Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Section 10.2 Customers
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The B2B market is very different than the
B2C market. Business customers have different
needs and motives than consumers. Businesses
buy product to manufacture new product,
resell, or use for their operations. B2B sales
usually take a long time and may be based on
relationship selling. These purchases typically
have to go through an approval process. In a
B2C purchase, the consumer is the final decision
maker and may make on-the-spot buying
decisions. Another important distinction is that
a consumer buys products to use personally.
The needs of an organization are the
primary motivating force of B2B buying
decisions. However, other influences affect final
purchase decisions. These influences fall into
three categories:
• Internal influences are motivators or change
factors that come from within the business
itself. These include the structure, goals, and
management team of a company.
• External influences are motivators or
change factors from outside the business.
These include competitors, new technology,
and product trends.
• Situational influences for B2B are those
from the environment in which the business
exists. These include the economy, political
environment, and regulations or laws.
Even though the quantity and motivation
for purchasing is different for businesses,
purchasing decisions must still be made. As
shown in Figure 10-10, there are three levels
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Figure 10-10 Like consumer buying decisions, the levels of buying decisions for businesses range in amount of
planning and research.
Levels of Business Buying Decisions
New Purchase Great deal of research and planning, including product specifications and
expectations
Repeat Purchase Little research and thought; typical for items purchased on a regular basis
Modified Purchase Some planning and research; used when purchasing a familiar product with
certain changes or modifications
There are three measures of the center of
a data set. The mode is the value that occurs
most frequently in the data set. The median
is the middle number in a data set. To find
the median, the numbers must be listed in
numerical order. The mean is the average of
all values in the data set. Mean is calculated
by adding all values and dividing that sum by
the total number of values.
Solve the following problems.
1. A recent survey of gasoline prices for a region
reported these prices per gallon: $3.49, $3.67,
$3.52, $3.58, and $3.56. What is the mean
price per gallon?
2. A business ships telephone headsets all
across the country. The various shipping costs
it charged last week are: $0.99, $1.05, $0.75,
$1.07, $0.99, $1.05, and $1.05. What is the
mode shipping charge?
3. For the data in question #2, what is the
median shipping charge?
You Do the Math
Statistical Reasoning