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Lecture Notes on Needs, Influences, and B2B Marketing

Physiological Needs

  • Basic requirements such as eating.

Social Needs

  • Humans are social beings and desire connection and acceptance.
  • The need to feel connected to others.

Desire for Respect and Status

  • Motivations behind actions, such as purchasing items to gain respect.
  • Wanting people to care and respect you.
  • Using status symbols (e.g., titles, possessions) to feel important.
  • Example: Mentioning a PhD or job title (director of the company) to establish importance.
  • Example: Buying expensive items (e.g. a Ferrari) to feel superior.

Making a Difference and Spiritual Needs

  • The desire to help others or have a spiritual life.
  • Wanting to feel that you make a difference.
  • Examples include donating time or money to causes, like helping children in a hospital.
  • Becoming a monk.

Understanding Needs

  • It can be challenging to pinpoint which need is being fulfilled.

Influences - Safety

  • Safety net of family, friends, colleagues, instructors and employers impact decisions.

Influences - People You Don't Know

  • Celebrities and influencers can impact decisions.
  • Social media amplifies the influence of strangers.

Strength of Influence

  • Family has a stronger influence compared to colleagues.

Financial Impact

  • More money may lead to spending on more expensive items.
  • Limited funds lead to more budget-conscious decisions.

Parental Influence

  • Parents paying bills influence financial decisions.
  • Needing permission for large purchases when using parents' money.

Life Stage

  • Lifestyle differs whether you are single or married.

B2B vs. B2C Markets

  • B2C: Business to consumer.
  • B2B: Business to business.

Wholesalers

  • Wholesalers do not sell to consumers; instead, they sell to retailers.

B2B Examples

  • Selling tables to a college or hospital is B2B.

Volume of Purchases

  • Companies buy products in higher volumes compared to consumers.

Length of Sales Process

  • Selling to companies involves a longer decision-making process compared to consumers.

Expenditure

  • Companies generally spend more money than individual consumers.

Decision Making in B2C

  • In B2C, one person (the consumer) usually makes the decision, perhaps with spousal input.

Decision Making in B2B

  • Multiple people are involved in B2B buying decisions.
  • Need input from people supposedly in the know about technology.
  • Finance Department: Approval required for budget.
  • Need input form Administrative people in the college.
  • input form teachers and parents.
  • Librarians have impact when when college buys new laptops.
  • Members of DSU have impact. In some cases even students that attend Douglas College impact college decisions.

Decision Makers

  • Those who can sign contracts and approve payments.
  • They authorize purchases.
  • They handle paperwork, invoices, payments, and wire transfers.
  • They may need lawyers to analyze a contract.

Advisors

  • Provide information but do not have decision-making power; considered influencers.

Gatekeepers

  • Control access to decision-makers and the flow of information.
  • They can block competitors.
  • Example of HR screening resumes; they aren't the deciders.

Hiring Manager

  • The person who makes the hiring decision, often a marketing manager or director.

Networking

  • To improve your chance of getting hired, find out who is the hiring manager and try to contact them on LinkedIn.
  • Even if you still need to go through the regular process, it helps if the hiring manager knows who you are.

Short Story

  • Applied to a Marketing position and bypassed HR.

Application

  • If you want to get a job, you are in the b two b market because you want to sell your skills, your service to a company, b two b. So you need to know how b to b works because this is how you're gonna get a job.

Being Proactive

  • Showing up in person and demonstrating interest can lead to quick interviews.

Providing Feedback

  • Raise your voice if you like it or or if you don't, whatever we are buying.
  • Complain if you don't like the laptop you are given to use.

Professionalism

  • Humble, but you don't beg.
  • Show you are a professional, that you want to grow, that you want to learn.