Kira Maiwald

Reference Marketing for Industrial Product Service Systems

Strategically planned reference marketing is becoming increasingly important in business markets. Especially for industrial product service systems reference marketing unlocks great potential to generate sales. Since customers are challenged in evaluating the quality of highly customized IPS2 in advance, they perceive high risk in buying situations. The utilization of references affords an opportunity to reduce this risk, since prospective customers feel more confident in decision making by relying on other customers’ recommendations. The paper at hand provides an overview on different reference marketing practices and draws propositions about specific requirements that reference marketing has to comply to successfully sell IPS2.

Selling Product-Service Systems Means Selling Change

Traditional manufacturing companies are trying to differentiate from increasing competition by offering customized Product-Service Systems (PSS). While academic literature already focused on organizational changes required on side of the supplier providing PSS, changes induced by the implementation of a PSS within the customer’s organization are neglected so far. However, managing these changes on the customer’s side is a challenge in selling PSS. Thus, the authors (I) describe the customer’s change process induced by different PSS business models, (II) adjust change management strategies to fit PSS and combine these with the PSS life cycle and (III) bring up further research questions.

The Individual Level of Servitization: Creating Employees' Service Orientation

Abstract Nowadays traditional manufacturers realize the growing importance of service provision, since a simple offering of stand-alone products makes a differentiation from increasing competition difficult. That is why manufacturing organizations turn out providing product-service systems, running through a specific organizational change process called servitization. While literature focuses on setting up appropriate organizational structures on an organizational level, it neglects recommendations helping organizations to overcome existing product orientation on the individual level of employees. The paper at hand presents a framework including the most important aspects a servitizing organization has to consider in dealing with the individual level of servitization.

Vertrieb Industrieller Produkt-Service Systeme

IPSS als integrierte und individualisierte Kombinationen aus Sach- und Dienstleistungen stellen die Vertriebsabteilung vor substanzielle Herausforderungen. Durch Besonderheiten wie die Vermarktung vor der Leistungserstellung, hohe Komplexitat und Innovativitat der Geschaftsmodelle und Multipersonalitat im Prozess der Kundenentscheidung wachsen Anforderungen an Vertriebsmitarbeiter rasant. Zwei empirische Studien identifizieren Ansatzpunkte, wie Vertriebsmitarbeiter diesen erhohten Anforderungen gerecht werden konnen. Zum einen besteht fur Vertriebsmitarbeiter eine besondere Notwendigkeit die initiale Kundensituation in Bezug auf Ressourcen und Fahigkeiten zu analysieren, da diese Faktoren einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Wahl eines Geschaftsmodells durch den Kunden ausuben. Daruber hinaus nimmt die Informationsgabe durch Vertriebsmitarbeiter eine zentrale Rolle bei der Vermarktung von IPSS ein. So sollten Vertriebsmitarbeiter der Heterogenitat der Informationsbedurfnisse verschiedener Akteure im Kundenunternehmen zwingend durch eine hohe Flexibilitat in der Informationskommunikation begegnen.

Customers’ Perspective on Service Infusion in Industrial Selling

Today manufacturing companies often face problems with mature markets, decreasing product sales, increased competition, and threats of imitation (Wise/Baumgatner 1999; Lay et al. 2010). Thus, neither simple product innovations nor the development of outstanding technologies alone guarrantee business success any longer (Davies 2004; Antioco et al. 2008). Traditional manufacturers therfore increasingly follow the trend of service infusion (Brax 2005; Ostrom et al. 2010), which is described as f firm’s “transition, moving from transactional, commoditized product sales to relational service and solution provision” (Kowalkowski et al. 2012, p. 765).

Der Einfluss von B2B-Referenzen auf das wahrgenommene Kaufrisiko

Referenzen zufriedener B2B-Kunden nehmen seit Jahrzehnten eine wichtige Rolle in der Kundenakquisition von Industrieguterunternehmen ein. Diesem Kommunikationsinstrument wird zugeschrieben, das wahrgenommene Kaufrisiko von B2B-Interessenten zu reduzieren und so Interessenten zum Kauf von industriellen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zu motivieren. In diesem Beitrag widmen wir uns dem Potenzial ausgewahlter Referenzinstrumente, das wahrgenommene Kaufrisiko von B2B-Unternehmen zu reduzieren. Dazu werten wir die Antworten von 165 B2B-Unternehmen deskriptiv aus und leiten erste Schlussfolgerungen uber die Funktionsweise von Referenzinstrumenten aus Sicht der Kaufinteressenten ab. Unser Beitrag liefert folglich eine Basis fur kunftige Marketing- und Managementforschung zur Risikowahrnehmung industrieller Kunden. Neben diesem grundsatzlichen Risikoreduktionspotenzial von Referenzinstrumenten differenzieren wir die Effekte fur drei Buying Center-Gruppen und leisten einen Beitrag zur Buying Center- Forschung, indem wir die innerorganisationale Verantwortung von Buying Center-Rollen bei Kaufentscheidungen einbeziehen. Die Ergebnisse der empirischen Studie zeigen, dass B2B-Referenzen in unterschiedlicher Weise Einfluss auf drei Risikoarten und drei Buying Center-Gruppen haben.

The Real Nature of Industrial Product Service Systems

Literature reveals several characteristics that differentiate Industrial Product Service Systems (IPS²) from rather simple stand-alone products and (value added) services. Taking a closer look on these, the authors argue that the collaboration within provision and use phases of IPS² is the most significant characteristic to distinguish IPS² from other offerings. The empirical part of the paper supports this assumption. It is shown that the collaboration between supplier and customer during the later stages of the IPS² life cycle in terms of co-creation of value actually constitutes the real nature of IPS².

Organizational Buying Behavior in Case of IPS2

Compared to common selling processes of machines, selling processes of IPS² seem to be more complex. The two responsible causes are: (i) the higher degree of newness, and (ii) the risk associated with the IPS² buying situation. Among other things the complexity is reflected in the fact that more people are involved in the buying decision. This characteristic will be the focal point of this paper. The aim is to figure out to what extent the buying behavior in case of an IPS² differs from organizational buying behavior of non-IPS² settings and how customers should be convinced of IPS² advantages.