Buying cycle
| Buying cycle |
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| See also |
Buying cycle is the time needed for the potential buyer to make the decision to buy the item (from the moment the service/product is launched) until the purchase is made (Nasir S. 2015, s. 223).
Stages of buying cycle
Correct understanding the customer position at the buying cycle lets the organisation to develop effective and successful marketing strategies. According to Nasir Suphan, the buying cycle composes of three main stages as following (Nasir S. 2015, s. 223):
- awareness
- consideration
- purchase
The first stage starts when the customers become aware of some goods (the brand or product) that they do not owe - they want to fulfill the need. The second stage begins when clients evaluate alternatives to fulfill their needs and later buy goods among alternatives (Nasir S. 2015, s. 223).
It is important to understand the stages of the buying cycle, because customers' expectations of how the company should treat in each stage, are different. In the early stage in the cycle, clients want to know more about products, want to get educated. At later stage - they may require highly responsive help to complete the purchase. If the company fulfil all customers' needs perfectly - the purchase is done (Nasir S. 2015, s. 223).
However, for companies, the buying cycle begins by defining corporate goals (for instance major cost reductions, competitive advantage or risk reduction) that can be supported by organization's relationships with suppliers, and also the steps it takes to secure the mentioned business relationships. This process ends with management of the contract (it should be mentioned that the end date of the current contract cannot be later than next buying cycle) (Buchanan M. 2008, s. 41).
The length of buying cycle
It is worth mentioning that the length of the buying cycle differs - it depends on the product or the service company offers. For instance, for low-cost consumer products (most typical clients), it can be few days, except when customers plan to buy larger (for higher price) purchases - this can take month. In other markets, this time is much longer - dor industrial equipment - six months or more, and for real estate - almost six years or even more (Ramos A., Cota S. 2009, s. 7).
References
- Arthur L. (2013), Big Data Marketing: Engage Your Customers More Effectively and Drive Value, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, s. 126
- Buchanan M. (2008), Profitable Buying Strategies: How to Cut Procurement Costs and Buy Your Way to Higher Profits, Kogan Page, Londyn, s. 41
- Cheng T. C., Choi T. (2010), Innovative Quick Response Programs in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Springer, Berlin, s. 391
- Fawzy L., Dworski L. (2010) Emerging Business Online: Global Markets and the Power of B2B Marketing, Pearson Education, New Jersey, s. 69
- Heinemann G., Schwarzl C. (2010), New Online Retailing: Innovation and Transformation, Gabler, Wiesbaden, s. 52
- Nasir S. (2015), Customer Relationship Management Strategies in the Digital Era, IGI Global, Hershey PA, s. 223
- Paley N. (2000), How to Develop a Strategic Marketing Plan: A Step-By-Step Guide, St. Lucie Press, Washington, s. 178
- Ramos A., Cota S. (2009), Search Engine Marketing, McGraw-Hill, New York, s. 7
Author: Urszula Bochenek
