However, once a company reaches a certain size, the president alone cannot make the decisions. The number of people involved in purchasing increases in proportion to the size of the company. This type of purchasing group is called a "DMU (Purchasing Decision Making Unit)" or "Buying center."
As digital transformation has progressed in hong kong telegram phone number list recent years, the number of people involved in ordering IT services such as SaaS is on the rise. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, the number of people involved in B2B solution purchasing has risen to 6.8 people .
At each site, there may be an increasing number of cases where the ordering person was enthusiastic about the project and it seemed like things were going well, but then something comes along that interferes and the project is left in limbo.
In fact, in a recent Inbox Insight report, B2B marketers cited " failure to include all members of DMU " as one of the main barriers to conversion.
It is important for marketers to understand the concept of DMU and create content that is appropriate for each member. In this article, we will explain the corporate DMU (buying decision structure) that B2B marketers should know.
What is the DMU?
A DMU (Decision Making Unit) is a group of people who influence the purchasing process when a company purchases something.
DMU is a concept developed in 1967 by Robinson, Farris, and Wind (1967) of the United States , and became widely known through a book by Philip Kotler.
Image of DMU
Thoughts and Why It Matters
In the sales field, the people in charge of the actual work and the decision makers are relatively easy to see, so you can approach them directly (although in reality, it can be quite difficult to even meet the decision maker...).
However, within a company there are multiple purchasing decision-making members, including people who act as advisors, the accounting department manager who wants to keep the budget down, important people on the front lines, people who are always opposed, etc. For the purchasing company, DMU is also a risk hedge to ensure that they make the right purchase.
However, DMU is a hurdle for vendors. Especially in the enterprise market, sales activities do not proceed smoothly unless you understand DMU, but since the structure of DMU is difficult to see in the first place, salesmen rarely meet with everyone, and even if they do, it takes a considerable amount of time.
That's why it's important for the marketing department to create content in advance that each member of the DMU can agree with and provide support to the sales field.
Basic Structure of the DMU
Here we explain the basic structure of a DMU. The number of people in a DMU may be 2-3 in a small company, or 7-8 in a large company, but there are generally six roles played by members. Sometimes one person plays several roles.
DMU Member Roles Table
The roles of each are explained below.
The initiator
It is the person in the company who understands the need for the product or service and speaks up first. In the case of SaaS, it is generally the field staff or manager who uses the system (the HR manager or section chief for HR SaaS, the sales manager for SFA, etc.). In the case of small and medium-sized enterprises, the CEO may be the top-down initiator who says, "Let's move forward with DX!"
Generally, initiators propose something within their company to solve their own pain points, or because they are convinced by a proposal from a vendor's sales representative and feel the need for it.
The deciders
A decision maker is a person who makes the purchase decision. They are the so-called key people who have the power within the company to decide on the introduction. If the product has a low unit price and is used within the department (and can be covered by the department's budget), it will often be a field manager.
For larger purchases, the person in charge will be the business director or manager. In many cases, they are the initiator's boss, so they tend to be influenced by the initiator's evaluation and personal relationships.
The purchaser
A person who is responsible for completing the purchasing process for a product or service. In the case of physical products, the purchasing department is responsible, but in the case of services such as SaaS, the manager of the user department who uses the product is often also the purchaser. In a small company, the same person may play three roles: initiator, decision maker, and purchaser.
Influencers
Influencers are people who influence decisions about whether to buy, which vendor to choose, and which purchasing plan to use. They are knowledgeable about the genre and highly respected within the company, so they are often consulted for their opinions. SaaS influencers may be celebrities within the company who are nerdy about IT.
They are well-informed not only about official information but also about behind-the-scenes information, providing information that cannot be found publicly, such as "It may seem like a trend, but in fact it's already behind the times," "It has a good image, but I often hear stories of companies that have adopted it struggling," and "From now on, it would be better to use a different, innovative service."
Although opinions can have a great deal of influence, as they are not the ones who will use the information themselves, an employee will likely only take the stance that they are merely giving advice.
