Decision of Customer and Consumer

Marketers work from the interest of the people who will buy and use their product. they know that people cannot be forced to buy - they must want to make a purchase.
A marketing deal depends on both sides wanting to make an exchange, and then being happy with the result.  cash  for product or time for status - there is always an exchange.

Channel of distribution ( CoD )

is a route taken by a product offer from supplier to consumer.

Suppliers : manufacturers and traders
can be either manufacturers, or organisation that have the ability to put a product offer together
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Agent
have a special skills work on behalf of manufacturer or supplier which does not want its own marketing department. they may handle the marketing for a manufacturer
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Wholesaler
take in large deliveries of stock from suppliers. they add value to the channel because they save suppliers having to make a lot of small deliveries
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Retailer
they take deliveries from several wholesalers sources. then sell out product offers to individual customers. they add value because individual customers can buy many single items from one sources the retail shop
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Customer
- those who buy so that they can resell the product offer.
- those who buy on behalf of somebody else.
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Consumer
those who use up the value in a product offering

The Consumerism movement was started by Ralph Nader, in America, in the early 1960's.
Consumerism has given consumers 4 right : 
- To Safety
- To Choose
- To be informed
- To be heard

Decision-making units ( DMU ) 

Decisions do not just happen. they are not instantaneous. there is always some underlying thought. many people think that they make instant decisions, but research shows that even the quickest decision depends on some pre-knowledge--some pre-experience.

Consumer DMU ( SPADE/F )

 Starter  
all decisions have a start point. something must start the decision process
People who talk vaguely about purchasing are not of much use - we have to get them actively involved

 Purchaser
somebody has to actually buy the product offering. sometimes it is the consumer. often it is somebody else. purchasers do not have the authority to decide. they are simply the people who make the purchase.

 Advisor(s)
any form of advice or previous experience counts. the amount of advice we look for depends on our level of certainty.
- re-purchase of routine items : Hardly any risk. little need for any advice
- routine item out of stock : Need for advice on best replacement
- semi-routine replacement : a quite a lot of double checking is likely
- first purchase : no personal experience to draw upon. likely to actively search out people and reference materials. also likely to ask for trial or a no-question-asked refund guarantee.

 Decider
a purchase decision must be made - otherwise nothing will be bought. sometimes the objective can be to make a sale. sometimes the key objective is to locate and reach the decider.

 End user
the consumer is the end user. consumers influence can vary from very strong, to non-existent

 Finance
Purchases have to be paid for. if the credit is not there, or can't be afforded, the purchase cannot happen.
remember, that we are also talking about exchange of status, goodwill, mutual support, and so on. an exchange may depend on somebody donating time instead of money. this exchange ( purchase ) will fail if he or she can't find the time, and cannot be persuaded to make the time available.

Industrial DMU ( BADGIES )

 Buyer
Proffessional buyer are as highly skilled as the sales people who visit them. organisation employ proffessional buyers to :
- locate sources for the things they need to buy
- prepare contract documents such as tenders and specification
- interview potential suppliers and short-list those most suitable
- conclude the negotiation and finalise the contract
the buyer control the short list, but does not make the purchase decision.

 Approver (s)
Specialist within the organisation will examine the product offers that are on the short list. they will give their proffesional opinion about which are satisfactory. they may say which one is the most suitable

 Decider
a manager will make the purchase decision after taking all reports and recommendations into account.  an approver may recommend a higher-priced product offer that has a long-life. the decider may select a lower-priced alternative even though it will not last as long.

 Gatekeeper
Organisations have receptionist and secretaries who control their managers diaries. the first 'sales' objective is to pass one or more of these people to get acces to the buyer

 Influencer (s)
Everything from past experience through to magazine articles and reviews

 End User
the people who use the product offer. their opinion should be valued, but some managers make decisions without taking notice of their needs and recommendations.

 Starter
a trigger that starts the buying process. starting factors range from routine stock shortage through to a need to design a new product to meet an identified market demand

There are key differences between consumner and industrial purchasing. consumer tend to buy relatively small items, with limited levels of risk. industrial purchases tend to be for large quantities, often contracted for several years ahead. the level of risk can be very high.

Decision making process ( DMP )

The importance of understanding the DMU adn the DMP

If we know how the DMP works we can contact the right people, at the right time, with the right message.
if we discover the DMU and DMP we can target our efforts. we can help to make our exchanges mutually profitable, and we can set up long-term relationship.

sources : The official LCCI Examinations board guide