How does advertising influence the job roles in a purchasing department and business buying decisions?

A purchasing department is a function in a business organization that makes decisions relating to the purchase of business resources, such as equipment, software, new technology, etc. The roles in a purchasing department and the effect of advertising on each role are as follows:

Initiators: These members are responsible for identifying the need for purchasing various resources. Advertising helps initiators to find a product need by providing them with information about new products, product features, product quality, etc. The awareness created by certain ads can make these members put forth a requirement for a given product. For instance, IT professionals in a company may document the need for new software to perform certain tasks more effectively. They may have seen advertisements at a conference or in a trade magazine. Initiators are at the starting point of the business buying process.

Influencers: Technical experts, engineers, and other such members of an organization help provide the necessary specifications and requirements with regard to a business purchase. The information provided by advertising helps influencers to give a better idea of the product requirements to higher authorities. For instance, the influencers can match necessary specifications for computers with those mentioned in online ads to narrow down the company’s purchase choices. Informational ads are most effective with influencers who need to recommend a product through presentations to the upper management or department heads.

Buyers (deciders): These members handle the actual purchase of the product and complete the business buying process. Generally, deciders and buyers are the same individuals. Buyers choose a vendor, negotiate prices, and find the best source from which to make the purchase. Advertising helps buyers to assess which vendor is offering the best deal in terms of product, price, after-sales service, warranty, etc. Again, informational ads are most effective with buyers. However, personal sales must be coupled with advertising to close the sale.

Explanation:

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