, of which price is but one. Consider Airborne Express, which has gained significant market share in the urgent-delivery business by knowing and handling its clients’ shipping needs. In effect, becoming a firm’s shipping department, Airborne and its client (say, Xerox or an industrial catalog company) together serve the shipper’s customer base. Other firms enlisted by Airborne—independent consultants, software companies, local couriers, commercial airlines, and more—become part of the valuecreating network as well. The concept of networks is not new. Indeed, in the long history of trade the prevalence of family enterprises, cartels, guilds, and conglomerate trading companies is unde-
Slide 64: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 57 niable. The scarcity of truly autonomous enterprises with strictly defined boundaries belies their dominance in formal economic models of the marketplace. Unfortunately, the complexity of business networks and the infancy of scholarship in the field limits us to largely descriptive insights. Even the progress in supply chain management is confined largely to optimized linkages—two-firm interfaces—rather than systemwide flows. But Dave Wilson and Kristian Moller, top business scholars from the United States and Europe, respectively, contend, “Network thinking represents the most novel conceptualization about the nature of industrial markets and industries. . . . The emerging results suggest, however, that network concepts help to understand industrial markets in a more realistic fashion.”28 Summary Markets represent a powerful system for coordinating exchange. They allow work to be divided among specialists and allow value to be determined by customers. But there are technical limits to the effectiveness of markets. Incomplete information about product performance, buyer or seller integrity, and hidden costs not well reflected in price limit the utility of market exchange. For complex products and uncertain transaction environments, buyers and sellers must find additional means—complementary to the price system—for coordinating their behavior. In some environments, buyers and sellers can forge high-performance relationships by a process akin to courtship. It includes gradual probing, reinforced risk taking (trust), language and norm customization, and overall deepening of dependence. The request for adjustment and accommodation are key signals of the value of the association and allow expansion into other exchange activities. We used the running example of the new product development efforts for automotive vibration dampers to illustrate the processes of relationship development. But some contexts simply do not allow parties to taper into a relationship. These must be set up in advance to safeguard each party’s investment and ensure long-run performance. Supplier verification, exchange of personnel, and dependence balancing provide some assurances of continuity and performance. On another plane, the parties can strategically manage dependence through third-party relations. Relational contracts and vertical integration complete our illustration of the vast array of options. Finally, we must not neglect to consider the nesting of each relationship in a larger business network. Each firm’s connections to other players in the web of exchange relations will determine their competitive position to provide value. Key Terms attraction awareness stage commitment corporate relationship dependence balancing dissolution expansion stage exploration stage just-in-time (JIT) relationship justice norms outsource power reciprocation relational contract safeguarded relationship social relationship spot exchange strategic partnership supplier verification supply chain management transactional relationship trust vertical integration
Slide 65: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 58 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Discussion Questions 1. Evaluate the ability of spot markets to provide adequate resources for an organization seeking to purchase O-rings storage racks data entry services payroll software custodial services office furniture applications engineering small electric motors (components) 2. Would a company marketing these products be interested in developing longrun relationships with any customer? Why? 3. Write a series of events that might well typify a developing relationship between an office furniture dealer and a growing investment company. 4. Is it possible to develop a corresponding series of events reflecting a relationship between this investment company and its phone system vendor? 5. Imagine you are concluding a very productive meeting with your finance professor regarding the conduct of a feasibility analysis of a business venture you have dreamed about for a long time. You’ve never had such a supportive and caring professor before, yet there is a pained expression in Dr. Roberts’ face when you ask to borrow one of his books. What safeguards can you provide Dr. Roberts that you’ll return his book in good condition? 6. Marketing authors Robert Morgan and Shelby Hunt argue that trust and commitment are the central variables for understanding relationship marketing. Other scholars have suggested that power is the key variable. Explain which variable you believe is key. 7. A small group of parents in Kentucky formed a private, independent school. It opened recently in classrooms rented from an urban church with an oversized physical plant and a shrinking congregation. School officials forecast enrollment growing from about 40 in year one to about 120 over the next four years. Ample space for over 100 was available at the church, low-cost terms were agreed on, and an option to renew for up to four years at the same terms was signed. The pastor answered to the church council and recently wrote the school board president that because the school opened with 80 students instead of 40, the consistory wanted to double the rent. How do you respond? Could this relationship have been set up better? 8. Describe a situation in which an important business relationship developed because of other loosely connected business relationships involving the parties. 9. Many franchisers require their franchisees to follow strict operating procedures or face termination and forfeiture of large sums of money. In some circles this state of affairs prompts discussions of the abusive power of franchisors over their franchisees. But the chapter suggests these termination provisions might be considered for their use as a safeguard. Explain. 10. Explain the student recruitment imperatives for a top business school using a network perspective on value added. Internet Exercise Franchising is a unique business marketing format. The franchisor selects franchisees from applicants who have the necessary financial resources and meet other qualifications. Then, each party to this partnership brings unique skills and resources to the enterprise. Usually, the franchisor lends a brand image, operational expertise, and siting assistance. The franchisee brings capital and initiative.
Slide 66: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 59 WWW I N T E R N E T Delve into McDonald’s’ website to determine the financial resources a McDonald’s franchisee would need. Examine the means by which the franchisor makes money. Evaluate this structure in the light of the chapter’s discussion of safeguarding relationships. Case 2.1 Mac OS Licensing Cases Apple Computer began its bold Mac OS licensing program in 1994, hoping to increase its market penetration in publishing, design, and database applications against competitive pressure from PC powerhouses Microsoft and Intel. A key ingredient to this program was a joint effort by Apple, IBM, and Motorola to create the Common Hardware Reference Platform (CHRP). This move freed Apple from the exclusive responsibility of hardware design and brought in broad industry participation. In the CHRP introduction, then Apple CEO Michael Spindler said, “We believe today’s announcement is good news for anyone who believes in innovation, competition, and responding to customer needs.” Enter the Mac clones. Power Computing began shipping Mac systems in May 1995 and sales quickly soared. Clone maker Umax also racked up business. After touting its speed and then besting Apple systems in many computer magazine reviews, Power Computing reached annual volumes of nearly $400 million by summer 1997. As Apple struggled and prodigal founder Steve Jobs began to assert more influence in the company from his seat on the board, there were signs that licensing would end. In a filing at the Securities Exchange Commission, Apple said, “The benefits to the company from licensing the Mac OS to third parties may be more than offset by the disadvantages of competing with them.” Indeed, sales data indicated that, rather than expanding the market, clone makers were carving up Apple’s customer base. Apple’s CFO said, “I would guess that somewhere around 99 percent of their sales went to the existing customer base.” On September 2, 1997, Apple announced that it would acquire Power Computing for $100 million in common stock and cease licensing new technology to other clone makers such as Umax and Motorola. 1. What did Apple hope to gain by licensing? Is this option open in the future? 2. What were licensees looking for? Where do they go without new Apple technology? 3. Could the license arrangements have been structured differently? 4. How did customers fare under licensing? SOURCE: Stephen Beale, “Apple Eliminates the Top Clone Vendor,” MacWorld, November 1997, pp. 30–31; Galen Gruman, “Why Apple Pulled the Plug,” MacWorld, November 1997, pp. 31ff.; Kaitlin Ouistgaard, “Apple Kills Clone Market,” Wired, September 2, 1997, www.wired.com/news. Case 2.2 Just-in-Time JIT You’re the director of purchasing at a telecommunications company in Seattle and you’ve just gone to meet your sister-in-law for coffee at a little cafe off Rush Street. Earlier this week you arrived in Chicago to attend the National Association of Purchasing Managers Convention. As you waited in the cafe, you couldn’t help but hear the conversation in the opposite booth. A group of three increasingly rowdy purchasing agents from different companies were clearly from the same convention. One they called Xavier was from Tex Implements. He was warmed up and getting loud. “I just want to know how I’m supposed to get the best price from Prespec Spring, when I cannot even ask for a bid from anyone else.”
Slide 67: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 60 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing “You think that’s bad?” retorted a stocky guy called Hank, a streetwise purchasing manager at a Big Three auto company. “I got this dude from Magma in my department telling us how many hoses of which type we’ve got to get each month.” “We’ve got the same JIT II baloney. I call it ‘JIP Too,’” said the woman in the teal suit. You hoped you had done a better job getting the purchasing people at your firm committed to the concept of vendor consolidation, sole sourcing, and partnering, but the conversation prompted you to jot a few notes. At tomorrow’s conference luncheon you were slated to accept an award for your company for purchasing excellence. You had been planning to make a few simple remarks off the cuff, but your napkin now had a short summary of the motivation and strategic payoff for this “new era in procurement.” Additional Readings Achrol, Ravi S, and Phillip Kotler. “Marketing in the Network Economy.” Journal of Marketing 63 (Special Issue 1999), pp. 146–163. Bowersox, Donald J., David J. Closs, and Theodore P. Stank. 21st Century Logistics: Making Supply Chain Integration a Reality. Oak Brook, Ill.: Council of Logistics Management, 1999. Claycomb, Vincentia (“Cindy”), and Gary L. Frankwick. “The Dynamics of Buyers’ Perceived Costs during the Relationship Development Process.” Journal of Businessto-Business Marketing 4, no. 1 (1997), pp. 1–37. Dwyer, F. Robert, Paul H. Schurr, and Sejo Oh. “Developing Buyer–Seller Relationships,” Journal of Marketing 52 (April 1987), pp. 11–27. Fein, Adam J., and Erin Anderson. “Patterns of Credible Commitments: Territory and Brand Selectivity in Industrial Distribution Channels.” Journal of Marketing 61 (April 1997), pp. 19–34. Fine, Charles H. Clock Speed: Winning Industry Control in the Age of Temporary Advantage. Reading, Mass.: Perseus Books, 1998. Gundlach, Gregory T., Ravi S. Achrol, and John T. Mentzer. “The Structure of Commitment in Exchange.” Journal of Marketing 59 ( January 1995), pp. 78–92. Gundlach, Gregory T., and Patrick Murphy. “Ethical and Legal Foundations of Relational Marketing Exchanges.” Journal of Marketing 57 (October 1993), pp. 35– 46. John, George, Allen M. Weiss, and Shantanu Dutta. “Marketing in TechnologyIntensive Markets: Toward a Conceptual Framework.” Journal of Marketing 63 (Special Issue 1999), pp. 78–92. Leenders, Michiel R., and David L. Blenkhorn. Reverse Marketing: The New Buyer– Supplier Relationship. New York: The Free Press, 1988. Leuthesser, Lance. “Supplier Relational Behavior: An Empirical Assessment.” Industrial Marketing Management 26 (1997), pp. 245–254. Mohr, Jakki J., Robert J. Fisher, and John R. Nevin. “Collaborative Communication in Interfirm Relationships: Moderating Effects of Integration and Control.” Journal of Marketing 60 ( July 1996), pp. 103–115. Morgan, Robert, and Shelby Hunt. “The Commitment–Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing.” Journal of Marketing 58 ( July 1994), pp. 20–38. Naude, Pete, Chris Holland, and Matian Sudbury. “The Benefits of IT-Based Supply Chains—Strategic or Operational?” Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing 7, no. 1 (2000), pp. 45–67.
Slide 68: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 2. The Character of Business Marketing © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing 61 Thompson, Grahame, Jennifer Frances, Rosalind Levacic , and Jeremy Mitchell, eds. ˇ´ Markets, Hierarchies & Networks: The Coordination of Social Life. London: Sage Publications, 1991. Tompkins, James A. No Boundaries: Moving Beyond Supply Chain Management. Raleigh, N.C.: Tompkins Press, 2000. Vlosky, Richard P., and Elizabeth J. Wilson. “Partnering and Traditional Relationships in Business Marketing: An Introduction to the Special Issue.” Journal of Business Research 31 (May 1997), pp. 1–5.
Slide 69: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 62 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function PPG INDUSTRIES In the automotive industry, manufacturers expect a 5 percent cost reduction from their suppliers every year. That cost reduction isn’t necessarily expected to be in the form of price cuts, but rather in the total cost of acquiring, using, and sometimes disposing of the product. Chrysler, for example, introduced its cost reduction program, SCORE, to its suppliers. PPG Industries, a major supplier of automotive coatings and paints, automotive glass, and other products for the automotive industry, quickly realized that it could not achieve the 5 percent goal without help from its suppliers. After all, PPG spends 60 percent of every sales dollar purchasing goods and services from other companies. But if the company couldn’t achieve that cost-reduction goal, it could lose a significant share of the automotive industry business, perhaps even jeopardizing the existence of several PPG business units. Therefore, the company implemented its own cost-reduction program for suppliers called $AVE, or Supplier Added Value Effort, mirrored on the Chrysler program. During the first year of the program, the company received 694 cost-saving proposals from its suppliers. Of these, 223 were implemented, saving the company a total of $15.7 million. In January of the second year, 29 proposals were received of which 10 were implemented, saving the company another $740,000. PPG has instituted a website where suppliers can submit proposals for cost savings. These proposals are evaluated by the functional area or unit that is affected by the products in the proposal. If accepted, the supplier is credited with the savings. This credit translates into a higher score for that supplier, which means that the supplier is eligible to earn more business. Suppliers that don’t participate in $AVE risk losing business to competitors who do participate. • • • •
Slide 70: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 http://www.ppg.com/fra By using the Web-based process, PPG is able to automatically keep the supplier and PPG units informed as to the status of any proposal. The automated process also keeps track of the supplier’s score, used as part of the annual evaluation of supplier. The strategic importance of $AVE is not lost on Margaret McGrath, PPG’s vice president of purchasing and distribution. As she says, “We need help if we are going to meet their (our customer’s) requirements . . . if we can reach Chrysler’s goal as a supplier, our suppliers should be able to do it for us.” • Sources: PPG Industries “$AVE FAQS,” http://www.ppg.com/frames/suppliers.htm, September 14, 2000; Christopher Reilly, “How Suppliers Make Money for PPG,” Purchasing (February 10, 2000), pp. 32 – 38. To learn more about PPG’s purchasing initiatives, visit http://www.ppg.com/ frames/suppliers.htm. • LEARNING OBJECTIVES A key competitive advantage for PPG and for all other firms is an ability to control costs. One major input in their overall cost structure is their purchases. Therefore, attention to the purchasing function is important for firms trying to create or maintain a cost advantage or, at a minimum, a cost competitiveness. At the same time, marketers must understand the purchasing function in order to create effective marketing programs. After completing this chapter, you should be able to • Discuss how effective purchasing and materials management provide a competitive advantage. • Illustrate strategies designed to provide the proper supply and tell why these strategies are used. • Explain total cost of ownership, value analysis, and other forms of economic purchase evaluation. • Describe the processes that purchasing uses to evaluate vendors and their offerings, as well as how the process varies depending on the organization’s experience. • Recognize the major ethical issues facing purchasing agents and how they respond to those issues. • Understand differences in government purchasing and compare government needs in industrialized nations with those of developing countries. The purchasing department has an important role to play in any organization. Controlling costs and managing cash flow are key issues that affect the ability of an organization to thrive. These issues are impacted by marketing programs, as you will see. 63
Slide 71: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 64 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing THE IMPORTANCE OF PURCHASING Purchasing is a strategic weapon. Companies like PPG that can source effectively can create a competitive advantage by building better value into their own products.1 As you’ve already learned, value can be increased by delivering more benefits or by lowering costs; strategic purchasing can make contributions in both areas. Business marketers can also make contributions to the value delivered by their customers. Astute business marketers find ways to offer more benefits at the same cost or else lower costs to benefit their strategic purchasing partners. In the next section, we examine the contribution purchasing makes to the firm so that we can understand how we, as business marketers, can support their contribution. Purchasing’s Contribution to the Firm As you’ve just read, a key contribution to the success of the firm is purchasing’s ability to keep costs of supply down. That is not, however, the only contribution that purchasing makes. The three most important elements of the purchasing department’s function are to Provide appropriate levels of supply of the right product or service At the correct level of quality For the lowest total cost.2 Providing Supply An important contribution of the purchasing department is to provide the right product or service in the correct amounts when needed. There are several important elements to recognize. First, purchasing has the responsibility to ensure that the right product or service is provided. For example, Florida Furniture Industries (FFI) manufactures bedroom furniture, making its frames from poplar. Pine may cost less, but it is not as hard as poplar and also does not provide as much flexibility with the final finish. Poplar can be made to look like cherry, maple, and even pine, but pine always looks like pine. The market demands a number of finishes; not everyone likes pine. If purchasing accepted pine instead of poplar, the price of the wood would be less, but the negative impact on other areas would be too great. Purchasing must ensure that the right product or service is provided. The other important element is availability. The product or service must be available at the right time. FFI’s lumber buyer keeps a watchful eye on the prices of lumber, ordering up to six months’ production needs when the price is right. If the price isn’t right, however, she sometimes has to buy anyway. Otherwise, all three plants would shut down, costing the company hundreds of thousands of dollars per week. If she buys too much, it costs more money due to higher carrying costs. Managing availability can be a delicate operation for the purchasing department. One availability strategy is just-in-time ( JIT), the concept of shipping products such that they arrive at the customer’s location exactly when needed. As sketched in Chapter 2, this strategy reduces inventory carrying costs to next to nothing because little or no inventories of supplies are needed. Too often, though, suppliers bear the costs of carrying the inventory if the buyer and supplier don’t share information and coordinate plans.
Slide 72: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 65 Florida Furniture’s lumber buyer makes sure that the company has enough wood of the right quality bought at a competitive cost so that the company can operate profitably. Courtesy Florida Furniture Industries. In order for suppliers to reduce their costs (for if the costs are simply shifted from buyer to supplier, the costs would be reflected in a higher price), they are turning to concurrent manufacturing, which means the suppliers schedule their own manufacturing based on the shipment needs of their customers. The ideal situation is that the part rolls off the supplier’s manufacturing line and into the truck, and then it’s shipped to the buyer’s plant and rolled off the truck right into the manufacturing line. Concurrent manufacturing means that the supplier can also keep inventory costs down, because the supplier can engage its own suppliers in JIT systems. If the entire supply chain produces and ships based on demand, then inventories for the entire chain are kept to a minimum, reducing costs for the entire chain. JIT and concurrent manufacturing are not just for suppliers of component parts. JIT is used in shipping supplies to hospitals, in shipping paper to offices for use in copiers, and in many other instances where the buyer is not a manufacturer using the product in the manufacturing process. For example, some plumbing supply manufacturers schedule their manufacturing based on sales of their products. When a plumber purchases a bathtub or sink from the plumbing supplies distributor, the distributor orders another. The manufacturer makes a small run of tubs or sinks, depending on the orders received. When JIT works well, there is a much higher exchange of communication than with regular (non-JIT) suppliers. Research concerning JIT buyer–seller relationships indicates that such communication concerns quality, cost, and performance issues, not just shipping issues.3 Still, the supplier must quickly know when the customer needs a shipment. An important technological development that enabled many firms to use JIT was electronic data interchange (EDI), the use of electronic transmission of data between buyer and seller to order and maintain product inventory. From the Field 3–1 illustrates the history of EDI and how it has impacted business. The use of information technology such as EDI and transportation technology has significantly reduced the costs of acquiring supplies. Inventories as a ratio of total sales, for example, have been cut to approximately 17 percent, the lowest in U.S. history. Freight costs have dropped from 6.5 percent of sales to 6.2 percent, in part because information
Slide 73: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 66 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 3–1 FROM THE FIELD The History of Electronic Buying F or many people, the Internet ushered in a new way to purchase. It wasn’t until the Internet was largely available and easy to use that many buyers were able to enter electronic market places. But buying electronically has actually been available for more than a decade before the Internet had an impact. The beginnings of electronic purchasing began in the late 1960s when industry groups such as railroads, airlines, motor carriers, and shipping companies realized that processing the large volume of paper documentation accompanying the shipment of goods resulted in significant delays in settlement and product deliveries. Early electronic interchanges used proprietary formats agreed upon between two trading partners (a buyer and a seller who would agree to communicate electronically). While this was a step in the right direction, the end result was that organizations needed to maintain a different set of standards for each of their trading partners. From the seller side, companies like American Hospital Supply (now part of Baxter Healthcare) gained a competitive advantage by giving the computers and software needed to customers, which effectively tied those customers to that supplier. As buyers began to acquire three, four, and sometimes more systems dedicated to specific vendors, they began to lose some of the benefits that should be gained by conducting business electronically. Buyers began to push for a single set of common communication standards, which were developed in the 1970s. The most common users of EDI now are chemical and healthcare industries, but EDI use is expected to quadruple over the next few years. What the Internet has done has provided a communication platform for EDI to literally explode in use. Now, buyers prefer doing business with vendors who have EDI capability. Buyers have learned that EDI, combined with electronic inventorying systems, can automate much of the purchasing process, eliminating the need for costly purchase requisitions and human activity for routinely purchased products. The inventorying system automatically notes when supplies run low and generates the purchase order directly to the computer of the vendor. The vendor’s computer then generates a bill of lading (to pull the inventory and ship it to the customer) as well as invoice. Thus, supplies are replenished automatically, saving buyers an average of $54 in processing costs for every order. While that may not seem like much, considering the thousands of transactions that are conducted via EDI, it adds up into millions of savings annually. Sources: Joe Mullich and Mary Welch, “Government’s Buying Power Remains Strong,” Business Marketing (July 1995), 21–22; Ven Srinam and Snehemay Banerjee, “Electronic Data Interchange: Does Its Adoption Change Purchasing Policies and Procedures?” International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management (Winter 1994), 31–40; Electronic Data Interchange Standards Management Committee, Department of Defense (August 17, 2000); Electronic Data Interchange, Treasury Department www.fms.treas.gov/edi/ (April 21, 2000). technology such as EDI has made the entire purchasing and materials management process more efficient.4 For these benefits to accrue, companies have to communicate more frequently, as you can see in Exhibit 3–1. The Correct Quality A critical issue in purchasing today is ever-increasing quality specifications from the customer because of the impact poor quality has on the firm. For example, if PPG sends Chrysler a lower quality finishing product, then Chrysler may have to issue a recall to repaint cars. PPG has had to increase quality and meet ever-tighter specifications for quality from all customers, which then translates to higher quality standards for PPG’s supplier.
Slide 74: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 67 Exhibit 3–1 Overall Communication Frequency with JIT Supplier Adapted from Leslie Richeson, Charles W. Lackey, and John W. Starner, Jr. “The Effect of Communication on the Linkage between Manufacturers and Suppliers in a Just-InTime Environment.” International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management (winter 1995) pp. 21–29. SOURCE: 90 80 71.7 70 60 50 40 30 20 35.6 89.2 Production Quality Cost 36.3 13.5 10 0 Monthly or less 15.6 8.5 6.5 3.3 Weekly 10.2 2.4 0.9 Daily 4.2 1.9 0 Many times daily Every 2 weeks In some areas, though, higher quality can mean a higher cost for the product. In these instances, higher quality does not mean better quality. The finishing products used on aircraft, for example may withstand heat and cold situations that automobiles never face. Therefore, PPG’s automotive customers would not be willing to pay the extra it takes to have that quality because their customers—consumers—would not be willing to pay for it either. Choosing the right level of quality is an important element in the purchasing function, because quality impacts manufacturing and marketing in both cost and potential contribution. Many companies recognize the importance of providing the right level of quality, and even work with suppliers of their suppliers to make sure that quality is high enough. Church & Dwight, makers of Arm & Hammer baking soda, buys little yellow boxes for the baking soda. Church & Dwight purchasing agents worked with cardboard makers that supply Church & Dwight’s carton suppliers in order to know what quality of cardboard to specify so that bright yellow box would always look the same.5 The Lowest Total Cost As we said in Chapter 2, controlling the cost of supply can have a significant effect on a firm’s profitability. As shown in Exhibit 3–2, suppose a firm’s annual sales are $50 million, with a profit margin of 10 percent of sales, or $5 million. In general, companies spend about half of their sales on purchased parts, materials, and services,6 so this company would spend about $25 million per year. If the company was able to save 10 percent on its purchases, it would add $2.5 million to its profit, an increase to profit of 50 percent! The company would have to sell another $25 million to have the same effect on profit. Each dollar saved through careful purchasing can have a direct impact on the bottom line. When PPG buys sand used in making glass, for example, it costs the same to deliver a truckload, whether the truck is full or half empty. Preferably, the company can order and receive a day’s requirements for sand on the day the sand will be used. But if the
Slide 75: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 68 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 3–2 Saving Money Affects the Bottom Line! Annual sales $50 million $75 million Profit margin (10%) $5 million $7.5 million ($2.5 million more) Cut purchases by 10%, save $2.5 million Don’t cut purchases Total profit $7.5 million $7.5 million Cutting costs has a more direct affect on profits than increasing sales, which is why so many companies watch their purchasing expenses so carefully. company carries inventory to protect against missed deliveries or to take advantage of temporarily low prices, then storage silos have to be used to store the sand. Building those silos, maintaining them, carrying insurance on the silos, and other costs can eliminate any price savings. The purchase price, therefore, is not the only cost that the purchasing department must contend with. Delivery, storage, service, and more can add costs. Several concepts are used by purchasing departments to examine and compare costs; these are the total cost of ownership, economic order quantity, and value analysis. Total Cost of Ownership Many factors can influence the total cost of ownership, the total amount expended in order to own a product or use a service. If we are talking about a piece of equipment, total cost of ownership includes delivery and installation costs, service costs to maintain and repair the equipment, power costs to run the equipment, supply costs, and other operating costs over the life of the equipment. All of these costs must be added to the actual purchasing and financing prices in order to determine the total cost of owning that equipment. Similarly, services have a total cost of ownership. We have to take into account supplies, inventory (in the case of services, what we are paying to have a trained person available, whether that person is our employee or a service provider’s), delivery, and other costs of ownership. For example, if we do our own marketing research, we have to pay the research personnel each month, whether they are currently engaged in a research project or not. Many companies are outsourcing services so that they can reduce the total cost of ownership. Outsourcing, discussed in detail later in this chapter, means buying from another firm. For component parts and raw materials, like the chemicals purchased by PPG, we have to account for delivery costs, inventory carrying costs, the impact of the product on manufacturing costs, and other costs. In all situations, we also have to include the costs associated with purchasing. In 1995, one company found that it was spending $250 for processing each purchase order for business forms. For every $1 it spent on forms, it was spending another $3 for ordering, storing, and distributing the forms!7 Economic Order Quantity A method of evaluating ordering and inventorying costs is to determine the economic order quantity. The economic order quantity (EOQ ) is the quantity that minimizes both ordering and storing costs. Any more than that would raise costs and not be economical. Those costs would include paying for additional space for storage, additional insurance on the inventory, fire prevention costs, and the interest on the money that the firm would lose by having to pay early for supplies used later.
Slide 76: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 69 Exhibit 3–3 Forward buying in March and September causes spikes in sales, followed by low levels of sales as inventories smooth out. 150 125 100 75 Normal demand 50 25 Demand with forward buying 0 J F M A M J J A S O N D One strategic outcome of EOQ analysis that can occur is forward buying. Forward buying is buying in larger quantities than are currently needed because the discount is greater than the carrying costs. Although a seller may appreciate forward buying if it helps clear out inventories, forward buying is usually an unintended negative consequence of a poor pricing decision. Forward buying creates a spike in sales (see Exhibit 3–3), which can lead to stock-outs and damage to relationships with accounts that can’t get orders filled. Buyers will buy a lot more than they immediately need in order to get the cheaper price, which can then cause the manufacturer to run out. Later, when prices return to normal, demand is low so the company begins to produce less, which can increase manufacturing costs per unit, cause plants to sit idle, and create other problems. An effective response to the problem of forward buying is to separate the order quantity from the shipping quantity through an annual contract. We’ll talk more about this in Chapter 14 on pricing, but the idea is that it costs less for a company when it can plan ahead and stabilize its manufacturing over the year. These savings can be passed along to the customer, which will agree to purchase the year’s needs from the manufacturer but accept delivery throughout the year. This schedule allows the seller to lower the price but maintain margin because costs will be lower. JIT can represent one form of such a contract, but a JIT system doesn’t have to be in place for annual contracts to be effective. Value Analysis Value analysis is a method of comparing the benefit, function, and cost of materials, components, and work processes. A component part is a part of the finished product— for example, a gas tank on a lawn mower or keypad used on a telephone. Value analysis can be used to reduce costs or improve design. The value analysis concept was developed in the 1940s by General Electric and is often a part of the product design process. Value analysis, though, can be done afterward as well. For example, a PPG supplier suggested using one product that could do the job of two. The standardization meant a lower purchasing cost, because they could buy in bulk, also saving on inventory and other costs. Complexity management is another method of controlling costs. Complexity management is the process of identifying links among components that raise costs if any changes are made. For example, Ford found that adding a new interior color meant having to purchase over 50 components in that new color. Such components might include interior lights, visors, coat hooks, lock buttons, and others. By simplifying the number
Slide 77: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 70 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing of colors or by creating color schemes that allow for standardization of some components (all black door lock buttons, for example), Ford could reduce inventory costs, ordering costs, and other costs associated with greater complexity. When conducting value analysis, the firm considers what, if any, alternatives exist. The key question is whether the firm can achieve the same or greater value for less cost? Sometimes, the vendor’s salesperson can conduct a value analysis and suggest savings. For example, Emerson Electric had up to three labels on the back of their products. Their vendor, Moore Business Forms, suggested combining the labels into one, saving Emerson Electric significant label costs but also saving Emerson manufacturing costs because only one label had to be applied. The value of the single label was greater than just the reduction in the cost of the labels themselves. PURCHASING PHILOSOPHY In Chapter 2, you learned about the different types of relationships that are possible between buyer and seller. In this section, we will discuss a related topic, purchasing philosophies that buyers may use to guide their actions. This topic is related to the types of relationships because a company’s philosophy toward purchasing will limit the types of relationships in which it can engage. A traditional purchasing philosophy, the adversarial purchasing philosophy, is to have several vendors for each product. This philosophy was developed in order to increase competition for the buyer’s business. Such competition is believed to lower prices while increasing the level of service and attention paid to the account. In one recent study, for example, having two sources reduced costs for some purchases.8 At the same time, buying from a large number of suppliers can lower the quality of the relationship with suppliers, which can lead to availability problems during times of shortage as well as other problems. Still, many companies still engage in purchasing guided by the adversarial philosophy. Buyers using an adversarial approach see the supplier as an enemy or at least as the opposition. The approach is based on caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) and assumes that the supplier will take the buyer for all there is, unless the buyer takes an adversarial position and fights for all it can get. The Total Quality Management movement influenced purchasing philosophy by creating an alternative to the adversarial approach. This alternative, called partnership purchasing or preferred supplier systems,9 seeks to maximize the benefits of collaboration between the buyer and a few suppliers. Buyers operating under this philosophy seek out the best suppliers they can find and then work to develop close relationships, particularly in areas of strategic importance to the firm. In general, partnering relationships are more likely to be established with vendors who provide one or more of the following: • High–purchase-volume materials, components, or products of strategic importance • Specialized products requiring information and training for effective use • Services that require specialized knowledge for cost reductions or performance • Materials that no other supplier can provide 10 These areas are usually those that contribute directly to the value provided by the buying firm in the supply chain, such as in the component parts of the finished product. Within the relationship, the two organizations work to increase value for both parties.
Slide 78: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 71 3–1 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Is It Time to Say “Goodbye”? I n the past decade or so, many organizations have consolidated their purchases, reducing the number of suppliers, in order to (1) forge stronger ties and more collaborative relationships with a select few and (2) obtain significantly lower prices based on high-volume discounts. With changing management and competitive positions occurring at both buyer and seller firms, the aims of a sole sourcing arrangement may not be jointly understood. Consider this testimony about a key customer from a business marketer in the electric motors field. Can you think of similar dynamics that test a relationship? “Our dealings with this account have been both fruitful and difficult. The business volume is significant but it is labor intensive, and problematic to service this account. . . . My personal complaint is their tendency to say ‘fix this problem or we will go elsewhere.’ There are not that many other places for them to go. Other people in the purchasing department there were not as quick to respond this way as the current staff. Also, this account is not as significant as it once was, due to lost market share for them. Their corporate culture is still like it was when they were larger and more powerful.” One frequent outcome is that significantly fewer suppliers are needed. Xerox, for example, dropped over 90 percent of its vendors, going from 5,000 to 400 suppliers when it adopted this philosophy. Whirlpool is currently reviewing suppliers, planning to eliminate half of its 2,500 suppliers and form partnerships with the remainder.11 Each partner supplier provides Motorola with more products than do nonpartners, gets first shot before nonpartners at any new business, makes more profit than nonpartners, and at the same time, provides Motorola with higher quality than Motorola can get from nonpartners at a lower cost than nonpartners can charge. Single sourcing occurs when a company selects one supplier to satisfy all needs in a given area. Some students confuse single sourcing with partnering, but single sourcing can occur in an adversarial setting and need not imply a long-term collaborative relationship. For example, a company may decide to buy all of its maintenance supplies from one vendor, but negotiate adversarially, trying to cut the best deal for itself without any thought of the consequences to the supplier. There is much more to partnering than single sourcing. Indeed, single sourcing without partnering can prove risky, for without the commitment of a partnership, the supplier will be free to operate adversarially too. Caveat emptor! One difference between single sourcing and partnering is that buyers make investments related to the partner. These investments (which might mean the purchase of a computer compatible with the supplier’s EDI system, for example) help bind the partners together.12 In a single-sourcing situation without partnering, there are no such investments, and the buyer is free to look elsewhere when demands are not met. Single sourcing can lead to higher costs, as the Department of Defense has learned. It has long used single-sourcing based on the theory that (1) high investments are needed to build weapon systems for which there is only one customer and (2) companies willing to make such investments should be rewarded with all of the business. What the Department of Defense has learned through experimentation, though, is that costs are lower
Slide 79: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 72 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing when two vendors are used instead of just one. Organizations that engage in single sourcing should not assume that costs will be lower and should balance any higher costs with other benefits that can be obtained.13 Purchasing is an important contributor to the profit potential of any organization. Purchasing contributes to the profitability of the firm by controlling acquisition costs, assisting in the control of manufacturing costs, and ultimately influencing marketing costs. Purchasing also contributes by making sure that the right product or service is available when needed, in the right quantity and at the right quality, all for the lowest total cost. In the next section, we explore the processes that purchasers go through when examining products. SUPPLIER EVALUATION An important job of the purchasing agent is to evaluate potential suppliers and their offerings. The effects of purchasing on a firm’s competitive ability are great, so companies pay close attention to how they evaluate suppliers. Marketers must also understand the process, for they are the ones being evaluated. Understanding the process is like understanding the rules of any game; if you don’t know how to score, you are unlikely to win. Buy-Grid Model The buy-grid model is a version of a theory developed as a general model of rational organizational decision making, explaining how companies make decisions about, for example, where to locate a plant or make a purchase. The buy-grid model has two parts: the buy-phase model and the buy-class. You’ve probably seen the buy-phase model in a management class as the rational or extensive problem-solving model or in consumer behavior as a high-involvement model. This buy-phase model suggests that people go through a series of steps (or phases) when making a decision, beginning with problem recognition. They then search for alternatives, evaluate the alternatives, and select a solution, which is then implemented and evaluated. (See Exhibit 3–4.) For example, when an organization needs new office space, crowded conditions help force recognition of the need. The next step is to define the type of product needed: Does the organization want to build a new office building, add on to an existing building, or simply find a larger place to rent or buy? As the organization continues to examine its needs, detailed specifications such as the size and number of offices are created. If the decision in the second step was to build, an architect would help create specifications by drawing plans. Then suppliers would be contacted, including those recommended by the architect. Step 5, acquisition and analysis of proposals, involves receiving and reviewing bids from each contractor. The architect and the executives would meet, evaluate the proposals, and select a contractor (step 6). Step 7 involves the creation of a contract specifying when the building will be completed, what it will look like, and when payments will be made. Evaluation begins as the project begins, but continues well after the organization moves in. Many firms have well-established purchasing policies and procedures that formalize the steps of the model.14 In particular, government agencies establish and follow purchasing policies. For example, many state agencies are required to solicit bids from at least three vendors for any purchase over $10,000. Set-asides are programs designed to aid small and traditionally disadvantaged firms, such as women- and minority-owned businesses. These programs require federal government agencies to actively search and
Slide 80: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 73 Exhibit 3–4 Steps in the Buying Process (Buy-Phase Model) Barton A. Weitz, Stephen B. Castleberry, and John F. Tanner, Jr. Selling: Building Partnerships. Fourth edition. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2000. SOURCE: Step 8 Evaluation of product performance Step 7 Selection of an order procedure Step 6 Evaluation of proposals and selection of a supplier Step 5 Acquisition and analysis of proposals Step 4 Search for qualified suppliers Step 3 Development of detailed specifications Step 2 Definition of the product-type needed Step 1 Recognition of a need give preference to vendors that meet certain criteria. Set-asides are one example of formal purchasing policies that guide purchasing behavior. As observers of buying behavior quickly realized, many organizational purchase decisions do not involve that much work or include each and every step every time. A second element, the buy-class, was added, resulting in a grid. Buy-class refers to the type of buying decision, based on the experience of the buyer with a purchase of a particular product or service. Organizational researchers realized that once a decision was made, products were bought automatically over and over; recognizing a problem might simply mean recognizing that the company is low in an item and needs to order more. The complete process was used only for new buys, products or services never purchased before. Automatic purchasing described what happened with straight rebuys, and only two steps were required. These steps are need recognition and placing an order. At other times, however, a product or service would be bought again but not automatically. When a company was contemplating a rebuy but wanted to shop around, the process would include most or perhaps all of the steps—hence the term modified rebuys. In this instance, the process may involve need recognition, an evaluation of suppliers, and a decision—a process that can be similar to a new buy. The difference is not in the number of steps but in the amount and type of information that must be collected before a purchase can be made. Modified rebuys can also be similar to straight rebuys or new buys, depending on the specifics of the situation. In a new buy, the buyer has no experience with the product or service and must become educated about the product or service in order to make a purchase. In a modified rebuy, the buyer has purchased
Slide 81: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 74 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 3–2 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Make or Buy? I n applying value analysis to cut costs, PPG has sought overseas sources for some products, particularly products that PPG currently manufactures itself in the United States. What are some of the hidden or potential costs to PPG of buying products to resell or for significant components in products that PPG will assemble? Because PPG is the current in-supplier, what unique challenges might exist when trying to create a partnership with a new supplier? the product or service before. Therefore, the buyer will not spend time on education about the product itself, but about the various vendors and their offerings as the buyer shops around. The buy-grid model, therefore, describes how purchasing practices vary along a continuum depending on the buyer’s experience in buying that particular product or service. The personal computer industry is an example of how a market changes with experience. When the PCs were new, salespeople were needed to fully explain benefits and educate buyers. Buyers, particularly buyers in departments other than the data processing department, needed a lot of information in order to understand what PCs could do for them, how PCs work, and what was needed to be fully operational. Now PCs are sold in stores or through direct mail with little personal sales effort. Buyers are knowledgeable and can make their decisions without the marketer’s help. In some organizations, computers are ordered through an 800 number on a straight rebuy basis. Note, though, that a PC purchase is still a new buy for some people. Although the market may have moved more to a straight rebuy or modified rebuy, some salespeople will still meet new buy buyers and will find that these buyers will require more information and postsale service than buyers with more experience. Some product decisions may never become true straight rebuys because of the importance of the decision. For example, fleet managers buy automobiles, trucks, and vans for their organizations each year. In some situations, they may simply pick up the phone and order a few more Ram vans or F-150 pickup trucks, but in most cases, more work will be done. Offerings of several vendors will be considered, and a contract will be negotiated because the size of the purchase is too great to do automatically. Modified rebuys are those situations where the same product or product type is being purchased that has been purchased before, but most of the decision steps are still taken. Modified rebuys occur for several reasons, and we’ve already discussed the importance of the purchase. Other reasons include changing technology that improves product performance and requires reevaluation of vendors and their offerings, dissatisfaction with the performance of a supplier and/or the product, changing prices, or even a change in the personnel involved. Some organizations periodically review all vendors and regularly conduct value analyses, even though there may be no obvious problems. Value analysis is one situation that can turn a straight rebuy into a modified rebuy. When a company is closely evaluating a particular part, one question that is asked is if the part is available elsewhere for less. As the answer is sought to this question, outsuppliers (those suppliers whose products are not considered in a straight rebuy) are
Slide 82: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 75 given the opportunity to earn the business. In-suppliers (those suppliers whose products are ordered automatically in a straight rebuy) must prove value or create new value by redesigning their offering. Thus, the purchase moves from being a straight rebuy to a modified rebuy. Buy-Grid and Marketing Practice The theory suggests that more information is needed by the buyer to make a new buy than when making a modified rebuy, and almost no information is needed for a straight rebuy. To use this model, a company would look at the degree to which a market is buying a product for the first time. If most of the market is buying the product for the first time, methods of communication such as personal selling may be used in order to provide the most information. Advertising would contain a lot of detailed copy that described the benefits and how the product worked. Over time, as the market grows more familiar with the product, less-educational methods of communicating may be used, such as catalogs. Exhibit 3–5 illustrates some of the marketing differences depending on the amount of the market’s experience in buying the product. Another marketing implication is that an in-supplier would like purchases of its products to be straight rebuys. Annual contracts are one method of creating straight rebuys. For example, Xerox offers its customers an annual supply contract. Each time a department is low in copier supplies, the purchasing department orders automatically from Xerox, perhaps using EDI. Out-suppliers would be locked out until the next time the contract comes up for review. Recently, research has found that marketers who can get involved early in the decision process are more likely to be successful.15 In part, this higher probability of success is due to greater understanding of the buyer’s needs, an opportunity to help shape those needs, and a better understanding of the process. The lower probability of success when starting later in the process is also due to the fact that buyers become committed to a course of action over the process of making the decision, and that course often leans towards alternatives presented early in the process. When buyers don’t have experience, marketing strategies can provide buyers with the information they need to make a decision. Marketers consider how buyers use that information to be very important. In the next section, we examine how buyers compare vendors and products. Multiattribute Decision Making In both new and modified rebuys, the vendor and product evaluation stages are important times for prospective vendors. One method used to explain the vendor and product evaluation stage of the buy-phase model is the multiattribute model. The multiattribute model is based on the idea that people view products as a collection of attributes or “bundle of benefits” and provides a picture of how alternatives are evaluated. Each benefit is how a particular feature satisfies a particular need. Where this model fits the buy-grid model is in the evaluation-of-alternatives stage for new or modified rebuys; in the straight rebuy, there is no evaluation of alternatives, as the product or service is ordered automatically, perhaps using EDI. For example, you may want high gas mileage, a comfortable interior, and a sporty exterior in a car (three needs). Although an aerodynamic design may improve gas mileage and provide for a sporty exterior, it does nothing for the inside! Therefore, there must be some method of accounting for a particular product’s ability to solve all three needs.
Slide 83: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 76 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 3–5 Marketing Implications of the Buy-Grid Buy-Phases New Task All steps of the buying process are taken, with emphasis on product definition and development of product specifications. Marketing Element Advertising Promotion Detailed, educational; must try to get users to try product, substitute for old method. Use demonstrations at trade shows to show how it works. Offer free trials or demonstrations at the customer’s site. Heavy emphasis on understanding customers’ needs and showing how new product satisfies needs better than old methods. Selling Modified Rebuy Less emphasis is on product definition and more emphasis is on search and evaluation of suppliers. Advertising Promotion Selling Use comparison advertising to show differences between your product and similar products. Customer site demonstrations, hospitality events at trade shows. Protect relationship with current customers with plant tours, special trade-in pricing and other offers. Anticipate or respond quickly to changes in customer needs. Straight Rebuy Need recognition and purchase are the only steps used. Advertising Promotion Selling Use reminder advertising. Build image for company. Hospitality events at trade shows. Any personal selling is designed to build relationships. Automate the purchasing process, perhaps through EDI. Each need is more or less important than other needs, depending on the organization or individual making the purchase. For example, a company may be purchasing computers for salespeople to use (ignore for now that companies can buy computers made to order and assume they are comparing two off-the-shelf products). Hard disk size may be important to store the company’s sales force automation software. A company purchasing laptops for salespeople to use may place the same emphasis on modem speed, but not care a great deal about processor speed. Each firm would place a different importance level on each attribute, as shown in Exhibit 3–6. On a scale of 1–10, with 10 being most important, one firm might rate modem speed an 8 whereas another rates it only a 3. On the other hand, the second firm rates hard disk size as very important, or 9, whereas the first only gives it a 6. This rating system is important, but isn’t enough to determine which computer to purchase. Each firm must also then rate each computer on screen size and processor speed. For a Compaq, you may rate it a 7 for modem speed and a 4 for disk size, whereas another buyer gives it a 6 and a 9. The HP, however, you give a 6 and a 9, but the other buyer gives it an 8 and a 7. (See Exhibit 3–7.)
Slide 84: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 77 Exhibit 3–6 Importance Level of Computer Features Computer Feature Modem speed Hard disk size Screen size Processor speed You 8 6 4 7 Another Buyer 3 9 5 7 Exhibit 3–7 Computer Ratings Computer Feature Modem speed Hard disk size Screen size Processor speed HP 6 9 8 6 You Compaq 7 4 6 9 HP 8 7 9 5 Another Buyer Compaq 6 9 6 8 The next step is to multiply the weight by the rating and then sum the scores, as shown in Exhibit 3–8. So you would multiply 8 by 7 and 6 by 4 to obtain scores for the Compaq, and then sum the products 24 to arrive at the total. For the HP you would multiply 8 by 6 and 2 by 9, then add the products to arrive at the total for the HP. Based on these scores for the features, you would buy the HP. Even though the Compaq outperformed the HP for your most important feature, the difference in hard disk size was so great that it outweighed the modem speed. We’ve asked our students if they actually calculate scores using ratings and weights. A few admit to this practice, but most believe that no one would be this formal. In organizations, however, you will find formal rating sheets used by purchasing departments to rate different suppliers and their offerings. Exhibit 3–9 is an example of a rating sheet used by Daimler Chrysler to evaluate potential suppliers. A marketer would use this information by first determining what the most important attributes are, and then designing the product to rate the highest on those attributes. If you are a salesperson, however, and a particular buyer rated a competitor higher on an important attribute, you may work to change the importance of the attribute in the mind of the buyer if the product can’t actually change. Multiattribute models are not just for evaluating potential suppliers. Companies use multiattribute methods to analyze the performance of current vendors, too. Purchasing teams that include purchasing agents, engineers, manufacturing personnel, and other managers are used to develop the rating systems. Rockwell International’s Defense Electronics Group was one of the pioneers of formal supplier rating systems with the development of its Supplier Rating and Incentive Program (SRIP). This system first identifies events, or problems with supplier service that require Rockwell personnel to take action. Examples of events are overshipments, undershipments, and rejection of products on receipt due to damage. Each event requires a Rockwell employee to take some action, such as seeing that overshipments are returned and a credit issued. When the Rockwell employee has to take an action, a cost is involved for that employee’s time. For example, Rockwell found that in 1990, it cost $275 to return something to a supplier and $120 to follow up on a late shipment. These costs can be summed for each supplier, which Rockwell does on an annual basis to develop a Supplier Perfor-
Slide 85: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 78 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 3–8 Computer Scores Computer Feature Modem speed Hard disk size Screen size Processor speed Total Importance Level 8 6 4 7 HP 6(48) 9(54) 8(32) 7(49) 183 You Compaq 7(56) 4(24) 6(24) 8(56) 160 Importance Level 3 9 5 7 Another Buyer HP 8(24) 7(63) 9(45) 5(35) 167 Compaq 6(18) 9(81) 6(30) 8(56) 185 Exhibit 3–9 Sample Vendor Analysis Form SOURCE: Supplier Name: _______________________ Shipping Location: ____________________ 5 Excellent Type of Product: ________________________ Annual Sales Dollars: ____________________ 4 Good 3 Satisfactory 2 Fair ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 1 Poor ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 0 N/A ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Daimler/Chrysler. Quality (45%) Defect rates ____ ____ ____ Quality of sample ____ ____ ____ Conformance with quality program ____ ____ ____ Responsiveness to quality problems ____ ____ ____ Overall quality ____ ____ ____ Delivery (25%) Avoidance of late shipments ____ ____ ____ Ability to expand production capacity ____ ____ ____ Performance in sample delivery ____ ____ ____ Response to changes in order size ____ ____ ____ Overall delivery ____ ____ ____ Price (20%) Price competitiveness ____ ____ ____ Payment terms ____ ____ ____ Absorption of costs ____ ____ ____ Submission of cost savings plans ____ ____ ____ Overall price ____ ____ ____ Technology (10%) State-of-the-art components ____ ____ ____ Sharing research & development ____ ____ ____ capability Ability and willingness to help with ____ ____ ____ design Responsiveness to engineering ____ ____ ____ problems Overall technology ____ ____ ____ Buyer: ________________ Date: __________ Comments: ________________________________________________
Slide 86: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 79 mance Index. The company can then analyze the quality of performance for each vendor. Rockwell’s system has been adopted by such companies as Northrup, Motorola, and Honeywell. Companies with high performance on SRIPs advertise their high ratings in order to attract more business. Buyers recognize that the quality of service is reflected in the total cost of ownership; poor quality does raise the cost of doing business. Companies that perform poorly will face difficulties no matter how well their products perform. Buyers also evaluate suppliers for elevation to partner or preferred supplier status. The SRIP procedure is one method of evaluating suppliers, but it provides only supplier performance information. Other factors are important when deciding with whom the buyer wants to partner. When considering a candidate for preferred supplier status, Bethlehem Steel uses six sets of criteria: capability, which includes an SRIP analysis; organizational motivation and quality of employees; financial health; corporate culture; willingness to commit to a partnership; and ethics. Using a multiattribute model, suppliers must pass minimum thresholds on each set of criteria and then reach an overall score before being offered preferred supplier status.16 Business marketers use the score sheets to create the right package of services to augment their core products. Not all buyers need the same level of service. The better that a marketer understands the buyer’s requirements, the more likely that the total package of product and services, financial terms, ordering processes, and so forth will be what the buyer wants. TRENDS IN PURCHASING Purchasing departments are very important to the success of an organization, as we saw earlier in this chapter. As companies select and implement various strategies, purchasing is always involved as resources are gathered to support those strategies. As a result, one trend is to increase the professionalism of the purchasing agent. Purchasing departments are not immune, however, to the influences of the economy. Therefore, trends caused by the economy as well as trends in organizational strategy influence the purchasing department. One economic trend is downsizing of organizations, whereas outsourcing and cross-functional sourcing are strategic trends affecting the purchasing department. Downsizing Economic factors have caused many companies to downsize, or to lower the number of employees through early retirement and layoffs. In a recent study of purchasing agents, 41 percent said their departments had been moderately to radically downsized.17 Layoffs mean that fewer purchasing agents are available to purchase the same amount of material for the organization. One agent said, “My department is now procuring twice the amount with one-third the staff.”18 Purchasing agents have to either work harder or find ways to be more productive—that is, to buy more in the same amount of time. Purchasing agents are buying more in the same amount of time by buying more from the same vendors. Reducing the number of vendors is another strategy. Both of these strategies are designed to reduce shopping around, an activity that many purchasing agents do not have time for. In addition, reducing the number of vendors means fewer invoices to pay, fewer shipments to receive (because the vendor can send more in one shipment), and other productivity boosters. These strategies also increase the importance of developing strategic relationships with customers because if your customers do not have time to shop around, neither do the
Slide 87: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 80 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing customers of your competitors. Growing your business by taking sales away from competition may become more difficult. Reducing the number of vendors also means that larger purchases are made. Increasing the size of business awarded to each vendor has, in turn, increased the importance of negotiation skills for both buyer and seller. For marketers, an increase in negotiated business will mean more pressure to lower prices as buyers negotiate harder.19 Some shopping around has to occur, however, because current vendors are not always totally satisfactory or may not have what is needed. One shopping activity that purchasing agents are turning to is visiting trade shows, which are like temporary business marketing shopping malls. In one day at a trade show, a purchasing agent can visit with 30 or more vendors and come away with a good idea of who can solve the organization’s need. Another method business marketers are using to make things easier on purchasing agents is greater use of the Web. For example, one buyer for a custom chemical spent two weeks to find a vendor, paying $54,000 to ultimately make a purchase. When looking to buy the chemical again, he posted a request for quotes on Chemfinet (a business e-market), and overnight received five bids, the lowest being less than $38,000. Not only did he cut costs by more than 25%, he also saved himself a lot of time.20 Special sites for current customers enable purchasing agents to handle straight rebuys more efficiently, saving time. We’ve already talked about EDI and how buyers use it to reduce costs. But EDI is computer-to-computer communications. Other electronic purchasing mechanisms are also important business marketing strategies that help buyers cope with the effects of downsizing. For example, IBM uses special websites that provide suppliers with access to Lotus Notes files. Projects in which suppliers must coordinate services and delivery of product used to require a significant amount of coordination by the purchasing agent. Now, suppliers can post information on the website where all suppliers and IBM can observe. Everyone can make the necessary adjustments, minimizing the time spent by the IBM purchasing agent. Outsourcing Outsourcing is the process of finding another organization to supply the buying organization with a product or service, usually one that was previously created in-house. Outsourcing is a strategic trend, caused in part by a trend in strategy where companies focus on their core businesses. As one buyer for Conoco said when discussing the outsourcing of employee training, “The bottom line is that we are in the business of producing oil and gas, not training our employees.”21 Therefore, a company in the oil and gas business would want to hire someone to do anything that didn’t directly involve making oil and gas products. As an example, Conoco may hire an ad agency to do all of its advertising, an exhibit company to handle all of its trade shows, and a marketing research firm to conduct all of its research. Global outsourcing is a strategy that takes advantage of lower costs or specialized labor. For example, New York Life, Cigna, and Metropolitan Life outsource underwriting and claims processing operations to Ireland, taking advantage of operating costs 30 percent lower than in the States and a well-educated staff.22 Pacific Data Services has been contracting data entry services to China since 1961. In Japan, over 3,500 people work in office parks linked to their U.S. customers by satellite. They do data entry and other clerical duties for U.S. companies.23 Outsourcing can involve more than contracting out for a complete service. For example, Florida Furniture Industries was faced with a make-or-buy decision, meaning a comparison of the value created and the cost to create that value if done internally ver-
Slide 88: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 81 sus purchasing already made from someone else. The company’s manufacturing managers realized that competitors had upgraded the quality of headboards. The company determined that market wanted more detail work, such as carved patterns, on wooden headboards. After comparing internal production costs to imported products, it was determined that for some designs, buying headboards would be the best solution. For other designs, purchasing decorative components would result in the greatest value. To make choices, the company’s marketing people had to work closely with manufacturing, and purchasing was continually scanning the environment in search of alternative sources. Purchasing, as a function or department of the company, operates as part of the same strategic team as marketing and manufacturing in order to reach company objectives.24 Participating in make-or-buy decisions is a function of purchasing with strategic consequences. Early supplier involvement (ESI) is one outsourcing strategy whereby companies use suppliers to help design new products or processes. For example, everyone has heard of Intel and knows of their leadership position in the computer chip market. But few know that the reason for their success lies with their relationship with Applied Materials, the company that makes machines to manufacture computer chips. Most companies would design a new chip, then ask Applied Materials (or their competitor) to design the machine to make it. Intel asked Applied Materials to participate in the chip design process, designing the machines at the same time. As a result, Intel was able to bring products to market two years faster than anyone else and at a lower cost. By having suppliers working early in the process, both time and costs are reduced. We discuss this in greater detail in Chapter 8. Outsourcing affects the purchasing department because it changes the way purchases are made. For example, outsourcing a subassembly may mean that fewer purchases are made, but the final purchase may require more input from the design department or a tighter communication link with manufacturing. As you can see from the examples, outsourcing can also have a major impact on the organization because important responsibilities are being moved outside the business. Companies that outsource poorly can be significantly hampered in their ability to compete. Outsourcing has also meant continued growth in the services sector. Much of what is outsourced is services, such as marketing research, advertising and promotion services, training services, and other services that were formerly done by organizational employees, although more companies are also outsourcing production.25 Stronger Relationships with Sellers As just pointed out, outsourcing means that important responsibilities are now being moved outside the organization. In addition, companies are trying to reduce the number of vendors and increase the amount of business with each vendor. These factors combine to increase the importance of strong relationships with suppliers. We’ve talked about this trend in the previous two chapters, but, as you can see, other trends influence the importance of relationships too. Communication channels have changed greatly as a result of this trend. With direct communication, buyers can talk directly to key personnel and know that their needs will be met.26 Buyers like Peak Electronics, for example, believe so strongly in the need for direct communication that they gave manufacturing line employees authority to contact suppliers directly and handle problems as they occur.27 Smart marketers are finding ways to increase direct communication between their company and their partners.
Slide 89: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 82 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 3–10 Cross-Functional Purchasing Team for a Bakery Buying a Freezer Team Member Plant manager Marketing manager Sales rep for Steak and Ale Comptroller Production supervisor Role Evaluate impact on production process Provide estimates of sales Provide primary customer’s input Evaluate financial aspects of purchase Offer input on training needs and other aspects that might affect line workers Another related concept is supply chain management, or the integration of supply processes from end user through original suppliers that provide products, services, and information that add value for customers.28 Outsourcing can be part of supply chain management, but supply chain management also includes integrating such functions as logistics and marketing with outsourcing (such as in the Florida Furniture example earlier). We will discuss supply chain management in greater detail in Chapter 9, but for now, recognize that it is a process in which purchasing plays an important role and one that requires stronger relationships with sellers. Cross-Functional Teams Cross-functional sourcing teams are purchasing teams that include members of various functional areas within the firm, and sometimes include personnel from suppliers and customers too. These teams are formed to develop cost-reduction strategies, create sourcing strategies, and handle other purchasing functions, many times in global servicing situations.29 Cross-functional teams are designed to take advantage of the different types of expertise that reside in the various departments across the organization. For example, a team may be composed of members of the marketing department, who can offer projections concerning customer reaction to changes, as illustrated in Exhibit 3–10. In this situation, a bakery whose primary customer is restaurants like Steak and Ale created a cross-functional team to examine all purchases involving manufacturing processes. Cross-functional teams work best when given the resources needed (particularly securing services and help from others and time), when suppliers participate, and when the team is given the authority to run itself. Combined with a need for authority is the need for good leadership, which is often the responsibility of the purchasing professional. From a marketing perspective, it is apparent that potential suppliers should seek to actively participate in their customers’ cross-functional sourcing teams. For this to occur, salespeople must understand what cross-functional teams are, how to recognize such teams in their clients’ organizations, and how they can participate. In addition, salespeople have to be given resources that allow others in their own organization to participate. Buyers need the expertise of the selling organization’s engineers, finance personnel, and so forth in order to fully benefit from the seller’s participation. Professionalism in Purchasing Another trend is toward increasing the professionalism of the purchasing function. The National Association of Purchasing Managers has contributed much to the development of professionalism by encouraging and providing certification for purchasing managers. Those who are certified as professional purchasing managers must pass a battery of tests
Slide 90: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 83 Exhibit 3–11 Who Is the Professional Purchasing Agent? K. Fitzgerald, “Profile of a Purchasing Professional,” Purchasing, July 13, 1999, pp. 54–70. SOURCE: 79% are male. 57% have business degrees. 21% are certified purchasing managers. 20% have other certifications. Spends an average $28.4 million per year. The average CPM is 45.7 years old with 13 years of purchasing experience. 50% are on product development teams. 70% are responsible for managing inventory. that indicate knowledge (and adherence) to the profession’s code of ethics (which we will discuss later in this chapter) as well as procedures of purchasing. Because of the importance of purchasing to the bottom line, many companies are also encouraging their purchasing agents to seek certification. Exhibit 3–11 profiles the purchasing professional. These trends, although discussed in the context of private industry, are also affecting the way the government buys. In the next section, we take a close look at government purchasing in order to successfully market to the world’s largest buyer. PURCHASING IN GOVERNMENT Government is the largest single buyer, the largest single employer, and the largest landlord. For example, the federal government buys about $500 million in desktop PCs each year; state local governments buy twice that!30 This kind of purchasing power makes selling to the government an important consideration for many businesses. The government, however, has a different agenda than private organizations, which influences the way the government makes purchases. For example, minority set-asides are programs designed to encourage the development and growth of minority-owned businesses. Reaching social and political goals, such as minority ownership of businesses, often influences government purchasing policies, which we will examine in this section. Political and Social Goals In developing countries, such as many of the countries in Asia, governments are very interested in developing their country’s infrastructure, or the transportation, communication, and other utilities. (In the United States, the government has played a similar role in promoting the development of the Web and e-commerce infrastructure. These governments recognize that for their economies to develop, they must be able to provide businesses with clean water, electricity, natural gas, efficient transportation, and reliable communication. As a result, companies are snatching up infrastructure opportunities in many developing countries. Ellicot Machine Corp. (of Baltimore, Maryland) sells dredging equipment in virtually every Asian country,
Slide 91: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 84 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Purchasing agents now use the web to shop and purchase for everything from computers to motors. dredging equipment that is used to create ship channels and clear harbors.31 The U.S. government may be the single largest purchaser in the world, but the market created by foreign governments is very large and desirous of finding suppliers from any country that can meet their needs. The European Procurement Directives are another example of social goals achieved through economic action. The Directives are a loosely-knit set of laws enacted throughout the European Union (EU) designed to encourage fair competition among companies throughout the EU. Recent research suggests that so far the Directives have failed to fully level the playing field, as buyers prefer to do business with local suppliers if given the chance.32
Slide 92: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 85 The U.S. government encourages the development of minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses through set-asides. The government also attempts to achieve social goals through compliance programs. Compliance programs are programs where purchasers must be in compliance with federal guidelines in order to be eligible to supply the government. The government has used compliance programs to advance affirmative action programs for women, minorities, and the handicapped. Minority subcontracting programs are another way that the government encourages the development of minority-owned businesses. Minority subcontracting programs require general contractors and other major suppliers to allocate a certain percentage of the total contract to minority-owned subcontractors. For example, a company building a research park for the EPA may have minority subcontractors to install the plumbing, lay the carpet, and other such jobs that are part of the overall contract. The Department of Defense The Department of Defense is the largest single buying agency in the federal government, accounting for an estimated 80 percent of all government purchases.33 Composed of the military branches (the Army, Air Force, and Navy), the Department of Defense also contains the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The DLA purchases all of the facilitating services and products as well as MRO items. The purpose of the DLA is to secure volume discounts by buying for all of the military such items as copiers, office supplies, and office furniture. As mentioned earlier, the Department of Defense developed many single-sourcing arrangements, in part because of the huge investment needed to develop weapon systems. Frequently, few vendors are even capable of bidding; for example, only Raytheon and General Dynamics entered the Sparrow air-to-air missile contract competition. The department, however, is now trying to develop additional vendors for many products, having found that multiple vendors can lower cost. In addition, due to its spreading purchases among suppliers, more suppliers learn how to do business with government, which further increases competition for government business. The increased competition should lead to lower prices and higher-quality products.34 Nondefense Buying The rest of the government uses the General Services Administration in a fashion similar to the DLA; in fact, the DLA makes most of its purchases through the GSA. The GSA supplies government agencies with office space, facilitating services and products, and MRO items. The GSA and the DLA are the two most important agencies because of the volume of buying for which they are responsible. The GSA negotiates the price to be charged the government, but in many cases, the GSA does not actually make the final purchase. Each agency can then make its own purchase directly, receiving the GSA price and using a GSA-approved vendor. (Many companies have copied this model of approving vendors at headquarters and allowing each division or local office to make the final purchase decision.) For example, the GSA has negotiated copier prices with several different manufacturers. The Federal Highway Department office in Fort Worth, Texas, can choose the copier it wants from any of those approved vendors and make the purchase themselves. The GSA does not get involved in all of the nondefense buying, though. NASA, for example, buys space shuttles and space communication systems entirely on its own. The GSA does not have the expertise necessary to make those kind of purchases.
Slide 93: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 86 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 3–2 FROM THE FIELD Restoring History Wins Government Contract W hen President Clinton, South Korean President Kim Young Sam, and more than 100,000 people, including veterans and their families, attended the dedication ceremonies in late July of 1995 for the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C., entrepreneurs Patricia Ghiglino and Reinaldo Lopez experienced tremendous pride. Their company, Professional Restoration, Inc. (PRI), under a subcontract, had built the monument’s free-standing granite memorial wall and circular reflecting pool. “We took part in history in building the Korean War Memorial,” says Ghiglino. “It is a hard feeling to describe, but it is an honor for us, especially being foreigners.” When Lopez began working in the U.S., he concentrated on sculpture, but he grew disillusioned with the business side of art when he was forced to take legal action against a gallery on grounds it had not paid him for work it had commissioned. Ghiglino encouraged him to look in other directions. In Commerce Business Daily, a publication that advertises available federal contracts, she found a call for bids to construct two entrances for the disabled at the Smithsonian Institution’s Visitor Center, a landmark known as the Castle. The job involved working with Seneca sandstone, a delicate, multilayered stone. Because of the Castle’s historical significance, says Ghiglino, “it was critical that the stone be perfectly cut and carved to match the existing building stone.” Because PRI, their start-up firm, had no track record, Ghiglino offered a “free sample”— Lopez would actually do a small portion of the job—to convince the Smithsonian that PRI could do the whole project. By doing the demonstration and submitting the lowest bid, PRI clinched its first contract—a $200,000 job. Among the company’s most notable projects was the rehabilitation of the lobby of the Washington Monument. PRI is also restoring a 90-year-old Italian mosaic floor in Bancroft Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md. The job entails fabricating 15,000 small marble pieces custom cut from individual molds. In 1994, Ghiglino, president of PRI, was named National Businesswoman of the Year by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and PRI was named a Blue Chip Enterprise for the District of Columbia in the Blue Chip Enterprise awards program, sponsored by Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Nation’s Business. The program honors firms that have overcome adversity and become stronger. With PRI now established as a regional company, Ghiglino and Lopez—both now American citizens—have larger ambitions. “Within the next five years,” says Ghiglino, “our goal is to be known as the best restoration company nationwide.” Source: M. Courtauld McBryde, “Restoring History,” Nation’s Business (November, 1995), p. 15. Marketing to the Government The size of the federal government of the United States, combined with the various social, political, and economic goals that influence government purchasing, make selling to the government a complicated and arduous task, especially in comparison with selling to private industry. To assist potential vendors, the government has created booklets such as How to Sell to the Air Force and Doing Business with the Federal Government. Information on opportunities to sell to the government can also be found in the Commerce Business Daily, which is how Professional Restoration Inc. found the opportunity described in From the Field 3–2. In addition, government agencies have purchasing agents
Slide 94: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 87 Giving gifts is a regular activity in many industries, but some companies have policies forbidding their personnel from accepting even a meal from a salesperson so there is never any question of unfair influences in a purchase. Courtesy IngersollRand Company. that seek out qualified vendors and are specialists in set-aside, compliance, or subcontracting programs. These agents are valuable sources of information for the vendor with little experience in marketing to the government. As mentioned earlier, the GSA negotiates a price and, when successful, places that vendor on the approved vendor list. Each agency can then do business with that vendor. If you aren’t on the list, then an agency cannot purchase from you. The first step, for many vendors, is to become an approved vendor. Then each agency has to be sold and marketed to as if it were a separate customer. In major purchases, particularly when products are being built to specifications, pricing can be negotiated one of two ways. For example, when NASA negotiates to buy a new space shuttle from Rockwell International, NASA can negotiate a fixed price. A fixed-price agreement means that if it costs Rockwell more to build an item than it thought, Rockwell has to cover the higher costs. Or NASA can agree to a cost-plus contract, which means that NASA will reimburse Rockwell for all of its costs plus a certain percentage for Rockwell’s profit. Both cost-plus and fixed-price agreements are negotiated when selling to foreign governments too. In addition to the issues we’ve already discussed about how governments buy, marketers to other governments must consider the type of government and political system. In China, for example, one must not only understand the purchasing process of the agency making the purchase, but also the hierarchy and decision-making process of the local Communist Party office. Selling to any government can be a difficult process made complex by the number of regulations involved. Selling to governments can take much longer than selling to corporations, require significantly more paperwork, and result in lower prices and margins. Still, the size of purchases made by governments makes them an attractive market for many business marketers. ETHICS IN PURCHASING Ethics in business are an important topic today. Issues such as price fixing, under-thetable kickbacks, and other shady practices continue to fill the media. Frequent cases, such as the CEO of a construction firm arrested for bribing government officials, create the perception that often sellers are unethical.
Slide 95: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 88 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 3–12 Summary of National Association of Purchasing Management’s Code of Ethics National Association of Purchasing Managers, used with permission. SOURCE: 1. Avoid the intent and appearance of unethical or compromising practice in relationships, actions, and communications. 2. Demonstrate loyalty to the employer by diligently following the lawful instructions of the employer, using reasonable care and only the authority granted. 3. Refrain from any private or professional business activity that would create a conflict between personal interests and the interests of the employer. 4. Refrain from soliciting or accepting money, loans, credits, or prejudicial discounts and the acceptance of gifts, entertainment, favors, or services from past or potential suppliers that might influence or appear to influence purchasing decisions. 5. Handle confidential or proprietary information belonging to employers or suppliers with due care and proper consideration of ethical and legal ramifications and government regulations. 6. Promote positive supplier relationships through courtesy and impartiality throughout all phases of the purchasing cycle. 7. Refrain from reciprocal agreements that restrain competition. 8. Know and obey the letter and spirit of laws governing the purchasing function, and remain alert to the legal ramifications of purchasing decisions. 9. Encourage all segments of society to participate by demonstrating support for small, disadvantaged, and minority-owned businesses. 10. Discourage purchasing’s involvement in employer-sponsored programs of personal purchases that are not business related. 11. Enhance the proficiency and stature of the purchasing profession by acquiring and maintaining current technical knowledge and the highest standards of ethical behavior. 12. Conduct international purchasing in accordance with the laws, customs, and practices of foreign countries, consistent with U.S. laws, your organization’s policies, and these Ethical Standards and Guidelines. Ethics are of particular concern to purchasing management. The executive of the selling firm may offer a bribe, but it takes a recipient for the bribe to occur. Buyers are just as susceptible to the economic pressures facing salespeople that influence ethical behavior. In this section, we will examine the key ethical issues facing purchasing and what companies are doing to encourage ethical behavior. What Are Ethics? Ethics are moral codes of conduct, rules for how someone should operate that can be utilized as situations demand. Codes of ethics such as the National Association of Purchasing Managers Code in Exhibit 3–12, are rules developed either by an industry association or by a company or some organization, but individuals also develop their own codes. Individual ethics can be developed through experience and through education. When conduct fails to meet the ethical needs of society, laws are passed; for example, the Robinson–Patman Act was passed because business failed to price products in a fair and ethical manner. For ethical behavior to occur, the person must first recognize the ethical implications of the situation and then be motivated to act ethically. Knowledge of right and wrong is not enough; the individual must want to do what is right. Situational factors, such as the probability of getting caught, may influence some people’s behavior, whereas others will always do what they think is right (or what is wrong, depending on their moral state) no matter what the situation.
Slide 96: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 89 Ethical Issues Facing Purchasing In purchasing, there are several key issues concerning ethics that revolve around the concept of fair competition. Fair competition means that any competitor has equal opportunity to sell to the buyer and equal access to information from the buyer. Actions such as bribery are unethical because they give one competitor an unfair advantage. Therefore, one issue facing purchasing is equal access to the buying opportunity. Another basic issue is responsibility to the buying organization, the buyer’s employer. For example, bribery may add to the cost of the product by raising the price, which is not the best thing for the buying organization. In addition, a buyer who has been bribed may not perform the buying duties completely, which means that the organization is not assured of getting the best solution for its needs. These two dimensions of equal access and responsibility are the basic guidelines for evaluating ethical actions in purchasing. You can see, in Exhibit 3–13, how these two dimensions are expressed in the various issues faced by purchasing agents around the world. Let’s now take a look at how these guidelines can be applied to purchasing situations. Receiving Gifts Gifts of some type are accepted by an estimated 97 percent of all buyers, and gift giving has long been an accepted practice.35 Most businesses believe that giving gifts is an effective activity that enhances their selling ability by strengthening relationships. Research, though, indicates that gift giving is not as effective as managers think and may cause problems for vendors.36 Many business marketers send gifts at Christmas—gifts like fruit baskets, high-quality steaks, and others. Often, these gifts bear the giver’s logo on a basket or something of that sort. One buyer, however, was astonished to find a gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret in a holiday card from a supplier. “It wasn’t that it was from Victoria’s Secret that bothered me,” she says. “What bothered me was that it was for $100, and I felt that the amount implied an obligation to do business with them that I didn’t want.” When gifts are given is another issue. The same gift sent out after the purchase, with no prior knowledge among the purchasers, might have been acceptable because the gift could not have swayed the decision. It was not offered to induce purchases, but to thank buyers. In situations involving repeat purchases, however, the choice is not so black and white. Expensive lunches, entertainment such as golf games and sporting events, and trips are also considered gifts. Some companies, such as IBM, do not allow their employees to accept anything from a vendor. Mead Paper, for example, has an annual golf tournament for its customers, but the IBM buyer cannot participate. By company policy, that buyer cannot accept so much as a cup of coffee from the Mead representative. Yet in other industries and companies, entertaining clients and prospective clients is accepted. Access to Information Buyers have access to a lot of information. Having that information can be a competitive advantage. How that information is used can become an ethical issue. For example, suppose a purchasing agent is considering three vendors. If the agent tells one vendor the budget but doesn’t tell the others, then the vendor with the budget information has an unfair advantage.
Slide 97: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 90 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 3–13 Purchasing Agents List Top Ethical Problems That They Face Rank In Country Issue Showing partiality to firm preferred by upper management Offering or soliciting payments or contributions for purpose of influencing government officials Failure to provide products or services of highest quality in eyes of external customers (supply chain) Offering or soliciting payments or contributions for purpose of influencing purchase decisions Receiving gifts or entertainment that influence, or appear to influence, decisions Allowing personalities to improperly influence decisions Failure to provide prompt honest answers to customer inquiries SOURCES: U.S. 1 30 Canada 2 31 UK 3 31 India 6 1 11 14 2 3 32 22 22 2 7 5 7 4 2 3 1 4 4 4 16 10 Robert Cooper, Gary Frank, and Robert Kemp, “A Multinational Comparison of Key Ethical Issues, Helps, and Challenges in the Purchasing and Supply Management Profession: The Key Implications for Business and the Professions,” Journal of Business Ethics 23 (1 January 2000), pp. 83–100; Robert Cooper, “The Ethical Environment Facing Purchasing and Supply Management Professionals: A Multinational Perspective,” Business & Professional Ethics Journal 15 no. 3 (1997), pp. 65–89. For example, it is quite common to have bids as part of purchase processes. In some cases, particularly with government entities, these bids are sealed and opened at the same time. An unethical act would be to open a bid early and give that information to another bidder in order to get a lower price. Although it may seem that getting a lower price is better for the government, as a society we’ve agreed to open competition, meaning that everyone has the same shot at getting the business. A similar practice is called shill bidding. This practice involves getting bids from companies with no expectation of doing business with them, in order to drive down prices from the companies that you do want to do business with. An example is a reverse auction, common on the Web. In business marketing, reverse auctions occur when a buyer puts out a request for prices on the Web for a specific purchase. Suppliers bid on the business, lowering price until one bidder remains in the auction. At that point, the buyer is supposed to buy, but some don’t. Instead they take the bid to their current supplier and expect the same price. In a recent survey of purchasing professionals, 41 percent believed this to be an unethical practice, 11 percent thought it was okay, and the rest chose not to answer the question. Buyers and sellers sometimes work closely together in developing products. Sellers also give some buyers sneak previews of products. In these situations, buyers are often asked to sign nondisclosure agreements, which means that they will not share any information about the new products with anyone who has not also signed such an agreement.
Slide 98: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 91 If a buyer were to offer this information in a trade to wrangle concessions from another vendor, the buyer could be sued. More importantly, the buyer would be guilty of unethical conduct. Encouraging Ethical Conduct We’ve talked at length in this chapter about the importance of purchasing to the firm’s success. Ethical conduct is a major contributor to effective purchasing; unethical purchasing can damage a firm because it will pay too much for lower-quality products. In addition, there is always the threat of legal action for unethical conduct. Just as importantly, however, unethical conduct represents a breach of trust. Selling organizations have to trust their buyers on many levels, and trust is particularly important in building long-term partnerships. Without that trust, the buying organizations will not be privy to sneak previews of new products and will be unable to make fully informed decisions. Ethical sellers will look elsewhere to form strategic alliances, which will damage the competitive ability of the unethical firm. The senior management of most companies wants their companies to operate ethically, but even if they did not care that much about ethics, it is good business practice. To encourage ethical behavior, many companies have developed specific and extensive policies concerning purchasing. These policies cover such things as when is it acceptable to receive a gift and how large a gift may be, issues concerning entertainment, and how a purchasing department will select products. For example, policies may dictate when sealed bids must be used, when the vendor with the lowest price has to be given the business, and other purchasing decisions. Policies alone are not enough, however. Employees have to understand the policies and know how to apply them. For this reason, companies require their purchasing employees to undergo regular training about the policies. Knowledge of the policies, however, is also not enough. Employees have to be motivated to follow the policies. Management can encourage employees to follow the policies by setting good examples and by punishing those who fail to follow the policies. When these two actions are viewed by purchasing employees, they know that the policies are real, and they will be motivated to act within the guidelines that management has set. Summary Effective purchasing can be a source of competitive advantage for a company. Purchasing’s responsibility is to provide an adequate supply of the right product or service at the best possible price. Purchasing’s ability to effectively achieve this responsibility is affected, however, by manufacturing and marketing considerations. Reducing purchasing costs can have a negative impact on manufacturing and/or marketing, so purchasing must consider the needs of manufacturing and marketing when making decisions. Many organizations are turning to just-in-time (JIT) systems, which means that they receive products and materials just in time to use them. JIT can reduce inventory carrying costs significantly. Suppliers are incorporating concurrent manufacturing as a way to supply the JIT needs of the customers without increasing their own inventory costs. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is electronic data transmission between the buyer and seller that is used to order products and can facilitate the implementation of a JIT system.
Slide 99: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 92 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Purchasing the right quality of product or service is an important responsibility of the purchasing department. Quality is ultimately defined by the consumer; purchasing has to work closely with marketing and manufacturing to ensure that the proper quality of products are purchased. Purchasing also has the responsibility to provide products and services at the lowest total cost. Lowest total cost, however, includes many elements beyond the initial purchase price. Purchasing departments, therefore, examine the total cost of ownership over the life of the product. Many companies are turning to outsourcing services as a method of reducing the total cost of ownership because of the high costs associated with retaining service personnel on staff. To arrive at the lowest total cost, companies have tried to determine the economic ordering quantity. Forward buying is one practice that can result, having negative consequences for the supplier. Another practice is value analysis, which is a method of examining the total cost of ownership. Traditionally, purchasing agents have had an adversarial philosophy toward their suppliers, but this is changing to a more collaborative and partnering philosophy. Preferred supplier systems are means that companies use to develop stronger relationships with their vendors. One outcome of the shift toward partnering is the growth in single sourcing, although single sourcing by itself does not necessarily mean a partnership. Several steps are required to select vendors. The buy-phase model describes each step that organizations go through when making purchases for the first time (new buys). Modified rebuys may require fewer steps, and straight rebuys are often simply automatic purchasing when inventories are low. Out-suppliers encourage value analysis in an effort to move straight rebuys into the modified rebuy category, so that they will have a shot at the business. To evaluate suppliers, companies compare and weigh benefits using a multiattribute process. This process requires purchasers to enumerate the desired benefits and rate the importance of each benefit. Then each vendor is evaluated and scored on each benefit. The rating of importance and the vendor’s score are multiplied for each benefit, and then summed to arrive at a total score. The vendor with the highest score is the one whose product is selected. Companies such as Rockwell International use a formal process like this when evaluating current suppliers as well as potential suppliers. Downsizing, outsourcing, and cross-functional purchasing teams are several trends that are influencing purchasing departments today. These trends are also affecting the way companies have to market their products and services. Purchasing is an area where ethics are very important. Two basic dimensions guide ethical issues in purchasing: fair access and responsibility. Two activities are especially worrisome: gift giving plus information access and use. Government purchasing represents a major economic influence in every country. Developing countries are especially concerned with making infrastructure purchases. Other countries may want to achieve social and economic goals through programs such as minority set-asides. For major purchases, a cost-plus or fixed-pricing agreement may be negotiated. Understanding how purchasing operates is very important. The purchasing department is involved in over 40 percent of all purchases made by organizations, and nearly all purchases involving MRO items and materials that go into the manufacturing process.
Slide 100: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 93 Key Terms adversarial purchasing philosophy buy-class buy-grid model buy-phase model complexity management compliance program concurrent manufacturing cost-plus contract cross-functional sourcing teams downsize early supplier involvement (ESI) economic order quantity (EOQ) electronic data interchange (EDI) ethics fixed-price agreement forward buying infrastructure in-supplier just-in-time (JIT) make-or-buy minority subcontracting modified rebuy multiattribute model new buy nondisclosures agreements outsourcing out-supplier partnership purchasing preferred supplier systems single sourcing straight rebuy supply chain management total cost of ownership trade shows value analysis Discussion Questions 1. When does gift giving become unethical? Are there any times when a salesperson accepting a gift from a purchasing agent could be construed as unethical? 2. Assume that graduation is here and you’ve been offered a job with the choice of two cities. Create a multiattribute matrix listing all of the factors that would influence your decision and the appropriate weights for those factors. Please don’t read ahead on this question; it is important that you create the chart before you find out what cities you are to rate. Rate Atlanta and St. Louis and calculate the scores for each city. Is the final decision what you thought it would be? Did you feel like you fudged any numbers (ratings or weights) so that the model’s outcome would match your original feeling about each city? 3. Assume you are the purchasing agent for PPG. The company is anticipating the purchase of a new computer system that will integrate purchasing, production, and accounting activities. Your job is to create the specifications for the new system using a multiattribute matrix. How would you go about it? 4. In this chapter, we discussed a number of trends and how they affect purchasing. Which trend do you think is most important? Why? Which is least important and why? What trends do you think we’ve overlooked? 5. Go back to the list of product types in Chapter 1. Which ones do you think are most likely to be purchased as straight rebuys and which are likely to be modified rebuys? Why? 6. Assume that you are the out-supplier for MRO items. How would you get that purchase changed from a straight rebuy to a modified rebuy? Would it make a difference to your ability to create a partnership if the purchase was made by the purchasing department or the maintenance department? Justify your answer. 7. Identify three marketing strategies influenced by purchasing strategies, as described in the chapter. Is there any consistent theme in these marketing strate-
Slide 101: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 94 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing gies? How would you design a communication compaign (what theme would you use, what would your ads or letters say, etc.) to promote such strategies to purchasing professionals? 8. Discuss how buying in the U.S. government is different from buying in forprofit organizations. If you are a citizen of a country other than the United States, discuss how buying by your government is different from for-profit organizations’ buying. 9. Discuss why three specific companies not mentioned in the chapter should be aggressively pursuing foreign government business. Based on what you know about these companies, which one do you think is doing best in selling to foreign governments? Why? 10. Assume you are negotiating with the Air Force about developing a new weapon system. Do you want a fixed-price or cost-plus agreement? Why? Now assume you are negotiating for the annual toilet paper contract with the Air Force. Which type of agreement do you want and why? Internet Exercise WWW I N T E R N E T Visit PPG’s purchasing department page, http://www.ppg.com/frames/suppliers.htm. You will have to surf through the site to answer the questions. 1. What is the philosophy of the purchasing department and what specific actions would you expect as a result of that philosophy? What alternative actions could be reasonable for a company that had a philosophy of always using the lowestcost provider? 2. How does PPG make use of the Web to support its purchasing function? What support does it offer small vendors who may not have access to the same technology as larger vendors? Cases Case 3.1 Human Performance Systems Joyce Davis leaned back in her chair and reflected on the sales call she made that morning. Her company, Human Performance Systems (HPS), provides safety training in order to bring manufacturers into compliance with OSHA regulations. She also had the data to prove that the training saved companies money by reducing the number of manufacturing accidents. What Joyce couldn’t understand was why Bob Jackson, owner of Jackson Molding, was so adamant that he couldn’t afford the training. “Bob, you can’t afford not to do this,” she told him. “You have had three accidents this month, losing 23 workdays.” (Three employees missed five days each, and another missed eight, for a total of 23.) “I don’t pay them for lost workdays. That makes them more careful.” He stared at her defiantly. “Therefore, I don’t need training.” 1. What benefits could Human Performance Systems’ training provide Jackson Molding? Think through the various ways HPS could save Jackson money, among other benefits. 2. What is important to Bob? Why? 3. How could Joyce use the multiattribute matrix to change Bob’s mind?
Slide 102: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 95 Case 3.2 Abilene Heavy Equipment Tires Abilene Heavy Equipment Tires sells tires for off-road mining and forestry vehicles and construction equipment. The company also retreads the tires and provides services at the mine or construction site. Because customers’ equipment is considered production equipment, a flat tire means a loss of production. Quality service is an important element in Abilene’s business. Ken Arthur is the manager of Abilene’s service business. His responsibilities include managing a fleet of 12 heavy-duty pickup trucks that are used to reach customers’ equipment in the field for service. Ken buys three trucks each January, retiring each truck after four years of service. For the previous two years, he purchased Dodge trucks from the Abilene Dodge dealer, dealing directly with owner Don Tanksley. Today, December 20, Don stopped by Ken’s office. After saying hello and asking after the family, Don said, “Come on, Ken, I want to show you something I have outside in the truck.” As they walked outside, Don continued, “I know you like to hunt and I thought you might appreciate this little Christmas present. You’ve been a good customer for nearly 10 years, and I’d like to say thank you with this.” From the inside of his truck, Don pulled out a new Browning Citori shotgun. Ken eyed the new gun with appreciation, knowing that it retailed for at least $1,200. The custom carving on the stock, with Ken’s initials, probably added another $500 to the cost of the gun. He held it, admiring the balance, and then sighted the gun as if about to shoot. He thought about how nice it would be to use this at the annual dove hunt that Abilene sponsored for its customers. 1. Is there any ethical problem with Ken accepting the gift? Why or why not? 2. What factors could affect your decision? Additional Readings Andersen, Bjorn, Tom Fagerhaug, Stine Randmael, Jurgen Schuldmaier, and Johan Preninger. “Benchmarking Supply Chain Management: Finding Best Practices.” Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing 14 (1999), pp. 378–89. Araujo, Luis, Anna Dubois, and Lars-Erik Gadde. “Managing Interfaces with Suppliers.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (1999), pp. 497–506. Braglia, Marcello, and Alberto Petroni. “A Quality Assurance-Oriented Methodology for Handling Trade-Offs in Supplier Selection.” International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 30 (2000), pp. 96–111. Cachon, G. P. “Managing Supply Chain Demand Variability with Scheduled Ordering Policies.” Management Science 45 (June 1999), pp. 843–957. Carter, C. R., R. J. Auskalms, and C. L. Ketchum. “Purchasing from Minority Business Enterprises: Key Success Factors.” The Journal of Supply Chain Management 35 (winter 1999), pp. 28–33. de Boer, L., and J. Telgen. “Purchasing Practice in Dutch Municipalities.” International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management 34/2 (1998), pp. 31–37. Dowlatshahi, S. “Bargaining Power in Buyer-Supplier Relationships.” Production and Inventory Management Journal 40 (1999), pp. 27–36. Drumwright, Minette E. “Socially Responsible Organizational Buying: Environmental Concern as a Noneconomic Buying Criterion.” Journal of Marketing 58 ( July 1994), pp. 1–18.
Slide 103: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 96 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Fitzsimmons, James A., Jeonpyo Noh, and Emil Thies. “Purchasing Business Services.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 13 (1998), pp. 370–80. Fraering, M., and S. Prasad. “International Sourcing and Logistics: An Integrated Model.” Logistics Information Management 12 (1999), pp. 451–60. Fung, Patrick. “Managing Purchasing in a Supply Chain Context—Evolution and Resolution.” Logistics Information Management 12 (1999), pp. 362–66. Ghingold, Morry, and Bruce Johnson. “Technical Knowledge as Value Added in Business Markets.” Industrial Marketing Management 26 (1997), pp. 271–80. Goh, M., G. T. Lau, and L. Neo. “Strategic Role and Contribution of Purchasing in Singapore: A Survey of CEOs.” The Journal of Supply Chain Management 35 (1999), pp. 12–23. Hult, Tomas, and Ernest Nichols Jr. “A Study of Team Orientation in Global Purchasing.” Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing 14 (1999), pp. 194–210. Johnson, P. F., M. R. Leenders, and H. E. Fearon. “The Influence of Organizational Factors on Purchasing Activities.” International Journal of Purchasing and Material Management 34 (summer 1998), pp. 10–20. Lee, Hanjoon, Paul Herr, Frank Kardes, and Chankon Kim. “Motivated Search: Effects of Choice Accountability, Issue Involvement, and Prior Knowledge on Information Acquisition and Use.” Journal of Business Research 45 (1999), pp. 75–88. Lewin, Jeffrey E., and Wesley J. Johnston. “The Effects of Organizational Restructuring on Industrial Buying Behavior: 1990 and Beyond,” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 11 (1996), pp. 93–111. Lin, B., and C-T Hsieh. “Online Procurement: Implementation and Managerial Implications.” Human Systems Management 19 (2000), pp. 105–11. Maltz, A., and L. Ellram. “Outsourcing Supply Management.” The Journal of Supply Chain Management 35 (1999), 4–18. McGinnis, M. A., and R. M. Vallopra. “Purchasing and Supplier Involvement in Process Improvement: A Source of Competitive Advantage.” The Journal of Supply Chain Management (autumn 1999), pp. 42–51. Motwani, Jaideep, Manu Madan, James Jiang, and Luis Otero. “International Purchasing Strategies of U.S. and Puerto Rico Firms: A Comparative Empirical Analysis.” Logistics Information Management 11 (1998), pp. 171–77. Motwani, Jaideep, Mohamed Youssef, Yunus Kathawaia, and Elizabeth Futch. “Supplier Selection in Developing Countries: A Model Development.” Integrated Manufacturing Systems 10/3 (1999), pp. 154–61. Motwani Jaideep, and Suraj Ahuja. “International Purchasing Practices of U.S. and Indian Managers: A Comparative Analysis.” Industrial Management & Data Systems 100/4 (2000), pp. 172–79. Patterson, Paul, and Philip Dawes. “The Determinants of Choice Set Structure in HighTechnology Business Markets.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (1999), pp. 395–411. Pye, J., and D. Ball. “Purchasing Consortia: Trends and Activity in the UK.” The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances 12 (1999), pp. 12–19. Sinclair, G. “Purchasing and the Learning Curve: A Case Study of a Specialty Chemicals Business Unit.” The Journal of Supply Chain Management 35 (spring 1999), pp. 44–50.
Slide 104: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 3. The Purchasing Function © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function 97 Spinks, Nelda, Barron Wells, and Melanie Meche. “Netiquette: A Behavioral Guide to Electronic Business Communication.” Corporate Communications: An International Journal 4 (1999), pp. 145–55. Tadepelli, Raghu, Abel Moreno, and Salvador Trevino. “Do American and Mexican Purchasing Managers View Ethical Situations Differently?” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (1999), pp. 369–80. Trent, Robert J. “Individual and Collective Team Effort: A Vital Part of Sourcing Team Success.” International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management 34 (autumn 1998), pp. 46–55. Vollman, Thomas E., and Carlos Gordon. “Building Successful Customer-Supplier Alliances.” Long Range Planning 31 (1998), pp. 684–94. Windsor, D., and K. A. Getz. “Regional Market Integration and the Development of Global Norms for Enterprise Conduct: The Case of International Bribery.” Business & Society 38 (December 1999), pp. 415–50.
Slide 105: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter IBM 98 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior IBM has long held a global leadership position in the computer industry. But remaining a leader requires constant vigilance, risk taking, and a strategic vision that guides decision making, especially when it comes to purchasing. When IBM was developing the ThinkPad brand of notebook computers, each decision on what technology component to purchase became a key strategic issue—vital to maintaining product leadership and brand image. • As general manager for IBM’s ThinkPad development program, Steve Ward and his team were responsible for making final decisions including which components, such as microprocessors, disk drives, or screens, would be bought from internal sources or outside suppliers. The team’s decisions were influenced by reviews from representatives of finance, marketing, product development, manufacturing, purchasing, and other departments. • This buying process was and remains a key part of the total ThinkPad de- velopment and marketing strategy. When Ward says, “Our purchasing was really a strategy,” he means that the process of buying ThinkPad components is really part of the division’s overall strategy of leading the market and making available the right kind of technology and function—the kind that companies and individual consumers want and will buy. Each individual on Ward’s team represented an area of IBM and each had to consider the needs of that area—the head of manufacturing has different issues, for example, than does the head of marketing. However, team members also have responsibility for understanding the big picture environment—marketing has to understand
Slide 106: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 www.ibm.com and predict customers’ future wants, whereas manufacturing and product development must forecast technology directions and be able to adapt that technology into the product fast enough. • According to Ward, it is imperative that they make the right purchase decisions to ensure a successful product. “ThinkPad is a critical part of the overall IBM brand strategy because it is a product that everyone sees,” he says. “People may not know that their network operates on an IBM server because it is in a closet. But they all know what brand of notebook they use.” Making sure that the company’s strategic objectives are met required integrating the buying process into the strategic planning process. • LEARNING OBJECTIVES In order to develop profitable relationships with buyers, it helps to understand how they make decisions. This chapter describes the theories of how buyers in organizations buy products and services. After reading this chapter, you will be able to • Explain, using the most prominent theories of organizational buyer behavior, how individual needs may override or influence the rational decision-making process. • Predict marketing action based on the choice of a particular buying theory. • Describe the influence of risk on buyer behavior. • Illustrate how these theories work in concert with partnering. In the previous chapter, you learned about the influence of the purchasing department and the rational methods of making purchase decisions. You also learned about the importance to the buying organization of making sound economic decisions. In all organizations, however, it is people who make the final decisions—and they have their own agendas, quirks, likes, and dislikes. In this chapter, we explore the individual. You will find the theories presented here useful when making decisions about what products to market, how to set prices, what communication vehicles and sales approaches to employ, and other marketing decisions. 99
Slide 107: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 100 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing THEORIES IN USE Everybody has theories. We may not always express them, but we have our own explanations for why things work the way they do, why someone did something, or how to make something happen. Even when we don’t consciously think about or express our theories, we hold beliefs such as if X happens, then Y will happen. Theories are our rules (like “don’t bathe near a window during a thunderstorm or you might get struck by lightning”); they guide our behavior. Our theories may not always be correct, but they are what we use to understand our world and to make sure that we operate safely and profitably. Decision makers in business have theories too. They decide to take action—to lower a price, for example—because they believe that X (a lower price) will lead to Y (greater sales). From the Field 4–1 illustrates how three companies created different marketing strategies based on their theories of how buyers buy. In this chapter, we will examine several theories about how buying works in organizations. It is important to understand the various buyer theories so you can make an informed model of your own that you can then use to guide your marketing decisions. Understanding how things work, such as how people make buying decisions as part of their job, can help managers figure out what to do when situations change. For example, there were a number of real estate developers, such as Craig Hall and Trammell Crow in Dallas, who were very successful when inflation was 16 percent and interest rates were high. Their theory was that the price of real estate was increasing faster than interest rates. When inflation went under 10 percent, these developers went broke or suffered serious losses and setbacks because their loans were at interest rates well over 10 percent. One reason was that they understood how to make money under one set of conditions (high inflation and interest rates). When conditions changed (rates went down), their methods were no longer viable. Developers who succeeded (or simply survived) did so because they had a better understanding, or theory, of how the economy worked and were able to adapt their methods to the changing situation. Such adaptation can be a function of good theory. You have already been exposed to the theory of relationships marketing buy-grid and the buy-grid theory. In this chapter, we will explore several individual buying theories— that is, a group of theories designed to explain individual buyer actions rather than organizational relationships. These theories are the buyer behavior choice theory, the rewardmeasurement theory, role theory, and the buying determinants theory. PEOPLE MAKE THE DECISIONS You may have gotten the feeling in Chapter 3 that, without bribery, the best solution for the organization is always purchased. Organizational buyers, however, do not always seek to maximize the benefits for the organization; sometimes they seek to maximize benefits for themselves. In addition, relationships are between people, and buyers consider personal relationships skills as one important aspect of purchases.1 After all, purchase decisions are not made by heartless, hyperrational machines. Purchase decisions are made by people. These buyers go home and become consumers, so as individuals operating in an organization they sometimes exhibit behavior that looks just like shoppers at a Wal-Mart. For example, one buyer for BellSouth was also a veteran of the Pacific theater of World War II. As a result of his war experiences, this particular buyer would purchase nothing that was Japanese-made when alternatives, especially American-made alternatives, were available. When Bridgestone (a Japanese company) purchased Firestone, he slowly but surely replaced all of the Firestone tires on BellSouth vehicles with Cooper tires, Cooper
Slide 108: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 101 4–1 FROM THE FIELD From Theory to Practice—the Use of Buying Theories in Long-Distance Services L ong-distance services vary little from one supplier to the next; either the call gets through or it doesn’t. So how does one supplier separate from the others? For Cable & Wireless, a British company offering long-distance services around the globe, the answer is through personal sales support. Cable & Wireless does very little advertising, relying on sales representatives to get in the door by showing comparative pricing, then offering additional services such as customized billing in order to add value and win the account. With larger companies, the salesperson focuses on the telecommunications manager, but for smaller companies, the rep will call on the CEO first. AT&T, on the other hand, aggressively advertises in a variety of media. An ad in Sales & Marketing Management might portray a hotel chain’s reservations manager trying to figure out how reservations will be taken because the 800 reservation line is down. Or another ad might illustrate what happens to a plant manager when the data line between the plant and a supplier isn’t working and a cru- cial shipment isn’t made. These fear appeals are designed to get others outside the telecommunications department involved in the purchase process. AT&T combines this advertising effort with telemarketing for smaller businesses and personal account service for larger companies. Sprint has a sophisticated program aimed at large companies that audits telecommunication needs of every department of the organization. Similar programs are available, on a lesser scale, for smaller accounts. Price is important, but not the main element of their strategy. They emphasize their technology and its reliability, as well as price. Each of these companies has selected a different marketing strategy—but not just to be different. These long-distance suppliers believe their strategy will work because each strategy offers what they believe buyers need in order to make a decision. And these suppliers also believe that their strategy is the best one for the way their buyers make decisions. Which one is right? Only time, market share, and profitability will tell. being a U.S. company. The buyer’s motivation in choosing a vendor may or may not have had an obvious impact on his company in terms of cost or product performance, but as long as the product would perform at a reasonably competitive price, his motive to do business with a U.S. company dominated the decision. REWARD–MEASUREMENT THEORY Reward–measurement (RM) theory represented a major advance in the way theorists thought about buying behavior because the theory recognized that there are benefits to be gained in addition to those delivered by the product. For example, a buyer may choose a product in order to win accolades from the boss. The essentials of this model are also the name of the model: If you can understand how performance is measured and rewarded, then you will understand how and why the buyer will make a purchase. Reward–measurement theory is an expectancy theory of organizational buyer motivation, similar to expectancy theories you may have been introduced to in management. RM theory points out that buyers are motivated by both intrinsic rewards, or those re-
Slide 109: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 102 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 4–1 Reward– Measurement Theory Motivation Office manager wants to buy the lowest-priced fax possible and is willing to shop around (spend a lot of effort) Valence because she can get an important raise Probability if she can negotiate a discount, which she estimates is likely. wards they give themselves (feelings of satisfaction, for example), and extrinsic rewards, or rewards given by the organization (e.g., salary, promotion). All rewards are not equal, however. Valence, or the degree of importance or value attached to a reward, varies from person to person in a fashion similar to the multiattribute model discussed in the previous chapter.2 For example, in Exhibit 4–1 the important reward is a raise, which is an extrinsic reward. Valence alone does not tell us what the buyer will do. Another important element is perceived probability (usually just called probability), or the perception that effort on a particular set of tasks will lead to accomplishment of performance outcomes that will, in turn, lead to the desired rewards. In other words, the buyer says, “If I do this, then I will get a reward.” In our example, the buyer has estimated the probability of negotiating a discount. The RM model says that probability times valence determines the individual’s level of motivation, or the amount of effort that the buyer is willing to expend to engage in that set of tasks, as you can see in Exhibit 4–1. Perceptions of probability are dependent on the organization’s measurement system, which is how the buyer’s performance is graded, and the person’s ability to successfully carry out the tasks, particularly for extrinsic rewards. If the measurement system can tell the difference between good and bad decisions, then perceptions concerning probability should be greater because good performance will be identified. If the measurement system doesn’t tell the difference, then how well the buyer performs may not matter, at least in terms of receiving rewards from the organization. The organization will not be able to determine if the buyer did well. For example, suppose an office manager needed to buy a new fax machine. Chances are that the manager’s performance evaluation will not discuss how well she made that purchase; there is no system of formal purchasing measurement for that person. Or there may be a system of evaluating her cost control relative to her budget, but that is all. That system would not be able to tell if the fax was the best one suited for the needs of the office, if it arrived on time and worked well, or any other factors relating to the purchase. On the other hand, purchasing agents are evaluated on the basis of product performance, on-time delivery, and total cost, which should influence their probability perceptions.3 Each person also considers his or her own ability to carry out the tasks, a perception called self-efficacy.4 For example, people who have never participated in the purchase of a telephone switching system may be concerned about their ability to tell the difference between good and bad products. They have low self-efficacy perceptions. Someone who says, “I can’t do that,” is not likely to volunteer to participate in a purchase; someone with high self-efficacy may be more motivated.5 Marketing and Reward–Measurement Theory Xerox faces a problem when selling copiers, for example, because many buyers of copiers are not evaluated on their buying abilities. Buying a copier is something they do outside their normal job functions, unless they are purchasing agents or senior administrators
Slide 110: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 103 who purchase office equipment regularly. In situations where measurement systems aren’t designed to evaluate an employee’s copier purchase performance, performance may become an either/or decision: Either the copier works or it doesn’t, therefore, either the person made a good or a bad decision. In this type of all-or-nothing situation, it is important for vendors such as Xerox to provide high-quality service and products because they may not get a second chance if there are any problems. Marketers can increase perceptions of self-efficacy by increasing the buyer’s experience or knowledge. Demonstrations and free trials are ways that marketers increase self-efficacy. Also, advertising and other marketing communications that increase knowledge about products can increase a buyer’s perception of self-efficacy. Buyers choose to do certain tasks (such as see demonstrations) based on the probability associated with those tasks. How much and how well they do the tasks is a function of their motivation, which takes into account the valence for rewards associated with the purchase. As marketers, if we understand the valence attached to the various rewards and how performance is measured, then we should be able to predict the amount of effort expended by the buyer on tasks involving information search, number of bids requested, and other purchase activities. We can also begin to understand what products might be purchased in which situations. For example, in the long-distance industry, AT&T has been the dominant player in the United States for decades. Buying AT&T is a safe decision; with AT&T’s track record of service, market share, and product quality, anyone who recommends AT&T is not going out on a limb. If the buyers in a particular market have a high valence for security, AT&T might be selected. For example, many L.L. Bean customers order over the phone. L.L. Bean management, who evaluate the performance of the telecommunications manager who buys long-distance services, probably place a high value on reliable service. But if buyers in a market are rewarded for cutting costs, Sprint, Cable & Wireless, and other vendors may have a better chance. Similarly, Cable & Wireless is viewed as a safe decision in Great Britain, but AT&T is perceived as more risky. You can see that this application is very similar to the multiattribute model in that valences and attribute ratings can be viewed in a similar fashion. Comparing Reward–Measurement and Multiattribute How does the multiattribute model (from Chapter 3) compare with reward–measurement theory? First, RM theory (1) recognizes intrinsic rewards such as feeling good about making the right decision or having pride in making a contribution to the success of the organization and (2) acknowledges that sometimes buyers operate to attain intrinsic rewards exclusively. For example, a telecommunications buyer who likes to get good deals would be more likely to do business with Cable & Wireless. Second, RM theory recognizes that extrinsic rewards are a function of the reward– measurement systems of the organization, and not a function of the product. In organizational buying situations, few buyers actually benefit directly from a purchase. At L.L. Bean, for example, the telecommunications manager does use long-distance services. At PPG, however, the buyer doesn’t personally do anything with the sand that she buys. Her rewards are based on the evaluation of her performance as a buyer, not as a user of sand. Recognize, too, that buyers may still use a multiattribute model when making a decision, even though they may be concerned with intrinsic rewards and the reward– measurement system of the organization. Intrinsic rewards may be influenced by attrib-
Slide 111: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 104 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 4–2 Behavior Choice Model Adapted from John F. Tanner Jr., “A Model of Organizational Buyer Behavior Choice,” Proceedings, Southern Marketing Association, 1987, pp. 355–58. SOURCE: 1. Identify situation: Degree of company orientation Degree of self-orientation 2. Evaluate personal relevance: Formal reward system Informal and social reward systems Intrinsic rewards 3. Assess action alternatives and requirements 4. Choose behavior strategy: Defensive: process-oriented, minimize threats Offensive: results-oriented, maximize gain utes of the vendor’s offering; for example, that telecommunications buyer who likes to get a good deal will weigh price more heavily than other buyers. Reward–measurement theory means that the buy-grid (new buy, modified rebuy, or straight rebuy) may not be as important as the reward structure, because effort is a function of probability and valence, not experience with the product. BEHAVIOR CHOICE THEORY What happens when reward systems for effective buying are nonexistent for many purchasing participants?6 Behavior choice theory was developed in order to understand buying behavior when multiple and perhaps competing reward systems are present, or when no reward system is obvious to the buyer. Behavior choice theory states that buyers go through a choice process to arrive at decisions of how they will buy, as opposed to the choice process of what will be bought modeled as part of the buy-grid.7 Behavior choice theory is illustrated in Exhibit 4–2. The first decision is to decide what type of situation they are in. For example, a buyer may believe that the purchase is an opportunity to show decision-making skills; as a management development opportunity, the purchase is more important than as an opportunity to obtain a particular product. The management development opportunity benefits the individual participating in the decision, whereas the product may benefit the company. This decision of the relative value of benefits and the type of situation leads to an orientation that influences the buyer’s behavior throughout the rest of the purchase process. The degree to which the individual works to achieve personal benefit is called selforientation, whereas the degree to which the individual works to achieve benefit for the company is company orientation. Self-orientation and company orientation operate independently, so one purchase situation could result in both high self-orientation and high company orientation. For example, a buyer may work hard to review several vendors because the purchase decision is an opportunity to exhibit promotable managerial skills, and the buyer’s self-orientation would be classified as high. At the same time, the service
Slide 112: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 105 being purchased may be crucial to the company’s performance, which may also motivate the buyer to review several alternatives. This latter motivation is an example of a high company orientation. In this example, the buyer is both highly self- and companyoriented. The second stage of the choice process is to evaluate personal relevance. In this stage, the buyer examines the reward structures, both formal and informal, associated with the situation as defined in stage one. Thus, a buyer who defines the situation as an opportunity to purchase a product is going to engage reward structures associated with the product, such as satisfaction with the product. A buyer who sees the situation as an opportunity to show off decision-making skills, however, will engage reward structures that might include promotions, management recognition, and the like. In the third stage, the buyer assesses action alternatives and requirements. In this stage, the buyer looks at the amount of control over the task; are there any choices in what the buyer can and can’t do. Company policies and procedures may limit the choice of buying activities; for example, company policy may require soliciting at least three bids. The final stage of the model is the selection of a strategy. There are two types of strategies: offensive strategies (strategies designed to maximize gain) and defensive strategies (strategies designed to minimize loss). (We’ll talk more about reducing risk later in this chapter.) Using our telecommunications example, AT&T would be a defensive choice because it is safe—no one was ever fired for buying AT&T. Other defensive strategies would include asking the boss to make the decision, getting as many people involved as possible in order to share the blame if things go wrong, and paying attention to the process rather than to the outcome. The latter strategy is useful because if the product doesn’t work out, the buyer can say, “Well, it is the vendor’s fault. We did everything right in our selection process. We viewed 55 different models, evaluated 40 bids, and so forth.” Choosing an off-brand for service would be an offensive strategy, designed to maximize gain through saving the company the most money or making a name for oneself as an innovator. The selection of a strategy, either offensive or defensive, can relate to a single orientation. For example, a buyer may want to get the company the best deal possible (high company orientation, offensive strategy), but at the same time minimize personal risk (high self-orientation, defensive strategy). The process of purchasing, then, can be decided by the strategy of the buyer, not experience with the product, as suggested by the buy-grid. Experience with the product should influence the choice of a strategy; for example, an inexperienced buyer may be more likely to select a defensive strategy. Other factors, such as reward–measurement systems, risk associated with the purchase, visibility of purchase participation, and management level of the individual, will also influence the selection of strategy. Based on the strategy and action alternatives, the buyer selects a series of tasks. For example, when we mentioned viewing 55 models and evaluating 40 bids, we were discussing examples of tasks that may be selected to fit a defensive strategy. The actual purchase depends on the outcomes of those tasks. Marketing and Buyer Behavior Choice An example of this theory in use is Intel’s “It Takes You There” campaign for the Pentium processor. Intel recognized that purchasers of computers in many situations have a high degree of self-orientation. PC purchases in organizations are initiated by individuals who believe that their old PC inhibits their productivity. Yes, the company gains when those individuals are more productive, but it is what the PC does for them individually
Slide 113: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 106 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Buying centers may make decisions using different mechanisms; this buying group is voting on a decision about the number of vendors to consider. that makes them initiate a purchase of a new unit. Intel played on the theme of personal advancement with the corporate version of “It Takes You There,” getting 25,000 corporate buyers to visit its booth at the Comdex trade show, a show where Intel would normally expect only 8,000 visitors in its booth.8 Intel took advantage of the high selforientation of buyers and encouraged an offensive behavior strategy in order to get buyers to ask for new computers. Going back to our telecommunications example, think about why AT&T would advertise its long-distance services to marketing managers using fear appeals. By creating a fear of what will happen to those individuals if their long-distance service goes down and customers can’t call in their orders or service requests, AT&T was attempting to promote a defensive strategy. Its hope was that the defensive strategy of choice would be to select the vendor with the reputation for service—AT&T. So far, though, we’ve really only looked at the behaviors of individuals within organizations. What happens when several people are part of the decision process? Role theory is useful in understanding those situations, especially when used in concert with the theories we’ve already discussed. ROLE THEORY Role theory has been applied to a number of social situations, such as families, friendships, and organizational buying. In general, role theory suggests that people behave within a set of norms or expectations of others due to the role in which they have been placed. For example, your instructor would act one way toward you because of the instructor role (and you would act in the student role). But if you also served on the city council with that instructor, your actions toward each other would be governed by another set of norms and expectations in your roles as council members. When a person makes a purchase decision alone for an organization, the decision is said to be autonomous. When more than one person is involved, the group of partici-
Slide 114: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 107 pants in the company are called the buying center or decision-making unit (DMU). Role theory helps us to understand how those participants interact because it defines the roles people take when involved in purchases. Roles in the Buying Center In organizational buying, several roles have been identified. The initiator starts the purchase process by recognizing the need; at the other end of the process is the decision maker, the person who makes the final decision.9 (There could be several decision makers who may vote on the final decision; this is covered in greater detail later in this chapter.) The controller controls or sets the budget for the purchase. The purchasing agent is the person who actually makes the purchase. If the decision maker tells a subordinate to order another box of copier paper, then the subordinate is the purchasing agent for that purchase. Often the person with the official purchasing agent title does much more than just order the product, but many students confuse the role with the title. The purchasing agent role can be filled by anyone in the organization, whereas the person filling the purchasing agent job may play several roles in a purchase. Influencers are those individuals who seek to affect the decision maker’s final decision through recommendations of which vendors to include or which products are best suited to solve the organization’s needs. Influencers can also affect the evaluation of the organization’s needs.10 Sometimes users are part of the buying center and try to influence the decision; sometimes, other influencers will represent the users’ perspective. Even when users don’t participate, they influence the decision when decision makers consider the users’ needs or ability to implement the decision. Gatekeepers control information into and out of the buying group or between members of the group. Sometimes gatekeepers can actively influence a decision by determining what information is made available to the decision maker. For example, in one study, an engineer was the primary contact with the vendors. The engineer controlled all of the information, deciding what to pass along to others in the decision. The result was that the engineer was able to slant perceptions of the vendors by choosing which information was passed along, and the final decision reflected his own personal preferences.11 Secretaries can also be gatekeepers, as when they screen telephone calls for their boss. For example, the CEO of an organization is likely to begin the search for a CPA firm to audit the company’s books. The chief financial officer (CFO) is likely to serve as a gatekeeper by providing information about candidate CPA firms to other members of the buying center. The final decision, however, is most likely to be made by an audit committee and the CEO. Other participants include the treasurer, the controller, and the internal auditor, all of whom are users of the financial information collected and examined by the CPA firm. The CEO, CFO, and controller are also most likely to set the budget to be spent on an audit by a CPA firm.12 Exhibit 4–3 illustrates how the buying center changes when purchases of logistic equipment are made. Dimensions of Buying Centers One misconception that students sometimes have is that a buying center means that a committee is formed, with individuals designated as a gatekeeper, influence, or some other role. Cross-functional sourcing teams, discussed in Chapter 3, are formal examples
Slide 115: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 108 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 4–3 Who Participates in the Buying of Logistics Automation Technology? Adapted from Kofi Dadzie, Wesley Johnston, Evelyn Dadzie, and Bonghee Yoo, “Influence in the Organizational Buying Center and Logistics Automation Technology Adoption,” Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 149 (1999), pp. 433– 444. SOURCE: Member 1 Senior Management Logistics Manufacturing Engineering Purchasing R&D Finance Marketing 1 Recognition of need 2 Establishment of specifications 3 Budget approval 4 Identification of search for suppliers 5 Evaluations of proposals (vendor) 6 Selection of supplier 2 3 4 5 6 of buying centers and are growing in use, but more often, the buying center is a changing, complex, and informal group.13 Initiators, for example, may not be involved again once they’ve set the purchase in motion. Or initiators may also act as influencers and as gatekeepers. Influencers may seek to influence only which needs will be considered, only which vendors are considered, or only which product is selected, or all three elements of the decision. Time Dimensions One characteristic of buying centers, then, is that members come and go. This characteristic is called time fragmentation. The more people are involved for only short periods of time in the process, the more fragmented the buying center is over time. If the same people are involved through the entire process, the buying center is not fragmented. Exhibit 4–4 illustrates how the decision to select a metal lathe might be time-fragmented. As you can see, Bill and Dawanda only participated in three steps, Joe in five, Jackie in three, and Frank in three. Nobody participated in every step in this highly timefragmented purchase. Note, though, time fragmentation is not the same as the length of time for the decision to be made. The metal lathe purchase may have been accomplished in just a few days. Some decisions can take a long time without involving a high degree of time fragmentation if the same people stay involved. Time fragmentation is important to understand for marketers. If a decision involves a number of people who move in and out over time, their influence is limited to only a few stages. The marketer must balance that influence with the cost of reaching those people. For example, if the marketing manager is involved only in determining what is needed, is it worth it to AT&T to spend the money advertising in marketing magazines? Perhaps, particularly if AT&T advertises why that marketing manager should request certain features. Length of time is also an important consideration for the marketer. Shortening the decision cycle is always a goal for marketers because a shorter decision cycle means that salespeople can move on to other prospects and increase their overall sales performance. Length of time to make a decision can seriously impact marketing efforts.
Slide 116: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 109 Exhibit 4–4 An Example of Time Fragmentation in Buying Centers Stage 1: Need recognition Bill and Dawanda recognize a need for a new lathe. Stage 2: Definition of product type needed Joe, their supervisor, tells Purchasing to get a new metal lathe with a 5,000-RPM motor and computerized input. Stage 3: Development of detailed specifications Joe, Bill, and Dawanda meet with Jackie in Purchasing to develop detailed specifications. Stage 4: Search for suppliers Jackie and Frank in Finance visit a trade show and identify four potential suppliers. Stage 5: Acquisition and analysis of proposals Frank receives all proposals and evaluates financial aspects. He sends a copy to Joe for technical evaluation. Stage 6: Evaluation and selection of supplier Joe and Frank meet to select the supplier. Stage 7: Selection of an order procedure Joe sends a purchase order to Jackie. Jackie issues the PO to the vendor. Stage 8: Implementation and evaluation of performance Dawanda and Bill install the new lathe and try it out; they report to Joe that it works well. Decision making time is lengthened when buying centers are large and/or composed of many personnel who are inexperienced in making purchase decisions. Out-suppliers, those who are not established with the buyers, can actually benefit when decisions take longer and more information sources are utilized because they have the opportunity to plead their case. Shorter decision cycles tend to favor in-suppliers.14 Vertical and Horizontal Dimensions Two other dimensions of buying centers are vertical dimensions, or how many layers of management are involved, and horizontal dimensions, or how many departments are involved. Both of these dimensions relate to the number of people involved and can be a function of how centralized the company is.15 Decisions concerning component parts, for example, tend to be wide, involving members of the purchasing department, design engineers, manufacturing personnel, and upper management, as illustrated in Exhibit 4–5. Along the vertical dimension, that same decision may be considered tall if the vice president, many middle managers, and workers from the manufacturing line participate. A long-distance services decision, however, may be narrow, made entirely within the telecommunications department, and relatively short, involving only a director of telecommunications and a telecom manager. Wide buying centers present difficult challenges for marketers. Many different people must be reached in order to accomplish a sale. Advertising has to be placed in a wider variety of trade publications than when buying centers are narrow. For example, if all long-distance buying centers for large buyers included marketing managers, manufacturing personnel, customer service and sales managers, and upper management, then Sprint would want to advertise in sales magazines, marketing magazines, manufacturing magazines, and financial magazines. Cable & Wireless, though, seeks smaller companies. If the purchase is autonomous (the most narrow buying center possible) and made by the CEO, then Cable & Wireless might advertise in Nation’s Business, a magazine aimed at CEOs of small companies.
Slide 117: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 110 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 4–5 Vertical and Horizontal Dimensions of a Buying Center John F. Tanner Jr., “Buying Center Formation Process,” unpublished dissertation, University of Georgia (1988). SOURCE: Manufacturing Purchasing Outside companies Vertical dimension A Horizontal dimension The vertical dimension alone is not as challenging. If all buying center participants are within the same department or functional area of the buying firm, they are likely to participate in the same media. These buyers would go to the same trade shows, read the same magazines, and so forth. The real challenge would be for the salesperson to uncover the true decision makers, for organizational position may not reflect who really will make this particular decision. For example, the salesperson would need to discover if the telecom manager makes the decision or simply rubber stamps the recommendation of a subordinate who investigated the various vendors’ offerings. Formalization Dimension A related dimension is the degree of formalization, or the degree to which purchasing tasks and roles are defined by written documents describing procedures and policies. Formalization affects the latitude that a buying center member has in choosing how to go about making the purchase. Sometimes, formalization can lead to unproductive behaviors, such as getting three bids because policy requires it, even though a vendor has already been selected. A buying center operating in a system without formal controls and policies, however, may change the process of making the decision many times, delaying the purchase and frustrating vendors. Formalized policies are most likely to influence the initiation and selection stages of the buying process, but not other stages such as search for alternatives or evaluating alternative vendors.16 Marketing to Buying Centers Traditionally, it was thought that the best marketing strategy would be to determine who typically participated in the decision and then work to satisfy the needs of the participants.17 In the purchase of component parts, for example, research has found that engineering, purchasing, and upper management each play roles. Engineers are concerned about products meeting performance specifications, whereas upper management worries about costs. A vendor would create marketing communication campaigns aimed at the engineers separate from those campaigns aimed at upper management. Features might be designed to the engineers’ specifications, but within the budget set by upper management. Recently, however, marketers have begun to recognize that it is important to influence who might participate in the buying center and to what extent.18 For example, Sprint
Slide 118: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 111 4–1 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS When Buyers Are Sellers O ffice furniture is an interesting market that demands careful application of buyer behavior theory. Steelcase and Herman Miller are leading manufacturers, but rely on dealers– distributors to serve regional markets. These resellers serve organizational customers that may wish to (1) furnish a new office building, (2) equip an expanded training area, (3) appoint a refurbished storage room turned into a lobby, or (4) tastefully decorate the new VP’s work space. Meanwhile, most markets are served by a few dealers in used office furniture. What organizational buying model seems most apt in two of these four situations? may have a product that greatly outperforms the AT&T set of services. If users don’t participate in the decision process, other members in the buying center may not be capable of judging just how much Sprint outperforms AT&T. Sprint should work to make champions, or advocates, of the users; that is, it should attempt to get users to influence the decision in their favor.19 (Note that AT&T has attempted to preempt that strategy by advertising directly to marketing managers.) When Buying Centers Occur In some organizations, buying centers occur because of organizational policy. For example, in government agencies, purchases over a set dollar amount are often reviewed by a committee. In city governments, this committee may be the city council or a finance committee, depending on the size of the purchase. Hospitals and other institutions also have committees that review purchases of certain types. In situations not governed by policy, buying centers are more likely to occur when risk associated with the decision is great. Risk is usually thought of in terms of the probability of an outcome and the importance or cost associated with the outcome. For example, the risk of lung cancer for a nonsmoker is low, not because a nonsmoker with lung cancer is any less likely to die than a smoker with lung cancer but because the probability of getting lung cancer is less for the nonsmoker. A low-risk decision, therefore, is either one with a high probability of a positive outcome or one where the outcome itself is relatively unimportant. Sources of Perceived Risk Risk can come from any number of sources.20 There is financial risk, also called economic risk, associated with the cost of the new product and with the potential for lost revenue if the product breaks down or doesn’t perform as advertised. Performance risk is the risk that the product will not perform as intended. Performance risk and financial risk can occur at the same time if the performance of the product is crucial to the financial performance of the firm. For example, if a piece of manufacturing equipment breaks down and the production line must stop, then sales may be lost. Both financial and performance risk would be realized in that situation. If a piece of equipment breaks down while under warranty and the breakdown doesn’t slow down production, only per-
Slide 119: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 112 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Exhibit 4–6 Sources of Information Adapted from Barton A. Weitz, Stephen B. Castleberry, and John F. Tanner, Jr. Selling: Building Partnerships. Fourth edition. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2000. SOURCE: Commercial Personal selling Trade shows Telemarketing E-mail Sales literature Advertising Websites Direct mail Noncommercial Word of mouth from colleagues, consultants, and coworkers Trade publications Personal Impersonal formance risk would be realized, because there would be no financial loss. Performance and financial risks are highly correlated, for it is rare that a loss of performance would not have some financial impact. Another form of risk is social risk, also called ego risk, or risk that the purchase will not meet the approval of an important reference group.21 The important reference group could be coworkers or it could be the buyer’s immediate supervisor. As we discussed in terms of the buyer behavior choice model, purchase situations can be seen as opportunities to please others, such as one’s boss, as well to purchase a product for what the product itself does. Organizational buyers reduce their perceptions of risk in three ways.22 To reduce risk, buyers gather more information, remain loyal to present suppliers, and/or spread the risk, either to other members of the firm or among suppliers. Using Information to Reduce Risk When collecting information, buyers seek help from a number of sources, as illustrated in Exhibit 4–6. Commercial sources are those sources controlled by the marketer, and include advertisements, brochures and other sales literature, personal selling efforts both at the customer’s location and at trade shows, and product manuals. Noncommercial sources are sources outside the control of the marketer, and include word-of-mouth from colleagues within the organization, professional associates, and consultants as well as articles in trade publications. The exhibit illustrates the overall relative usefulness of each source, as rated by buyers in a study conducted by the Simmons Research Bureau. Other research indicates that impersonal sources are more widely used early in the process, with personal sources growing in importance over the course of the decision. That research also indicates that noncommercial sources are relied on more heavily than are commercial sources.23 Research indicates that salespeople can reduce risk through such efforts as demonstrations, samples, or free trials, and salespeople are often the most important source of information for buyers.24 These efforts increase buyers’ experience with the product, giving them the ability to more accurately evaluate product performance, which reduces their perceptions of risk. Demonstrations, samples, and trials are particularly useful when the issue is performance threshold because these marketing efforts prove performance.
Slide 120: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 113 This AT&T ad has a lot of copy in order to educate readers. This information should help buyers make more informed decisions, thereby reducing their risk. Courtesy AT&T; agency: McCann– Erickson, Inc. Companies may also use advertising to educate buyers, providing information through details in advertising copy in order to reduce perceptions of risk. As you can see in the accompanying photo, AT&T presented detailed advertising to help buyers make decisions concerning the use of an online business service. Case studies can also be used to prove performance and provide buyers with important information concerning product or service performance that can enhance their ability to make the decision. Guarantees, such as AT&T’s long-distance services guarantee to pay for any lost business should the lines go down, are ways that marketers can reduce risk. Guarantees, though, are only as good as the reputation of the company that offers them. An unknown’s guarantee may not mean much to a business buyer. Using Loyalty to Reduce Risk Risk can both help and hinder the development of relationships. One purchasing strategy to reduce risk is to remain loyal to a known supplier—for example, to always buy from AT&T. In essence, this strategy results in converting the decision into a straight rebuy, because other vendors are not considered. By converting decisions into straight rebuys, a poor decision is unlikely as long as the vendor continues to satisfy. With many firms downsizing, purchasing agents and other managers do not have the time they once had to evaluate all purchase decisions carefully. Therefore, they will only evaluate those decisions where the close examination of alternatives will result in benefits that outweigh the costs of looking. When a company routinizes a decision (makes it a straight rebuy), the opportunity is there for a vendor to build a relationship. Recognize, however, that the decision was made routine because the product being purchased is relatively unimportant, a factor not likely to contribute positively to the development of a partnership. Habit or lazy purchasing behavior is not the same as a partnership. The Importance of Trust Loyalty is one way that buyers reduce risk, because loyalty implies trust. Trust is defined as the belief in the integrity, honesty, and reliability of another person, or in this case, of a supplier. Marketing organizations try to create trust through such things as warranties
Slide 121: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 114 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing 4–2 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Buying Global Services Y ou own a large firm that sells worldwide. What roles do you think your marketing, technical support, manufacturing, and purchasing departments play in the decision to choose a long-distance supplier? How would Sprint reps find out those roles if it has no other major accounts like you? What risks would be present for each individual in the buying center? How would Cable & Wireless’s worldwide capabilities give it an advantage? and guarantees, but even that may not be enough. When buyers are seeking new suppliers, particularly through the Web, trust is an important issue.25 Buyers examine suppliers’ behaviors, such as how quickly phone calls or E-mails are returned and whether the little promises are kept, before deciding to trust the supplies. Dell, for example, has found that fewer than 30 percent of all customers who visit the website and then make a purchase actually order from the website. They visit the site, learn what they want to learn, then pick up the phone to ask questions of a live salesperson. A recent survey reports that organizational buyers find e-auctions don’t work well except for commodity items. They fear that they can’t trust suppliers they find over the Internet.26 Buyers seek to find salespeople and companies they can trust as a way to reduce risk. Spreading the Risk In contrast to the strategy of remaining loyal, buyers may consider many vendors when performance or economic risk is great and the benefits of looking around outweigh shopping costs. For example, the purchase of a telephone switching system can be a milliondollar decision. In a decision this big, most companies will shop around. Shopping around, though, is not just a risk reduction strategy—it can be used for other reasons. Shopping around is one way to spread risk when risk is large. Similarly, buyers may elect to spread purchases among several vendors so that if one vendor does not live up to promises, others can take up the slack.27 Spreading purchases among several vendors reduces performance risk. For example, a company that purchases gas tanks from Plastech may also purchase identical tanks from two other vendors. If Plastech was unable to deliver one order, the buyer would simply pass it along to the next vendor. In most cases, neither this strategy nor the shopping around strategy of risk reduction promotes partnerships; however, recognize that a partnership is unlikely anyway if the buyer cannot depend on a vendor. Finally, one way to reduce risk, especially social risk, is to have others involved in the buying process. For a self-oriented buyer, one defensive strategy is to increase the size of the buying center. Having others involved can also add to the total expertise of the buying center, reducing the risk of a poor purchase decision. Many government agencies, particularly cities where a city council must make the purchase decision, hire consultants in order to take advantage of their expertise and minimize the risk of making a poor choice. Consultants are often used in high technology decisions and other infrequently made decisions when the organization perceives a need for expertise it does not have.
Slide 122: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 115 Exhibit 4–7 Buying Determinants Theory Environmental factors Market factors Organizational factors Individual factors As you can see, many factors influence why individuals operate as they do. These factors can include experience with the product, the perceived risk in the decision, and the reward–measurement systems of the organization. There are also factors beyond the individual level that influence purchases and marketing decisions. These factors are best described by the buying determinants theory. BUYING DETERMINANTS THEORY Buying determinants theory—a rather general theory of why buyers buy—can help us integrate the previous theories. As you see in Exhibit 4–7, the theory describes behavior as due to the combined effects of four factors: environmental factors such as government regulations and technology; market factors, such as size and number of competitors; organizational factors, including company size, corporate culture, and policies; and individual factors, like age, experience, and education of any individual person involved in the decision. In this and the two preceding chapters, we’ve already begun an examination of the buying determinants model, because we’ve looked at many of the individual and organizational factors that influence decision processes. One trap, though, that students may fall into is thinking that business marketing comes down to only personal selling, or the individual dealing with each individual decision process. The buying determinants model is useful because it offers a framework for combining buyers into groups and recognizing buying patterns, patterns that enable marketing managers to create marketing strategies. Individual Factors Individual factors are demographic and psychographic factors (psychological factors) that influence an individual’s buying behavior. These factors can include age, education, and title or organizational level of the buyer, or they can be psychological factors such as the propensity to take risks. One of the individual factors that has been found to influence buyer behavior is experience, or years in purchasing. Experience reduces risk because uncertainty can be more accurately evaluated, and it increases the probability that the individual will buy alone, rather than creating a buying center. At the individual level, a number of factors can influence a buyer’s behavior. We’ve already introduced the issue of risk, and it should be noted that people have different tolerance levels for risk. Some are risk averse and always seek to minimize risk. Others are more tolerant of risk.
Slide 123: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 116 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Another factor to consider is the individual’s selective processes. The number of marketing messages that each person is exposed to in a very short period of time has exploded exponentially in the last few years, now that so many buyers use the Web. Each individual has to find some way to deal with this information explosion, and selective processes help. Selective processes are mental processes that an individual uses to manage the immense amount of information that is encountered. There are four such processes: selective exposure, selective attention, selective perception, and selective retention. Selective Exposure Selective Exposure is the process of engaging media that is likely to include information of relevance to the individual. In other words, a person is likely to read trade magazines that are interesting to the job, surf related websites and participate in listservs that include people with similar interests. By only engaging with marketing media that tend to include interesting material, the individual avoids irrelevant information. Selective Attention Even with selective exposure, not all information will be relevant to the buyer. Selective attention is the process of identifying the nature of the information being presented, then deciding whether to pay attention. A buyer who is looking for a new coating to use in the manufacture of her company’s product would pay attention to a PPG ad, for example. That same buyer might skip right over an ad for safety equipment, though, especially if no purchase decision about such equipment was looming on the horizon. Selective Perception Selective perception is a process that causes people to interpret new information in a consistent manner with what they already know. For example, if a buyer believes AT&T is the most expensive long-distance provider, he may not believe an AT&T ad promoting competitive prices. Worse yet, he may actually attribute the ad to Sprint, if he believes Sprint to be the low-cost provider. Selective Retention Have you ever noticed that professors are absentminded? We like to think it is because we have so much important knowledge stored that day-to-day information gets squeezed out. Selective retention is that process of keeping only relevant information (why is it, then, that I know the answer to the question “Who is the only Super Bowl MVP to come from the losing team?”). In organizational buying, a buyer may recall certain features of the service provided by Cable & Wireless because these features are important, but other features may be easily forgotten. There are many other individual factors that influence how individual buyers make their decisions. Business marketers should study their market, creating profiles of their buyers so that effective marketing plans can be created.
Slide 124: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 117 Exhibit 4–8 Expanded Buying Determinants Theory Environmental factors Market factors Organizational Factors Extrinsic reward systems Role expectations Corporate culture and intrinsic rewards Cross-functional purchasing teams Policies supporting vertical and horizontal dimensions Individual factors Experience: new buy straight rebuy Choice of reward–Role orientation Valence of reward Probability perceptions Organizational Factors Organizational factors are characteristics of the organization that influence buying behavior. They include the size of the company, profitability, corporate culture, distribution of power, organizational policy, and other factors. For example, who participates in the selection of CPA services varies depending on large versus small buying companies. Small buying companies were less likely to have an audit committee, among other differences. Organizational characteristics such as corporate experience can also influence purchase strategies. For example, companies with greater experience in importing and exporting are more likely to return to global markets. They have found mechanisms to overcome international trade barriers, for example. One recent study of buyers located in Cyprus found that experienced firms were only moderately affected by trade barriers and were able to source from virtually anywhere in the world, whereas less-experienced buying organizations sourced from a much smaller set of alternatives.28 Reward–measurement systems are another set of organizational factors that influence buyer behavior, as we discussed earlier. We also recognized organizational factors when we discussed the relative risk associated with a purchase and when we examined the role that the type of organization (such as government agency) could have on the purchase process. Market Factors Market factors are the characteristics of the market that influence buyer behavior. Market factors include the number and relative size of competitors and the number and relative size of customers in a particular market. The number of competitors can be affected by the availability of substitutes. For example, Loctite Corporation makes glues and industrial adhesives. Screws, rivets, and other fasteners are competitive substitutes for Loctite’s products in some markets. With so many substitutes in the market, competition can become quite heated. Buyers in such highly competitive markets may be wooed by
Slide 125: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 118 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing so many suppliers that building relationships can be tough. On the other hand, vendors who can show creativity in solving problems over time can develop long-term relationships in such highly competitive markets. The number of customers is also an important market factor. As discussed in Chapter 1, organizational markets are relatively small in terms of the number of customers. Relative size of buyers can also make an impact on buying behavior. A buyer for GM can pull a lot more weight when purchasing auto body parts, for example, than can the owner of an independent body shop. Buying strategies, such as negotiating price, that are available to the GM buyer may not be available to the body shop owner. In organizational markets, buyers may sometimes compete for sources of supply. Controlling supply costs or simply assuring continuity of supply can be major competitive advantages. The number of buyers and their relative sizes can influence individual buyer behavior depending on the competition for better products and better terms. Environmental Factors Environmental factors have had a great impact on how decisions are made.29 Environmental factors are those characteristics of the world beyond the market level, and include the economy, technology, political factors, and social factors. As an economic example, many companies downsized due to economic pressures of global competition and slowing economies, as we discussed in Chapter 3. From the Field 4–2 illustrates how buying changes across transitional economies. In some industries, technology is having a great impact. For example, computer technology is rapidly changing the publishing industry. In a few years, you may not buy textbooks for some classes but may purchase a CD instead. Look at this from your publisher’s perspective: What could this mean in terms of the production equipment required? Similarly, this environmental factor will impact the market for printing presses. The government’s actions are also an important environmental factor. Trade treaties such as NAFTA and GATT may determine who your main competitors and customers are. Turkey processor Carqill Foods, for example, found new markets in Mexico soon after the passage of NAFTA. Then the peso was devalued (due to economic factors) and Carqill could no longer make a profit in Mexico. The company temporarily slowed its marketing efforts in that country, but under the current economic conditions, the company has again increased exports to Mexico. In the Czech Republic, past formal relationships have been broken or disrupted. Users, who once had no say in the purchase, now have greater control, cutting the time involved and leaving a number of past key participants in an advisory role. What was once a highly bureaucratized process with many stages and lengthy deliberations is now straightforward and problem/solution focused. Still, many buyers are uncertain as to how to handle their newfound power in the marketplace caused by changes in the political environment.30 Cultural values also influence buyer behavior.31 In Egypt, Islamic values of honor and family loyalty often guide buyer behavior; similarly, Indian values associated with family also influence how buyers choose vendors32 At the same time, ethical values in India are changing, and that influences how individual buyers make choices. These environmental factors, in combination with market, organizational, and individual factors, greatly influence buying behavior. Marketers examine these factors in order to find patterns, which they can then exploit by adapting their marketing strategy. Based on how these marketing managers view their world and how it works, they develop strategies to take advantage of the opportunities provided in their markets. In the
Slide 126: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 119 4–2 FROM THE FIELD China: Sleeping Economic Giant or Field of Failed Dreams? C hina, after years of facing annual reviews of human rights violations and other issues by the U.S. government, was finally given permanent normal trade status in the fall of 2000. Many U.S. businesses consider China a sleeping economic giant that can be awakened into a huge market for U.S. goods and services. But there are two critical factors that business marketers have to consider or they may find China to be a field of failed economic dreams, at least for U.S. marketers. One critical factor is that how business is done is differently, and recognition of how business gets done is necessary. For example, giving gifts is quite common in all areas of Chinese life, including business. Many U.S. businesspeople associate such gift giving with bribery and allege that the Chinese are promiscuously corrupt. The Chinese, however, are well aware of the differences between a social gift and bribery. To the Chinese, such gifts carry no more weight in the decision than a coffee mug with a vendor’s name on it might in the States. That is not to say that corruption is not present in China; it is. But one has to understand the culture ever so much more than in other countries. The other critical factor is the assumption that demand exists for Western products and the Western way of doing things. Such an assumption dates back at least as far as the Great Depression, when Carl Crow suggested that the U.S. sell one product to each Chinese person as a way to get out of the Depression. This mistaken assumption, called Chinese Marketing, can lead to breakdowns in communication between Chinese buyers and Western sellers. Even when sales are made, assuming Western-style negotiating stances will raise tension, resulting in problems later. The potential in China is enormous. For businesspeople who make the effort to learn the market and the culture, China is a sleeping economic giant. For those who apply their own cultural framework and use it to draw assumptions, such dreams will never come to fruition. Sources: P. Steidlmeier, “Gift Giving, Bribery and Corruption: An Ethical Management of Business Relationships in China,” Journal of Business Ethics 20 (June 2000), pp. 121–32; John F. Tanner Jr., “Chinese Marketing: The Critical Cultural Blunder,” in Lou Pelton, David Strutton, and James Lumpkin, Marketing Channels: A Relationship Management Approach, (Burr Ridge, III.: Irwin), pp. 233–35; Hong Seng Woo, “Cultural Characteristics Prevalent in the Chinese Negotiation Process,” European Business Review 99 (1999), pp. 313–23. next chapter, you will see how marketers examine market and environmental factors in order to assess marketing opportunities as part of the strategic marketing process. The foundation for this process is a solid understanding of how buyers buy. Summary Theories are a picture of how the world works. This chapter presented several theories of how buying works in organizations. The first theory presented in this chapter was reward–measurement theory, which states that a buyer’s motivation to engage in purchasing tasks is a function of the person’s perceived probability and the valence of rewards associated with participation in the purchase. Perceived probability is the perception that effort will lead to outcomes that will result in the reward. The second theory presented was buyer behavior choice theory. This theory states that buyers go through a series of steps in deciding what tasks they will perform. The steps are, first, determining the degree to which they should adopt a company orientation or a self-orientation and, second, determining whether to adopt a defensive or offensive
Slide 127: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 120 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing strategy. Company orientation is the degree to which they attempt to satisfy company goals, whereas self-orientation reflects the degree to which they attempt to satisfy their own goals. An offensive strategy is one designed to maximize gain. A defensive strategy minimizes loss. Then they decide on which tasks to perform, which leads to the purchase of a product. Role theory describes the roles that people can take on when more than one person is involved in the purchase. The group of people who participate is called the buying center, and they can be initiators of the purchase, influencers, the decision maker, the purchasing agent, a gatekeeper, controller, or any combination of these. Buying centers can be examined in terms of time fragmentation, of horizontal and vertical dimensions, and of governance, or how the centers make decisions. Buying centers are often formed to minimize risk—either financial, performance, or social risk. Marketers can reduce perceptions of risk through guarantees, warranties, free trials, free samples, or demonstrations of the product. Marketers also attempt to reduce risk by educating buyers through advertising and other forms of promotion. Buying determinants theory is a general theory of why buyers buy, and incorporates the effects of environmental, market, and organizational factors on the individual. Buying determinants theory enables us to examine markets for patterns in buying behavior, which will be helpful to remember when we discuss market segmentation and strategy in the next chapter. Key Terms advocate autonomous behavior choice theory buying center champion company orientation controller decision maker decision-making unit (DMU) defensive strategy environmental factors extrinsic rewards financial risk formalization gatekeeper horizontal dimension individual factors influencer initiator intrinsic rewards market factors motivation offensive strategy organizational factors perceived probability performance risk purchasing agent reward–measurement theory risk role theory selective attention selective exposure selective perception selective processes selective retention self-efficacy self-orientation social risk time fragmentation trust user valence vertical dimension Discussion Questions 1. Everyone has theories about what it takes to be successful. What is your theory? What assumptions underlie your theory? You can usually pick out assumptions by listing your “causes” or “becauses.” These are statements in your theory where you say “Because of . . . , then such and such is true.” What follows “Because” is an assumption. 2. Compare and contrast the buy-grid model, reward–measurement model, and behavior choice model. Which model do you think is right? Why? Why are the other models wrong or merely less right?
Slide 128: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 121 3. Create your own buying behavior theory, based on what you have read in the first four chapters of this book and on your own experience. 4. A bank is looking to purchase a new PC-based computer system. Who do you think would play each of the roles in the buying center? What would be the roles of the president, office manager, average teller, manager of customer service, or any other manager? What characteristics or personal interests would influencers have? 5. Assume that the bank in question 4 is buying 25 PCs, one for each manager and loan officer. This bank has one location and $50 million in assets. Another bank has 125 locations across the northwest United States, with nearly 700 loan officers and 50 managers. It too is looking to buy 25 PCs. Is the risk the same for each bank? Why or why not? If you were responsible for such a decision in each situation, what factors could influence your personal risk? 6. A wood products manufacturing plant must buy cyclone separators, equipment that collects sawdust out of the air in the plant in order to provide a healthier work environment. What differences in criteria for evaluating proposals might be used by (a) the purchasing department, (b) the company treasurer, (c) the CEO, (d) the plant manager, and (e) the head of the legal department? Illustrate your answer by using the multiattribute matrix from Chapter 3. 7. Answer question 4 again, but this time, consider the roles that the different people would play in the decision process. Using the buy-phase model, when would each person in question 4 be involved? Create a chart like Exhibit 4–3 showing how each person participates in the purchase of logistics automation technology in the chapter. 8. Do you think that people tend to buy offensively or defensively over time? Or do people vary from situation to situation? If people vary, what causes that variance? If people don’t vary, why? 9. Assume the industry your company sells to is one that typically uses buying centers. What implications does this have for you as a marketer? What implications would it have if you were a salesperson? What would be different if the purchase was usually made by only one person in the firm? 10. How does a buying center differ from a cross-functional purchasing team (from Chapter 3)? Internet Exercise I N T E R WWW N E T Open the AT&T home page (www.att.com) and search for success stories. Click on this and then go to one of the success stories. Each story will tend to focus on one person. Discuss how this person made the decision to go with AT&T, using one of the theories from the chapter. Be specific with quotes to illustrate why you are using that theory. Cases Case 4.1 Wabash Waste Management Wilson Puckett, president of Wabash Waste Management, had a stack of proposals on his desk from several truck companies. Two of the companies, Roper and Rollins, offered trucks on a lease basis, while three dealers wanted Wabash to buy their trucks. In the past, Puckett always purchased the trucks. Which proposal would be best, he wondered, as he picked up the proposals for the third or fourth time.
Slide 129: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 122 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Wabash Waste Management is an industrial waste recycling company. It picks up grease and oil from several manufacturing facilities in a regional area, cleans the grease and oil, and then sells it to a company that packages the material for resale. Wabash also picks up frying grease from restaurants for recycling. The company was about to enter a new regional market, and needed four new trucks to pick up the used oil and grease. The trucks were tank trucks with a pump that pumped the grease or oil from a holding tank at the restaurant or manufacturing plant. Darnell Gates, fleet manager, wanted Puckett to choose the Hauler2000, a tank truck with a McLaren pump capable of pumping 50 gallons in about five minutes. It has a capacity of 5,000 gallons. The truck is rated at 10 miles per gallon of gasoline and has one of the better maintenance records of all of the trucks. The Hauler2000 is one of the trucks for sale, but could be leased through Wabash’s bank. On the other hand, Betty Roberts, vice president of finance, has been pushing the Roper offering, a Fleetwood truck that pumps 50 gallons in 10 minutes. The Fleetwood tank holds 4,800 gallons of grease or oil, and the truck gets 12 miles per gallon of diesel. The lease option on the Fleetwood is the most attractive of all of the proposals, according to Roberts. In addition, by leasing through Roper, the company does not use any of the credit from the bank, keeping that free for some other needed purchases. The company has operated too close to the edge, and needs to fill some excess capacity in order to make enough profit. Gates told Puckett that the Fleetwood is too slow and would lead to at least three fewer pickups a day by each truck. Three drivers have also told Puckett that the Fleetwood is a deathtrap, with a bad safety record. These drivers also told Puckett that the current fleet will need at least two trucks replaced in the next year. The maintenance manager, however, thinks the company could get by with replacing only one truck, and he also likes working on the Fleetwood better than the Hauler2000. 1. List the roles that each person is playing in this buying center. Then discuss the dimensions of the buying center. Who do you think is most important, other than Wilson Puckett, and why? 2. Discuss risk from the perspective of each member. Assume you are one of the dealers and discuss how you would reduce the risk for each member. 3. Assume that the buying center as described in the case is an accurate picture of the average buying center for tank trucks. How would this information influence your marketing activities? Be as specific as possible. Case 4.2 Freeburg Fiberglass Dave Roberts is calling on Freeburg’s Louisville plant. Freeburg is one of the world’s largest fiberglass companies. Dave sells extrusion equipment used to manufacture fiberglass pipes. Betsy Young chief engineer for Freeburg, is concerned about productivity. She wants a six-month lease on the equipment because if uptime isn’t better than 97 percent, she wants to be able to replace it with competitive equipment. She had a team of her engineers observe a demonstration by Dave. She also asked accounting to prepare its own analysis of the financial information to see how it compared with Dave’s. Frank Dorsett, also with Freeburg, is a rising junior executive. He is pushing for Freeburg to consider a Chinese vendor because he believes that buying equipment from China will open the China market up for the Freeburg fiberglass products made in
Slide 130: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior 123 Louisville. Frank is the director, international markets, and reports directly to Vice President of Marketing Sharon Cron. Frank is trying to get approval for a trip to China for Betsy, Jim Murray (VP of manufacturing), and Sharon to see the Chinese equipment. 1. Explain Betsy’s and Frank’s motivations in terms of the reward–measurement model. You will need to make some assumptions about their jobs, so be sure to state those. 2. Now explain each buyer in terms of the buyer behavior choice model. Again, be sure to state the assumptions you will need to make. 3. What should Dave Roberts do? Which model of behavior would be most useful to Dave and why? Additional Readings Araujo, Luis, Anna Dubois, and Lars-Erik Gadde. “Managing Interfaces with Suppliers.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (September), pp. 497–506. Blois, Kenneth. “Trust in Business to Business Relationships: An Evaluation of Its Status.” Journal of Management Studies (1999), pp. 197–212. Bradley, T. L. “Cultural Dimensions of Russia: Implications for International Companies in a Changing Economy.” Thunderbird International Business Review 41 ( Jan/Feb 1999), pp. 49–68. Brennan, Ross, and Peter Turnbull. “Adaptive Behavior in Buyer-Supplier Relationships.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (September 1999), pp. 481–96. Bristor, Julia. “Influence Strategies in Organizational Buying: The Importance of Connections to the Right People in the Right Places.” Journal of Business to Business Marketing 1, no. 1 (1993), pp. 63–98. Bunn, Michele D. “Key Aspects of Organizational Buying: Conceptualization and Measurement.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 22 (spring 1994), pp. 160–69. Dadzie, Kofi Q., Welsey J. Johnston, Evelyn W. Dadzie, and Bonghee Yoo. “Influence in the Organizational Buying Center and Logistics Automation Technology Adoption.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 14 (1999), pp. 433–44. Dawes P. L., D Y. Lee, and G. R. Dowling. “Informal Information Control in Complex Technological Purchase Situations.” The Journal of High Technology Management Research 10 (autumn 1999), pp. 377–403. Farrell, Mark, and Bill Schroder. “Power and Influence in the Buying Centre.” European Journal of Marketing 33 (1999), pp. 1161–70. Ghingold, Morry, and David Wilson. “Buying Center Research and Business Marketing Practice. Meeting the Challenge of Dynamic Marketing.” Journal of Business Marketing 13 (1998), pp. 96–108. Jennings, Richard G., and Richard Plank. “When the Purchasing Agent Is a Committee.” Industrial Marketing Management 24 (1995), pp. 411–19. Katrichis, Jerome. “Exploring Departmental Level Interaction Patterns in Organizational Purchasing Decisions.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (March 1998), pp. 135–46. Laing, A. W., S. Cotton, R. Joshi, G. Marnoch, L. McKee, and J. Reid. “The Buying Centre: Patterns of Structure and Interaction in Primary Health Care.” The Service Industries Journal 18 (July 1998), pp. 20–38.
Slide 131: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition I. Business Markets and Business Marketing 4. Organizational Buyer Behavior © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 124 Part 1 Business Markets and Business Marketing Lau, Geok-Theng, Mark Goh, and Shan Lei Phua. “Purchase-Related Factors and Buying Center Structure: An Empirical Assessment.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (November 1999), pp. 573–88. Mitchell, V. W. Buy-Phase and Buy-Class Effects on Organizational Risk Perception and Reduction in Professional Purchasing Services.” Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing 13 (1998), pp. 461–78. Morris, Michael, Pierre Berthon, and Leyland Pitt. “Assessing the Structure of Industrial Buying Centers with Multivariate Tools.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (May 1999), pp. 263–76. Morse, E. A., R. K. Mitchell, J. B. Smith, and K. W. Seawright. “Cultural Values and Venture Cognitions on the Pacific Rim.” Global Focus 11 (1999), pp. 135–54. Patterson, Paul G., and Philip L. Dawes. “The Determinants of Choice Set Structure in High-Technology Business Market.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (1999), pp. 395–411. Schultz, Roberta, Kenneth Evans, and David Good. “Intercultural Interaction Strategies and Relationship Selling in Industrial Markets.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (November 1999), pp. 589–600. Tanner, John F. Jr. “Organizational Buying Theories: A Bridge to Relationships Theory.” Industrial Marketing Management 28 (May 1999), pp. 245–56. Tucker, David, and Laurie Jones. “Leveraging the power of the Internet for Optimal Supplier Sourcing.” International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management 30 (2000), pp. 255–67. Wilson, Elizabeth J., and Arch G. Woodside. “The Relative Importance of Choice Criteria in Organizational Buying: Implications for Adaptive Selling.” Journal of Business to Business Marketing 2, no. 1 (1995), pp. 33–58. Woodside, Arch G., Timo Liukko, and Risto Vuori. “Organizational Buying of Capital Equipment Involving Persons Across Several Authority Levels.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 14 (1999), pp. 30–48.
Slide 132: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Part II Foundations for Creating Value PART 1 BUSINESS MARKETS AND BUSINESS MARKETING Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Marketing Chapter 2 The Character of Business Marketing Chapter 3 The Purchasing Function Chapter 4 Organizational Buyer Behavior PART 2 FOUNDATIONS FOR CREATING VALUE PART 3 BUSINESS MARKETING PROGRAMMING PART 4 MANAGING PROGRAMS AND CUSTOMERS Chapter 15 Evaluating Marketing Efforts Chapter 16 Customer Retention and Maximization Chapter 17 The Future of Business Marketing Chapter 5 Market Opportunities Chapter 6 Marketing Strategy Chapter 7 Weaving Marketing into the Fabric of the Firm Chapter 8 Developing and Managing Products Chapter 9 Business Marketing Channels Chapter 10 Managing Customer Relationships Chapter 11 Communicating with the Market Chapter 12 IMC Chapter 13 Sales and Sales Management Chapter 14 Pricing and Negotiating for Value
Slide 133: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 N • ow you know that business markets are different from consumer markets in many regards: size and volatility, channels and sales complexity, and purchasing standards and processes. You also have a foundational understanding of how value creating activities are coordinated not just by markets but also by different types of relationships. The chapters in Part II take us to the business marketer’s engine room. Chapter 5 looks at opportunity and access to the rewards of more and better customers. The best business marketers recognize their advantageous position to serve and their potential rewards from delivering more value to current customers. We describe the structure and content of a customer database and illustrate its utility for mining opportunities and measuring the lifetime value of customers. With a lifetime value perspective, we can rightly regard the acquisition of new customers as a capital budgeting enterprise—an investment in a productive asset—rather than an expense. Of course, the development of new markets and the acquisition of new customers pivot on useful segmentation models. We review several approaches to segmentation in business markets and discuss the criteria for an effective segmentation scheme. • Chapter 6, an overview of strategic planning, is neither the first nor the last perspective you’ll encounter that tackles the vexing problem of strategy formulation. Our emphasis in the chapter is on the definition of purpose and the match of distinctive competencies to opportunities. This matching process favors firms that act with a sophisticated understanding of the competitive forces in the product market. Furthermore, because the pace of technology and global nature of competition make almost any competitive advantage short lived, the only real strategic edge comes from an organization’s ability to learn to disrupt the status quo and adapt. • Any business that takes its eye off customer satisfaction, quality, and routine review of its mission and strategy will also fail to finish the race. This is the stuff of Chapter 7. We chart the roles that marketing plays in a learning organization and the partnerships marketing personnel must forge with all functional areas. The skills for partnering are outlined in a manner that should enable you to contribute positively to the teamwork needed to deliver value efficiently and thereby satisfy and retain customers at a profit. •
Slide 134: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter FEDEX 128 Chapter 5 Market Opportunities Current and Potential Customers Frederick Smith began Federal Express with a clever idea and a network of financial backers. He saw countless businesses needing rapid delivery of small repair parts, blueprints, and other documents. His plan was to use a fleet of planes to fly by night, out of sleepy airports, to a central hub in Memphis. There all parcels would be sorted and bundled for their destination, and flown out again to the still quiet airports. Then before lunchtime, snappy fleets of trucks would deliver components, perishables, documents, and more to the addressee. The concept was supported with award-winning advertising and a customer focus. • What a stunning example of the impact of entrepreneurship! Although fi- nancial losses were substantial, it was critical to keep the system running while awaiting volume growth. But the growth did come. Many companies began using overnight air shipment in place of parts inventories warehoused in multiple locations throughout the country and beyond. But it was the document business that exploded. In 1983 the Chicago Tribune claimed, “The overnight letter and package delivery business—the procrastinator’s dream—has been called the most important development for harried businessmen since the invention of the copier.” • A few years later, however, there was more parity among the players in the overnight delivery business. Although all carriers faced the adverse impact of the fax machine on their document volume, perhaps none faced it more than Federal Express, the leader by far in next-day letters. New businesses beyond documents were needed. • FedEx developed a new pricing schedule for heavy packages, hundred- weight rates, and it promoted the program especially to select customers known to ship heavy items. FedEx launched a similar program to its chemi-
Slide 135: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 www.fedex.com cal and related customers to tout its ability to handle “dangerous goods.” In a prize-winning program, FedEx used its own route personnel to deliver fresh baked coffee cakes to high-volume shippers to announce Saturday delivery. People in the office that Saturday shared the news of this service as they shared the goodies. To develop new customers, FedEx made a special pitch to catalog merchants, or (as its program dubbed them) “you who serve the mail order shopper.” Today Lands End, L.L. Bean, Spiegel, and more make FedEx delivery available to their customers for a small additional charge. A key benefit has been to enable last minute shopping, effectively lengthening the Christmas season for catalogers.1 • Visit the FedEx website at www.fedex.com LEARNING OBJECTIVES In this chapter you will learn to think creatively and boldly—like FedEx— about finding new opportunities. We will underscore the favorable circumstances and possibilities for gaining increased business from current customers. We also develop options for gaining new customers. Both arenas require formal evaluations of market potential and can be well served by marketing research. We aim to sharpen your perspective on opportunities and acquaint you with some of the key managerial tools. At the conclusion of the chapter you should be able to • • Seek to maximize the value of current customers. • Outline the basic structure and capabilities of a customer database. Discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of alternative means of customer research. • Illustrate how suppliers and customers can collaborate to find opportunities. • Segment business markets on the basis of industry codes, buying processes, benefits sought, media and memberships, and other criteria. • Assess the utility of any market segmentation scheme. • Apply basic models to evaluate the potential of market segments. We don’t promise to map every sector of market opportunities, nor do we review every known tool of market evaluation. But we give you what we hope is enough to jump start your perceptual vigilance and imagination in order that you may soon seize the day. 129
Slide 136: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 130 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value FINDING OPPORTUNITIES The witch is melted, Scarecrow gets a diploma, Tin Man gets a heart, and the lion gets a medal for valor. But do you remember what Dorothy gets from the phony Wizard of Oz? That’s right: a reality check. She learns that what she thinks she wants—out there over the rainbow—is probably right there in her own backyard. Sadly, too many businesses have let their houses fall into ruin while they chased rainbows. That is, they neglected their current customers in order to chase opportunities elsewhere. The word opportunity comes from the Latin opportunitas, meaning fitness or advantage. It represents a favorable circumstance, a propitious moment, or a promising course of events that bodes well for the attainment of a goal. Marketing opportunities derive from the “fitness” of a company to serve a specific market. They result from a seller’s proximity, competencies, skills, and resources that can be brought to serve an identified customer or segment profitably. The seller’s ability to provide value is its competitive advantage in that particular arena. Markets among Current Customers Business managers have often noted the tendency of about 20 percent of customers to account for 80 percent of sales. A closer look at some companies shows even greater skewness—perhaps more than 75 percent of sales from fewer than 10 percent of accounts. Firms that sell to automobile companies or the military, of course, might not experience the 80–20 rule or 75–10 situation simply because there are only a handful of potential accounts. Both phenomena—the 80–20 distributions and firms selling to small numbers of customers—dramatize the importance of managing important groups of accounts if not individual account relationships in business markets. Best Customers How much of its marketing budget should a firm allocate to efforts that serve its best customers? In the abstract, any firm should spend and spend until the payoffs from additional marketing efforts are no longer in excess of incremental expenditures. Spending until marginal revenue equals marginal costs, and marginal costs are rising is the basic profit maximization approach many of you learned in economics class. In practice, this approach can be followed for narrow promotions and some specific marketing expenditures. For example, Federal Express promotions are usually measured against a control group of customers that matches the target group in every way but participation in the promotion. Thus, in the “Dangerous Goods” program that promoted FedEx’s capability to ship toxic, caustic, and flammable materials, the additional daily volume over three months was twice as high in the promotion group as in the control group. This translated into over $20 in revenue per dollar of marketing expenditure. With variable costs per shipment so low in the overnight shipping business, this program certainly increases profits from one group of current customers. From this point FedEx could expand the program to other accounts, intensify the program with this same group of customers, or both. Unfortunately, the payoffs from many other marketing expenditures are not so easily determined. A computer company’s commitment to staff a 24-hour service line is justified not so much on the hard data showing the profitability of the service as it is on a commitment to market leadership (or catching up to competition) and need to signal
Slide 137: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 5 Market Opportunities 131 commitment to customers. A credit card company hosts an annual weekend of recreation and entertainment for its best business customers. This extravagant “thank you” builds goodwill and channels of communication. The credit company hopes this translates into increased business or account retention, the percentage of accounts that continue doing business with the seller each year. But, we can think of no practical way of gauging the effectiveness of the event on such criteria. Customer Maximization Many companies find that it is much easier to get current customers to do more business than it is to get business from prospective customers. Many of those who have never transacted with the company know the company and its products, but are just not interested. To illustrate, note that most metropolitan newspapers derive a significant portion of their advertising revenue from auto dealers in their readership area. Nevertheless, a number of new superdealers in the midwest have elected to use no newspaper advertising in their promotion mix, relying instead on radio image advertising and highly targeted direct mail and telephone follow-up with referrals. How the local newspapers long to win over such accounts! But that door seems effectively closed for now. Newspaper ad managers can use their time and talent more productively developing programs for the car dealers, real estate agencies, and department stores that are already buying ads. Indeed, Lee Enterprises in Davenport, Iowa, a media company publishing 19 newspapers, has expanded current client relationships by collaborating with its best advertisers on special events, preferred customer programs, and even the distribution of product samples. New Products The same logic for increasing the volume of light and medium accounts applies to their potential for purchasing new products. Current customers know the company, its service standards, its dedication to quality, its technical capabilities, and more. With them the seller enjoys a level of credibility and trust that has yet to be measured and tested among noncustomers, even bright prospects. Thus, a marketing research company with a new forecasting technique or model is apt to develop and find keenest interest among its current clients. Similarly, FedEx tested a service for next-afternoon delivery—priced lower than its next-morning delivery service—paying particular attention to responses by its best customers in the test region. Network Payoffs Account retention and penetration motivate our attention to current customers in the preceding discussion. But current customers can be strategic assets in other ways too. Foremost, every business must seek to understand fully its role in the value chain. By enabling one’s customer to better satisfy its downstream customers, achieve market share growth, or compete in new markets, one’s company stands to grow too. For example, Johnson Controls worked very closely with Daimler Chrysler in the design of interiors for its cab forward cars. Chrysler’s success from the Intrepid and its siblings play out in high volume for Johnson Controls.
Slide 138: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 132 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value 5–1 FROM THE FIELD Opportunities in the Network S weden’s logging industry faces a significant problem: cutting frozen timber at the mill. One saw equipment manufacturer worked with several of its suppliers to develop a small prototype band saw. The product was tested successfully at a small mill. This drew the attention of the large, opinion-leading mill in the region where a new, bigger adaptation of the test saw was installed. Unfortunately, serious breakdowns resulted; weakness in the steel and welded seams were deemed the problem. Fortunately, the large mill forged a technical cooperation agreement with a blade manufacturer, and later brought in the steel supplier and welders. It took several years, but eventually the new processes were established, and the saw equipment manufacturer found success. The map of the key linkages in this valuecreating process shows the importance of even remote participants in the network. Supplier of components Small sawmill Other sawmills Saw equipment producer Large Focal sawmill relationship Saw steel producer Saw blade producer Welding equipment producer SOURCE: Adapted from James Anderson, Hakan Hakansson, and Jan Johanson, “Dyadic Business Relationships within a Business Network Context.” Used with permission from the Journal of Marketing, published by the American Marketing Association, vol. 58 (October 1994), pp. 1–15.
Slide 139: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 5 Market Opportunities 133 Indeed, customers are a vital source of new product ideas. In 1995 students and a handful of recruiters at the University of Cincinnati requested the development and institutionalization of what is now a highly sought and successful course on marketing and the new information technology. Prospective students and potential recruiters would never have given such input. Similarly, BOSE speaker design teams frequently help suppliers to meet their tough specifications and quality standards for new plastic and metal parts. Those suppliers who measure up not only reap more purchases from BOSE, but they are more competitive at other accounts as a result. From the Field 5–1 recaps product development by a more complex network. Certain customers may gain the company access to new accounts and markets. A consulting company that does an excellent job for one of the leading hospitals in St. Louis is apt to benefit greatly from the client’s influence with hospital administrators in Kansas City, Chicago, Peoria, Evansville, and Louisville. Clearly, the value of a customer is more than its profit margin impact in the most recent accounting period. Finding Opportunities with Customers Opportunities to do additional business with current customers can be identified by informal and formal means. Feedback through the sales force and service and delivery personnel should be encouraged and rewarded. Their frequent contact with customers and empathic dialogue makes them attuned to developing customer needs. Empathic dialogue is active listening and identification with customer concerns, resulting in customercentered communication and problem solving. The Loctite Corporation developed an inexpensive dispensing system for liquid adhesives primarily as a result of the insistence by its sales force that it should fill a dire need among heretofore neglected prospects, small manufacturers who could use a lot of adhesive if they could get their hands on a reasonable dispensing system. Marketing research companies and consulting firms frequently spark—and sometimes frame—their client’s next project. IBM enjoys a productive working partnership with RealDanmark, one of Denmark’s largest banks. Its assistance in the bank’s application of IBM VisualAge Generator in a small intranet system to provide customer information to 50 end users prompted RealDanmark to adapt a family of add-on products called VA Assist Enterprise.2 Leading companies periodically profile their top accounts and formally develop strategies for greater penetration. They seek to understand the sales forecasts and business strategies of key accounts. They formally model the purchase process and identify the roles of key members of the buying team, perhaps as influencer, user, gatekeeper, or decider. Data, Data, Data Some business marketers serve so many customers and execute so many transactions that account management—and other types of opportunities—are critically supported by sophisticated data management systems. Federal Express and UPS serve thousands of customers daily. Grainger and Dell answer customer queries and execute thousands of transactions on their websites. Even a small medical lab must efficiently manage customer relationships with hundreds of physicians. Data warehousing uses centrally managed data from all functional areas of the organization (sales, purchasing, human resources, finance, accounts payable, etc.)—formatted to company standards—so that it may be accessed by authorized users through their
Slide 140: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 134 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value Powerful and versatile data mining software supports the search for opportunities among customers. personal computers for queries, custom reports, and analysis.3 A major effort in the supply chain initiative at Cessna Aircraft was discussed in Chapter 2 was the development of a data warehouse that allowed key executives to view price trends graphically and to compare vendors across criteria in ad hoc spreadsheets.4 Indeed, with increasing amounts of information technology applied to websites and transaction processing, volumes of new data have become available. Complementary systems accessing archival data—that don’t interfere with transactions, communications, and various production systems—are proving invaluable to decision makers. To illustrate, please consider ScheduTrax, a fictitious software company selling desktop business software for scheduling and staffing. ScheduTrax has over 50,000 customers. An increasing number of companies are using part-time employees and trying to accommodate the flexible schedules their full-time people need to raise families, attend school, serve the community, or serve jail time. They use ScheduTrax programs to incorporate these complex constraints while scheduling staff, various operations, and service loads. In the ScheduTrax database each customer comprises a record. Each record contains the following key elements: User’s name(s) Company Street address City, state, and ZIP code Phone and fax numbers Source code (origin of initial order) Initial purchase date Original purchase dollars Purchase (upgrade) history Transaction dates
Slide 141: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 5 Market Opportunities 135 Exhibit 5–1 ScheduTrax Decile Report Decile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total $ Spent 632,771 632,771 632,771 632,771 632,771 632,771 632,771 632,771 632,771 632,771 6,327,710 No. of Customers 162 290 366 430 521 606 890 1,126 1,423 4,316 10,130 Cum. No. of Customers 162 452 818 1,248 1,769 2,375 3,265 4,391 5,814 10,130 % of Customers 2% 3 4 4 5 6 9 11 14 42 100 Cum. % of Customers 2% 5 9 13 18 24 33 44 58 100 Average Purchases $3,906 2,182 1,729 1,472 1,215 1,044 711 562 445 147 625 Transaction amounts Source code of transaction Product type Firm characteristics (industry, number of employees) User demographics and lifestyles Of course, the database requires both proper setup and ongoing maintenance to serve as a seed bed of market opportunities. Let’s presume those challenges are addressed elsewhere in your business program and examine a couple of simple reports to illustrate opportunities among current customers. Exhibit 5–1 is called a decile report. A decile report orders the firm’s customers from best to worst, on the basis of purchase volume for the period, summarized by tenths. (Admittedly, we have heard executives give the same name—decile report—to tables summarizing purchase activity for fifths or twentieths of the revenue base.) At the bottom of the left-hand column, Exhibit 5–1 reports that ScheduTrax has achieved a little over $6.3 million in sales. The bottom of the next column to the right indicates that the sales came from a little over 10,000 customers. Thus, average spending per customer, in the bottom right, is $625. Each row in the report, however, helps the marketing manager break free of the tendency to think about the “average” customer. The customers are far from equal in the significance of their purchases! For example, ScheduTrax’s weakest customers—in row 10—don’t even spend a quarter of the average, and they represent 43 percent of the customer base! Now compare decile 10 against decile 1: A handful of best customers spend 26 times as much as the worst. The decile report is simple, but quite helpful to the business marketer. How well do we know our best accounts? Which accounts get invited to the trade show reception? Which ones get a card and which ones get the two-pound box of chocolates with a card that says, “Thanks for your business” at the end of the year? FedEx often tests promotions to its best customers in a particular service category and then expands the program to successively less-important customers as long as returns are positive. Perhaps there are some accounts that have continued to get our marketing attention—mail and phone calls—that just don’t seem worthwhile any more. We start to ask where else can we put such marketing effort to yield better payoffs.
Slide 142: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 136 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value Exhibit 5–2 ScheduTrax Account Profiles ACCOUNT NO. FIRM CONTACTS 2207 Billy’s Tavern 2295 Riverside Valdosta, GA 9125551234 Bradford, Jimmy Manager 09/24/99 $159 M63 Phone AmEx 1761 Midwest Auto Parts 27912 Telegraph Rd Detroit, Ml 8105559999 Wolscheid, Emily Office Manager 03/04/92 $139 DM26 Phone PO, Amex BUSINESS 31602 DEMO CODE TRANSACTION SUMMARY LAST PURCH CUM $ NO. TRANS Food Svc-Rtl 2012 ORIG DATE ORIG $ ORIG SOURCE MODE PMT ACCOUNT NO. FIRM 07/18/00 $3,882 13 BUSINESS 48034 DEMO CODE TRANSACTION SUMMARY LAST PURCH CUM $ NO. TRANS Auto parts-Rtl CONTACTS 4302 ORIG DATE ORIG $ ORIG SOURCE MODE PMT 08/26/01 $4,891 19 Some of the preceding questions invite other questions. The very best accounts could be studied one by one. Exhibit 5–2 assembles the profiles of two specific customers to enable account strategies. Customer 2207 is relatively new and in the restaurant business. Customer 1761 is a retail auto parts chain and has been our customer since 1992. These data support telephone and direct mail efforts at ScheduTrax. Marketing communications with 2207—and with those accounts in like circumstances—might convey special appreciation for adapting the software and provide application tips for foodservice firms—perhaps scheduling wait staff with high absentee rates. Customers akin to 1761 would receive affirmation of the long-running business relationship and might be sought as test sites for updates and new product prototypes. Indeed, the database can be mined for insights into user needs and motivations. Customers can be meaningfully grouped by size, industry, longevity, purchase volume, applications, and so on to enable a full range of marketing communications and customer service. Individual customers in the second, third, and fourth deciles at ScheduTrax may not represent the sales volume to justify such close analytical attention, although firms with higher purchases per customer than ScheduTrax may, indeed, give close attention to key accounts in deciles 3 or 4 or elsewhere. Eventually, at some level of customer significance, we forsake individual account analysis to find significant patterns and groups of customers in these deciles. Exhibit 5–3 profiles the groups of customers in deciles 2 through 4. Notice that 35 percent are in the retail business, including chains and specialty shops. Among these purchasers
Slide 143: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 5 Market Opportunities 137 Type of Business Education Entertainment Nursing care Manufacturing Professional serv. Retail Transportation Other Total No. of Accts. 43 27 217 72 128 380 104 115 1086 % of Deciles 2–4 4% 2 20 7 12 35 10 11 100 Last Year’s Purchases $75,163 47,196 379,313 125,855 223,742 664,235 181,791 201,018 1,898,313 Cumulative Purchases $159,458 159,458 1,009,902 372,069 797,291 1,754,041 584,680 531,528 5,315,276 Adaptation of Companion Products Graph1 44% 34 40 33 29 15 48 47 31 Pay1 31% 20 22 19 40 22 20 27 25 Pay2 18% 14 28 22 15 13 28 25 20 Phonlink 9% 17 18 11 12 16 20 22 16 Exhibit 5–3 ScheduTrax Profile of Customers in Deciles 2–4 of our scheduling software, only 15 percent have adopted Graph 1, the new companion software that gives (1) graphic display for departments or stores and (2) personal schedules addressable to each employees. The low adoption rate among retailers seems to be in sharp contrast to the nursing care segment, where 40 percent of the customers have bought Graph 1. Maybe we should think about putting together a promotion to these 323 customers— the 85 percent of 380 retail customers that do not have the Graph 1 software. To go beyond standard decile reports or promotion program summaries, business marketing managers need a repertoire of data analysis tools. Evoking images of the quest for riches, the term data mining describes the process of using numerous query tools and exploratory techniques to extract information from a database or data warehouse. Some of this process can be automated, as in systems programmed to recognize purchase patterns at the account level or market level, defined, say, by industry or geography. Other tools are user controlled and may include creative, multivariate statistical approaches to reveal customer groups or predict behavior in a product market. Several large pharmaceutical companies use data mining to identify doctor prescription practices and even patient compliance rates in prescription refill patterns. The former may be used to direct sales efforts, whereas the latter are often used to structure self-help materials and education programs distributed through physicians’ offices. Customer Research Astute readers should be asking a key question here: Before running the promotion, why not talk to several current customers to learn their priorities and circumstances? Indeed! The database supports two different research approaches: focus groups and sample surveys. Focus Groups Focus groups bring a small group of customers together to discuss a specific topic or issue. Our software company, ScheduTrax, might try to bring 6 to 12 customers together at a trade show or in three or four different cities where they conduct business. The meet-
Slide 144: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 138 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value Some focus groups are going online. ing can be set up at a local hotel or conference facility or could be arranged to take place at the special facilities of a marketing research company. These might be quite elaborate. Most allow videotaping and direct observation through a one-way mirror. This allows ScheduTrax representatives who watch the focus group to give the moderator some additional directions for the interview. The moderator is an experienced professional, often with advanced behavioral science training. After providing a brief icebreaker and general introduction to the topic, the moderator generally tries to let the group carry on the conversation. His or her concentration should be on the discussion, along a general outline of topics needed to be covered in the discussion. Because the interview is taped, the moderator can let the group talk, with ample opportunity later to analyze comments and extract stimulating quotations. No two focus groups are identical. Each has different participants, perhaps from different positions in diverse organizations, from different industries, and/or from different parts of the country. Depending on the nature of the topic and the diversity of the user segments, most companies conduct several focus groups, although the incremental value of each additional group interview will taper off after three or four, or maybe not until a half dozen. The focus group is best used to generate ideas, gain insights into customer needs and constraints, and develop hypotheses about market opportunities. ScheduTrax might learn that department managers, who used to schedule dozens of part-time employees every two weeks, have split into at least two distinct groups: (1) those who have handed off this task to a staff person and (2) those who have used the software themselves to begin or expand their array of desktop personal productivity aids and decision support tools. Managers in the second group appear to represent an opportunity for ScheduTrax. It is important to note that the focus group is not a fitting procedure for measuring market share potential or forecasting adoption rates. The focus group reveals a spectrum of customer motivations, suggests differences in usage patterns, provides close contact with actual customers, and thus stimulates thinking about new products and services and how better to market existing products. Focus groups do not provide quantitative results like percentages or sales estimates.
Slide 145: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 5 Market Opportunities 139 Online searches can enrich the customer database and ascertain segment membership. The popularity of focus group research rests on three major factors. First, it is supported by the efficient and accurate access to customers afforded by the database. Just imagine the daunting task of finding 10 moderate users in the automotive repair business in Jacksonville without using a customer database. Second, focus groups can be conducted quickly and relatively cheaply. Depending on the scale of compensation for participants, the amenities of the facility, and the moderator’s fee, focus groups can cost between $1,200 and $5,000 each. Finally, focus groups almost always yield a surprising customer insight and some new ideas. Surveys Chico Marx stated the role of survey research quite clearly in the Marx Brothers’ classic Duck Soup: “So how’m I gonna fin’ ow what I gotta fin’ ow if he no’ tella me what I wanna fin’ ow?” (Translation: So, how am I going to find out what I need to find out, if he won’t tell me what I need to find out?) He is saying that there are limits to what we can infer from behavioral information in the customer database. Likewise, focus group insights are typically exploratory. They seldom afford quantitative estimates of market size, for example. The sample survey— a questionnaire administered to a representative group of a particular population—is a versatile approach to problems that involve asking people questions. But it too has limits, which is why companies often use many types of research. Surveys can be administered to customers in four primary ways: (1) personal interview, (2) mail, (3) telephones and (4) the Internet. Personal interviews allow good depth of questioning and probing. Answers can be clarified and feedback from product demonstrations or physical stimuli (e.g., a fabric or warning siren) can be ascertained. But the expense of sending interviewers to the field to secure elusive appointments and
Slide 146: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 140 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value visit geographically dispersed customers is often prohibitive. Thus, a compromise approach may be some focus groups or an attempt to see customers one-on-one at a trade show. Questionnaires can be administered very efficiently by mail. But it is critical that the researcher design the survey with the nature of the current business relationship in mind. The recipient of the survey is a current customer, not a stranger. Thus, a number of imperatives govern the contact. In most cases the researcher must acknowledge and affirm the relationship in the cover letter. Typically the survey aims to strengthen the relationship. Thus, affirmation of the relationship serves to motivate customers to reveal unmet needs and points of supplier weakness. Respondents should be given hope to realize greater satisfaction from within the current relationship, instead of seeking other sources. Even if the researcher’s objective is to identify customers for disengagement, it is prudent to sever the exchange amicably, with minimal turmoil or stress. Second, the survey must ask only questions that cannot be answered by information on the customer database. This is a matter of both credibility and courtesy. How believable is a cover letter affirming the importance of the relationship with Howard Supply when it is followed by a survey that asks for “volume of total purchases from us last year”? Out of respect for our customer’s time and competing job demands, we should not ask survey participants to look up or compile information that we have in the database. In this same spirit, it must be clear to the survey respondent or informant whether the data are being compiled for statistical summaries or to augment the database. No survey should be used to mask selling activities. Sugging is the unethical practice of using marketing research as a guise for selling. “Hi, this is Randy from Business Research Service. I’d like to ask you a few questions about office productivity. . . . Do you have a copy machine? . . . a fax? . . . laser printer? I’m going to switch you to Richard, who will tell you about the new three-in-one copy–printer–fax from Bosco.” Sugging grossly misleads and “spoils” the marketplace for legitimate marketing research activities. Finally, the questionnaire layout and length must reflect an overall appreciation for the respondent’s time and effort. Ask the important matters first. Provide a postpaid return envelope. A fax number makes it easy for respondents to give quick returns and to ask questions of the researcher. Unfortunately, many mail surveys age in a customer’s in-basket for several weeks. Some surveys will never return, despite the best procedures: telephone prenotification, a postcard reminder, premiums or cash inducements, and sending duplicate surveys to nonrespondents. Some recipients simply can’t or won’t give the time to the task; others don’t want to answer the questions; many simply forget. Telephone and Internet surveys represent a partial solution. Indeed, the ScheduTrax company could send a questionnaire by E-mail to 2,000 customers in the nighttime. There might be 300 responses by lunchtime. Alternatively, two ScheduTrax staff members—or a couple of students from this class—could get on the phone this afternoon and have summary tables from 400 interviews by tomorrow. Both routes are supported by inexpensive software that processes E-mail and online data or allows phone interviewers to follow a script on the computer screen, enter responses as they are given, conduct basic statistical analysis, and display results in report formats. Telephone surveys have two key drawbacks. First, the telephone is a more intrusive medium than the mail. The interviewer may be interrupting a customer’s schedule and may not receive enough of the customer’s time to complete the survey. A key challenge
Slide 147: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Chapter 5 Market Opportunities 141 5–2 FROM THE FIELD Supply-Side Opportunity W hile the chapter material emphasizes the garden of opportunities in the firm’s customer base, buyer–seller relationships provide opportunities for both parties. Alcoa’s project leader for material handling systems, Ken Main, paints a critical role for their vendors: We accomplished a lot of our efforts from the design of this material handling system through what I call vendor integration meetings. These are held on a monthly basis starting in December, as we were selecting vendors and getting them on board . . . We were depending upon our MAP (a material acquisition program at Alcoa) vendors to supply us with the utility that would allow us to send these defined message packets that we established. . . . All this was documented for our vendor use in what I call a vendor integration document, which has become more or less the Bible by which we check and are doing our systems performance checking.5 Thus, formal interactions for material handling system development are important to purchasers as well as materials suppliers. Suppliers who participate in regular meetings with their customers the way Alcoa has invited its key vendors to do find themselves in a context to discover what strategic and operational issues keep their customers awake at night; what words, symbols, and communication channels are most reliable; what impediments prevent the full collaboration of a customer’s personnel in the value creation process; and more. will be to hold the respondent’s interest through the entire set of questions that meet the information objectives of the researcher. It is wise to ask the most important questions up front. Second, some businesspeople are very hard to reach by telephone. For example, pharmaceutical companies find it very difficult to survey physicians by telephone. When they are in the clinic, doctors are attending to patients, scribbling or dictating reports, and otherwise on the move. (Some drug companies have found that doctors are more responsive to mail surveys—that is, when they are printed on the back of $100 checks! Thus, the data come in as the checks are cashed.) Online surveys are remarkably fast and cost effective. Their efficiency often leads users to seek huge samples. Their major disadvantage is that some populations are not well represented on line. Machinists and the building trades are difficult to reach by E-mail or website. For ScheduTrax, the Internet is apt to be a very fitting survey medium because customers are computer users. Of course, recipient concerns about privacy and virus contagion will continue to bridle the utility of online surveys. Joint Development and Testing Many products in business markets require ongoing adjustments and developments after the purchase. Computers and other installations require frequent vendor–customer interactions and joint activities to hone operations, adapt to new work requirements, and ensure the development of critical know-how both organizations. For example, a vendor of pollution control devices called scrubbers will participate in the testing of its systems at an electric power company because both firms need the other’s expertise and both recognize the emission control needs at multiple plants. This is discussed in greater detail in the product development coverage of Chapter 8.
Slide 148: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 142 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value Customer Visits If spending time at a customer’s venue to test concepts and problem solve has value, it should come as no surprise that business marketers have been stepping up the frequency and complexity of customer visits. Hewlett–Packard is the oft-noted leader in design of and payoff from customers visits. Calling on a subset of key customers, using crossfunctional teams, and following protocols that take the parties out of the conference rooms, a customer visitation program can be a powerful tool. Opportunities get spotted in operations, in the formal presentations of goals and plans, and—perhaps most uniquely—in the frank disclosures of customer’s headaches and identification of problems.6 From the Field 5–2 illustrates some of the parallel payoffs for customers. The Acquisition of New Customers Now that we have emphasized and illustrated the ocean of business opportunities with current customers, we can take up the matter of new customer acquisition. Notice our terminology. Some texts talk about getting new accounts or winning customers, but these terms suggest the essence of conquest. We want to underscore the process as one of securing a vital strategic asset. When the potential exists for a long-run relationship with customers, their acquisition should be regarded as an investment. Most organizations make investment decisions on the basis of return on investment rates, net present value, or months (years) to reach break-even. When University Hospital buys a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, it estimates a multiyear stream of revenue from patients against the installation outlay and projected operating costs. An increasing number of companies have begun to formalize a similar approach to customer valuation. Customer lifetime value (LTV) is an estimate of the net present value of the stream of benefits from a customer, less the burdens of servicing the account or managing the relationship. For a basic illustration, consider a public accounting firm, which will often serve a client for many years. The revenue from this relationship represents the chief benefit stream. The burdens include the direct costs of audits and reports, plus the costs of maintaining the account—training, entertainment, periodic meetings, even the annual Thanksgiving turkey gift baskets to the client’s personnel. With this LTV perspective, a client billed $30,000 per year can take on six-figure significance. Likewise, a small environmental engineering firm doing $50 of overnight shipping per week can represent $10,000 in net present value of FedEx. Let’s develop a greater understanding of the mechanics of LTV by returning to the ScheduTrax example. Exhibit 5–4 shows the purchase history of a group of customers at our software firm. Although some customers are one-shot buyers, the majority tend to purchase ancillary software products and upgrades over their lifetimes. Thus, the benefit stream from a new ScheduTrax customer goes beyond the initial software purchase. To calculate lifetime value ScheduTrax uses a four-year horizon—after acquisition— and a 20 percent estimate for average direct costs. With customer mailing and quarterly telephone contacts, annual account maintenance costs are expected to average about $20 to recent customers but are characteristically lower to “older” customer segments. That is, recent purchasers get more marketing attention from ScheduTrax. Because most accounts are rather small and ScheduTrax wants to postpone decimals in the lifetime value calculations, it evaluates the LTV of 100 customers. The middle of Exhibit 5–4 maps the “migration” of 100 acquired accounts into different segments defined by the recency of their last purchase. Notice that over the first year some (60 percent) historically rebuy and remain “recent” buyers; the other 40 “age” into year-
Slide 149: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition Exhibit 5–4 ScheduTrax Lifetime Value Analysis II. Foundations for Creating Value Expected customer migrations following acquisition Account Service Costs $20 16.0 → 52.0 100 customers 45.6 Acquisition Period 1st Yr. after Acquisition 2nd Yr. after Acquisition 3rd Yr. after Acquisition 31.2 9.6 4.8 4th Yr. after Acquisition 27.4 8.3 2.9 Yrs. since the Last Purchase Purchase Probability Expected $ Purchases 0 0.60 $90 → 60.0 → 36.0 5. Market Opportunities → → 40.0 1 2 3 0.40 0.20 0.10 $60 $50 $50 $10 $4 $2 → 24.0 24.0 20.8 14.4 19.2 1.9 40.5 18.2 12.5 11.5 17.3 Profit forecasts $2,320 $1,760 $1,523 © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 Acq +1 Acq +2 Acq +3 [60 buyers ($90)] × .8 gross profit – [100 accts × $20 service/acct] = [36 buyers ($90) + 16 buyers ($60)] .8 gr. profit – [60 accts × $20 + 40 accts × $10] = [31.2 buyers ($90) + 9.6 buyers ($60) + 4.8 buyers ($50)] .8 gr. profit – [52 accts × $20 + 24 × $10 + 24 × $4] = Acq +4 [27.4 buyers ($90) + 8.3 buyers ($60) + 2.9 buyers ($50) + 1.9 buyers ($50)] – [45.6 × $20 + 20.8 × $10 + 14.4 × $4 + 19.2 × $2] = NPV @ 10% $2,109 $1,455 $1,144 $ 919 $5,627 NPV @ 15% $2,017 $1,331 $1,002 $ 769 $5,119 NPV @ 20% $1,933 $1,222 $ 881 $ 649 $4,686 $1,345 Discounting profits: Acq +1 Acq +2 Acq +3 Acq +4 LTV/100 customers 143
Slide 150: Dwyer−Tanner: Business Marketing, Second Edition II. Foundations for Creating Value 5. Market Opportunities © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003 144 Part 2 Foundations for Creating Value 5–1 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS LTV as a Motive to Relate C hapters 2 and 3 introduced the nature of business markets and purchasing by spotlighting the shift in supply management away from countless small decisions. Auto companies, computer firms, and heavy equipment manufacturers once made thousands of decisions as they purchased from scores and even hundreds of suppliers. Since the mid-1980s purchasers have consolidated suppliers, moved toward global sourcing, and sought long-term supply partnerships. Consultant Adrian Slywotzky sums up the shift: The number of decisions has moved from thousands to hundreds, the number of suppliers from hundreds to dozens, the length of contracts for single-year to multiyear, the scope from regional to global. Fewer decisions, higher stakes, higher rewards, and much higher risks.7 The impact is vividly illustrated in Ford’s supply strategy for the Mondeo, a world car. Winning suppliers were awarded purchase volume for not just 200,000 units—U.S. domestic volume—but 700,000 units anticipated across the globe. Furthermore, good performance gives suppliers a powerful advantage for converting their initial one-year contract into a longrunning relationship via a three-year renewal. What was once a 200,000-unit decision has become a 2-million–unit decision. Do you think the parties to trading relationships such as these dabble with lifetime value analysis? ago customers. Projecting the distribution of customers in the second year after acquisition involves calculating the expected purchasers from two segments: 60 recent buyers and 40 year-ago buyers. The former segment provides ScheduTrax 36 buyers (.6 60); the latter provides 16 buyers (.4 40). The 24 nonbuyers in the period from each of the two segments accordingly “age” into the next recency category. Accounting for buyers in the third year after acquisition involves estimates from three segments: recent buyers, year-ago buyers, and two-years-ago buyers. The process is repeated in the fourth year, when buyers come from four segments defined by years since last purchase. The profit model in the bottom portion of Exhibit 5–4 reflects the historical pattern at ScheduTrax that customers who have not recently purchased show a lower probability of purchasing and a lower expected amount of purchase. The profit forecast reflects the gross profit from all groups of purchasers in each future period, less the service costs associated with the segment specific marketing program. At the bottom, cash flow is discounted at 10, 15, and 20 percent to highlight the sensitivity of the valuation to ScheduTrax’s opportunity cost of money. As you can see, LTV is a statistical estimate. It hinges on the relevance of historical data, the proximity of the horizon, the choice of a discount rate, and the accuracy of anticipated account maintenance charges. At no business is it a known constant, like the force of gravity on the earth’s surface, 9.8 m/sec2. Nevertheless, using the best available data in concert with one’s explicit assumptions about buyer behaviors, LTV should be estimated and applied as a key yardstick for planning customer service strategies, assessing customer acquisition programs, and more. In the next section we will use the LTV calculations from Exhibit 5–4 as we explore a few of the more common means of acquiring new customers.