MOTIVATION

► Marketers should try to

create products and
services that best meet
the needs and wants of
consumers

Why Study ► Marketers must find out

what needs consumers
Motivation? have and what
motivates them to buy

► The field of motivation

seeks to explain why
behaviour occurs
 Needs, Wants, Demands and
Goals
• An internal state of tension
Needs • Biogenic/psychogenic

• Shaped by culture and individual personality

Wants

• Wants backed by buying power

Demands

• The end-state or outcome that a person would

Goals like to achieve
 Motivation Defined

► Motivation refers to the processes

that cause people to behave as
they do

► Motivation occurs when a need is

aroused that the consumer wishes to
satisfy.

► Once a need has been activated, a

state of tension exists that drives the
consumer to attempt to eliminate or
reduce the need.
Model of the Motivation Process
Learning

Needs Goal or
wants, need
Tension Drive Behaviour
and fulfill-
desires ment

Cognitive
processes

Tension
reduction
 Overt and Hidden Motives

► We cannot observe motives, only

behaviour, therefore we infer the
motive that caused behaviour

► Overt motives are motives that we

are consciously aware of

► Hidden motives are motives that

consumers themselves may not be
aware of - first raised by Freud
 Internal and External Motives

► Motivation is sometimes sparked internally (e.g.

hunger) or externally (e.g. a friend’s suggestion)

► Once sparked, the direction the motivated

behaviour will take is also determined partially
by internal factors (e.g. personal preferences)
and partially by external factors (e.g. price and
availability)

► Behaviour is a function of the person and the

environment
 Positive and Negative Motives

Positive Motivation
► Motivated to buy something because a positive
outcome is expected

Negative Motivation
► Motivated to buy something to avoid a negative
outcome
 Rational and Emotional
Motives

► Rational Motives
► Consumers are motivated by objective
criteria when making decisions e.g. size,
weight, price, or miles per gallon (utilitarian
motives)

► Emotional Motives
► Consumers are motivated by personal or
subjective criteria (hedonic motives)
Rational Motives
Emotional Motives
 The Dynamic Nature of
Motivation

► Needs are never fully satisfied

► New needs emerge as old needs are satisfied

► People who achieve their goals set new and

higher goals for themselves
Classifying Human Needs

MASLOW MCCLELLAND
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Self
Actualisation
(Self
fulfilment)
Ego Needs
(Prestige, status,
self esteem)
Social Needs
(affection, friendship,
belonging)
Safety and Security Needs
(Protection, order, stability)

Physiological Needs
(Food, water, air, shelter, sex)
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs

► Five basic levels of human needs: physiological,

safety and security, social, ego, self-actualisation

► Distinguishes between needs according to whether

they fulfil a deficit or a growth function
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Based on four assumptions:

• All humans acquire a similar set of
motives through genetic endowment
and social interaction
• Some motives are more basic or critical
• The more basic motives must be satisfied
to a minimum level before other motives
are activated
• As basic motives are satisfied, more
advanced motives come into play
Physiological Needs

► Most basic needs required to

sustain biological life

► Are dominant when they are

chronically unsatisfied

► May appeal to this range of

needs through sexual appeals in
advertising or through promoting
the thirst-quenching or filling
properties of a drink or food
 Safety Needs

► Safety needs are not usually active

for most of us

► Examples: protection, security,

stability and familiarity

► Marketers can appeal to safety

needs by using messages
advertising safer cars or promoting
a safer environment
Social Needs

► Examples: love, affection,

belonging and acceptance

► Can appeal to social needs by

showing group acceptance

► Used when selling personal

grooming products, clothing,
cars, status goods,
entertainment….
Ego Needs

► Reflects the general need for

an individual to evaluate
him/herself positively

► These needs can take either an

inward or an outward direction

► Can appeal to these needs by

linking your brand with success
 Self-Actualization Needs

► Refers to an individual’s desire to

fulfil his/her potential

► Marketers can appeal to this

motive by showing self-fulfilment
through travel, education and
cultural pursuits
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
 The Validity of Maslow’s
Theory

► Good guide to general behaviour

► Too simplistic ?
► Difficult to test empirically
► Ordering of the needs may not be
consistent across cultures
► A product can satisfy more than one
level of needs
► Most people’s physiological and
safety needs are satisfied anyway in
modern society
► The ultimate state in the hierarchy is
difficult to achieve
 Three Needs Theory

► Need for power

McClelland’s
Classification
► Need for affiliation
of Needs

► Need for
achievement
 Need for Power

► Relates to an individual’s desire to control his/her environment

(control persons and objects)

► Closely related to the ego need – people experience increased

self-esteem when they exercise power over people and objects

► Cars lend themselves to promises of power and superiority over

others
► Suggests that behaviour is highly influenced by the desire for
friendship, for acceptance and for belonging

► People with high affiliation needs tend to have strong social

dependence on others
Need for Affiliation
► Closely related to social needs
 Need for Achievement

► Closely related to ego and self-actualisation needs

► People with a high need for achievement tend to be

more self-confident, and enjoy taking calculated risks

► Good prospects for cleverly presented innovative

products, stocks, shares, property etc.
McClelland Trio of Needs
What Can Be Done To
Motivate Consumers?

► Research the target

audience

► Positive reinforcement

► Encourage involvement
 Appeal to the consumer’s
hedonic needs.

Use novel and prominent stimuli.

Include celebrity endorsers.

Techniques
to Increase
Build a bond with consumers by
Involvement maintaining an ongoing
relationships with them.
Motivations to Shop
Online
Motivational Research

► Designed to uncover
consumers’ subconscious
or hidden motivations

► Based on Freud’s theory of

personality

► Freud’s ideas applied to

understand hidden
motives for purchase
 Ernest Dichter
► Founding father of
motivational research

► Applied Freud’s ideas to

the study of consumer
buying habits

► Stressed the importance of

psychological and
symbolic aspects of
consumption
 Selected Product Personality Profiles
Uncovered by Motivational Research

Baking An expression of femininity and motherhood, baking

evokes pleasant, nostalgic memories of the odours
pervading the house when the mother was baking. To
many, a woman is subconsciously and symbolically
going through the act of giving birth when baking
a cake, and the most fertile moment occurs
when the baked product is pulled out of the oven!

Ice Cream Ice cream is associated with love and affection.

People refer to ice cream as something that they
‘love’ to eat. It derives particular potency from
childhood memories, when it was given to a child for
being ‘good’ and withheld as an instrument of
punishment. Ice cream is a symbol of abundance,
people prefer round packaging with an illustration
that runs around the box panel as it suggests
unlimited quantity
 Selected Product Personality Profiles
Uncovered by Motivational Research
Power Tools Power tools are a symbol of manliness. They
represent masculine skill and competence and
are often bought more for their symbolic value
than for active do-it-yourself applications.
Ownership of a good power tool or circular saw
provides a man with feelings of omnipotence!

Car Allows a consumer to convert their subconscious

fear of death, and their urges to destroy into
reality. Cars are seen to have personalities and
people become attached to their cars and view
them as companions rather than objects.
Motivational Research
Vance Packard
► ‘The Hidden Persuaders’
(1957)

► Studied Dichter’s work and

viewed him as the ‘big
villain’, manipulating
consumers’ minds

► Saw the consumer as a

victim of American ‘super
advertising scientists’
Evaluation of
Motivational Research

Criticisms

1) It Does Not Work

2) It Works Too Well

Evaluation of
Motivational Research

Positive

1) Cost Efficiency

2) Providing Insights

3) Intuitive Sense
 ► Focus Groups

► In-depth Interviews

Motivational
► Projective Techniques
Research
► Storytelling
Techniques
► Role playing
► Word association
► Sentence
completion……