Critical purchase decision factor for customers in B2B industry : an exploratory survey in India | |
| Author | Thomas, Thoppil Sanju |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no.SM-07-42 |
| Subject(s) | Customer relations--India Consumer behavior--India |
| Note | A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | It is a familiar and well-known fact: most B2B companies experience a gross deviation in its customers' value contribution. The 80/20 rule holds that 20% of a company's customer base contributes 80% of a company's profits. With value distribution so lopsided, understanding buying behavior and acting on customer value insight will help determine everything a company does, from what programs to invest in, to attracting and retaining the right customer, to predicting returns from marketing and sales investments. Enterprises are discovering, however, that the shortest path to increased profitability and organic growth is to extract more from loyal, high value customers, and to find lower-costs ways of serving others. The study of customer behavior is interesting scientifically and of critical importance to B2B marketers. In several B2B companies across industries, customer buying behavior based initiatives typically find an initial application in marketing and migrate towards other functions over time. This focus on marketing is in large part due to marketing's immediate ability to reach a large audience of customers and prospects. Customers are intelligent and provide important pressures to the firm to provide high value at a fair price. However, high value is based on customer perceptions. These perceptions are anchored in reality, but can also be affected by many other associated factors. To be effective a marketing manager must understand these cues and how they affect customer behavior. This understanding leads to better marketing tactics. Products and services are more than a set of features. It is not just the product, but also the image of the product that influences customer buying behavior. Customers tend to keep mental accounts that treat gains and losses differently. By understanding the integration or segregation of mental accounts and the impact of transaction utility, managers can improve their marketing tactics. Industrial or B2B marketing must account for the long term contractual agreements that are typical in supply chain transactions. Relationship marketing attempts to do this by looking at marketing from a long term relationship perspective rather than individual transactions. |
| Year | 2007 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Management (SOM) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Beise-Zee, Rian; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Paul, Himangshu;Hong-Jie, Tae; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | AIT Fellowship; |
| Degree | Research Studies Project Report (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |