Industrial Buying Behavior Case Study

A detailed understanding of the buyers ' behavior is essential for a company in order to formulate marketing strategies.
Industrial buying behavior is defined as "the decision making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services, and identify, evaluate and choose among alternative brands and suppliers." (Cherunilam, 2004).
There are different types of variables that influence the industrial buying process strongly which then results into the buying decision of a company. They are broadly classified as: Buying Situation
Buying decision is not an individual task instead the activities those are involved in industrial buying like identifying, evaluating the products or suppliers of those products

Marketer is expected to thoroughly observe and analyze these factors for each market segment. Organizational influences
Individual buying decisions differs for an organization because of the influences they receive from there. The organizational structure like the work flow, rewards given, status of each individual etc. have different types of influences and thus the buying pattern gets different as compared to individual buying. Similarly, buying a new technology not only affects the IT department of a company but also affects the functioning and coordination between other departments. The decision making process basically relies on the employees of three departments that give a joint-decision, that is of manufacturing, quality control and purchasing departments. Hence, the marketer also needs to understand the psychology of these people that influences the buying decision greatly. Also the expectation from the buyers and suppliers is taken into account so as to strategize

WEBSTER 'S MODEL

fig 1 Webster 's model According to Webster, the problem is first recognised which can be solved by the purchasing of a product or service. The problem is basically when there is a difference between the goals and actual situation and thus can be solved with a purchasing.
After problem recognition, buyers ' responsibility is specified and decisions are made on the basis of them. Then the search process for a buyer is done and according to the policies of the organization, choices are made of the products to buy or services to avail.

ROBINSON, FARRIS AND WIND- BUY PHASES
It’s a more extensive model and consists of eight steps known as Buyphases.
First, the problem is identified and a general solution to it is derived.
Then the amount or need is specified by the people who holds the authority to make such decisions. The employees of these departments make the final decision, people outside this group are just for consulting purposes.
Extension to the above phase is the third phase where the need of items is converted to a solution. From the next steps onwards, the search is conducted for the suppliers, tentative list is prepared. The proposals are studied and analyzed and then suppliers are finalized. Order routine is prepared where vendors are given the orders and follow up is done on them to ensure timely receiving of the goods. After the products are in use, feedback is taken to see if the problem has been solved after purchasing the