Indian Institute of Management Udaipur

Course name Business-to-business marketing (B2BM)

Program 2 Year MBA Core/Elective Elective

Credits Full Cap (if

elective)

Academic Year 2022-23 Term IV

Course Prakash Email prakash.satyavageeswaran@iimu.ac.in

Coordinator Satyavageeswaran

Instructor 1 Prakash Email prakash.satyavageeswaran@iimu.ac.in

Satyavageeswaran

Sessions 20 Section 1

Affiliation

Office Hours

Instructor 2 Rajesh Pandit Email Rajesh.pandit@iimu.ac.in

Sessions 20 per section Section 2

Affiliation

Office Hours

Course description
Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing encompasses those management activities that enable a
supplier firm to understand, create, and deliver value to businesses, governments, and other
institutional customers. This course is designed to provide participants with a good understanding of
the concepts of B2B market management and prepare them for the demands of the real world.

Course Objectives
Specific learning objectives for the participants in this course are as follows:

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

market management (also referred to as B2B Marketing or business marketing).
2. Develop critical analysis and problem-solving abilities with respect to business market
management.
3. Gain a first-hand understanding of working relationships within and between firms in
business markets.

Key Takeaways: At the end of this course, students should be able to

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 1. Understand the difference between B2B and B2C world
2. Have clarity of differentiation being core expectation of organizations in Business markets
from management graduates
3. Develop value models to determine the exact value an organization promises to deliver to a
customer
4. Rejuvenate value proposition of existing market offering
5. Leverage channels to create value in business markets
6. Appreciate and leverage new age changes in Business markets, such as digital

Programme Level Learning Goals

The course aims to help students achieve the following learning goals (those which are applicable):

Goal 1: Ability to integrate across business disciplines:

● Students will draw on strategy frameworks to understand the context in which the B2B
organization exists and operates. They will also leverage knowledge on business models to
understand and modify the organization’s product offerings and value proposition.
● Students will draw on understanding of accounting and financial ratios to compare and
decide on profitable segments and offerings of a B2B organization.

Goal 2: Critical Thinking:

● The predominance of case-based methodology of the course provides practice in 3/4 th of the
sessions to cut through the chaff and arrive at the critical issue
● The case discussions are organized in a manner in which there are atleast two alternatives to
consider, if not more, in one or more decisions. The principles learnt in the B2B class help to
identify superior alternatives.

Goal 3: Team Dynamics:

● The course has multiple group case assignment submissions that fosters group work,
including group discussions on the merits/ de-merits of various alternatives.

Goal 4: Communication Skills (Oral):

● Class Participation is a critical component of the course as it is predominantly case based

● Class participation points are awarded in each session in encouragement of students making
relevant and sharp points that further the discussions.
● In addition, in Sessions 13-14, the students are required to create and make a B2B sales
pitch as part of the Infosys case discussion. This brings together their business presentation
skills.

Goal 5: Communication Skills (Written): Students should be proficient in development of analytical,

synthetic, and writing skills.

● The course has individual and group assignment submissions. These assignments are in
written form and require succinct decisions with attendant reasoning and/ or analyses.

Goal 6: Ethical Responsibility:

● Cases used in the course provide opportunities to consider alternatives that often trade-off
profitability and ethics, which is often the case in the real world. Specifically, in the second

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 part of case discussions, the focus is shifted to implementation issues (after the analysis is
done and decision is agreed upon); this is fertile ground of discussing ethics issues. CMR, and
RCI Master Distributors are good examples of cases where such discussions are conducted.

International components of the course (if any)

Indian and International case studies will be covered from various cultures and contexts for a global
appreciation of business market management. A little more than half of the main cases are based on
contexts outside of India.

Pre-requisites
This subject requires exposure to basics of strategy, marketing and the related management topics,
through core courses in the first year of MBA.

Required Text Book(s):

James C. Anderson, James A. Narus, Das Narayandas and DVR Seshadri, Business Market
Management: Understanding, Creating and Delivering Value, 3rd Edition, Pearson Education, Low
Price Edition, 2011. Programs office will make arrangement for hard/ soft copy of the book.

Recommended Text Book(s)

None

Pedagogy
Lectures, Discussions of Cases, and In-class Exercises

Course Pack Distribution to students

Course material will be issued from the Programme office. Additional course material may be shared
during the course.

Technology enabled learning component for your course

None

Class Preparation, Participation, and Presentation

Regularity in attending the classes, case preparation and discussion as well as general constructive
class participation is expected from every student enrolled in this course. Each student must be
prepared to thoroughly discuss each case and actively participate in the case discussions in class,
based on the assigned case and readings for the day. Prior preparation is a commitment made by
each participant to herself/ himself and to the class. Hence anyone in the class may be called upon
to contribute insights during the case discussion.

Session Plan

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Sessio Topic Intended Learning References/Material
n no. Outcome
1 Introduction and Course a. Difference between Caselet #1:
Overview B2B and B2C world
Automobile Fleet Marketing
b. Concept of market
offering
Business Market c. Developing value
model Readings:
Management: Guiding
Principles 1. Anderson, James C. and
James A. Narus, "Business
Marketing: Understand What
Introduction: Customer Customers Value," Harvard Business
Value Management Review, November-December 1998.

2 a. Value model Caselet #2:

quantification
Zeus Laser Technologies
b. Step-by-step
Value tenet approach to value Readings:
Quantification of value quantification
c. Value based pricing 1. Shapiro, Benson P. and
Concept of Value capture Thomas V. Bonoma, “How to
Segment Industrial Markets,”
Harvard Business Review, May-June
1984.

3 a. Comprehensive
Topography of B2B snapshot of B2B
Marketing Marketing
Conducting Market sensing
in business-markets

4 Market Sensing a. Segmentation, Target

market, Positioning in
business markets
Really Understanding Value b. Making choices to win Case #1:
in Business Markets in the marketplace
Kunst 1600

Building Customer Value

Models

5 Building customer-based a. Micro-segmentation

value model to gain extraordinary
Case # 2:
price premium
Segmentation – target
Kunst 3500
market selection –
positioning in B2B markets

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6 a. How purchasing Caselet #3:
organizations behave
Purchasing a Computer Component
b. How organizations
Case #3:
Understanding firms as define their
customers purchasing policies Bose Corporation: The JIT II Program
(A)

Readings:
Purchasing policy
formation Bonoma, Thomas V., “Major Sales:
Who Really Does the Buying?”.
Purchasing orientation
Harvard Business Review, July-
August 2006

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

7 Crafting Market Strategy a. Value based pricing Case #4:

b. Anticipating
Value-based pricing Atlantic Computer Co.
competitor’s response
Go-to-market Strategy INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

8 a. How to create Case # 5:

differentiation in
Ingersoll-Rand (India) Ltd.: The Air
commoditized
Compressors Business at the
markets using
Crossroads (A)
solution selling
technique Readings:
Managing Market Offering V. Kasturi Rangan and George T.
Bowman, “Beating the Commodity
Magnet” Harvard Business Review,
September 1994

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

9 a. How to create Case #6:

Crafting Marketing Strategy
differentiation in
Philips: Lighting up Eden Gardens
commoditized
markets using Insight
selling technique
Article:

Insight Marketing ‘Marketing “Value” to Price-Sensitive

Customers during the Tendering
process’
Market Sensing

End of Solution Selling

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

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10 Using business model Case #7:
New Offering Realization: innovation to create
Creating differentiated Zyme Solutions
differentiation in
value in a stagnant business markets
business
GROUP ASSIGNMENT

11 a. Concept of “naked
offering” and when to Case # 8: Xiameter: The Past and
Managing market offering use the same for Future of a “Disruptive Innovation”
differentiation
Thwarting competition b. How new technology
can be used to drive GROUP ASSIGNMENT
the costs down

12 Branding in Business How to build a brand in

Case #8: ‘Xiameter’
Markets B2B markets

13 a. Importance of Case #9:

capturing value
Infosys: Growing share of a
Crafting Market Strategy stories throughout
customer’s business
the relationship of a
customer
New Offerings Realization b. Articulating the value
proposition INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

14 Same as above Case #9: (Continuation..)

Infosys: Growing share of a

B2B Selling customer’s business

Workbook on SPIN Selling

15 a. How new age digital Case #10:

medium is enabling
Atmel
Convergence of B2C and marketing teams to
B2B create advantage in Readings: A refresher on marketing
Business markets ROI (HBR Article)

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16 a. How to make channel Caselet # 4: Bachan Distilleries
choices
Caselet # 5: Regency Sign
b. Channel conflicts
Corporation
c. Channel value
Business Channel proposition Readings:
Management 1. Narus, James A. and James
Creating Channel C. Anderson, “Turn Your Industrial
Advantage Distributors into Partners,” Harvard
Business Review, March-April 1986.

2. Donald V Fites, Make your

Dealers your Partners, Harvard
Business Review, March-April 1996

17 a. Channel relationship Case # 11:

dynamics
RCI Master Distributor: Evolution of
Sustaining Reseller b. Skills required in
Supplier Relationships
Partnerships managing channel
relationships

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

18 a. Account selection and Case #12:

relationship
CMR Enterprises
management in
business markets
Gaining Customers
b. Activity based costing
and linking financial Article:
performance to Choosing the Right Customer
Sustaining Customer
customer relationship
Relationships Note on Customer Management

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

19 a. Advancement in Articles to be shared and discussion

New age technology
technology and the on how latest technologies like AI,
developments and the
value creation in IOT and Analytics are impacting B2B
impact on B2B marketing
business markets world

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 20 a. Appropriate sales Case # 13: FormPrint Ortho500
structure while
Readings:
launching a new
product in Business 1. Benson P. Shapiro, “What
GTM driven by the concept markets the Hell is “Market Oriented”?
of value b. Merits of going with Harvard Business Review,
direct sales vs November-December 1988
distribution network

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

Evaluation Components
Components Weightage

Case Participation/Presentation 20%

In-class quizzes 20%

Individual assignments 30%

Group assignments 30%

1. Class Participation: Case Preparation and Discussion

The first component will be related to regularity in attending the classes, case preparation and
discussion as well as general constructive class participation.

Each student must be prepared to thoroughly discuss each case and actively participate in the case
discussions in class, based on the assigned case and readings for the day. This demonstrated ability is
a significant though not sole determinant of each participant’s grade for the class participation. Prior
preparation is a commitment made by each participant to herself/ himself and to the class. Hence
anyone in the class may be called upon to contribute insights during the case discussion.

2. In Class Quizzes
The quizzes shall be operational in most sessions and will be held at the beginning of the class. The
content for the quizzes will be based on the reading(s) and/ or case(s) assigned for the day. Students
missing classes or coming late, thereby missing a quiz in a particular class, will receive zero for the
quiz in that session. There are no opportunities to make up for this.

3. Individual Projects
There are eight cases available as individual assignments (marked as such in the session plan below
in Part F). Every student must submit 5 individual assignments (valued at 6 marks each). The choice
of assignments (the 5 cases selected) must be emailed to the SR before the date announced by the
faculty. SR will consolidate and share the details to the faculty with copy to the TA. Once this is
finalized, changes will not be permitted. The assignment questions and instructions for the individual
assignments will be released at least 48 hours before the start of the class for the earlier section
(which maybe Section A in some cases and Section B in other cases). All individual assignments are
due 30 minutes before the start of the class for the earlier section. Students need to keep track of

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which section class is earlier and ensure that the assignments are submitted before the deadline. All
submissions must be made in PDF format and must be emailed to the faculty with copy to the TA.
The time stamp on the email received by the faculty will be used for deciding whether the
assignment has been submitted on time or not. Any submission received after the cut-off time will
automatically be given zero marks.

4. Group Projects
There are five cases available as group assignments (marked as such in the session plan below in Part
F). Every group must submit 3 group assignments (valued at 10 marks each). The choice of
assignments (the 3 cases selected) must be emailed to the SR before the date announced by the
faculty. SR will consolidate and share the details to the faculty with copy to the TA. Once this is
finalized, changes will not be permitted. The assignment questions and instructions for the group
assignments will be released at least 48 hours before the start of the class for the earlier section
(which maybe Section A in some cases and Section B in other cases). All group assignments are due
30 minutes before the start of the class for the earlier section. Students need to keep track of which
section class is earlier and ensure that the assignments are submitted before the deadline. All
submissions must be made in PDF format and must be emailed to the faculty with copy to the TA.
The time stamp on the email received by the faculty will be used for deciding whether the
assignment has been submitted on time or not. Any submission received after the cut-off time will
automatically be given zero marks.

Final Grades for the course:

Your final grades will depend on consistent and superior performance in the class against the above
components as well as your performance relative to other students in your class. The final grades
will be relatively graded to adhere to the norms of Programs Office regarding distribution of grades.
IIMU takes plagiarism very seriously. Students are reminded that the norms regarding plagiarism are
provided in the manual and they should make sure that no submission is plagiarized. The faculty is
bound to report any suspected cases of plagiarism to the Programs Office. Any student having any
questions on plagiarism is advised to approach the Programs Office or the faculty to seek
clarification before submitting assignments.

Online Course Management (Moodle)/course web

Additional course materials, power point slides, tutorials and assignments are shared in the course
web by respective instructors after the corresponding classes, as and when required.

Mapping for the course with Program Level Goals

Goal 1 Goal2 Goal 3 Goal 4 Goal 5 Goal 6
Ability to Critical Team Communications Communication Ethical
integrate Thinking Dynamics Skills (Oral) Skills (Written) responsibility
across
business
disciplines

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Session 4-20 Session 1- Session 10, Session 13, 14 Session 6-11, Session 17,
20 11, 13, 14, 18 13, 17, 18, 20 18

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