Consumer Motivation

Consumer Motivation• Motivation is the driving force within individuals

that impels them to action. This driving portion is produced by state of tension, which exists as the result of an unfulfilled need. Individuals strive both consciously and subconsciously to reduce this tension selecting goals and subsequent behavior that they anticipate will fulfill their needs and thus relieve them of the tension they feel.

• It is the drive to satisfy needs and wants, both physiological and psychological, through the purchase and use of products and services

Motivation Process

Needs

• Innate needs (Primary needs or motives) Eg: Food, water, sleep etc. PRODUCTS: Medicines, mineral water, etc

• Acquired needs(Secondary needs or motives) Eg: self esteem, prestige, affection, etc PRODUCTS: clothing, furniture, cars, etc

• Extrinsic need• Intrinsic need

Goals

• Goals are the sought after results of motivated behavior.

Generic Goals: these are the general classes or categories of goals that consumers see as a means to fulfill their needs.

Eg: a consumer wants to purchase a cell phone

Product- specific Goals: these are those specifically branded products and services that consumers select for goal fulfillment.

Eg: a consumer wants to purchase only Samsung handset

Positive and Negative Motivation

• Driving force towards some object or condition is POSITIVE MOTIVATION

• Driving force away from some object or condition is NEGATIVE MOTIVATION

Eg: a person may be compelled towards a restaurant to fulfill a hunger need, and away from 2 wheeler transportation to fulfill a safety need

The selection of Goal:• Approach Object: a positive goal is one toward which behavior is directed;

thus, it is often referred to as an APPROACH OBJECT.

• Avoidance Object: a negative goal is one from which behavior is directed away and is referred to as AVOIDANCE OBJECT.

EXAMPLE

Approachobject

• A middle aged woman with a positive goal to stay fit may join a health club to work out regularly.

Avoidance object

• Whereas her husband, who views getting fat as a negative goal, joins health club to guide his exercise.

Rational versus emotional motives

Rational motives: rationality implies that a consumer behaves rationally by carefully considering all alternatives and choosing the one which gives him the greatest utility.

Eg: size, weight, price, etc.

Emotional motives: emotional motives imply the selection of goals according to personal or subjective criteria.

Eg: pride, affection, status, fear, etc.

The Dynamics of Motivation

1. Many needs are never fully satisfied, they continually impel actions designed to attain or maintain satisfaction.

2. As needs become satisfied, new and higher-order needs emerge that cause tension and induce activity.

3. People who achieve their goals set new and higher goals for themselves.

Needs are never fully satisfied

Most human needs are never fully or permanently satisfied.

E.g.: at fairly regular intervals throughout each day individuals

experience hunger needs that must be satisfied.

New needs emerge as old needs are satisfied

• As soon as a consumer fulfills his lower order needs simultaneously higher order needs emerge.

Success and failure influence goals

• Individuals who successfully achieve their goals usually set new and higher goals for themselves; i.e they raise their LEVELS OF ASPIRATION. This can be due to the fact that their success in reaching lower goals makes them more confident of their ability to reach higher goals.

• Conversely, those who do not reach their goals sometimes lower their LEVELS OF ASPIRATION

Substitute goals• When an individual cannot attain a specific

goal or type of goal that he or she anticipates will satisfy certain needs, behavior may be directed to a SUBSTITUTE GOAL.

Example :

www.pptmart.com

Frustration• Failure to achieve a goal often results in feelings of

frustration . At one time or other, everyone has experienced the frustration that comes from the inability to attain a goal.

BARRIERS in attainment of goals: Personal : limited physical resources or financial resources. Physical or social environment : a sudden cancellation of holidays postpones your much awaited trip.

Defense Mechanisms• Defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological strategies

brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to

maintain self-image.

Types of Defense Mechanisms: Aggression Rationalization Regression Withdrawal Projection Daydreaming Identification Repression

Multiplicity of needs and variation of goals

• A consumer’s behavior often fulfills more than one need. In fact it is likely that specific goals are selected because they fulfill several needs.

Eg: we buy clothing for protection and for a certain degree of modesty ; in addition, our clothing fulfills a wide range of personal and social needs such as acceptance or ego needs.

Arousal of Motives Physiological arousal: bodily needs at any one

specific moment in time are based on the individual’s physiological condition at that time.

Eg: a drop in blood sugar level or stomach contractions will trigger awareness of a hunger need.

Emotional arousal: sometimes daydreaming results in the arousal or stimulation of latent needs.

Eg: a young man who dreams of being a famous novelist may enroll in a writing workshop.

Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of Needs