1. CONSUMER MOTIVATION BY
DR S SENA
SENIOR LECTURER
BUSINESS STUDIES DEPT

2. Consumer motivation
Represents the drive to satisfy both physiological and psychological needs through product purchase and consumption
Gives insights into why people buy certain products
Stems from consumer needs: industries have been built around basic human needs

3. Types of consumer needs
Psychological needs: Fundamental human needs, including food, water, and sleep
Safety and health needs
Threats to our safety and health motivate purchases for personal security and protection
Protecting our personal information and computers represents new types of safety needs
Businesses provide a variety of products and services to appeal to safety and health conscious consumers
Need for love and companionship
Humans are social creatures who need to experience and express love and companionship
Services and products help individuals find and attract others
Products are often used as symbols of love and caring

4. Types of consumer needs
Need for financial resources and security: A need that includes others important to the individual
Social image needs:
Conspicuous consumption, purchases motivated to some extent by the desire to show other people how successful they are
Companies reinforce the notion that products enable users to communicate their social image

5. Types of consumer needs
Need for pleasure: Products, services and consumption activities provide fun and excitement

6. Types of consumer needs
Need to possess: Consumers often acquire products simply because of their need to own such products, e.g. collectors
Plays a role in impulse buying,
where consumers unexpectedly
experience a sudden and powerful
urge to buy something immediately

7. Types of consumer needs
Need to give:
Give something back to others or reward ourselves
Self-gifts let us motivate, reward and console ourselves
Need for variety:
Marketers may introduce different versions of original brand
Variety may become focus of product positioning

8. Types of consumer needs
Need for Information:
One reason we read or watch TV
Fuels Internet usage
Plays an important role
in persuasion – if an ad
appears when consumers
need information, they are
more likely to pay attention
than when they don’t need
the information

9. Motivational conflict and need priorities
Satisfying a need often comes at the expense of another need – these trade-offs cause motivational conflict
Types of motivational conflict:
Approach-approach: deciding between two or more desirable options
Avoidance-avoidance: deciding between two or more undesirable options
Approach-avoidance: behaviour has both positive and negative consequences

10. Motivational conflict and need priorities
Resolving motivational conflicts requires prioritising needs
Maslow’s hierarchy
Some needs take precedence over other needs – physiological needs take top priority
Differences in the importance attached to various needs affects how consumers evaluate products
Because of consumers’ different motivational priorities, companies use benefit segmentation: dividing consumers into different market segments based on benefits they seek from purchase and consumption

11. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

12. Motivational intensity
Motivational intensity: how strongly consumers are motivated to satisfy a particular need. Depends on need’s importance
Involvement: degree to which an object or behaviour is personally relevant
Motivational intensity and involvement determine amount of effort consumers exert in satisfying needs

13. The challenge of understanding consumer motivation
Reasons underlying consumer motivation are not always ‘obvious’
Research is necessary to discover real motivations behind behaviours
People don’t always want to disclose real reasons for their actions
People don’t always know why they do what they do – unconscious motivation
Motivations change over time

14. Motivating consumers Motivating with money
Price cuts, specials, rebates and coupons motivate purchase
Resulting sales may increase, but profits may not
Attracts consumers less likely to repeat
Price reductions may increase price sensitivity

15. Motivating consumers
Provide other incentives: Premiums, free products, contests and sweepstakes are designed to motivate consumers to purchase
There are limitations and shortcomings for this strategy in addition to the products offered as a premium being valued less (value-discounting hypothesis)

16. Motivating consumers Implement a loyalty program
Motivate repeat buying by providing rewards to customers based on how much business they do with the company
Tracks consumer purchases and provides estimates of Customer Lifetime Value

17. Motivating consumers Enhance perceived risk
Perceived risk: consumers’ apprehensions about the consequences of their behaviour (buying and consuming the product)
Greater perceived risk increases search
Educating consumers about risks may motivate them to make more informed choices that reduce exposure to risk

18. Motivating consumers Arouse consumers’ curiosity
For new products, educating potential customers is crucial
Curiosity often leads to an enhanced need for information
May advertise a benefit that is not normally associated with the product