Post-Graduate Diploma in Management

(PGDM)

Area: Marketing

Course Title – Business to Business Marketing

Course Faculty:

Dr.Rakesh Singh

1
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide students in-depth understanding of management activities that
enable a firm to understand, create and deliver value to other businesses including governments
and institutional customers. There are four guiding principles of B2B Marketing:

 Make value the cornerstone

 Focus on business market processes

 Stress doing business across borders

 Accentuate working relationships and business networks

This course will offer exploration of key concepts and provide insights into B2B marketing
management practices to equip students with actionable knowledge and insights. This course will
draw from Indian and international experiences to explain and discuss marketing management
decisions in the context of business markets.

Learning Objectives:
This course endeavors to develop students with the following specific learning objectives -

1. Develop a good understanding of the concepts and frameworks of business-to-business

marketing.

2. Gain insights into buying behavior in business markets and the complexities involved in
selling to business customers. (Including governments, institutions)

3. Develop critical analysis and problem-solving abilities with respect to business market
management.

Pedagogy:
Pedagogy would comprise of case studies, concept discussions, and group projects. Students are
advised to study the cases, articles and text book chapters for each of the sessions as indicated in
sessions plan. Meaningful interaction in classroom is extremely important for successful
completion of this course.

2
Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on the basis of case analysis, group projects, class participation, and
end-term exam. The weightage given to each of these units is listed below:
 Class Participation 10%
 Assignments 10%
 Group Project submission 20%
 Group project presentation 10%
 End Term Exam 50%

Specific Assessment Learning Outcomes

Weightage
Method a (#3.1) b (#1.1) c (#1.3)

Group Assessment
Methods

Group Project 30% √

Assignment 10% √

Individual Assessment
Methods

Class Participation 10%

End-term Exam 50% √

Recommended Text Book

Business Market Management (B2B) -Anderson, Narus,Narayandas and Seshadri (Pearson)

Group Project

The group project will be an important learning tool for the course. It is essentially an
application of the classroom learning. This will involve choosing a company that is an exemplar
of B2B Market Management from the Indian context (could be either an Indian company or an
MNC with operations in India), and providing insightful analysis about what makes the company
so special. This project write-up must relate these insights to established principles discussed
during the course and/or those embedded in the course pack. The project will require

3
considerable background work by participants through secondary and/or primary research.
Groups will be informed about the industry and they would select a company of their choice
keeping in view of the project objectives.

Course Outline: Session/Topic/Reading Material/Reference

Session Topic Reading Material Reference

1 and 2 Introduction to 1. Text Book Text Book
Business marketing: Chapter 1
business markets
scope, evolution and 2. Scope and
key characteristics. Challenges of
Guiding principles in Business to
B2B marketing and Business
legal aspects of B2B Marketing
buying and selling.
3. Case : Methotech
Course Pack

3&4 Understanding 1. Chapter 2. Text Book

Value in business
markets: Market 2. Business Course Pack
sensing through Marketing :
segmentation, Understand
customer value What Customers
assessment and Value – Course
competitor analysis. Pack
3. Transforming
Strategy one
Customer at a
Time
4. Smarter
Segmentation for
Your Sales Force
5. Case : KONE –
Course Pack.

5&6 Understanding 1. Chapter 3.. Text Book

Firms as customers:
Purchasing 2. Major Sales:

4
 orientation of firms Who really does
and its linkages with the buying? – Course Pack
other functions in the Course Pack
firm. Purchasing
decision processes 3. Do you really
and buying teams. understand how
your business
customers buy?
(McKinsey
Quarterly)-
Course Pack
4. Case: TBD

7&8 Crafting Market 1. Chapter 4 Text Book

Strategy: Business
strategy and market 2. Customer Value
strategy, planning and Propositions in Course Pack
execution of market Business
strategy in business Markets : Course
markets. Pack
3. Case : Black and
Decker
Corporation(A)
Power Tools
Division

9&10 Managing B2B To be decided

Brands. Guest Lecture(Industry)

11&12 Market Offerings: 1. Chapter 5. Text Book

Conventional and
flexible market 2. Why the highest
offering, value-based Price Isn’t the
pricing and managing Best Price Course Pack
market offerings
3. Case : Atlantic
across borders.
Computers : A
Managing issues of
Bundle of
sustainability.
Pricing Options

13&14 Business Channel 1. Chapter 7. Text Book

Management:
Marketing channels as 2. E-Hubs: The Course Pack
value addition for New B2B
customers and firms. Marketplaces –

5
 Building and 3. Case : Arrow
leveraging channel Electronics Inc –
networks to deliver
superior value. 4. Guest Lecture
(Industry)

15&16 Customer 1. Chapter 8 &9 Text Book

Acquisitions and
Customer 2. Case- CMR Course Pack
Relationships: Enterprises –
Gaining new
3. Guest
business, selling to
lecture(Industry)
business customers,
key account
management and
reseller partnerships