Chapter 3:

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Looks at:
▪How people, groups and organisation select, buy, use
and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to
satisfy their needs and wants….
CHARACTERISTICS INFLUENCING
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

by two
Consumer purchases are strongly influenced
groups of factors:

• Internal characteristics that determine our behaviour:

▪ Psychological
▪ Personal

• External influences that represent the environment in

which the individual behaviour takes place:
▪ Cultural
▪ Social
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
▪ A buyer's decisions are influenced by psychological factors
such as:
▪ Motivation
▪ Perception
▪ Learning
▪ Personality
▪ Self concept
▪ Belief
▪ Attitude
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS – MOTIVATION

Motive is a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct

the person to seek satisfaction of the need
Motivation describes behavior that is energized
Behavior is energized by needs
Needs occur when a gap exists between the desired
state of affairs and the current state of affairs
The bigger the gap, the greater the need, the more
motivation.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS – PERCEPTION

Perception ‘The process by which people select,

organise and interpret information to form a
meaningful picture of the world’.
How a person acts is influenced by his or her
perception of the situation. Two people with similar
motivation and in the same situation might act quite
differently because they perceive the situation
differently.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS: LEARNING

Learning: Changes in an individual’s behaviour arising

from experience.
When people act, they learn. Learning describes
changes in an individual's behaviour arising from
experience.
The significance of learning theory to marketers is that
they can build demand for a product by associating it
with strong drives, using motivating cues and
providing positive reinforcement.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS – PERSONALITY

Personality: A person’s distinguishing psychological

characteristics that lead to relatively consistent
and lasting responses to his or her own
environment.
▪Closely tied to motivation and is usually described in
terms of traits such as self-confidence, dominance,
sociability, autonomy, defensiveness, adaptability and
aggressiveness.
DISCUSSION
Brand Personality = Customer personality?
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS : SELF CONCEPT

The beliefs a person holds about their own attributes

and how he/she evaluates these qualities.
A person’s perception of himself or herself
Examples - Self image
Self Esteem
OTHER TYPES OF SELVES

• Each individual has many different selves: Ideal Self

•Actual self Social self
Extended self
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS: BELIEF

A descriptive thought that a person holds about

something.
Marketers are interested in the beliefs that people
formulate about specific product and services
because these belief make up product and brand
images that affect buying behaviour.
If some beliefs are wrong and prevent purchase, the
marketer will want to launch a campaign to correct
them.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS:ATTITUDES

A person’s consistently favourable or unfavourable

evaluations, feelings and tendencies towards an
object or idea.
Attitudes are difficult to change. Thus a company
should actually try to fit its products into existing
attitudes rather than try to change attitudes. Of
course, there are exceptions in which the greater cost
of trying to change attitudes may pay off.
PERSONAL FACTORS
A buyer's decisions are also influenced by personal
characteristics such as:

▪ Age and Lifecycle stage

▪ Occupation
▪ Education
▪ Economic Situation
▪ Lifestyle
18
4
CULTURAL FACTORS

Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest

influence on consumer behaviour. Marketers need to
understand the role played by the:

▪ Culture

▪ Subculture

▪ Social class
CULTURAL FACTORS
Culture ‘The set of basic values, perceptions, wants and
behaviours learned by a member of society from
family and other important institutions’.
Subcultures—‘smaller groups of people with shared
value systems based on common life experiences and
situations’.
Social classes are ‘relatively permanent and ordered
divisions in a society whose members share similar
values, interests and behaviours’.
SOCIAL FACTORS
Household type
Roles and Status
Membership Groups
HOUSEHOLD TYPES
The members of a person’s household can strongly
influence buyer behaviour.
We can distinguish between two household types in the
buyer’s life.
- The family of orientation - The buyer’s parents make
up the family of orientation.
- The family of procreation—the buyer’s spouse and
children—exert a more direct influence on everyday
buying behaviour.
MEMBERSHIP GROUPS
▪Groups that have a direct influence on a person’s behaviour and to which
a person belongs
▪Groups that have direct (face-to-face) or indirect influence on the
person’s attitudes or behaviour
▪Marketers try to identify the reference groups of their target markets due
to the influence they have on a consumer’s attitudes and self-concept
▪Group influence is strongest on conspicuous purchases, or those
items that are most likely to be seen by others
19
0
19
1
DISCUSSION
- WOM, eWOM
- KOL, Opinion leader
3.3. Types of Buying Decision Behavior
➢ Buying behavior differs greatly form a tube of toothpaste,
a tennis racket, a digital camera, and a new car.
➢ This means the buying decision behavior of employee can
range form a habitual buying to a complex buying.

26
1. Complex Buying Behavior:

➢ Customers undertake complex buying

decision when they are highly involved in a
purchase and perceive significant differences
among brands.
➢ Consumers may be highly involved when the
product is expensive, risky, purchased
infrequently, and highly self expensive.
➢ Typically, the consumer has much to learn
about the product category.
27
1. Complex Buying Behavior:
(Hành vi mua phức tạp)

➢ For example, a laptop or a mobile, buyer may

not know that attributes to consider.
➢ This buyer will pass through a learning
process, first developing beliefs about the
product, then attitudes, and then making a
thoughtful purchase choice.

28
2. Dissonance Reducing Buying Behavior
(Hành vi mua thỏa hiệp)
➢ In dissonance reducing buying behavior consumer involvement is
very high due to high price and infrequent purchase with less
significance differences among brands.
➢ In this case buyer purchases the product which is easily available.
➢ After the product purchase, consumer may face dissonance post
purchase behavior.

29
3. Habitual buying behavior:
(Hành vi mua theo thói quen)
➢ In habitual buying behavior consumer involvement
is low as well as there is no significance among
brands names.
➢ The good example is a lighter or match box.
➢ They just go for it and purchase it, there is no brand
loyalty. Consumers do not need information
regarding brand purchase, characteristics.
➢ For such brands TV commercials, news papers and
magazines build positive attitude of consumers
towards.

30
4. Variety seeking buying behavior:
(Hành vi mua nhiều lựa chọn)
➢ In variety seeking buying behavior situation
consumer involvement is vey low but there are
significance differences among brands.

➢ In this situation consumers perceive brand

switching.
➢ A good example is purchase of chips.
➢ In such case consumer purchasechips and consumes.
Next time they purchase another brand just to change
the taste.

31
THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS
Need recognition
Information search

Evaluation of alternative

Purchase decision

Postpurchase behavior
PROBLEM/NEED R E C O G N I T I O N

• Need can be triggered by internal or

external stimuli
• Internal stimulus like hunger and thirst
• External stimuli like someone
motivating you.

• Point of importance is to identify what

triggers the need
INFORMATION S EA RC H

• Two levels for information search exist

1. Heightened attention where one becomes more
receptive to information.
2. Active information search

Point of importance is what are the major information

sources, which are of four c ategories:-
1. Personal :Friends, family , neighbour
2. Commercial: Advertising, salesman, packing
3. Public: Mass media, Consumer rating
organisations
4. Experimental: Handling & Examining the product
 Total Set
IBM Apple Dell HP Toshiba Compaq

Awareness Set
IBM Apple Dell HP

Consideration Set
IBM Dell Apple

Choice Set
IBM Dell

Decision
?
 E VA L U AT I O N O F A LT E R N AT I V ES

• The most recent model saysthat the judgements are

taken consciously and rationally which is termed as
cognitively oriented.

• Ask questions?
1. Do you want to satisfy a need
2. Are you looking for some benefit
3. What are the attributes that are being looked for?

• **Beliefsand attitudes affects thisprocess.

P U R C H A S E DECISION

• Sub-decisions have to be taken about:-

1. Brand
2. Dealer
3. Quantity
4. Timing
5. Payment Method

Timing and steps in the process depends upon the

product that needs to be purchased.
POST-PURCHASE
B E H AV I O U R

• Marketer must observe:-

1. Post-purchase satisfaction
2. Post-purchase actions
3. Post-purchase product uses
 POST-PURCHASE B E H AV I O U R :
SATISFACTION

• Performance less than expectation results into

dissatisfaction.

• Performance as per the expectation leaves a

satisfied customer.

• Performance better than expected leads to a

delighted consumer.

Point of importance is that it will affect his future

decision making process.
POST-PURCHASE B E H AV I O U R : AC T I O N S

• Satisfaction or dissatisfaction may influence a

consumer’s subsequent behaviour.

• If its favourable it may lead to a repeat purchase.

• If dissatisfied the c onsumer may stop buying the

product (Exit Option) or warn people around (Voice
Option)
POST-PURCHASE B E H AV I O U R : USE A N D DISPOSAL

• Its important to calculate the consumption rate, i.e.

frequency of purchase.

• Profits come from sales and key driver of sales is

consumption rate.
THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS
(OTHER MODELS)
THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS (OTHER MODELS)

19
6
3.5. The Buyer Decision Process For New Products

3.5.1. Stages in the adoption process

3.5.2. Individual differences in innovativeness
3.5.3. The main influences on business buyers
3.5.4. Influence of product characteristics on rate
of adoption
• New Products
– Good, service or idea that is perceived
by customers as new.
[Link] IN ADOPTION PROCESS

Awareness Interest Evaluation Trial Adoption

[Link] IN ADOPTION PROCESS
• Awareness – consumer becomes aware of the new product but lacks information
about it
• Interest – consumer seeks information about the new product
• Evaluation – consumer considers whether trying the new product makes sense
• Trial – consumer tries the new product on a small scale to improve his/her
estimate of its value
• Adoption – consumer decides to make full and regular use of the new product
3.5.2. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN INNOVATIVENESS

– Consumers can be classified into five adopter

categories, each of which behaves differently
toward new products.
ADOPTION OF INNOVATIONS

Percentage of Adopters

Innovators Early Majority Late Majority

Early
Adopters Laggards
34% 34%

13.5% 16%

2.5%

Early Time of Adoption Late

 ADOPTION OF INNOVATIONS

• Innovators – they are venturesome

• Early adopters – they are guided by respect and often are opinion leaders in their communities
• Early majority – they are deliberate
• Late majority – they are skeptical
• Laggards – they are tradition-bound
Diffusion of Innovation:
[Link] MAIN INFLUENCES ON BUSINESS BUYERS

Environmental Organizational Interpersonal Individual

• economic • objectives • Authority • Age

• Technological • Policies • Status • Education
• Political • Procedures • Empathy • Job position
• Competitive • Org structure • persuasiveness • Personality
development • systems • Risk attitudes
3.5.4. INFLUENCE OF PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS ON RATE OF ADOPTION

• Relative advantage – the degree to which the innovation appears superior to existing products.
• Compatibility – the degree to which the innovation fits the value and experiences of potential
consumers
• Complexity – the degree to which the innovation is difficult to understand or use
• Divisibility – the degree to which the innovation may be tried on a limited basis
• Communicability – the degree to which the results of using the innovation can be observed
and described to others.
3.6. Business markets and business buyer behavior

Business buyer behavior & buying process

➢ Business buyer behavior
The buying behavior of organizations that buy goods and services for use in the production of
other products and services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others.

➢ Business buying process

The decision process by which business buyers determine which products and services their
organizations need to purchase and then find, evaluate, and choose among alternative suppliers and brands.
Business Markets
✓ Business Market
The business market is defined as the selling of products and services to other
businesses to be resold or used to make other items or services for sale. Business
markets are generally made up of businesses which buy products and raw materials
for their own operation.

✓ Market Structure and Demand

The business marketer normally deals with far fewer but far larger buyers than the
consumer marketer does. Even in large business markets, a few buyers often
account for most of the [Link] business markets have inelastic and more
fluctuating demand. The total demand for many business products is not much
affected by price changes, especially in the short [Link] demand for many business
goods and services tends to change more— and more quickly—than does the
demand for consumer goods and services. A small percentage increase in
consumer demand can cause large increases in business demand.
Derived demand Business demand that ultimately comes from (derives from) the
demand for consumer goods
 Business markets differ from consumer
markets in several ways
The business market is huge. In fact, business
markets involve far more dollars and items
than do consumer markets.
There are substantial differences between
consumer and business markets—especially
in market structure and demand, the nature of
the buying unit, and the types of decisions and
the decision process involved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

 Business
Buyers
1 Fewer and larger
2Geographically
concentrated
3More decision
participants
4Professional
purchasers
Derived Demand
▪ Business Derived demand:
Business demand that
ultimately comes from (derives
from) the demand for
consumer goods.
▪ Business’s demand for goods and services
comes either directly or indirectly from
consumers’ demand.
▪ For example:

▪ Textbooks demand > paper demand > pulp

demand > forestry product demand
▪ Note that if demand shifts toward digital
books on the iPad or Kindle, it would
influence the derived demand for forestry
products in a negative manner.
Inelastic Demand
▪ To produce a car, a manufacturer
purchases thousands of different
parts.
▪ If the price of tires, batteries, or auto
glass goes up $100, it won’t change
consumer demand for the car—so
demand for parts remains the same.
Thus B2B demand is often inelastic. It
is not unusual for a large increase in a
business product’s price to have little
effect on the final consumer product’s
price.
Fluctuating Demand

Consumer
Business
Demand Demand

SMALL CHANGES IN CONSUMER

DEMAND CREATE BIG SHIFTS IN
BUSINESS DEMAND
▪ Business demand also is subject to greater
fluctuations than is consumer demand. This is
because even modest changes in consumer
demand can create large changes in business
demand.
▪ For example, a small shift in consumer demand for
air travel may lead to a big drop in orders for
aircraft.
 Business Markets (cont'd)
✓ Nature of the Buying Unit
Compared with consumer purchases, a business purchase usually involves more decision
participants and a more professional purchasing effort. Often, business buying is done by trained
purchasing agents who spend their working lives learning how to buy better. The more complex the
purchase, the more likely it is that several people will participate in the decision-making process.
Buying committees composed of technical experts and top management are common in the buying of
major goods.
✓ Types of Decisions and the Decision Process
Business buyers usually face more complex buying decisions than do consumer buyers. Business
purchases often involve large sums of money, complex technical and economic considerations, and
interactions among people at many levels of the buyer’s organization. The business buying process
also tends to be longer and more formalized. Large business purchases usually call for detailed
product specifications, written purchase orders, careful supplier searches, and formal approval.

Supplier development
Systematic development of networks of supplier-partners to ensure an appropriate and dependable supply of

products and materials for use in making products or reselling them to others.
 Decision characteristics
1 More complex

2 High prices

3 Formal process

4 Buyers and seller

dependency
▪ 1- More complex: Business buyers
usually face more complex buying
decisions than do consumer
buyers.
▪ 2- High prices: Purchases often
involve large sums of money,
complex technical and economic
considerations, and interactions
among many people at many
levels of the buyer’s organization.
▪ 3- Formal process: The business
buying process also tends to be
more formalized than the
consumer buying process.
▪ 4- Buyers and seller dependency:
In the business buying process,
buyer and seller are often much
more dependent on each other.
▪ Supplier development:
Systematic development of
networks of supplier-partners to
ensure an appropriate and
dependable supply of products
and materials for use in making
products or reselling them to
others.
Business Buyer
Behavior
Major Types of Buying Situations

Straight rebuy Modified rebuy New task

↓ ↓ ↓

A business buying situation

A business buying situation
A business buying situation in which the buyer wants to
in which the buyer purchases
in which the buyer routinely modify product
a product or service for the
reorders something without specifications,
first time.
modifications. prices, terms, or suppliers.
Eg.: Custom-built offices, complets, buildings,
Eg. Electricity, water, gas, office Eg: .New cars, consulting services, electrical components, bridges, installations (machinery, computer
supplies, gum, cigarettes, bulk personal computers systems), weapon system…
chemicals
Participants in the Business Buying Process
Users Influencers Buyers Deciders Gatekeepers

People in an
organization’s
Members of the buying buying center who affect People in an People in an People in an
organization who will the buying decision; they organization’s buying organization’s organization’s
actually use the purchased often help define center who make an buying center who have buying center who control
product or servicer text specifications and also actual purchase formal or informal power the flow of information to
here provide information for to select or approve the others.
evaluating alternatives final suppliers
Major Types of Buying Situations
BUYING SITUATIONS

Straight Modified New-task

Rebuy Rebuy Buy

There are three types of situations based on the

degree of effort a firm needs to expend in order to
collect information and make a decision.
1- Straight Rebuy
A business buying situation in which
the buyer routinely reorders
something without any
modifications.
▪ A straight rebuy refers to the routine
purchase of itemsthat a B2B
customer regularly needs. These
purchases contribute to the “bread
and butter” revenue a firm needs to
maintain a steady stream of income.
▪ Marketers work to maintain
relationships with customers who
submit reorders on a regular basis.
2-Modified Rebuy

A business buying situation in which the

buyer wants to modify product
specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers
▪ Modified rebuy occurs when a firm
decides to shop around for suppliers
with better prices, quality, or delivery
times. This situation also can occur
when the organization confronts new
needs for products it already buys.
▪ Modified rebuys require more time and
effort than straight rebuys. The buyer
generally knows the purchase
requirements and he/ she has a few
potential suppliers in mind.
3-New Task Buy

A business buying situation in

which the buyer purchases a
product or service for the first
time.
▪ New-task buy is a first-time
purchase. Uncertainty and risk
characterize buying decisions in
this classification.
▪ It requires the most effort because
the buyer has no previous
experience on which to base a
decision.
Buying Centers
▪ Buying centers include all people
in an organization who participate
in a purchasing decision.
▪ People in a buying center can play
one or more roles. Buying centers
provide a challenge to marketers
in determining who participates in
the process, their relative
authority, and what evaluation
criteria each participant uses.
 Buying Centers
INFLUENCER DECIDER

BUYER
USER

GATEKEEPER
People in a buying center can
play one or more roles:
▪ 1- An influencer:
An influencer affects the buying decision by
dispensing advice, expertise.

Highly-trained employees like engineers, quality-

control specialists, and other technical experts may
be key influencers.
▪ 2- The gatekeeper:
The gatekeeper is the person who
controls the flow of information to
other members. Typically the
gatekeeper is the purchasing agent,
who gathers information and
materials from salespeople,
schedules sales presentations, and
controls suppliers’ access to other
participants in the center.
▪ 3- The decider:
The decider is the member of the buying center
who makes the final decision and has the
greatest power within the buying center. This
person has power to authorize spending the
company’s money. For a routine purchase, the
decider may be the purchasing agent.
4- The buyer:
The buyer is the person who executes the
purchase and handles the details of the
transaction. The buyer obtains competing
bids, negotiates contracts, and arranges
delivery dates and payment plans.
5- The user:
The user is the member of the buying center
who actually needs and uses the product.
 Major Influences on
Business Buyers
Business buyers are subject to many influences
when they make their buying decisions.
Some marketers assume that the major influences
are economic.
They think buyers will favor the supplier who offers
the lowest price or the best product or the most
service.
 lowest price

Economic best product

INFLUENCES

most service
▪ When suppliers’ offers are very
similar, business buyers have little
basis for strictly rational choice.
Because they can meet
organizational goals with any
supplier, buyers can allow personal
factors to play a larger role in their
decisions.
▪ When competing products differ
greatly,business buyers are more
accountable for their choice and tend
to pay more attention to economic
factors.
Major Influences on Business Buyers

A Model of Business Buyer Behavior:

Buying Center
The decision-making unit of a buying organization is called its buying center. It consists of all the individuals and
units that play a role in the business purchase decision-making process. This group includes the actual users of the
product or service, those who make the buying decision, those who influence the buying decision those
who do the actual buying, and those who control buying information.
 1- ENVIRONMENTAL
Demand
INFLUENCES ON
Economic outlook BUSINESS BUYING
Cost of money
Resources
Decision
Technology
Process
Culture
Politics
Competition
Business buyers are heavily
influenced by factors in the current
and expected economic
environment, such as the level of
primary demand, the economic
outlook, and the cost of money.
An increasingly important
environmental factor is shortages in
key materials. Many companies are
now more willing to buy and hold
larger inventories of scarce
materials to ensure adequate
supply. Business buyers also are
affected by technological, political,
and competitive developments in
the environment.
Culture and customs can strongly
influence business buyer
reactions to the marketer’s
behavior and strategies,
especially in the international
marketing environment.
 2- ORGANIZATIONAL
Objectives INFLUENCES ON
BUSINESS BUYING
Policies

Procedures
Decision
Process
Structure

Systems
Each buying organization has its own
objectives, policies, procedures,
structure, and systems, and the
business marketer must understand
those factors as well.
 3-
INTERPERSONAL
Authority INFLUENCES ON
BUSINESS BUYING
Status

Decision
Empathy Process

Persuasiveness
The buying center usually includes
many participants who influence
each other; so interpersonal factors
also influence the business buying
process. It is often difficult to assess
such interpersonal factors and
group dynamics.
 4- INDIVIDUAL
Motives
INFLUENCES ON
Perceptions BUSINESS BUYING
Preferences

Age Decision
Process
Income

Education

Attitude toward risk

Each participant in the business
buying-decision process brings in
personal motives, perceptions, and
preferences.
These individual factors are
affected by personal characteristics
such as age, income, education,
professional identification,
personality, and attitudes toward
risk.
The Business Buyer
Decision Process
Stages of the Business Buyer Decision Process:
❑Problem recognition
The first stage of the business buying process in which someone in thecompany recognizes a
problem or need that can be met by acquiring a good or a service.

❑General need description

The stage in the business buying process in which a buyer describes the general
characteristics and quantity of a needed item.
❑Product specification
The stage of the business buying process in which the buying organization decides on and
specifies the best technical product characteristics for a needed item.
The Business Buyer
Decision Process (cont'd)
❑ Supplier search
The stage of the business buying process in which the buyer tries to find the best vendors.

❑ Proposal solicitation
The stage of the business buying process in which the buyer invites qualified suppliers to submit
proposals.
❑ Supplier selection
The stage of the business buying process in which the buyer reviews proposals and selects a supplier or
suppliers.
❑ Order-routine specification
The stage of the business buying process in which the buyer writes the final order with the chosen
supplier(s), listing the technical specifications, quantity needed, expected time of delivery, return
policies, and warranties.
❑ Performance review
The stage of the business buying process in which the buyer assesses the performance of the supplier
Engaging Business Buyers with Digital
and Social Marketing

➢ E-procurement and Online Purchasing

Advances in information technology have dramatically affected the face of the B-to-B buying
process.
Online purchasing, often called e-procurement, has grown rapidly in recent years. Virtually unknown
two decades ago, online purchasing is standard procedure for most companies today. In turn,
business marketers can connect with customers online to share marketing information, sell products
and services, provide customer support services, and maintain ongoing customer relationships.
Companies can do e-procurement in any of several ways. They can conduct reverse auctions, in
which they put their purchasingrequests online and invite suppliers to bid for the business. Or they
can engage in online trading exchanges, through which companies work collectively to facilitate the
trading process. Companies also can conduct e-procurement by setting up their own company buying
sites.

Business-to-business e-procurement yields many benefits. First, it shaves transaction costs and results
in more efficient purchasing for both buyers and suppliers. E-procurement reduces the time between
order and delivery. And an online-powered purchasing program eliminates the paperwork associated
with traditional requisition and ordering procedures and helps an organization keep better track of all
purchases. Finally, beyond the cost and time savings, e-procurement frees purchasing people from a
lot of drudgery and paperwork. Instead, they can focus on more- strategic issues, such as finding
better supply sources and working with suppliers to reduce costs and develop new products
Engaging Business Buyers with Digital and Social Marketing

➢ Business-to-Business Digital and Social Media

Marketing
Using digital and social media marketing approaches to engage business customers and
manage customer relationships anywhere, [Link] with traditional media and
sales approaches, digital and social media can create greater customer engagement and
interaction. B-to-B marketers know that they aren’t really targeting businesses, they are
targeting individuals in those businesses who affect buying decisions. And today’s business
buyers are always connected via their digital devices—whether it’s PCs, tablets, or
smartphones.

Digital and social media play an important role in engaging these alwaysconnected business
buyers in a way that personal selling alone cannot. Instead of the old model of sales reps
calling on business customers at work or maybe meeting up with them at trade shows, the
new digital approaches facilitate anytime, anywhere connections between a wide range of
people in the selling and customer organizations. It gives both sellers and buyers more
control of and access to important information. B-to-B marketing has always been social
network marketing, but today’s digital environment offers an exciting array of new
networking tools and applications.

Some B-to-B companies mistakenly assume that today’s digital and social media are useful
primarily to consumer products and services companies. But no matter what the industry,
digital platforms can be powerful tools for engaging customers and other important
publics.
Institutional and
Government Markets

Institutional market
Schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other institutions that provide
goods and services to people in their care.

Government market
Governmental units—federal, state, and local—that purchase or rent goods and
services for carrying out the main functions of government.
THANKS FOR YOUR LISTENING