Skip to main content

Sales Enablement through Marketing Communication in the Buying Environment of Complex and Investment-Intensive B2B Services

Collaboration between marketing communications and sales departments

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sales Enablement als Fundament des Vertriebserfolgs

Part of the book series: FOM-Edition ((FOMEDITION))

  • 1479 Accesses

Abstract

The study aims to investigate and empirically test what the decision-making process for buying professional services looks like and which factors influence the buying behavior. Soft factors like trust, prestige, and sympathy as well as more factual-based aspects like price, commitment or a professional sales process play an important role. The particular focus lies on the role of the marketing function to support the sales teams in their efforts. It turns out that forms of reference, recommendation, and relationship marketing are explicitly suitable for building trust and communicating credibility for the successful marketing of complex and investment-intensive services. Social networks are overestimated and marketing communication should support sales teams to build rapport.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aarikka-Stenroos, L., & Makkonen, H. S. (2014). Industrial buyers’ use of references, word-of-mouth and reputation in complex buying situation. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 29(4), 344–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Backhaus, K., & Voeth, M. (2010). Industriegütermarketing (9th edition). Vahlen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumgarth, C. (2008). Markenkontexte. Markenpolitik (3rd edition, pp. 341–377). Gabler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bettencourt, L. A., Ostrom, A. L., Brown, S. W., & Roundtree, R. I. (2002). Client co-production in knowledge-intensive business services. California Management Review, 44(4), 100–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonoma, T. V. (1982). Major Sales: Who Really Does the buying? Managing Marketing: Text, Cases, and Readings. Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonoma, T. V., Zaltman, G., & Johnston, W. J. (1977). Industrial buying behavior (pp. 77–117). Marketing Science Institute, Report No.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buratti, N., Parola, F., & Satta, G. (2018). Insights on the adoption of social media marketing in B2B services. The TQM Journal, 30(5), 490–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Büschken, J. (1994). Multipersonale Kaufentscheidungen - Empirische Analyse zur Operationalisierung von Einflussbeziehungen im Buying Center (6th edition). Gabler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Citroen, C. L. (2011). The role of information in strategic decision-making. International Journal of Information Management, 31, 493–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, E., & Barksdale, H. C. (1994). Organizational purchasing of professional services. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 9(3), 44–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, M., & Schroder, B. (1996). Power and influence in the buying centre. European Journal of Marketing, 33(11), 1161–1170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, W. (2012). Business-to-Business Kommunikation. In Business-to-Business Kommunikation. Erich Schmidt Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghingold, M., & Wilson, D. T. (1998). Buying center research and business marketing practice: Meeting the challenge of dynamic marketing. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 13(2), 96–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruner, R. L., & Power, D. (2018). To integrate or not to integrate? Understanding B2B social media communications. Online Information Review, 42(1), 73–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heller, R. (2010). Bedürfnisorientierung als Erfolgsfaktor im B2B-Online-Marketing. Virtual Identity AG, 01, 1–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, W. J., & Lewin, J. E. (1996). Organizational buying behavior: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Business Research, 35, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, S., & Ringlstetter, M. J. (2011). The world of professional service firms. Strategic Management of Professional Service Firms (1st edition, pp. 3–15). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mayring, P. (2010). Qualitative inhaltsanalyse—grundlagen und techniken. Beltz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Möller, K. (1985). Research strategies in analyzing the organizational buying process. Journal of Business Research, 13(1), 3–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Money, R. B. (2000). Word-of-mouth referral sources for buyers of international corporate financial services. Journal of World Business, 35(3), 314–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M., & Sashi, C. M. (2018). Communication, interactivity, and satisfaction in B2B relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 68, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordin, F., & Kowalkowski, C. (2010). Solutions offerings: A critical review and reconceptualisation. Journal of Service Management, 21(4), 441–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, L. (2007). Marketing and sales alignment for improved effectiveness. Journal of Digital Asset Management, 3(4), 185–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renker, C. (2012). Marketing im Mittelstand (4th edition). Schmidt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, P. J., Faris, C. W., & Wind, Y. (1967). Industrial buying and creative marketing. Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rolfes, L. (2007). Die Rolle des Verwenders im Buying Center (1st edition). Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt, M. C. (2019). Quick Guide Digitale B2B- Kommunikation (1st edition). Springer Gabler.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schulze-Borges, F. (2011). Einführung. Performance in Professional Service Firms (1st edition, pp. 1–10). Gabler.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sheth, J. N. (1973). A model of industrial buyer behavior. Journal of Marketing, 37(4), 50–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terho, H., et al. (2017). Selling value in business markets: Individual and organizational factors for turning the idea into action. Industrial Marketing Management, 66, 42–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Töllner, A., Blut, M., & Holzmüller, H. H.,. (2011). Customer solutions in the capital goods industry: Examining the impact of the buying center. Industrial Marketing Management, 40, 712–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Valk, W., & Rozemeijer, F. (2009). Buying business services: Towards a structured service purchasing process. Journal of Services Marketing, 23(1), 3–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Von Nordenflycht, A. (2010). What is a professional service firm? Toward a theory and taxonomy of knowledge- intensive firms. The Academy of Management Review, 35(1), 155–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster, F. E., & Keller, K. L. (2004). A roadmap for branding in industrial markets. Journal of Brand Management, 11(5), 388–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webster, F. E., & Wind, Y. (1972a). Organizational Buying Behavior. Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster, F., & Wind, Y. (1972b). A general model for understanding organizational buying behavior. Journal of Marketing, 36(2), 12–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werani, T. (2012). Business-to-Business Marketing - Ein wertbasierter Ansatz (1st edition). Kohlhammer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winkelmann, P. D. P. (2004). Marketing und Vertrieb (4th edition). R. Oldenbourg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zoltners, A. A., Sinha, P., & Lorimer, S. A. (2016). How more accessible information Is forcing B2B sales to adapt. Harvard Business Review.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra Gronover .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Der/die Autor(en), exklusiv lizenziert an Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Förster, A., Gronover, S. (2022). Sales Enablement through Marketing Communication in the Buying Environment of Complex and Investment-Intensive B2B Services. In: Westphal, J., Görne, J., Schmitz, C. (eds) Sales Enablement als Fundament des Vertriebserfolgs. FOM-Edition. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-37614-7_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-37614-7_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-37613-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-37614-7

  • eBook Packages: Business and Economics (German Language)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics