The different types of buying situations

A business-to-business buyer may encounter are the straight rebuy, the modified rebuy, and the new-task buy. In a straight rebuy situation, the buyer reorders a product or service without any modifications on a routine basis through the purchasing department. In this situation, the buyers have substantial experience in dealing with the need and require little or no additional information. A routine problem-solving approach is suitable for this type of buying situation.

In a modified rebuy situation the buying organization may seek certain modifications in the specifications of the product/service being purchased, prices, terms of supply, etc. The most appropriate decision-making approach in this type of situation is the limited problem-solving approach. This situation usually involves participants in the buying decision process. In a new task buying situation, the company is buying a product or service for the first time and has very little or no experience in such a purchase.

The decision-makers seek more information in this situation to help them evaluate and choose from amongst the alternatives. In such a situation the organization buying process is more complex and involves many more participants from different departments in the organization. The buying company also needs to decide on the product/service specifications, prices, delivery terms, order quantities, service terms, etc. companies follow the extensive problem-solving approach for making decisions in such situations.

It is very important for the business to business marketing organizations to understand the differences between the three types of buying situations as it helps them to identify the key purchase decision-makers in the buying organization for the product being sold and the companies can evolve the most effective and efficient marketing strategies in the given situation.

References

Hutt, Michael, D & Speh, Thomas, W. (2004). Business marketing management. US: Thomson Southwestern.