General description and course goals

Business-to-business (B2B) markets play an important role in most economies. At the same time, B2B markets differ strongly from consumer goods markets. For example, companies’ buying decisions follow different rules than those of consuming individuals. Consequently, marketing mix decisions in B2B markets need to follow the specific circumstances in such markets. The aim of this lecture is to enable students to understand the specifics of marketing in B2B markets. At the beginning, students learn which strategic marketing decisions may be most appropriate in industrial markets. Following that, the lecture will focus more on different options to design marketing mix elements – Pricing, Communication and Distribution – in B2B markets. We extend the student’s basic knowhow in marketing and focus on the specific requirements in B2B markets.

Contents

Selected Literature

• Blythe, J., Zimmerman, A. (2005): Business-to-Business Marketing: A global perspective. Thomson, London.
• Monroe, K. (2002): Pricing: Making Profitable Decisions. Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
• Morris, M., Pitt, L., Honeycutt, E. (2001): Business-to-Business Marketing. Third edition, Sage Publishing, New York.
• Nagle, T., Hogan, J., Zale, J. (2009): Strategy and Tactics of Pricing. Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall, New York.

Previous guest lecturers