Week 5 Topic 2: Consumer Needs and Motivation By Nicholas Capicchiano

In 1943, Abraham Maslow used these categories to create what is now known as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The ranking, in conjunction with the degree of need satisfaction, determines the order in which the needs will motivate behaviour. (Seeley, p 306) Basic Motivation and Needs  How do we define and differentiate between Needs and Motivation?.

Basic Motivation and Needs  How do we define and differentiate between Needs and Motivation? Basic survival (food, drink, shelter, etc.) Babin (p 86) The need to be secure and protected The need to feel like a member of a family or community The need to be recognized as a person of worth The need for personal fulfillment.

Example - Basic Needs  The movie Castaway is a great example of this hierarchy in action… Basic survival (food, drink, shelter, etc.) The need to be secure and protected The need to feel like a member of a family or community The need to be recognized as a person of worth The need for personal fulfillment (Getting off the island – problem solving)

Uses in Consumer Behaviour  “A simple but very useful way to understand consumer behaviour is to classify motives based on whether a consumption act can best address a particular need by realizing utilitarian or hedonic value.”  Utilitarian Motivation: “A drive to acquire products that consumers can use to accomplish things.”  Hedonic Motivation: “A drive to experience something personally gratifying.” (Babin p 87)

Hedonic and Utilitarian Motivation  Let’s break these concepts down further…  When shopping under an experiential orientation, “consumers seek to maximize the hedonic shopping value, for instance, by being entertained in a stimulating store environment”.  “When shopping under a task-focused orientation, they seek to maximize their utilitarian shopping value by shopping efficiently”. (Búttner, Florack and Góritz 2013, p 780)

Example - Ford vs. BMW  A person wants to buy a new car Ford Mondeo 2014 BMW Z4  vs.

 Emotions are very important to the way a consumer behaves as well as marketers due to the fact that consumers react most commonly to their feelings.  Emotions have been described as being hard- wired to behavior and has been explained as follows:“[Emotions are] fuels for drives, for all motion, every performance, and any behavioral act.” Behaviors are closely tied to emotion, creating close links between emotions, consumer behaviour, and value” (Babin p 90)  Refer to Handout Part 1 for more information regarding emotions and motivations. Emotions, Needs and Motivations

Example – Ford vs. BMW  The following table illustrates an overview of the total amount of Ford Mondeo and BMW 3 Series sedans that were bought during the month of October 2014 in Australia:. Make/ModelMedian List Price (across whole range) Total Sold in October 2014 Ford Mondeo$39, BMW 3 Series Sedan $70,628368

So, What Does That Mean?  According to this data, in October 2014, more people actually bought the more expensive BMW than the Mondeo (despite most models having similar equipment levels).  Interestingly, in a study carried out by US automotive data and marketing industry group R.L. Polk, it found that BMW owners believe they don’t get good value for money. Yet there are still more 3 Series bought than the Ford..

Why Did That Happen?  “Analysing what buyers saw in luxury brands, Polk has discovered that BMW owners get a sense that they are buying into high prestige and performance when they stretch to the Munich-based brand”.  This would suggest that when people are looking at this segment of car, there are a noticeable amount of consumers that are purchasing the BMW more for the emotional aspects of owning a BMW, as opposed to a “cheaper” brand like Ford.  Refer to Handout Part 2 for more information regarding emotions and motivations.

Conclusions  Behaviour is closely linked to fulfilling a set of basic needs… “WILLLLSONNNNN!!!!”  However, when it comes to marketing and consumer behaviour, emotional states and values can take over the purchasing process such as with utilitarian and hedonic motivation depending on the need to fulfill inner desires or more basic needs such as buying food to avoid going hungry.

References  Babin, B J & Harris, E G 2013, ‘CB5’, South Western, Cengage Learning, Mason Ohio, United States of America.  Búttner, O B, Florack, A, Góritz, A S 2013, ‘Shopping Orientation and Mindsets: How Motivation Influences Consumer Information Processing During Shopping’, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 30, no. 9, p 780.  Britt, S H 1950, ‘The Strategy of Consumer Marketing’, Journal of Marketing, Vol.14, no. 5, p 670.  Fallah, A 2014, ‘New Car Sales Figures October 2014’, Car Advice, Viewed 11 November 2014,.  Park, B 2012, ‘BMWs 'not good value', say US buyers’, Drive.com.au, Viewed 23 November 2014,.  Roberts, J 2013, ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Database Marketing’, Business2Community, Viewed 11 November 2014, marketing  Seely, E 1992, ‘Human Needs and Consumer Economics: The Implications of Maslow’s Theory of Motivation for Consumer Expenditure Patterns’, The Journal of Socio Economics, Vol. 21, No. 4, p 306.  Zorfas, A 2012, ‘The Economics of Emotion’, Tech Crunch, 10 March, viewed 24 November 2014,.