Page 226 - Foundations of Marketing

Business Markets and Buying Behavior | Chapter 7 193

When developing a marketing strategy for business cus- 2. Determine the type of business purchase your customer
tomers, it is essential to understand the process the business will likely be using when purchasing your product. How
goes through when making a buying decision. Knowledge would this impact the level of information required by
of business buying behavior is important when develop- the business when moving through the buying decision
ing several aspects of the marketing plan. To assist you process?
in relating the information in this chapter to the creation 3. Discuss the different types of demand that the business
of a marketing plan for business customers, consider the customer will experience when purchasing your product.
following issues:
The information obtained from these questions should assist
1. What are the primary concerns of business custom- you in developing various aspects of your marketing plan.
ers? Could any of these concerns be addressed with the Develop your marketing plan online using the Interactive
strengths of your company? Marketing Plan at www.cengagebrain.com.

Dale Carnegie Focuses on Business Customers

Dale Carnegie was a highly successful entrepreneur and Carnegie’s methods can help marketers build a relation-
one of the most legendary speakers of the 20 th century. ship with people at all levels, from the mail room to the board
His simple but effective two-step formula for connecting room. Whether the conversation involves a sales call or a fac-
with customers and colleagues in business situations was tory visit to see a particular piece of equipment, “you can
(1) win friends and (2) influence people. He began teaching change people’s behavior by changing your attitude towards
his methods as part of the Dale Carnegie Course in 1912. In them,” says Peter Handal, CEO of Dale Carnegie. Listening
1936, he published his ground-breaking book, How to Win carefully, wearing a smile, and being courteous is common
Friends and Influence People, which went on to become an sense, yet “it’s not common practice,” Handal explains,
international best seller and is still available in print, as an which is where the Dale Carnegie course comes in.
audio book, and as an e-book. The original manuscript of this Dale Carnegie’s principles still apply in this era of digital
famous book remains on view in the Hauppauge, New York, communications. For example, choosing positive words in a
headquarters of the company that Dale Carnegie founded, business e-mail can give recipients a good feeling about the
inspiring the new leaders who have brought the firm into the message and the sender. Businesspeople are busy, so many
21 st century. value the efficiency of brief messages sent via text or Twitter.
Today, Dale Carnegie operates in 85 countries, from At the same time, adding a personal touch with a quick Skype
China to Cameroon, with 2,700 trainers teaching his methods conversation or recording a relevant video message can be a
in 25 languages. In all, more than 8 million people have taken very effective way to engage business customers. And there’s
a Dale Carnegie course. The company has trained managers, nothing like a face-to-face meeting where the customer can
employees, and teams in multinational corporations, such as sit with a supplier or technical expert, ask questions, watch a
Ford, Honda, Adidas, John Deere, 3M, Verizon, American live demonstration or handle a product, and build trust.
Express, and Apple. It also provides training to people in gov- As CEO, Peter Handal travels the world to hear what cus-
ernment agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Veteran tomers and trainers have to say about Dale Carnegie’s opera-
Affairs, as well as to small business owners and individuals tions and about their own business situations. He emphasizes
who want to learn the Carnegie way. the need for managers to listen to what others have to say,

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