Business administration theory has dealt since its inception with the issue of providing practical support to corporate decision making. For their explanatory models, it has resourced the knowledge body provided by economics, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. In the last few years it increasingly draws also on the findings taken from neuroscience. By means of so-called imaging techniques, neuroscientists can conduct a deeper analysis of the relationships and processes in the brain. The question of how buying decisions occur, and how these may be influenced has finally created Neuromarketing. The findings from this research filed reveal that feelings and emotions play a much greater role than previously supposed and that these can be addressed through brands. However, the management of immaterial values such as brands does not fit well with the predominantly engineering-oriented mindset of top management in B-to-B companies. In his preface to B-to-B-Markenführung, Klaus Backhaus states: Effektive und effiziente Markenpolitik ist in der Praxis des Business-to-Business-Marketing immer noch ein Stiefkind, auch wenn mittlerweile eine Reihe von wissenschaftlichen Veröffentlichungen bis hin zu Lehrbüchern zur Markenpolitik in diesem Bereich vorliegt. Einer der wesentlichen Gründe hierfür liegt sicherlich darin, dass der Business-to-Business-Bereich stark durch Personen mit einer technischen bzw. ingenieurwissenschaftlichen Ausbildung geprägt ist, die für ‚intangible assets’, wie sie die Marke darstellt, erfahrungsgemäß weniger Aufmerksamkeit aufbringen.. Even though the purchase decision is made by the Buying Center in the B-to-B market, the assumption prevails that the findings from Neuromarketing can still be applied because this group consists of human beings as well. This book will consider the findings taken from Neuromarketing in the light of particular instances of B-to-B-Marketing. The question will be raised as to why and to what extent Neuromarketing is relevant for brand management in B-to-B-Marketing. The possibilities arising from this comparison will only be presented as examples and do not claim to be complete. An example from the Corporate Communication Sector at Siemens will be taken to display the application.

Text Sample: Chapter 4.1.4, Collective decisions: As a rule, in the B-to-B market decisions are not being taken by isolated individuals, but by contribution of several people. The conceptual synopsis of all the people involved in the purchasing process is termed the Buying Center, Decision Making Unit (DMU) or Gruppe einkaufsentscheidender Fachleute”. It thus comes down to a collective purchasing decision. The group may exist informally and is not generally institutionally positioned. Role concepts are the preferred method of devising explanatory models for behavior in the Buying Center in the marketing of industrial goods. Particular attention has been paid to the Webster/Wind role concept, the Promoter/Opponent model and the Gatekeeper Concept. The Promoter/Opponent model refers to the members of the Buying Center who actively promote the purchasing process as Promoters. Opponents, on the other hand, obstruct and delay the decision-making process. Arguments that opponents may use include, for example, calling the functionality of the potential purchase into question ( Nur Versprechen – das müssen wir erst in der Praxis sehen. ), resistance to the time of the purchase ( Abwarten schadet doch nichts! Warum spielen wir das Versuchskaninchen für den Markt? ), uncertainty with regard to additional future advantages, ( Was soll das zusätzlich bringen. Und wer garantiert uns das? ), emphasizing present advantages ( Warum etwas reparieren, was nicht schadhaft ist? ) or focusing on the risk ( Wollen wir das wirklich riskieren? ). These arguments are highly subjective and serve to influence the Buying Center members. Methods of influence are Gatekeeping, Advocacy Behavior and creating coalitions. In addition the research which is concerned with the processes within a group and the effects on the decision making by the group demonstrates that decisions which are taken by the group are exposed to numerous interference factors which then have a detrimental effect on the quality of those decisions. For instance, individual group members can change their opinions on the basis of real or perceived pressure. This is known as peer pressure. Irving Janis coined the term groupthink” for the tendency of a decision-making group to filter out undesirable input so that a consensus may be reached, especially if it is in line with the leaders’ point of view. Janis’s theory of groupthink emerged from historical analysis of disastrous political decisions like the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1960. Strong brands signal an affiliation to a herd”, differentiation from other groups and make a statement about the person himself. Brands can thus exert an influence on the processes within the group and thereby also the purchasing decision. In the same way as an individual retroactively rationalizes his purchasing decision, group-conditioned rationalizations are also found within industrial purchasing decision making processes.

• Neuromarketing

• Brand Management

• B-to-B Marketing

• Markenführung

• Siemens

• business-to-business

Der Autor: Friedrich Gentner, Jahrgang 1965. Nach über 10 Jahren Berufserfahrung in verschiedenen Positionen als Diplom-Ingenieur der Elektrotechnik entschied sich der Autor seine fachlichen Qualifikationen im Bereich der Betriebswirtschaft durch ein Studium weiter auszubauen. Das postgraduale Masterstudium der internationalen Betriebswirtschaft am Georg-Simon-Ohm Management Institut schloss er im Jahre 2011 erfolgreich ab. Bereits während des Studiums der Elektrotechnik begann der Autor ein besonderes Interesse an der Psychologie menschlichen Verhaltens zu entwickeln. Dazu gehören auch Entscheidungen, wie zum Beispiel die Kaufentscheidung deren Beeinflussung das Thema des vorliegenden Buchs ist. About the Author: Friedrich Gentner, born 1965. After more than 10 years of working experience in different positions as graduate engineer in electrical engineering the author decided to extend his professional qualification by a postgraduate studies. He completed his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) in 2011. Since his studies of electrical engineering he found himself becoming increasingly interested in the psychology of human behavior. This includes decision making like the purchase decision. Its inducement is a topic of this book.