COURSE OVERVIEW:

Welcome to the Consumer & Organisational Buyer Behaviour course. This program will equip you with a solid understanding of how and why individuals and organisations make purchasing decisions, what influences their choices, and how sellers can respond effectively to diverse buyer expectations. You will explore both consumer and organisational buying patterns, the factors that shape decision-making, and the strategic implications for marketing, selling, and relationship management. This course also examines buyer psychology, risk perception, negotiation, and purchasing structures to help you interpret buying behaviour in real-world commercial environments.

This course begins by examining the importance of buyer behaviour and the fundamental differences between consumer and organisational buying. You will explore the relationships between organisational buyers and sellers, why organisational buyers are generally more rational in their purchasing decisions, and the specific requirements that shape organisational buying behaviour. This section also explains why reciprocal buying is important, why organisational selling and buying may be risky, and why organisational buying is more complex due to multiple stakeholders, formal processes, and higher financial commitments. You will also examine the importance of negotiation in organisational buying and the strategic role it plays in achieving mutually beneficial agreements.

The next learning area explores consumer buyer behaviour. You will examine the consumer decision-making process, including why and how consumers buy, how they gather information, and how they evaluate alternatives to select the most suitable solution. This section also introduces the evaluation system used by individual consumers and the post-purchase evaluation process that shapes future decisions, brand loyalty, or dissatisfaction. You will explore the internal and external factors affecting the consumer decision-making process, including psychological influences, social dynamics, and situational variables.

A further section introduces the foundations of organisational buyer behaviour. You will examine the three elements that define organisational buying, the six roles within the structure of the Decision-Making Unit (DMU), and the two deadly sins that salespeople must avoid when dealing with organisational buyers. This section also explores the organisational decision-making process, often described as the “buy phases,” and how these phases shape the progression from need recognition through to supplier evaluation, negotiation, and post-purchase assessment.

The program then examines cost considerations and influence factors in organisational buying. You will explore the significance of price and life-cycle costs, the factors affecting organisational buyer behaviour, and the influences on organisational purchasing behaviour such as organisational objectives, procurement policies, technical requirements, and risk perceptions. This section also introduces the three types of buying situations—new task, modified rebuy, and straight rebuy—and explains how the level of purchase involvement varies across these situations. You will examine the dimensional model of buyer behaviour and its relevance to understanding complex organisational purchases.

The next learning area focuses on the implications for selling. You will explore what these behavioural insights mean for sales strategies, communication approaches, and relationship-building practices. This section also examines the three types of life-cycle costs—acquisition, operation, and disposal—and the importance of purchase decisions to the buying organisation, especially when high cost, risk, or long-term commitments are involved.

A further section explores developments in purchasing practice. You will examine the principles and benefits of just-in-time purchasing, the role of centralised purchasing in achieving consistency and cost efficiency, and the use of systems purchasing to streamline supplier integration. This section also introduces reverse marketing as a proactive approach to supplier relationship development and highlights the importance of relationship management in maintaining trust, cooperation, and long-term value between buyers and sellers.

By the end of this course you will be able to analyse consumer and organisational buying behaviour, understand decision-making processes, recognise the key influences affecting purchases, evaluate buying situations, support negotiation outcomes, and apply relationship-focused selling strategies that align with buyer expectations and organisational purchasing requirements.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

• The importance of buyer behaviour
• The differences between consumer and organisational buying
• The relationships between organisational buyers and sellers
• Why organisational buyers are more rational?
• The specific requirements for organisational buying
• Why reciprocal buying is important in organisational buying?
• Why organisational selling/buying may be risky?
• Why organisational buying is more complex?
• The importance of negotiation in organisational buying
• The consumer buyer behaviour
• The consumer decision-making process – why and how they buy?
• The information gathering process
• The evaluation of alternatives and selection of the best solution
• The evaluation system
• The post-purchase evaluation of decision
• The factors affecting the consumer decision-making process
• The three elements of organisational buyer behaviour
• The six roles in the structure of the DMU
• The two deadly sins that salespeople need to avoid
• The organisational decision-making process (buy phases)
• The organisational buyer behaviour
• The price and life-cycle costs
• The factors affecting organisational buyer behaviour
• The influences on organisational purchasing behaviour
• The three types of buying situation
• The level of purchase involvement and the buying situation
• The dimensional model of buyer behaviour
• What are the implications for selling?
• The three types of life-cycle costs
• The importance of purchase to buying organisation
• The developments in purchasing practice
• The just-in-time purchasing
• The centralised purchasing
• The systems purchasing
• Reverse marketing
• The importance of relationship management

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.