Industrial market segmentation by the structure of the purchasing process

This article presents a methodology for segmenting industrial markets on the basis of functional involvement in phases of the purchasing decision process. A decision matrix is developed as a structured measurement instrument to collect information about the composition of decision making units within target firms. The implications of this segmentation approach for industrial marketing strategy formulation are discussed.     

A sales mix model for effective industrial selling

The purpose of this article is to focus on one aspect of the marketing mix for industrial firms. Specifically, the control of promotion centers on the promotional mix, which includes personal selling, advertising, and sales promotion. The personal sales mix model (Figure 1) highlights those factors that are controllable by the industrial sales representative. Also, the uncontrollables involved in industrial selling are discussed. An understanding of the personal sales mix model should aid industrial marketers in satisfying buyer's needs through effective selling.     

Guidelines for marketing a new industrial product

This article presents an illustration of what evaluations and obstacles a new product can face in an industrial market. Guidelines are also suggested which will hopefully better prepare industrial marketers for more success in marketing new products.     

Identifying industrial new product success: Project NewProd

What is the key to success in industrial product innovation? This question is frequently posed, and many authors and managers have speculated as to which critical factors or variables decide the fate of new industrial products. What is missing in the debate is evidence based on actual new product successes and failures. Project NewProd is an investigation that was designed to fill this void. In this article we report the results of a study into a large number of successful and unsuccessful new products, project NewProd, whose goal was to identify the determinants of commercial success in industrial product innovation.     

A framework for strategic industrial pricing

A model for pricing decision making in an industrial setting is described. Written from the perspective of a price setter, the model starts with an evaluation of the relative strengths and weaknesses of both buyer and seller. These evaluations are then input into a strategic framework, which integrates tactical considerations with several environmental concerns. The article concludes with a set of strategic pricing alternatives, in a matrix form, to be used by price negotiators and pricing executives of industrial companies.     

Measuring the industrial firm's image

This article addresses the auditing of the firm's current marketing position. The corporate image of a medium-sized industrial manufacturing company is analyzed to determine how the company is perceived in the market by its own management and by its existing and potential customers relative to competition.     

A dynamic industrial product model

This article reports on the development of a marketing model for industrial products to aid marketing managers in developing marketing programs on a quarterly and yearly basis. The system incorporates a market response model which relies heavily on the involvement of managers in providing inputs. The model was parameterized and tested in the context of a large manufacturer of capital goods. The results were supportive of the conceptual soundness of the moral and its utility in decision making.     

Critical path method for introducing an industrial product

New product development continues to be a vital evil for most organizations. Considerable attention has been directed toward this function in the consumer goods field but relatively little research has been directed toward this critical task for producers of industrial goods. Industrial goods marketing managers seem to agree that error at the announcement/ introduction phase of the new product development process is responsible for the greatest number of new product failures. This article suggests use of the critical path method to ensure success at this crucial stage.     

Changes in industrial buying: Implications for industrial marketers

Some of the most dramatic changes in organizational buyer behavior have occurred and continue to occur in the industrial purchasing function. Purchasing is becoming less and less a lower-level staff function and more and more a top-level management position. This article examines some of the major changes in the purchasing function and the reasons for those changes. The article concludes by considering some of the major implications of these changes for the industrial marketer.     

Some factors in industrial market segmentation

Buyer-seller relationships are complex, especially in industrial marketing. A model for segmenting industrial markets is proposed and implications for organization buying behavior are summarized.     

A comparison of opinion and regression forecasting for an industrial product

Opinion-based forecasting techniques are widely used by industrial marketers. Rarely, however, are the results of these forecasts compared with alternative forecasting techniques and/or evaluated against actual operating results. In this study, opinion-based forecasting results for an industrial equipment manufacturer are evaluated against actual sales data. Further, the opinion-based predictions are compared with the predictions of a naive regression model. The results of these analyses suggest that the current opinion-based forecasting system is deficient.     

Overall corporate strategies for new product programs

The strategy an industrial firm elects for its product development program is increasingly viewed as a critical element of the firm's total corporate strategy. New product development and technology bear an integral relationship to an industrial company's strategic direction by helping to define the range of its possibilities [13]. This article reports the results of an empirical study whose purpose was to identify the major types of innovation strategies that firms pursue—strategy scenarios. A second purpose was to assess which strategies yield the best results.     

Using humor in the industrial selling process

Humor is an oft used promotional tool in advertising, and the question naturally arises as to whether humor can also be designed to accomplish specific goals in the industrial selling process. In this article, principles of humor are applied to the buyer/seller process, with particular reference to the steps of the sale. The judicious use of humor by the industrial salesperson can enhance the sales presentation and favorably influence the overall buyer/seller relationship, provided the salesperson has adequate knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of humor.     

Rating industrial advertisements

Industrial advertisers can create more effective advertisements if they have some notion about the immediate effect their advertising has on the target audience. Here, a multiple item scale is developed for categorizing an audience's reactions to print ads. The proposed scale is discussed as a copytesting instrument and could be used to evaluate alternative executions in order to indicate which ads may be most effective.     

The key issues and procedures of industrial marketing research

Industrial marketing research has failed to receive its due attention in marketing books and journals, even though the volume of transactions in industrial goods and services is more than twice that of consumer goods and services. This article provides a systematic and wide ranging review of the issues, procedures, and opportunities found in industrial marketing research.     

Differences between industrial and consumer product managers

Marketing decision areas and general background characteristics of industrial and consumer product managers are examined in this article. A discriminant analysis identifies those marketing decision areas that separate industrial and consumer product managers. The position of industrial product manager was found to be more of a marketing coordinator while the consumer product manager was found to be a more active decision maker.     

Increasing the role of direct mail marketing in industrial marketing strategy

Direct marketing has long been a dominant factor in the distribution strategy of industrial goods and services. Yet frameworks for strategy formulation in this area are nearly nonexistent in the literature. Much that has been written focuses on successful techniques, such as how to use a specific type of sales letter to improve results. This article outlines a set of key perspectives that industrial marketers may use to evaluate the potential effectiveness of direct marketing strategies.     

Buying an industrial service warehouse space

This paper reports the results of a study of the industrial buyer of warehouse space. The role of the purchasing agent and the other members in the buy group are identified and evaluated.     

Developing better industrial advertising

This paper reports on various factors that should be applied by industrial advertisers in order to improve their advertising effort. Topics on setting objectives, developing copy, designing the layout, and selecting media are covered in an applications-oriented way. The result is a concise approach of how industrial advertising can be more effective.