Capital goods marketing

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When Investitionsgütermarketing (also Industriegütermarketing ) is the marketing of production factors (potential and Repetierfaktoren ), whose sales not to consumers but to private or public organizations takes place. Nowadays, B2B marketing is also often used .

particularities

  • Organizations' needs are derivative, that is, they derive from the demands of the organization's customers. The manufacturer of capital goods should therefore not only consider the direct customer, but also the customers of downstream levels.
  • The multi-personal nature of the organizations ( buying center ) must be taken into account. The purchasing behavior of organizations differs significantly from the purchasing behavior of consumers.
  • Compared to other goods, capital goods are more durable products. This results in longer-term business relationships, the contractual or actual customer loyalty is extremely high ( spare parts supply , maintenance contracts).
  • Often procedural rules serve an objective and fair procurement behavior, as they are manifested in the procurement regulations for the award of public contracts (VOL).
  • Consulting engineers are engaged by the buyer in all phases of the procurement process, e.g. B. to create the inquiry documents, to evaluate the offers of the providers and to monitor the execution of the order.
  • In addition, due to the global interdependence, the buying center is multi-organizational and international, with the result that the origin of the decision-makers cannot provide a conclusive starting point for targeted, differentiated market development .
  • The services to be procured often require a lot of explanation (for example a chip factory ) and are very individual or customer-specific.
  • In addition, capital goods decisions are associated with high follow-up costs such as training, maintenance , energy consumption, so that every procurement decision is linked to a high level of funds for the procuring company. The total cost of ownership is often determined in order to identify the long-term cost effects of the investment decision.
  • Ultimately, the market participants should be named as a criterion for capital goods marketing: In contrast to consumer goods marketing , they are anonymous neither on the demand nor on the supply side.
  • The participation of the public sector should also be mentioned, which often sets the framework for the procurement decision for capital goods, for example through subsidies or infrastructure measures (e.g. construction of a motorway access road to the planned factory) or through requirements and laws.
  • Even smaller manufacturers of capital goods are often forced to market their goods globally because there are only a few customers in the immediate vicinity. This leads to relatively high distribution costs.

Basic types of capital goods markets

  1. The product business comprises the relatively standardized manufacture and marketing of capital goods that are used in isolation by the customer.
  2. The plant business (or project business) refers to comprehensive offers, consisting of a hardware or software bundle, the elements of which are combined into functional systems at the customer's premises.
  3. The system business is characterized by the combination of functional units to complex systems with the help of engineering and project management. Service or software elements are always included. Distinct pre- and after-sales services are necessary.
  4. The supplier business is characterized by a long-term business relationship. The provider creates services that are used successively by the customer. (e.g. automotive industry)

Business relationship continuity shown schematically

Consequences for the marketing mix

Product policy

In the area of product policy , the integration of the customer into innovation management is important. Due to the lack of test markets, new products can only be tested by pilot customers.

Pricing policy

When procuring industrial goods, there is often a more or less formalized invitation to tender to the suppliers in question (competitive bidding). A strategy based on price differentiation or price changes is therefore difficult to implement.

Communication policy

The communication policy demands an intensive satisfaction of the information needs of the individual members in the buying center . Direct marketing , trade fairs and exhibitions are more important than media advertising . Also, the ingredient branding (brand name of components) is rapidly increasing in importance.

The customer relationship management (CRM) is of great importance for. B. to provide targeted information to customers through newsletters , to invite them to trade fairs and generally to increase customer loyalty .

When communicating with interested parties and customers, the different procurement situations (buy class framework ) must also be taken into account.

Procurement situation Novelty of the problem Information needs Search for alternatives
new task high very high significant
Modified repurchase medium medium to a limited extent
Routine shopping low very low is omitted

Distribution policy

Within the distribution policy , the focus for high-quality capital goods is on direct sales , security of supply and personal sales .

Many highly specialized suppliers of capital goods operate worldwide as there are only a few potential buyers in each country. In this respect, cultural differences and country-specific regulations z. B. to be observed in the area of occupational safety . Worldwide sales often work with regional sales companies for the core markets abroad and with independent sales representatives for less important markets.

Development tendencies

Since the products of the individual manufacturers differ only slightly from each other in many markets, the accompanying services for differentiation from the competition are becoming increasingly important:

literature

  • Klaus Backhaus , Markus Voeth : Industrial goods marketing . 8th edition. Vahlen Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-8006-3351-5 .
  • Klaus Backhaus, Markus Voeth: Handbook of Industrial Goods Marketing : Strategies - Instruments - Applications . 1st edition. Gabler Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-409-12501-9 .
  • Robert de Zoeten, Robert Hasenböhler, Paul Ammann: Industrial Marketing - Practice of business-to-business business . Schäffer-Poeschel, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-7910-1112-X .