What’s Now? Chapter 6 – Do B2B Sellers Understand How Purchasing Agents Shop?

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office-workerAs we know from chapter 6, organizational customers are different as compared to consumers. The chapter notes that “most purchasing managers start with an Internet search when they need to identify new suppliers, better ways to meet needs, or information to improve decisions.” Yet as noted in this article, “Stop Treating B2B Customers Like Digital Novices,” (Harvard Business Review, May 10, 2016) many companies that sell to B2B customers have yet to figure out how to take advantage of the web.

Review the text book’s discussion of Exhibit 6-4, the Model of Organizational Buying. Now think about how the ideas suggested in this article might influence an organizational buying firm.  What would the effects be on new-task buying? A straight rebuy? A modified rebuy? How might it impact the buyer-seller relationship?

Caterpillar Uses Viral Video in “Built for It” Campaign

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Many of the most creative campaigns are for consumer brands — so I really enjoy seeing a B2B brand do something creative. Caterpillar (the high quality, premium priced tractor and heavy equipment maker) has been running a campaign for about a year now: “When you choose Cat®, you get what you pay for — durable and reliable equipment, and long-lasting relationships. Discover what we’re built for…” They have released a series of five (so far) clever videos that demonstrate their products in action. The videos are great two minute stories. Any one of the videos could be used to motivate topics as diverse as B2B, product quality, premium pricing, promotion — even international. One of my favorites is this play on the old game of Jenga but using 27 blocks that weight 600 pounds each:


We have also posted this at Learn the 4 Ps.

Creative Campaign Helps Financial Services Company Gain Awareness

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Willis-Resilience1We don’t usually think about insurance and reinsurance markets — but risk management is an important behind the scenes, B2B business. Seeking to increase brand awareness, the Willis Group out of London, got into sponsorship . The resulting “Willis Resilience Expedition” (article at B2B Marketing, December 23, 2014) shows that careful planning can generate significant publicity. While this case study provides some details about the campaign and the media results, it is unclear what it cost. Consequently it is not possible to know the efficiency of the approach — but the impressions generated appear to be pretty significant.

This is a nice example of publicity in a non-traditional B2B market.

Tips for B2B Marketer/Storytellers

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CiscoBrands are increasingly looking at storytelling as a way to position their brands and engage customers. While many consumer brands are pretty good at this, it is more of a challenge for a B2B company. Last fall we posted a good example from GE. This article at TopRank‘s blog, “How to Make B2B Marketing Stories Bigger With Social Media Microcontent” (September 17, 2014) provides some advice and some examples you might find helpful in class. We also posted this at Learn the 4 Ps. 

The articles will provide fun examples when you cover B2B or promotion.

Get to know… Alibaba

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Alibaba_logoAs Alibaba heads out on a road show to promote its upcoming IPO, it is time for us to get to know the giant wholesaler. As I checked them out, I learned a great deal. one thing I learned — we marketing professors should all get to know Alibaba.

Let me share a few of my favorite sources so you an be up to speed.  I was shocked at how big the online Chinese reseller is. Alibaba sold $248 billion through its collection of online resellers — that number is twice Amazon’s and three times EBay’s revenue. Alibaba has a different business model. Bloomberg Businessweek looks at the competitive threat to U.S. e-commerce in “Alibaba’s IPO May Herald the End of U.S. E-Commerce Dominance” (August 7, 2014). A Planet Money podcast “The Story of Alibaba” (September 3, 2014) offers a customer perspective that gives you an idea of the needs Alibaba fills. It is worth the relatively long 15 minute listen.