Anderson, Chu, and Weitz asked experienced sales representatives in the company for their observations on the functioning of buying organizations, with particular emphasis on the relationship between novelty, information needs, and the consideration of new alternatives as characteristics of different types of buying situations. They established a strong link between novelty and the amount of information desired and processed by decision-makers, and only a weak correlation between these two indicators and the buyer’s tendency to consider new sources. Thus, they concluded that it is the novelty of the task and information needs – rather than the alternatives considered – that define “buyclasses”. They also determined that sellers frequently encountering new task buying situations perceive the buying center as:
– large
– slow in making decisions
– uncertain about their needs and the possibilities for solving them
– more focused on finding a good solution,
than on negotiating a low price or ensuring supply
– more inclined to favor offers from suppliers they have not previously worked with
– heavily influenced by technical personnel
– less susceptible to the influence of purchasing agents.
The article comes from the “Logistyka” magazine, issue 4/2005