Question 1

Brooke is a pastry chef in a fine dining restaurant and enjoys creating one-of-a-kind desserts for the customers. She recently graduated from pastry school, and this is her first full-time job in a restaurant. Brooke reports to the head chef, Brandon who oversees the kitchen and is responsible for creating the menu, managing and hiring staff, and placing orders for supplies. Brooke mentioned to Brandon that she would like to have gluten-free flour on stock so she can create desserts that would meet the dietary needs of customers who have gluten allergies. Brandon thought that was a great idea and appreciated Brooke's recommendation. What role in the buying center did Brooke play regarding her discussion with Brandon about flour?

Accepted Answer

Brooke acted as an Influencer by suggesting the idea of stocking gluten-free flour to meet customer dietary needs, influencing the buying decision.

Question 2

You are the manager of a clothing manufacturing firm with operations in different countries. Your Vietnamese manufacturing facility is dedicated solely to producing elementary school uniforms for the U.S. market. Most of your product output is sold to a larger school uniform company in the United States called School Uniforms, Inc. School Uniforms, Inc. has major contracts with (and sells its uniforms to) school districts such as the San Diego Unified School District. In this scenario, the San Diego Unified School District is part of which of the following business markets?

Accepted Answer

The San Diego Unified School District is part of the institutional market because it is a non-profit organization that purchases goods and services for its own use, rather than for resale or profit.

Question 3

Kobe is an account executive with Stryker, a medical device company. He and his team have prepared a document to submit to a regional hospital to become their primary vendor for medical devices within the hospital system. The document will be reviewed by the hospital purchasing department and Stryker will be compared to other suppliers vying for the opportunity to assist with the hospital with their medical device needs. What stage in the buying process does this reflect?

Accepted Answer

The stage "Acquire and analyze proposals" is when the buyer, in this case, the hospital, reviews documents or proposals from various suppliers to decide which one best meets their needs. Kobe and his team are at this stage, as they have prepared and submitted a document for the hospital's purchasing department to review and compare against other suppliers.

Question 4

​Paul is the quality-control specialist for a furniture manufacturer. His job is to develop specifications for every potential purchase of wood and fabric. Within the buying center, Paul plays the role of a(n):

Accepted Answer

Paul's role involves developing specifications for purchases, which means he influences the buying decisions by setting standards or criteria for what is bought. This makes him an Influencer within the buying center context.

Question 5

You work for a uniform manufacturer that sells to police departments, supermarkets, and airlines. For segmentation purposes, its customers are grouped into three categories: government agencies (police), retailers (supermarkets), and service providers (airlines). This is segmentation by _______.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of segmentation by customer type, as the customers are grouped based on the type of organization they represent (government agencies, retailers, service providers), rather than by the product's end-use, purchase categories, industry classification, or geographic characteristics.

Question 6

The identity of the _____ is the most difficult role for salespeople to pinpoint.

Accepted Answer

The decider is often the most difficult role for salespeople to pinpoint because this person has the final say in the purchasing decision, and their identity might not be immediately apparent or accessible during the sales process.

Question 7

​A new employee in your company is confused. She was hired to help with purchasing, but she's been told that she will be busiest after purchases have been concluded -- in other words, after vendors have been chosen and their goods have been supplied. Will this employee be involved in the organizational buying process?

Accepted Answer

The employee will be involved in the organizational buying process by obtaining feedback and evaluating the performance of vendors after purchases have been made, which is a crucial part of ensuring quality and maintaining good vendor relationships.

Question 8

Susan works for Fashion Supply, a women's clothing wholesaler. Her husband is employed by Target, the popular retailer. Their older son has a job with a gourmet butcher, which supplies top-quality cuts of meat to fancy restaurants. Their younger son was just hired by Lumber Liquidators, the discount flooring seller. Despite the diversity of their employers, all of Sue's family members work in the ____ segment of the business market.

Accepted Answer

All family members work for companies that buy goods to resell to consumers, which is characteristic of the reseller segment of the business market.

Question 9

Businesses follow a defined buying decision process in order to ensure the goods and services they purchase will meet their organization's needs. The process has multiple stages; in one of the stages, the business will consider a proposal usually given to them in writing by a supplier. This stage may include competitive bidding depending on the company. This proposal consideration takes place in which of the following stages of the business buying decision process?

Accepted Answer

The proposal consideration typically occurs in the fourth stage of the business buying decision process, where businesses evaluate and compare proposals from suppliers before making a purchase decision.

Question 10

An organization's purchasing decisions can be influenced by ______________ such as a tornado destroying a factory that produces supplies necessary for the organization's operations.

Accepted Answer

Environmental factors can influence an organization's purchasing decisions, especially when external events like natural disasters (e.g., a tornado) impact the availability of necessary supplies or operations.

Question 11

Carlita works for Dell Computers in their outbound call center as an inside sales representative. She primarily focuses on small businesses - those with fewer than 10 employees. Based on Carlita's customers, what type of segmentation is Dell using?

Accepted Answer

Dell is using demographic segmentation by focusing on small businesses with fewer than 10 employees, which categorizes customers based on company size, a demographic characteristic.

Question 12

Many companies purchase from several vendors, and require bids from each before choosing one among them. A skilled marketer understands the client's ____________ like this, and considers these processes when formulating a marketing proposal.

Accepted Answer

Organizational factors refer to the internal elements within a company, such as its culture, processes, and structure, which influence its operations and decisions. Understanding a client's organizational factors, including their procurement and vendor selection processes, is crucial for a marketer to tailor a proposal that aligns with the client's internal practices and needs.

Question 13

Which of the following is a distinction between business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) markets? ​

Accepted Answer

Business markets are typically more complex due to factors like longer decision-making processes, larger purchase volumes, and more formalized buying procedures compared to consumer markets.

Question 14

Connor is a sales representative with Sherwin Williams. He typically calls on facility managers in hospitals, office buildings, apartment complexes, and schools to discuss their paint and specialty coating needs. He's talking with his aunt at Thanksgiving and trying to explain the difference between his role as a sales representative and the counter or inside sales representative that his aunt might encounter within the Sherwin Williams retail store. Which of the following characteristics might be true for Connor in his role as a B2B sales representative with Sherwin Williams?

Accepted Answer

Connor, as a B2B sales representative, is likely to have longer-lasting relationships with his customers because B2B sales often involve larger, more complex deals and ongoing contracts, unlike the more transactional nature of retail or inside sales.

Question 15

Kendra is the office manager for a large legal firm and performs a variety of functions for the office. She manages purchases of copying machines and printers and is responsible for placing orders for supplies such as toner cartridges and paper. In general, Kendra is solely responsible for making decisions about the brand of paper and toner used in printers and copying machines. What is her role as part of the buying center? ​

Accepted Answer

Kendra's role as the person who makes the actual purchase of supplies and equipment for the office classifies her as the Buyer within the buying center concept.

Question 16

Amy works for a small business firm that specializes in the home furnishing design business. She is the head of the textiles department and coordinates with 25 textile manufacturers around the world to ensure that her firm has the best supplies on the market. Each quarter, Amy meets with each of the manufacturers and then brings back her top picks to share with the rest of her team at her company. The company's owner values Amy's opinions, especially since the company's profits have continually increased for 10 years. This year, however, the company's overhead costs have increased, and Amy and her team need to figure out why. Which of the following can be said is a drawback of having Amy to serve in the role described above?

Accepted Answer

Amy controlling all of the information about which types of textiles the firm should purchase can be a drawback because it centralizes decision-making and limits diverse input, which could lead to missed opportunities or lack of innovation.

Question 17

Tiffany is the purchasing manager for electronic components that are kept in inventory for a large electrical contracting company. Tiffany sources most of these items from Fastenal and is thrilled with their ability to help her maintain the appropriate level of inventory for the various items. Fastenal has a computer system to assist Tiffany with her forecasting and can identify items that are "slow moving" or "fast moving" meaning that there are some items that are used more frequently than others. Fastenal has also helped Tiffany to identify the inventory levels when reorders should be placed so that she's never out-of-stock in any items. Which stage of the purchasing process is Fastenal providing assistance?

Accepted Answer

Fastenal is assisting Tiffany in selecting an order routine by helping her maintain appropriate inventory levels, forecasting, and identifying when reorders should be placed.

Question 18

Institutions constitute another important market. Institutional buyers include a wide variety of organizations, such as schools, hospitals, libraries, foundations, clinics, churches, and not-for-profit agencies. A small software company develops computer programs for different business institutions. Which of the following challenges can this company anticipate?​

Accepted Answer

Different institutions have varying buying practices, which means the software company will need to tailor its approach to meet the unique needs and processes of each type of institution.

Question 19

You are a sales representative for a major computer products company in Nashville, Tennessee. Lowe's Home Improvement is one of your major clients, and you like to entertain the company's employees regularly to maintain good business relationships. Because you do not have an unlimited entertainment budget, you must be selective in regard to the company employees whom you entertain. You want to make sure you are getting the greatest benefit for your entertainment dollars. You have found that the most influential people in the company are those who control the flow of information to everyone else in the organization. These are the people you want to spend your time and money entertaining. Based on this finding, you should:

Accepted Answer

Gatekeepers control the flow of information within an organization, making them the most influential people to entertain for maintaining good business relationships.

Question 20

Chris works for Aon, a large commercial brokerage company that serves as the intermediary between customers who need risk or insurance coverage and firms that provide the coverage - insurance carriers. Since Aon is one of the largest brokerage firms in the world, they utilize ______ segmentation where they divide the business buyers into groups according to their needs. For example, manufacturing firms would have specific requirements for insurance that might be distinct from a public school or university. A municipality such as the city of Chicago would also have a different set of needs that would result in a different mix of insurance coverage.

Accepted Answer

Aon segments its business buyers into groups according to their needs, which is an example of customer-based segmentation.

Quiz 7: Business Markets and Buying Behavior

Paul is the quality-control specialist for a furniture manufacturer. His job is to develop specifications for every potential purchase of wood and fabric. Within the buying center, Paul plays the role of a(n) :

You work for a uniform manufacturer that sells to police departments, supermarkets, and airlines. For segmentation purposes, its customers are grouped into three categories: government agencies (police) , retailers (supermarkets) , and service providers (airlines) . This is segmentation by _______.

The identity of the _____ is the most difficult role for salespeople to pinpoint.

An organization's purchasing decisions can be influenced by ______________ such as a tornado destroying a factory that produces supplies necessary for the organization's operations.

Carlita works for Dell Computers in their outbound call center as an inside sales representative. She primarily focuses on small businesses - those with fewer than 10 employees. Based on Carlita's customers, what type of segmentation is Dell using?

Many companies purchase from several vendors, and require bids from each before choosing one among them. A skilled marketer understands the client's ____________ like this, and considers these processes when formulating a marketing proposal.

Which of the following is a distinction between business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) markets?

Quiz 7: Business Markets and Buying Behavior

​Paul is the quality-control specialist for a furniture manufacturer. His job is to develop specifications for every potential purchase of wood and fabric. Within the buying center, Paul plays the role of a(n) :

You work for a uniform manufacturer that sells to police departments, supermarkets, and airlines. For segmentation purposes, its customers are grouped into three categories: government agencies (police) , retailers (supermarkets) , and service providers (airlines) . This is segmentation by _______.

The identity of the _____ is the most difficult role for salespeople to pinpoint.

An organization's purchasing decisions can be influenced by ______________ such as a tornado destroying a factory that produces supplies necessary for the organization's operations.

Carlita works for Dell Computers in their outbound call center as an inside sales representative. She primarily focuses on small businesses - those with fewer than 10 employees. Based on Carlita's customers, what type of segmentation is Dell using?

Many companies purchase from several vendors, and require bids from each before choosing one among them. A skilled marketer understands the client's ____________ like this, and considers these processes when formulating a marketing proposal.

Which of the following is a distinction between business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) markets? ​

Paul is the quality-control specialist for a furniture manufacturer. His job is to develop specifications for every potential purchase of wood and fabric. Within the buying center, Paul plays the role of a(n) :

Which of the following is a distinction between business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) markets?