“A company needs to identify their buying roles, as they have implications for designing the product, determining messages, and allocating the promotional budget”.
Thus, being aware of the main participants and their roles, helps marketers fine-tune a marketing program. In this blog post, I am going to elaborate on the Six Buying Roles under Consumer Decision Making
Nike Just Does It - Keeping An Eye On The Customer
Source: @ 2023 Forbes Media LLC
What are Buying Roles?
Buying roles refer to the activities that one or more person(s) might perform in a buying decision. The various buying roles of a customer wanting to purchase Nike shoes, can be distinguished as follows –
1. Initiator- The person who first suggests, or thinks of the idea of buying the particular product or service, is known as the Initiator. For example, an athlete will think of purchasing shoes from Nike if suggested by his coach (initiator).
Nike Running Shoes for Men and Women
Source: www.nike.com
2. Influencer- The person whose views influence other members of the buying centre in making the final decision, is the Influencer. As seen on social media, many fitness influencers undertake collaborations with popular athletic brands such as Nike, which entices their audience and viewers to buy the product(s). This also includes athletes that have sponsorship/collaboration deals with the company, with the best example being Michael Jordan and his line of shoes/apparel.
Nike’s Influencer Marketing Strategy
Source: en.hocmarketing.org
3. Decider- The person who ultimately determines any part of or the entire buying decision-whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy ,or where to buy; is called the Decider.This person could be family, friends, or fitness and sports coaches of the consumer, who determine purchasing decisions such as the process to buy.
Nike Athletic Wear for Football Players
Source: nike.com
4. Buyer- A Buyer is the person who handles the paper work of the actual purchase. Buyers of Nike products are people who purchase the actual product, after making the final decision and processing the payment for the same. The buyer of Nike products could be a parent buying sports shoes for their child, or the person wearing the shoes themselves.
Parent buying Nike Sports Shoes for their child
Source: mpf.gov.mv
5. User- The person(s) who consumes or uses the product or service, is known as the User. After making the purchase of Nike shoes, the User will be wearing the products while working out, for example.
Consumers working out in their Nike Athletic Wear
Source: nike.com
6. Gatekeeper- Person(s) who controls information or access, or both, to decision makers and influencers, is the Gatekeeper, under the Buying Roles. The Gatekeeper of Nike products will be the sellers and retailers, who control and initiate the buying process, by helping customers make purchase decisions according to their requirements.
Store worker at Nike Store helping a Customer
Source: businessinsider.in'
Need help determining buyer roles and journeys for your products/services?
About the author:
The writer of this blog is Harjia Sahni, a third year Business Management student at the University of Wolverhampton,UK, and is a Marketing Management Intern at Puzzles Marketing for the Summer of ‘23.
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