Consumers buy for their own use and consumption, whereas organisational buyers purchase goods and services which are transformed and passed on to final consumers. As they buy more for their own use, consumers are more likely to be more personally involved in what they purchase than industrial buyers and more susceptible to emotional and ego based advertising appeals. The market-demographic profile of organisational buyers is much more concentrated than for consumer markets. They are fewer in number, larger and more geographically concentrated. The organisational buying process tends to be more formal than the consumer process and there is also a tendency to buy on specification with the consequences that rational appeals tend to predominate in organisational purchase decisions.
Organisations employ professional specialists employing specialised buying procedures.
The implication is that the sales force must be competent to deal with enquiries from specialists. The stages in the organisational buying process and the consumer decision process are similar for more complex decisions. However the organisational decision process is more formal and technical. The implication is that much more effort is needed to consider the different requirements of different actors in the Buying Centre.