3.3 BUYING ROLES

3.3 BUYING ROLES

A big task for the marketer is to identify the target buyers of a particular new product. The marketer has to know who makes the buying decision for the particular product category. Very often, most of the purchase decisions involve a Decision Making Unit (DMU) comprising of more than one person. So he has to understand the roles of the various people involved in the decision making process. There are five different types of roles that people play in a buying decision. They are as follows:

·Initiator: The person who first suggests the idea of buying the product or service.

·Influencer: The person whose view or advice influences the decision.

·Decider: The person who decides on any component of a buying decision: whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, or where to buy.

·Buyer: The person who makes the actual purchase.

· User: The person who consumes the product or service.

It will be very useful for the company if it is able to identify the roles of the persons involved in the decision making process. This is because this information will help them in designing the product, allocate funds for the promotional budget, work out the communication media, and decide for whom the message is to be directed.

Buying Behaviour: Consumer decision making varies with the type of buying decision. The decisions to buy toothpaste, a tennis racket, a personal computer, and a new car are all very different. Complex and expensive purchases are likely to involve more buyer deliberation.