Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e

7. Business and
   Organizational Customers
   and Their Buying Behavior

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Business and Organizational Customers and Their Buying Behavior 201

firms that use that equipment to make finished goods. On the other hand, some

websites are designed to serve a broad (“horizontal”) cross section of firms from

different industries. For example, a horizontal site might serve manufacturers

regardless of whether they produce bearings, truck frames, or construction equip-

ment. See Exhibit 7-7.

One consequence of these differences in focus is that there are many sites with

potentially overlapping coverage. While some industries are not covered well, in other

industries many sites compete to be thecentral market. As a result, this is an arena

in which there are still many ongoing changes. Hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of

B2B websites that were established just a few years ago have already disappeared, and

consolidation is still underway. In some industries there are so many sites that instead

of simplifying the buying and selling process they have made it unnecessarily com-

plicated. For example, a seller who posts an auction on the wrong site may get few

bids, or no bids, from firms who might be serious buyers. Those buyers, in turn, might

waste time checking other sites not included in the sellers’ efforts.

Because of such problems, purchasing managers often turn to special software

packages to help with their search effort. For example, if a purchasing manager can

specify a certain model of a product the search “bot” (short for robot) looks at all of

the websites on the Internet to find everywhere that the product is mentioned. Some

bots take things further and assemble price comparisons or e-mail distribution lists.

Bots are also helping purchasing people who have trouble figuring out exactly

how to describe what they want. By searching for descriptions of products in a broad

product category, it is often possible to develop a better understanding not only of

what alternatives exist but also of what specs are best for the particular need.

Internet (ro)bots search

for products_by

description

Exhibit 7-7 Examples of Different B2B E-Commerce Sites Used by Organizational Buyers and Sellers

All sellers

and buyers

at all levels

“Vertical” depth

across firms at

different levels of

production &

distribution

process

One of two levels

(a seller to

a buyer)

“Horizontal” breadth of goods and services

One

business

One

specific

industry

Many

industries

Bot search

tool sites

Collaboration

hub

Exchanges

Communities

Catalog site

Procurement hub

Seller’s site

(information

and orders)