1. Compare and contrast the nature of the business market structure and demand relative to consumer market...

Question:

1. Compare and contrast the nature of the business market structure and demand relative to consumer market structure and demand for a specific P&G product.

2. For the same product, discuss the differences in the types of decisions and the decision process for business and consumer markets.

3. This case covers the various members of a P&G Customer Business Development team. For a P&G corporate client, illustrate how the different roles of the buying center might interact with that CBD team. Be specific.

4. Discuss some ways that P&G's CBD structure is more effective than a single sales rep.

5. Why have P&G's competitors not been able to duplicate its customer relationship strategy?

6. Will P&G's divestment of 100 brands pay off? Why or why not?

When it comes to B2B marketing, Procter & Gamble (P&G) has long been considered one of the best. In addition to a stable of top-selling brands and the fact that P&G is the world's largest advertiser, P&G is an American icon for building strategic partnerships with its distributors. At P&G, this happens through what it calls "Customer Business Development" (CBD). The CBD approach involves truly partnering with retail clients. P&G understands that in order for its own business to grown, the retail client's business must grow. That's a complex task with clients like Walmart, Walgreen's, and Kroger. For this reason, P&G assigns a full CBD team to its clients that include salespeople as well as specialists for every aspect of P&G's consumer brands. With 5,000 employees in this sales force, CBD teams can vary from 350 for a client like Walmart (which accounts for 20 percent of all P&G sales) to 30 for Dollar General. In this manner, CBD team members have all the resources they need to resolve customer problems. CBD teams focus on meeting customer needs, help clients manage entire categories of products, and help manage competitor brands. P&G believes that if it can help grow the category, then everyone wins. It's this kind of interaction that builds high levels of trust between P&G and its clients.