Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e- Business and
Organizational Customers
and Their Buying Behavior
Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2002192 Chapter 7
New-task buyingoccurs when an organization has a new need and the customer
wants a great deal of information. New-task buying can involve setting product spec-
ifications, evaluating sources of supply, and establishing an order routine that can
be followed in the future if results are satisfactory. Multiple buying influence is typ-
ical in new-task buying.
A straight rebuyis a routine repurchase that may have been made many times
before. Buyers probably don’t bother looking for new information or new sources of
supply. Most of a company’s small or recurring purchases are of this type—but they
take only a small part of an organized buyer’s time. Important purchases may be made
this way too—but only after the firm has decided what procedure will be “routine.”
The modified rebuyis the in-between process where some review of the buying sit-
uation is done—though not as much as in new-task buying. Sometimes a competitor
will get lazy enjoying a straight rebuy situation. An alert marketer can turn these
situations into opportunities by providing more information or a better marketing mix.Customers in a new-task buying situation are likely to seek information from a
variety of sources. See Exhibit 7-5. Keep in mind that many of the impersonal
sources are readily available in electronic form online as well as in other formats.
How much information a customer collects depends on the importance of the pur-
chase and the level of uncertainty about what choice might be best. The time and
expense of searching for information may not be justified for a minor purchase. But
a major purchase often involves real detective work by the buyer.
Of course, the flip side of the new-task buying situation is that a seller’s promo-
tion has much more chance to have an impact. At the very least, the marketer
needs to be certain that his or her firm will turn up in the buyer’s search. In this
regard, a good website is a crucial piece of insurance. Later we will talk more about
the role of e-commerce at this stage, but for now you should see that even a sim-
ple website is likely to turn up in a buyer’s Internet search.^8New-Task
BuyingModified
RebuyStraight
RebuyReview of SuppliersMultiple InfluenceTime RequiredInformation NeededMuchMuchMuchMuchSomeSomeMediumSomeNoneLittleLittleType of Process
CharacteristicsLittleExhibit 7-4
Organizational Buying
Processes
New-task buying
requires information
- Rating services
- Trade associations
- News publications
- Product directories
- Internet news pointcasts
- Buying center members
- Outside business associates
- Consultants and outside
experts - Salespeople
- Others from supplier firms
- Trade shows
- Advertising in trade
publications - Sales literature
- Sales catalogs
- Web page
Marketing sources Nonmarketing sourcesPersonal
sourcesImpersonal
sourcesExhibit 7-5
Major Sources of Information
Used by Organizational
Buyers