Page 218 - Marketing Management

ANALYZING BUSINESS MARKETS | CHAPTER 7 195

Leading mining and exploration
company Rio Tinto has worked
with its suppliers to streamline the
way they get paid.

Stages in the Buying Process

We’re ready to describe the general stages in the business buying-decision process. Patrick J.
Robinson and his associates identified eight stages and called them buyphases. 33 The model in
Table 7.1 is the buygrid framework.
In modified-rebuy or straight-rebuy situations, some stages are compressed or bypassed. For
example, the buyer normally has a favorite supplier or a ranked list of suppliers and can skip the
search and proposal solicitation stages. Here are some important considerations in each of the
eight stages.

TABLE 7.1 Buygrid Framework: Major Stages (Buyphases) of the
Industrial Buying Process in Relation to Major Buying
Situations (Buyclasses)

Buyclasses

New Task Modified Rebuy Straight Rebuy
1. Problem recognition Yes Maybe No
2. General need description Yes Maybe No
3. Product specification Yes Yes Yes
Buyphases 4. Supplier search Yes Maybe No
5. Proposal solicitation Yes Maybe No
6. Supplier selection Yes Maybe No
7. Order-routine specification Yes Maybe No
8. Performance review Yes Yes Yes