Deck 8: The Buying Process and Buyer Behavior

Question 1

One reason companies launch such a large number of new products is to attempt to satisfy more customer needs.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The three major types of organizational buying situations are:

A)new task buy,rebuy,and limited task buy
B)new task buy,straight rebuy,and modified rebuy
C)habitual buying decisions,variety-seeking buying decisions,and complex buying decisions
D)transactional buy,consultative buy,and strategic alliance buy
E)transactional buy,product buy,strategy buy

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which type of selling appeals to buyers who prefer to purchase a packaged solution to a problem from a single seller,thus avoiding all the separate decisions involved in a complex buying situation?

A)Modified selling
B)Bundled-option selling
C)Straight selling
D)Transactional selling
E)Systems selling

Answer 3

E

Question 4

There are three types of organizational buying situations: new-task buy,straight rebuy,and modified rebuy.

Question 5

One difference between organizational and consumer buyers is that organizational buyers' purchases are made for some purpose other than personal consumption.

Question 6

Which buyer behavior theory focuses the salesperson's attention on five important factors that the customer is likely to consider before making a purchase?

A)Buyer-action theory
B)Compulsive-buying theory
C)Need-satisfaction theory
D)Buyer-resolution theory
E)Feature-benefit theory

Question 7

Patronage buying motives are particularly important when product offerings from several companies are very similar.

Question 8

"When should I buy?" is a decision in the buyer resolution theory of personal selling.

Question 9

The three types of consumer buying situations are habitual buying decisions,complex buying decisions,and modified buying decisions.

Question 10

A habitual rebuy is a routine purchase of items needed by a business-to-business customer.

Question 11

In order for a customer to arrive at a buying decision the salesperson should present the product according to:

A)the individual customer's needs
B)his/her own point of view
C)a standardized procedure or presentation
D)the buyer profile based on industry research
E)the chronological timeline of the product

Question 12

The first stage in the typical buying process is evaluation of solutions.

Question 13

The person who withdraws money from a savings account and uses this money to buy government bonds at a higher return on investment is very likely guided by rational buying motives.

Question 14

Buyer behavior is often influenced by perception.

Question 15

Very few purchases are guided by emotional buying motives.

Question 16

The three prescriptions for developing a customer strategy focus on (1)the customer's buying process,(2)why customers buy,and (3)consummating the transaction.

Question 17

Transactional buyers are well aware of their needs and usually know a great deal about the products or services they intend to purchase.

Question 18

Which influence on buying decisions is defined as a set of characteristics and social behaviors based on the expectations of others?

A)reference group
B)social class
C)role
D)culture
E)process

Question 19

The need to belong is really just an urge,not a basic human social need.

Question 20

Systems selling appeals to buyers who prefer to purchase individual products from a variety of sellers.

Question 21

When products are indistinguishable or there is a prior relationship between customer and vendor,this is a(n):

A)product buying motive
B)patronage buying motive
C)rational buying motive
D)emotional buying motive
E)group buying motive

Question 22

In which value creation selling approach do salespeople focus a great deal of attention on customers' needs awareness?

A)Transactional selling
B)Strategic alliance selling
C)Consultative selling
D)New task selling
E)System selling

Question 23

Product buying motives include:

A)design and/or engineering preference
B)social preference
C)method preference
D)purchase preference
E)frequency preference

Question 24

Which of the following is an important limitation of the buyer resolution theory?

A)Salespeople find the theory too complex.
B)Customers already know the answer to the question,"What should I buy?"
C)Few customers ask the question,"What is a fair price?"
D)Some decisions are more difficult to make than others.
E)It doesn't cover most situations.

Question 25

Which is true regarding the differences between consumer and organizational buyers?

A)Consumer buyers often purchase online,while organizational buyers may purchase online or in person.
B)Consumers purchase for household consumption,while organizational buyers purchase for personal consumption.
C)Consumer decisions are usually made by individuals,while organizational decisions are frequently made by several people.
D)Consumer purchases are based primarily on rational criteria,while organizational purchases are based primarily on emotional responses to products or promotions.
E)Consumers mostly engage in a lengthy decision process,while organizational buyers make quick decisions.

Question 26

Which of the following motives would most likely make a customer buy from the same business they have been buying from?

A)Systems buying motives
B)Emotional buying motives
C)Brand loyalty motives
D)Product buying motives
E)Patronage buying motives

Question 27

A customer will tend to screen out or modify stimuli.This process is known as:

A)conscious input
B)selective attention
C)discrimination
D)selectivity
E)sensation

Question 28

A purchase based more on feelings than on logic is a(n):

A)product buying motive
B)patronage buying motive
C)rational buying motive
D)emotional buying motive
E)group buying motive

Question 29

At which stage in the typical buying process is the customer aware of a need and has evaluated one or more solutions with the resolve to do something,but may have obstacles or concerns to contend with?

A)Resolution of problems
B)Need awareness
C)Evaluation of solutions
D)Purchase
E)Implementation

Question 30

Which of the following is a factor that would motivate a rational buyer?

A)prestige
B)nostalgia
C)celebrity endorsement
D)durability
E)branding

Question 31

A customer will buy one product instead of another because of the:

A)product buying motive
B)patronage buying motive
C)rational buying motive
D)emotional buying motive
E)systems buying motive

Question 32

When a teenage girl asks her best friends for their opinions on a career opportunity,she is most likely seeking support from which of the following groups?

A)culture
B)subculture
C)social class
D)reference
E)mastery

Question 33

A purchase based on the result of an objective review of available information is a(n):

A)product buying motive
B)patronage buying motive
C)rational buying motive
D)emotional buying motive
E)stable buying motive

Question 34

Justin Bremer of Wealth Designs needs to do which of the following before meeting with customers?

A)rehearse his sales presentation until he has it memorized cold
B)research to determine each customer's specific needs
C)contact the home office to confirm the customer's address
D)meet with his sales manager about his flagging sales
E)ask the receptionist for a meeting with the purchasing director

Question 35

A careful study of buying behavior reveals that people make buying decisions based on:

A)a combination of emotional and rational buying motives
B)emotional buying motives only
C)rational buying motives only
D)social buying motives only
E)group theory motives only

Question 36

According to the buyer resolution theory,which of the following is an important factor that the consumer is likely to consider before making a purchase?

A)Where should I store the product after purchase?
B)What is a fair price?
C)How many sellers are there?
D)When should I make the payment?
E)From whom should I ask advice about the purchase?

Question 37

In Maslow's theory,after physiological needs have been satisfied the next need level is likely to be:

A)a romantic desire to attract the opposite sex
B)to fulfill one's potential
C)a freedom from danger
D)worthiness in the eyes of others
E)food and shelter

Question 38

Which type of consumer buying situation requires very little consumer involvement and brand differences are usually insignificant?

A)Habitual buying decision
B)Straight rebuy decision
C)Complex buying decision
D)Modified rebuy decision
E)Partner buying decision

Question 39

Which of the following statements about social class is true?

A)People in the lower classes purchase items less impulsively than upper class shoppers.
B)Social scientists agree that there are an unlimited number of social classes.
C)"New money" people possess inherited wealth,often acquired several generations before.
D)It is virtually impossible to move from one social class to another.
E)Social class is determined by a combination of factors such as income,education,occupation,and accumulated wealth.

Question 40

According to Abraham Maslow,self-fulfillment (a full tapping of one's potential)is achieved through satisfaction of which of the following needs?

A)esteem
B)social
C)safety and security
D)self-actualization
E)fullness

Question 41

A first-time purchase of a product or service by a business-to-business customer is a ________ ________ buy.

Question 42

The salesperson has noticed that customers do not buy when she expects them to,and seem to want more stages of information-gathering and less time for the actual purchase than her sales manager trained her in.She approaches her sales manager about this and together they decide to:

A)focus more on presenting the benefits of the product to the prospect
B)ask for the close immediately after presenting the benefits to the prospect
C)study the customer's buying process to align their selling process to it more closely
D)spend more time building rapport with the customer initially
E)rework the presentation script to focus more on emotion

Question 43

On a customer satisfaction survey,which answer indicates a need for more focus on needs awareness?

A)"The product was not as fast as the salesperson said it would be."
B)"The product did not solve my problems."
C)"The product is not a strong value for the money."
D)"The product arrived broken in the box."
E)"The product had a strange color."

Question 44

A company has developed a calendar/messaging/paperwork center that helps working mothers organize their families' schedules and paperwork.All the mothers who have tried it have loved it,and it is priced comparably to normal planners,although it offers much more.
What can be the most confusing difference between consumer sales and business sales?

A)In business sales,the initial contact is almost never the actual purchaser.
B)In business sales,purchasers have different roles,so the purchaser may not be the decisionmaker.
C)In consumer sales,the first decision the customer makes is almost always their final decision.
D)In consumer sales,the payment policy involves cash and credit,but not payment plans.
E)In consumer sales,the delivery schedule is straightforward.

Question 45

________ can be defined as the accumulation of values,rules of behavior,beliefs,and the like.

Question 46

A company has developed a calendar/messaging/paperwork center that helps working mothers organize their families' schedules and paperwork.All the mothers who have tried it have loved it,and it is priced comparably to normal planners,although it offers much more.
A company spends much of its salespeople's time in the selling process on promoting features and benefits of the product to customers.The salespeople have a high closure rate of initial sales,but a low rate of repeat business.What should the salespeople focus on to improve retention rate?

A)needs awareness
B)building rapport
C)presentation skills
D)delivery
E)the close

Question 47

List and describe the three types of consumer buying situations.

Question 48

Cross-generational selling can be a challenge because different generations:

A)have different basic emotional needs
B)prefer different forms of contact
C)do not speak the same languages
D)feel mistrust for each other
E)have power dynamic issues

Question 49

Which of the following steps in the buying process can cement the relationship after the sale is over?

A)need awareness
B)evaluation of solutions
C)resolution of problems
D)purchase
E)implementation

Question 50

A company has developed a calendar/messaging/paperwork center that helps working mothers organize their families' schedules and paperwork.All the mothers who have tried it have loved it,and it is priced comparably to normal planners,although it offers much more.
Where should the company consider selling the organizer/calendar instead of in baby boutiques that will hit working mothers with several children?

A)kiosks at airports so they can buy it while on business trips
B)on the internet so they can order from work and have it shipped to them
C)at the grocery store checkout aisle next to candy and batteries
D)from salespeople at big box retail baby stores
E)from lactation consultants during the first few weeks post-partum

Question 51

Each team member in a buying center:

A)has equal decisionmaking power
B)contributes equally to the buying process
C)has different areas of expertise
D)must be courted by the salesperson
E)has a different communication style

Question 52

The process through which sensations are interpreted,using our knowledge and experience is called ________.

Question 53

A ________ ________ is a carefully conceived plan that will result in maximum customer responsiveness.

Question 54

List the steps in the typical buying process.

Question 55

An aroused need,drive,or desire is referred to as:

A)a buying motive
B)an undifferentiated motive
C)a compelling motive
D)a rational motive
E)a personal motive

Question 56

Salespeople should think of needs in terms of:

A)the product
B)the industry as a whole
C)the typical customer
D)each specific customer
E)the competition

Question 57

Within most cultures are groups whose members share value systems based on common life experiences and situations.We call such a group a ________.

Question 58

A company has developed a calendar/messaging/paperwork center that helps working mothers organize their families' schedules and paperwork.All the mothers who have tried it have loved it,and it is priced comparably to normal planners,although it offers much more.
A company that has been selling successfully to consumers for 30 years sees an opportunity to move into the business market.What should the sales director of the company do before sending salespeople out to call on these new business buyers?

A)make sure the salespeople have talked to businesspeople before
B)ask the salespeople to rehearse the standard customer presentation so they sound as polished as possible when they present to business buyers
C)review very carefully the pipeline to adjust the sales forecast using the normal sales cycle for customers and adding in the business prospects
D)ensure that the sales representatives are clear on which customers belong in their territory
E)research the buying process of the new business customers to understand how it is different from consumer customers

Question 59

What financial effect on the sales department will aligning their sales process with the customers' sales process create?

A)less cost in putting together paper sales brochures and printed reports
B)greater efficiency will require fewer salespeople,so the department will save on salaries
C)less gasoline used in visiting customers multiple times
D)more accurate estimates of when sales in the pipeline will close,so they will have more accurate sales forecasts
E)fewer returns from customers who felt tricked into buying by the salespeople

Question 60

A company has developed a calendar/messaging/paperwork center that helps working mothers organize their families' schedules and paperwork.All the mothers who have tried it have loved it,and it is priced comparably to normal planners,although it offers much more.
The company is selling it through small local baby boutiques to give mothers personal guidance in purchasing it,but it is not selling well.What aspect of their target customers' behavior does the company not understand?

A)Working mothers with multiple kids' schedules to juggle are not likely to be in small baby boutiques,which cater to first-time parents.
B)Mothers of new babies are usually given calendar/organizers at baby showers,so they don't need to buy them.
C)Working mothers do not have time to buy calendars in retail stores.
D)Mothers of babies do not need calendars of any sort.
E)The owners of the boutiques do not understand how to sell the calendar to mothers.

Question 61

A sales team that uses the buyer resolution theory to guide their department and pursue sales is vulnerable to which of the following factors?

A)They may skip a step in the process,thinking they are saving time,but actually increasing the time it takes to close the sale.
B)They may spend too much time studying the buyer's process and not enough time actually selling.
C)They may lose focus on the product they are selling.
D)They may give all the power in the transaction to the customer.
E)They may prioritize a decision in the process that is not prioritized by the customer.

Question 62

A sales representative is selling a product that is superior to the product the prospect currently buys.If the prospect has a patronage buying motive,the sales representative has almost no chance of making the sale unless:

A)she can prove that her product is substantively better than the product the prospect currently buys
B)she can become personal friends with the prospect
C)she can continue to contact the prospect through an extra-long buying cycle
D)she can convince the prospect that her company is superior to the company that makes the product the prospect currently buys
E)she can explain the benefits of the product in a way that makes them resonate emotionally with the prospect

Question 63

Salespeople typically focus on a feature-benefit structure during the sales process,but it is important for a salesperson to uncover the product's emotional buying motive because:

A)the emotional buying motive can only be overcome when it is made explicit for the salesperson
B)the emotional buying motive influences the rational buying motive more than any other motive
C)the emotional buying motive influences the dominant buying motive,which influences the sale
D)the emotional buying motive is stronger than the dominant buying motive
E)the emotional buying motive is not rational,so it can only hinder a sale for the salesperson

Question 64

When a salesperson positions their product as fitting with a customers' influences,it plays which of the following functions?

A)It appeals to the emotional buying motive.
B)It appeals to the rational buying motive.
C)It appeals to the functional buying motive.
D)It exploits the emotive communication style.
E)It exploits the directive communication style.

Question 65

Executive management has decided that,to ensure quality and maximum value per cost,the purchasing department must change its regular straight rebuy situations to modified rebuys.How does having sold to the company previously help the supplier during the rebuy process?

A)The supplier knows the buying process so they understand the company's needs and can make adjustments to meet their needs without losing money.
B)Whether they want to or not,the buyers will give an edge in the process to the current supplier.
C)The supplier has met the buyer before and can ask about his family and hobbies to get an edge on the competition.
D)The supplier knows exactly what motivated the buyer to buy last time,and can emphasize the same things to get the sale this time.
E)The buyer will not expect a discount from a supplier it has already worked with,as it knows the quality of the product.

Question 66

The salesperson has identified that the customer strongly identifies with social groups and is influenced heavily by her role,reference,social class,and culture.What would be important for the salesperson to do to win the sale from this customer?

A)position the product as being a luxury product
B)position the product as fitting with the groups the customer identifies with
C)position the product as being the standard across all groups
D)assume the speech patterns and mannerisms of the culture the customer identifies with
E)mimic the customer's speech patterns to create rapport

Question 67

While Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a useful model for understanding human needs,it can be artificial because:

A)several needs can be interacting within us at the same time,so the pyramid model isn't accurate
B)almost no one in modern society is lacking the first few levels of needs
C)esteem needs can be far stronger than social needs
D)there is no way to generalize about what all people need
E)Maslow's theory is not as widely accepted as Jung's theory is