Marketing Management, Millenium Edition - epiheirimatikotita.gr

118 CHAPTER 6 ANALYZING BUSINESS MARKETS AND BUYER BEHAVIORTable 3.4 Buygrid Framework: Major Stages (Buyphases) of the IndustrialBuying Process in Relation to Major Buying Situations (Buyclasses)BuyphasesNew Modified StraightTask Rebuy Rebuy1. Problem recognition Yes Maybe No2. General need description Yes Maybe No3. Product specification Yes Yes YesBuyphases 4. Supplier search Yes Maybe No5. Proposal solicitation Yes Maybe No6. Supplier selection Yes Maybe No7. Order-routine specification Yes Maybe No8. Performance review Yes Yes YesSource: Adapted from Patrick J. Robinson, Charles W. Faris, and Yoram Wind, Industrial Buying andCreative Marketing (Boston:Allyn & Bacon, 1967), p. 14.als, when a machine breaks down and requires new parts, when purchased materialturns out to be unsatisfactory, and when a purchasing manager senses an opportunityto obtain lower prices or better quality. Externally, problem recognition can occurwhen a buyer gets new ideas at a trade show, sees a supplier’s ad, or is contacted by asales representative offering a better product or a lower price. For their part, businessmarketers can stimulate problem recognition by direct mail, telemarketing, effectiveInternet communications, and calling on prospects.Stage 2: General Need DescriptionOnce a problem has been recognized, the buyer has to determine the needed item’sgeneral characteristics and the required quantity. For standard items, this is not a veryinvolved process. For complex items, the buyer will work with others—engineers,users, and so on—to define the needed characteristics. These may include reliability,durability, price, or other attributes. In this stage, business marketers can assist buyersby describing how their products would meet such needs.Stage 3: Product SpecificationWith a general need description in hand, the buying organization can develop theitem’s technical specifications. Often, the company will assign a product value analysis(PVA) engineering team to the project. Product value analysis is an approach to costreduction in which components are carefully studied to determine if they can beredesigned or standardized or made by cheaper methods of production.The PVA team will examine the high-cost components in a given product,because 20 percent of the parts usually account for 80 percent of the costs of manufacturingit. The team will also identify overdesigned product components that lastlonger than the product itself, then decide on the optimal product characteristics.Tightly written specifications will allow the buyer to refuse components that are tooexpensive or that fail to meet the specified standards. Suppliers, too, can use productvalue analysis as a tool for positioning themselves to win an account. By getting in earlyand influencing buyer specifications, a supplier can significantly increase its chancesof being chosen.