Business Buying Behavior and Buying Process.

Buyer behavior can be defined as the activities and decision processes that involves in choosing between alternatives, procuring and using products or services.

The behavior of buyers is influenced by various factors, we can broadly categorize them in two categories of influence

1. Endogenous factors (i.e. factors that are internal to the individual). These influencers are needs and motives, learning, attitudes, personality and self concept.

2. Exogenous factors (i.e. factors that are external to the individual). These factors are Culture, reference groups, family, social status etc.

So how these factors influence the buying behavior of individuals and organizations.

Buying decision Process

Buying decisions are made by individuals or group such as a family or a committee in a commercial or industrial organization. If we analyze closely there is a vast difference in consumer buying behavior and institutional or corporate buying process.

Consumer buying process involves need recognition, information search, evaluation of the alternatives and deciding upon one of the alternatives and making the purchase decision.

Example of Markov Decision Process (MDP) transitio...

Organisational Chart in ARIS Express

Organisational chart in ARIS Express 2

If we further explain the process between evaluation of alternatives and purchase decision we will find that once the customer evaluates the alternatives, he makes a purchase intention, this intention can influenced by the attitudes of others like family, peers and reference groups or from unanticipated events like lower income than expected, illness etc. taking all these aspects in consideration the consumer takes his decision. Once the product is purchased the consumer will form his opinion regarding the product and services provided by the company in the post purchase period.

Organizational buying behavior

Organizational buying behavior is the buying behavior of organizations that buy goods and services for use in the production of other products and services, for using the products in operational non core operation like photocopier for office management or for the purpose...