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• Module overview
• 1. What is marketing?
  • 1.1 What is marketing?
    • 1.1.1 Different uses of the term 'marketing'
    • 1.1.2 Different levels of marketing
    • 1.1.3 A definition of marketing
  • 1.2 Clarification of the marketing definition
    • 1.2.1 Outputs
    • 1.2.2 Inputs
    • 1.2.3 Exchange
  • 1.3 Development of marketing
  • 1.4 Types of marketing
  • 1.5 What is a service?
    • 1.5.1 Characteristics of services
    • 1.5.2 A service definition
    • 1.5.3 Classifications of services
    • 1.5.4 Services: a growth sector
  • 1.6 Marketing in the maritime industry
  • 1.7 Towards social and ethical responsibility
    • 1.7.1 Common criticisms of marketing
    • 1.7.2 Social impact of marketing
  • 1.8 Summary

• 2. Strategic marketing management

  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 The environments
    • 2.2.1 External environment
    • 2.2.2 Internal environment
    • 2.2.3 Mission statements and objectives
    • 2.2.4 Resources
  • 2.3 Controllable factors
  • 2.4 The strategic marketing management process
    • 2.4.1 Planning
    • 2.4.2 Implementation and control
    • 2.4.3 Marketing plan
  • 2.5 Types of marketing strategies
    • 2.5.1 Strategic considerations for services
  • 2.6 Summary

• 3. Marketing research and information systems

  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 The marketing information system (MIS)
  • 3.3 Marketing research
    • 3.3.1 Scope of research
  • 3.4 The marketing research process
    • 3.4.1 Step 1: defining the problem
    • 3.4.2 Step 2: analysing the situation
    • 3.4.3 Step 3: obtaining problem-specific data
    • 3.4.4 Step 4: interpreting the data
    • 3.4.5 Step 5: solving the problem
  • 3.5 Summary

• 4. Consumer and B2B buying behaviour

  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 Consumer buying behaviour
    • 4.2.1 Psychological influences
    • 4.2.2 Cultural and social influences
    • 4.2.3 The decision-making process
  • 4.3 B2B buying behaviour
    • 4.3.1 Business buying processes
    • 4.3.2 Main types of business markets
  • 4.4 The buying of services
  • 4.5 Summary

• 5. Segmenting markets, targeting and positioning

  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Market segmentation
    • 5.2.1 Dimensions used to segment markets
  • 5.3 Target markets
  • 5.4 Market positioning
  • 5.5 Summary

• 6. Product planning and decisions

  • 6.1 Introduction
  • 6.2 Product concepts
    • 6.2.1 The total product concept
    • 6.2.2 Product classifications
    • 6.2.3 The service offering
  • 6.3 The product mix
  • 6.4 Branding
  • 6.5 Packaging
  • 6.6 Product life-cycle
  • 6.7 Product development
  • 6.8 Summary

• 7. Pricing considerations

  • 7.1 What is the 'price' of a product?
  • 7.2 Pricing environments
  • 7.3 Pricing objectives
  • 7.4 Pricing policies
    • 7.4.1 Discount and allowance policies
  • 7.5 Price setting
    • 7.5.1 Cost-oriented price setting
    • 7.5.2 Demand-oriented price setting
    • 7.5.3 The price setting process
  • 7.6 Summary

• 8. Marketing logistics networks

  • 8.1 Introduction
  • 8.2 Definition of distribution
  • 8.3 Channels of distribution
    • 8.3.1 Selecting channels
    • 8.3.2 Main Australian channels
    • 8.3.3 Distributing services
    • 8.3.4 Managing channels
  • 8.4 Managing distribution
  • 8.5 Distribution and ports
  • 8.6 Summary

• 9. Integrated marketing communications

  • 9.1 Communication with a purpose
  • 9.2 Marketing communication process
  • 9.3 The promotional mix
  • 9.4 Managing advertising
  • 9.5 Managing publicity and public relations
  • 9.6 Managing personal selling
  • 9.7 Managing sales promotion
  • 9.8 Summary

• 10. E-commerce and direct marketing

  • 10.1 Introduction
  • 10.2 Direct marketing
  • 10.3 Electronic commerce
    • 10.3.1 Successful e-commerce
  • 10.4 Online marketing
  • 10.5 Using customer databases
  • 10.6 Privacy issues
  • 10.7 Summary

• 11. Managing the service encounter

  • 11.1 Introduction
  • 11.2 Participants
    • 11.2.1 Customers
    • 11.2.2 Service personnel
  • 11.3 Managing the service encounter
    • 11.3.1 Role theory
    • 11.3.2 Script theory
  • 11.4 Process
    • 11.4.1 Operations management and services
    • 11.4.2 Manufacturing efficiency
    • 11.4.3 Improving services efficiency
    • 11.4.4 Matching supply and demand
  • 11.5 Physical evidence
    • 11.5.1 Types of physical evidence
    • 11.5.2 Space demarcation
    • 11.5.3 Atmospherics
    • 11.5.4 Servicescapes
  • 11.6 Summary

• 12. Customer relationship management

  • 12.1 Introduction
  • 12.2 Customer relationship management
  • 12.3 Customer satisfaction
    • 12.3.1 Benefits of customer satisfaction
  • 12.4 Service quality
    • 12.4.1 Conceptual model of service quality
    • 12.4.2 SERVQUAL
  • 12.5 Summary

4.1 Introduction

All buying decisions, whether personal or on behalf of an organisation, are made by people, and, though it may often seem to be irrational, buying behaviour is , on the whole, purposeful and goal-directed. Understanding the buying behaviour of its customers is crucial to a firm's success. The firm that can anticipate how its potential customers will respond to its marketing strategies will have a competitive advantage.

Generally, buyers are classified either as consumers or business buyers . Consumer behaviour has been defined by Summers et al. (2003, p. 24) as:

. processes a consumer uses to make purchase decisions as well as to use and dispose of purchased goods and services; also includes factors that influence purchase decisions and the use of products..

Contrast this definition with that which Summers et al. (2003, p. 67) provide for business-to-business marketing:

the marketing of goods and services to individuals and organisations for purposes other than personal consumption.

So the basic distinction between the two is whether or not the purchase is for personal consumption.

You will find that business-to-business marketing (B2B) is also referred to as industrial marketing and organisational marketing. Thus you will read about business buyers, industrial buyers and organisational buyers. They are all the same, and they differ from consumers in terms of their buying behaviour. While we are talking about terminology, we tend to refer to 'buying' when we talk about businesses, and to 'purchasing' or 'consumption' when we talk about consumers-although there is a frequent interchange between these.

Although the primary buyers for port and terminal services are organisations, we begin our study with consumer buyers, because many of the sociological and psychological principles of consumer buying behaviour are applicable to business buying-professional buyers do not cease to be persons. It is also worth remembering that the consumer is the ultimate buyer of the goods that maritime or logistics organisations handle on behalf of other organisations, and consumers are, therefore, of interest to us.

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