Organizational buyers are divided into three different markets: industrial, reseller, and government. There are about 11.2 million industrial firms, 2 million resellers, and 88,000 government units.
Measuring industrial, reseller, and government markets is an important first step for firms interested in determining the size of one, two, or all three markets. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is a convenient starting point to begin this process.
Many aspects of organizational buying behavior are different from consumer buying behavior. Some key differences between the two include demand characteristics, number of potential buyers, buying objectives, buying criteria, size of the order or purchase, buyer - seller relationships and partnerships, and multiple buying influences within companies.
The three types of buying situations, or buy classes, are the straight rebuy, the modified rebuy, and the new buy. These form a scale ranging from a routine reorder to a totally new purchase.
The stages in an organizational buying decision are the same as those for consumer buying decisions: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and postpurchase behavior.
The buying center concept is central to understanding organizational buying behavior. Knowing who composes the buying center and the roles they play in making purchase decisions is important in marketing to organizations. The buying center usually includes a person from the purchasing department and possibly representatives from R&D, engineering, and production, depending on what is being purchased. These people can play one or more of five roles in a purchase decision: user, influencer, buyer, decider, or gatekeeper.
Online buying is prevalent in industrial, reseller, and government markets. E-marketplaces will account for almost one-half of all online organizational purchases in 2005. Online auctions are commonly used by organizational buyers and business marketers.
