Business to Business...

The potential market of buying/selling business to business is huge as there are many different types of business each requiring many different elements in order to help it run. Businesses are categorised into three main types of organisations:

1. Institutional Organisations -E.g. Not-for-profit

2. Government Organisations - E.g. Education/ Transport

3. Commercial Organisations - E.g. Distributors/ Retailers

Each different type of organisation (and the businesses within it) will require a different approach to marketing itself to another business. Behind one consumer transaction there are many business to business transactions therefore applying the appropriate approach to marketing may land a business a sustained contract in a long line of suppliers and retailer where there business will repeatedly be required. However this also means that there is a lot of competition and that efforts must be made to be competitive yet efficient.

Kotler recognises the differences in consumer markets and industrail or business to business marketing. The main method of a business marketing to another is through personal selling, often taking the form of a sales person pitching the relevant information to the other business. This method is used less in consumer marketing as it would mean only reaching a limited amount of people when, in comparison, advertising could reach a much wider audience. Furthermore, where consumers are able to buy on impulse companies can not afford to do that due to it's high risk nature, most companies adopt a purchasing policy that involves many stages. Therefore the decisions of a business will usually affect the business it is buying/selling from/to in the long term.

Culture...

Culture is a complex concept, which is often very difficult to define. Ralph Linton (1995) offers that ''culture is the configuration of learned behaviour and results of behaviour whose component elements are shared and transmitted by members of a particular society.''

Culture is made of three essential components:

1. Beliefs - processes that reflect our knowledge and assessment of products/ services.

2. Values - indicator which are used a a guide for what is an appropriate behaviour.

3. Customs - modes of behaviour that are culturally approved ways of behaving in certain situations.

In terms of purchase decisions, culture is a very complicated element where it is hard to determine how it makes an effect. However, it is extremely important in an individuals characteristics, and must therefore make direct impact on their decision making processes. For example, values such as material wealth which is prevelant in the UK affects the way that we buy as we will aim to give the image of wealth through our purchases. The Geert Hofstede analysis for England demonstrates strong feelings towards individualism and masculinity, this may affect the purchase decisions we make as they may possibly be influenced by our aim for individuality and masculinity.

For products that are marketed globally culture is a major factor. For example, culture involves language and perceived meaning therefore if a product is to go world-wide it should be recognisable by many cultures in order to be made a success. The cleaning product formally known as 'Jif' was difficult to say in languages such as French and Spanish so it was turned into 'Cif' which is recognised and easily spoken by many countries.

Culture is an extremely complicated topic for discussion when determining it's effects on Kotler's buyer decision process. What can be noted is that it is deeply ingrained in each of us and will impact upon our decision processes. The following link takes you to an article where the culture of decision making is discussed with clarity, it is definately worth taking a look at:

http://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/251-300/article251_body.html

Social Class is...''a division of society made up of persons possessing certain common social characteristics which are taken to qualify them for intimate, equal status relations with one another, and which restrict their interaction with members of other social classes'' Krech, Crutchfield & Ballachey in Dubois 2000.

Social class is often determined by a complex set of variables ranging from income to family background. However, income is often the variable most closely associated with your social class and the purchases made available through a high/low income often symbolise social class. For example, a person with a very high income will be able to afford the lastest Mercedes- Benz car, whereas, an individual with a low income may only be able to afford a second-hand ford escort. In a warped way, these things symbolise our standing in society when really someone of a lower class could win the lottery and be able to afford the same as a higher class individual and someone of a higher class (due to family background) may have no money at all and be unable to afford the luxuries associated with the higher classes.

In terms of consumerism, social class is a good indicator for products that have a symbolic aspect, for example, fine art, but is a bad indicator for low to moderate priced goods such as cosmetics as class does not tend to affect these. Income is a good indicator of purchase decisions for non-symbolic, but high- expenditure goods such as washing machines. For products such as cars or houses both social class and income affect the purchases made. In terms of marketing and advertising, appealing to the different classes is quite difficult to achieve. However, brands such as Harrods produce adverts with class and a regal element to them, suggesting that they are targeting the higher classes. This may put the lower classes off from going there as they may feel inadequate for the standard of people expected by the shop.

Marketing For Children...

"We're relying on the kid to pester the mom to buy the product, rather than going straight to the mom."

The children of today have increasingly more involvement in the making of purchase decisions due to more autonomy and the ability to be more vocal about what they want their parents to buy. The term ''pester power'' is the child's ability to effectively nag their parents into buying something that they may not other wise buy. Marketing towards children therefore involves stimulating ''pester power'' through advertising that will create strong desire or want for the product. As children are exposed to more and more advertising the importance of tapping into the phenomenon that is ''pester power'' is even more vital for companies and brands to do. The products don't even have to be the typical newest Barbie or play-ground trend, children are targeted for products starting from food such as the sunny D orange juice product so that even in the super market the parents are unable to avoid being pestered.

According to the Mintel Pocket Money report (2008); children are increasingly adopting adult lifestyles as children are growing older younger, this, in turn, affects what they wish to spend their money on... giving them hefty buyer power. In terms of marketing, if a product can be marketed in such a way where it demonstrates an aspiration to be older and more grown-up the children exposed to the advertisement will be more inclined to take it seriously.

Mintel also notes that the amount of money recieved as pocket money has decreased due to the current financial climate, therefore when marketing a product suitable for the younger aged individual, the price should aim to be as low as possible. The decrease in pocket money may only effect the toy/clothing industries as these tend to be higher priced compared to that of the confectionery industry. However, this does not necessarily mean that more money will be spent on sweets etc as there has been a major shift in the emmergence of a more healthy lifestyle. In terms of pester power, a parent who would supposedly have a little more disposable income coupled with the guilt of maybe not being able to supply all their child's wants and desires (due to the current economy) will supposedly be more effected by the child's ability to pester.

The image above depicts Piaget's four stages of cognitive development. These demonstrate the intellectual abilities of an child and highlight that children are not little adults, in fact, until they reach the age of fifteen they are uncapable of reasoning as an adult. Jean Paiget who derived these different stages was not a psychologist, but a biologist, who observed and recorded the ability of children as they grow older. Therefore, Piaget does not provide any theoretical explanation for the cause of the different behaviours, but simply states the stages of a child's understanding.

If a child is incapable of the reasoning of an adult, they are more likely to be swayed by careful marketing where a strong want is created. This want will not be counter-acted by reasoning such as money constraints or practicality, which puts enormous pressure on the parents as a child will be unable to understand why they are not allowed what they want. It is this pressure, which if applied persistently, results in pester power and the purchasing of the desired good, after all don't we all want an easy life?

The Famo..

According to Kotler et al family directly influence the decisions that a buyer makes. Therefore, it appears important that marketers target and consider the different types of family that are active consumers. For example, in the UK there is an increase in step- families which could suggest that there is a lot of money being spent on the children in those families to counter-act any hardship faced by them due to joining with another family. Therefore, a product marketed with the concept that the child would love it, or was heavily branded with the likes of the latest fad such as High School Musical would be more likely to be purchased with ''guilt money'' due to the perceived pleasure of the child receiving it.

In the current financial climate, many family's buying behaviour may have changed with the emphasis being on greater value for their money. This could see a greater purchase increase in supermarkets own branded products, for example, a low involvement product such as buying Heinz baked beans could easily subsitituted for an own brand alternative saving a few pennies per tin. The decision to do so may be affected by the role of the individual in the family and their decision making. Field (1969) identified three dimensions which determine the influences of the husband, wife and child in decision making: discernment - technical know how, price- who pays and satisfaction - who uses it. In terms of purchases for children, it will be their satisfaction which is paramount to the parents. Therefore, if a product can be marketed as value for money and of great satisfaction to the child (i.e a brand) it should be able to succeed in a competitive market.

However, it is not only toys that children can influence the decision for. As they are big TV viewers, they are exposed to a variety of ads which can enchance their ability to influence their parents purchase decision.

However some argue its ''the wife'' who makes the decisions...

Generational Marketing and Tweenagers...

A Tween is between 8 to 12 years old, in the UK there are currently around four million tweens. They are a highly media literate group of consumers for whom marketing, advertising and the importance of brands are a part of life. One of the most marked effects of the ‘kids getting older younger’ phenomenon is the increase of interest in appearance at an earlier age. Marketers are able to target this through magazines such as “Cosmo Girl” and “Sugar”. By using pink and other girly images on make up packaging, along with using older models that the Tweens aspire towards they are easily influenced into purchasing the products. E.g. Miss Sporty Make-Up (which is also pocket money friendly).

In terms of advertisement, raunchiness and the rebellion of being a teenager is kept off the scene with more emphasis on how they will look, feel or act better. An important aspect of tween marketing is the viral nature of the school playground with trends and fads such as Pokemon cards or the Tamagotchi flitting in and out of fashion.

Tweens are an important generation to market to as they are becoming increasingly savvier consumers affected by the influence of the media. The female tween market is saturated with brands targeting young girls for make-up, hair straightners, clothes etc. Whereas, the boy tween market has limited branding apart from the likes of Play Station and Xbox. Therefore, if marketed correctly, there is scope for further branding to arise in the boy tween market.

Groups and their implications on marketing...

''Identifying and understanding the groups consumers belong to is a key strategy for marketers. Doing so helps identify target markets, develop new products, and create appealing marketing promotions to which consumers can relate.''

(knowthis.com. [online], 2009)

There are many group types which can influence purchase decision:

Ascribed (born into)

Reference (looked to for lifestyle)

Aquired (join/move into e.g Guides or Brownies)

Aspirational (like to belong)

Disassociation (hate to belong to)

Contrived (formed for a specific purpose)

Associative (realistically belong)

Peer (people of equal standing)

The different group types can impact greatly on purchase decision, for example, as ''chavs'' are associated with the burberry pattern, this may deter a buyer purchasing a genuine burberry item as it could be seen as an association with a group which would not be desirable to be associated with. Furthermore, someone of a lower class could be influenced by careful marketing if a product is shown to be luxurious and something that they would ''aspire'' to be associated with. The glitz and glamour portrayed in the following Chanel advert would give a buyer a product which they could aspire to and also be able to afford.

Maslow's hierachy of needs includes the need to belong, which is a pivot on which marketers and advertisers often advertise their products. The need for belonging is re-iterated in the social comparison theory which states that we look to the behaviour of others to provide a guide to how we chose to behave. The person on which social comparisons are made tends to be a co-oriented peer or someone of equal standing. Hornstein et al (1968) conducted an experiment where they dropped a wallet containing trivial items (such as a letter), a return address and $2 in the middle of Manhattan. they observed what people did when they piccked it up and found that when the person who found the letter felt similar to the letter-writer, they were more inclined to return the wallet. However, when they felt similiar to the letter-writer, but the letter was written in a negative way they ''punished'' them by not returning the wallet. Therefore demonstrating our desire to belong, and feel good about the group that we belong to.

Consequently, we look to our reference group (colleagues/neighbours), for influence on purchase decisions such as luxury items often branded. Therefore if a marketer or advertiser can establish a strong brand, it will be more likely to be suggested by an individual's reference group and therefore have a better chance of succeeding in it's market.

Reference group influence: (Solomon, 2000)

Values and purchase decision...

“If we believe our overall values drive our behaviour, then we should be concentrating on the important, underlying motives that drive consumers to make product or service choices rather than simply product attributes” (Ries & Trout 1982)

In terms of marketing, values impact greatly on the purchase decision of more highly involved products such as a car or new mobile phone (relative to age and egocentricity). An interesting concept to consider is if we always act upon our values when making a purchase decision. Kahle (1983) created a list of values including; sense of fulfillment, security and self respect. A value particularly important to me is a sense of accomplishment, this can be reflected through my purchase decision, as i often seek the best offer to feel that my money has gone to a suitable place.





Significant events that have taken in a person's life can also affect their values; for example the 9/11 attacks or the death of Princess Diana. However, significant personal life events can also affect a person's values; for example, if they had been involved in a severe car crash- on buying a car they would be looking for a safe vehicle rather than one that fulfilled their ego.







There are a few scientific tests such as the VALS test which is used as a marketing and consulting tool that helps businesses develop better strategies. On taking this test i came out as the ''Achiever'' being my dominant approach to life which is supported by ''Experiencer'' being the emphasis to my dominant approach. According to the VALS webpage (2009), an achiever ''favors established, prestige products and services that demonstrate success to their peers. Because of their busy lives, they are often interested in a variety of time-saving devices". Therefore, i am more likely to purchase something with a reputable brand which gives the impression of success to others. If i was not a student this would probably be true, but at the moment due to available finance i am more likely to stick to high street brands such as Primark and New Look.



Another motivation involved in purchase decision is that consumers have certain terminal values (such as self-fulfillment) which are achieved through a series of decisions made from weighing up the alternatives. Laddering techniques means that there can be a link found between product functionality and desired end states (often a value). For example, i bought a new phone, because i needed one, because it was getting old and looked old, it was an old model so was no longer cool, so i wanted to look better infront of my peers by having a new and reputable phone. With this is mind, in terms of marketing strategy, if a company produced a phone which was packaged beautifully and advertised as the ''next best thing'' i would be more likely to buy it as it would appeal to my ego, as my terminal value (looking ''cool'') would be seen to be fulfilled.

Gift Giving...

When giving a gift, is it always an involved decision? Do we put complete thought into our gifts or just buy for necessity and an easy purchase? In order to measure consumer involvement Laurent & Kapferer (1985) propose that it will be affected by four components:

1. Importance and risk. (FTPEPS: Finance, time, performance, ego, physical and social)

2. Probability of making a bad purchase.

3. Pleasure value of product category.

4. Sign value of product category (what do other people think of it and what it stands for; i.e. brand recognition).

According to Laurent and Kapferer's average involvement scores for various products a gift often given (champagne) has a high importance of perceived risk and a high probability of making an erroneous choice. Therefore, if buying champagne as a gift it would be a highly involved product as it entails many considerations. This is similar to products such as clothes and perfume (often given as gifts), suggesting that products often chosen as gifts have a high purchase involvement from the gift-giver.

In the current financial climate when giving gifts it is often value that will dominate purchase decision. There are many factors that can drive the value of the product; it's functionality, what is symbolises (often through branding and labels that are shown to be reputable) and their fun factor. For example, for Christmas 2008 I asked for a crumb-pet (a small novelty hoover)- this product was both functional (for desk use) and had a fun factor as it was in the shape of a pig which sucked crumbs through its nose.

Danzinger (2004) takes a different approach to gift- giving and suggests that gift-giving emotionally connects the giver and the receiver, therefore creating emotional shopping where the goal is to achieve a special feeling by giving a gift that communicates a message. This addresses that gift selection is from the right side of the brain (emotional), however, where we purchase from (store-selection) is left dominated (rational). This impacts upon marketing as it will be the experience that we have in the store that counts whilst making our purchase. For example, Ho-Ho Silver in Taunton, Somerset puts all jewelery in expensive looking gift boxes which are then gift-wrapped and put in an expensive-looking carrier bag; this saves personal time as the present is wrapped and the expensive looking box and bag allude to an expensive and worthwhile product. If marketers could concentrate on the extras offered by a store and markert the product along with these then many more consumers could be attracted.

The effect of good and bad gift giving:

Memory & Nostalgia...

Memories can effect a buyer's decision influencing the ''information search'' and ''evaluation of alternative'' stages in Kotler's buyer decision process. In terms of fast and frugal heuristics (making quick decisions when there is a lot of choice- Williams 2001) we use our memory as one source from which we can search for information that we can use for as choice criteria such as taking your last purchase decision in mind when looking at a similar situation. However, there are other sources from which buyer decision is influenced such as; recognising the brand and going for that one over the unfamiliar, recognising attractive labelling and advertising and assessing the options in order of percieved importance of criteria (each products unique selling point).

In terms of marketing objectives memory can be an effective tool in manipulating the buyer's mind; Britt (1955) describes this as "Every time an advertisement or commercial appears, the objective is to have the reader or viewer learn something …. and remember what he learned", in other words "to get the brand into the evoked set" (Ruth Hickmott).

As well as heuristics and memory; nostalgia cann also influence the buyer decision process. For example, music can trigger memories - therefore, a product aimed to a certian age range could be accompanied by a hit of that era consequently causing nostalgia for the intended audience. If a marketer can evoke feeling of happiness through nostalgic stimuli, there will be postive links toward the product. The advert itself can also be nostalgic: for example, the follwing Marks & Spencer advert is black and white with old fashioned music and adopting the style of an old movie.

In order to test the effects of nostalgia i showed my mum a youtube ad of Level 42 (a band dearly loved by herself in her late 20's). After hearing the music and watching the pop video she began talking extensively of her past and appeared positive and cheerful; she relayed stories of the dodgy fashion of the 80's and the old cars that she used to drive. This therefore showed positive links towards her past and if this could be linked to a product it would definately influence buyer decision.