Question 1 - First read up on the three most common buying situations in industrial markets - the straight rebuy, the modified rebuy, and the new task buying situation. Then interview a businessperson to learn how purchases are made in his or her organization. Ask this person to describe a recent straight rebuy, a modified rebuy, and a new task buying situation of which he or she is aware. (If necessary, define these terms for the businessperson.) Did the buying process differ for different types of products or purchase situations? Ask the businessperson to explain his or her role in a recent purchase and discuss the factors that influenced the decision.
Write a brief report of your interview.

Question 2 - B-to-B marketing relies heavily on sales reps. Salespeople do more than just sell products and services; they manage relationships with customers to deliver value to both the customer and their companies. Thus, for many companies, sales reps visit customers several times per year-often for hours at a time. Sales managers must ensure that their companies have enough salespeople to adequately deliver value to customers.

Determine the number of salespeople a company needs if it has 3,000 customers who need to be called on 10 times per year. Each sales call lasts approximately 2.5 hours, and each sales rep has approximately 1,250 hours per year to devote to customers per year.

Question 3- The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes classify businesses by production processes, providing a common classification system for North America and better compatibility with the International Standard Industrial Classification system.

This six-digit number (in some cases, seven or ten digits) is useful for understanding business markets. Visit www.naics.com and learn what the six digits of the NAICS code represent. What industry is represented by the NAICS code 448210? How many businesses comprise this code? How can marketers use NAICS codes to better deliver customer satisfaction and value?

Question 4 - How would you like to sell to a customer that spends billions of dollars per year on contractors? If so, you need to learn how to crack the federal government market. The federal government purchases goods ranging from toilet paper to aircraft carriers and services from janitorial supplies to high-tech IT. This is a lucrative market-especially during economic downturns.
Companies such as Dataguise, a database security solutions company, and Kearney & Company, an accounting firm, focus their marketing solely on this market. How do businesses-big and small-find out about opportunities in this market? One way is to search the government's Web site for opportunities. A great deal of the government's buying is now done online.

1. Go to the Federal Business Opportunities Web site (www.fbo.gov) and watch the general overview demonstration video for vendors. After watching the video, conduct a search for opportunities using tips you learned in the video. Are there many opportunities in your geographic area? Write a brief report describing the usefulness of this website for businesses desiring to sell to the government market.

2. Visit the Web sites of other government buying resources that you found using Google to learn more about them. Write a brief report explaining how small business can use these recources.

Question 5 - Pharmaceutical companies give physicians money and other promotional benefits when marketing their products; some receive hundreds of thousands of dollars. J&J, Pfizer, GSK, and other drug manufacturers are now disclosing payments to physicians, medical centers, and academic institutions. In the second half of 2009, Pfizer paid $35 million to 4,500 doctors and academic medical centers, and GSK reported paying $14.6 million in the second quarter of 2009. In total, the drug industry spends about $20 billion per year marketing to health professionals. These payments are in the form of gifts, food, trips, speaking fees, drug samples, and educational programs. The companies are providing this information voluntarily now. However, because of the "sunshine provisions" of the Health Care Reform Act, pharmaceutical companies will be required by law beginning in 2013 to publicly disclose cumulative payments to health-care providers totaling $100 or more per year.

1. What type of demand exists for pharmaceutical and medical device products? Discuss the roles doctors play in the business buying process for medical equipment used in a hospital and why companies market so heavily to them.

2. Should the promotional relationships between doctors and drug and medical device companies be allowed? Discuss the pros and cons of this practice. Will a disclosure of this relationship influence your decision regarding which doctor to visit?