Chapter 2
Consumer Motivation
Copyright 2007 by Prentice Hall
Chapter Outline
• Model of the Motivation Process
• Goals
• Motives
• Needs
• Motivational Research
Needs and Motivation
• Needs are the essence of the marketing
concept. Marketers do not create
needs but can make consumers aware
of needs.
• Motivation is the driving force within
individuals that impels them to action.
Figure 4.1 Model of the Motivation
Process
Group discussion
QUESTION
What is the unfulfilled need/ tension that drives consumers to buy
product in this commercial?
Types of Needs
• Innate Needs
– Physiological (or biogenic) needs that are
considered primary needs or motives
• Acquired Needs
– Learned in response to our culture or
environment. Are generally psychological
and considered secondary needs
Innate or Acquired Needs?
Goals
• The sought-after results of motivated
behavior
• Generic goals are general categories of
goals that consumers see as a way to
fulfill their needs
• Product-specific goals are specifically
branded products or services that
consumers select as their goals
Generic or Product Specific Goals?
Figure 4-2a
Goals Structure Process
Figure 4-2b
Goals Structure for Weight Control
The Selection of Goals
• The goals selected by an individual
depend on their:
– Personal experiences
– Physical capacity
– Prevailing cultural norms and values
– Goal’s accessibility in the physical and
social environment
Motivations and Goals
Positive Negative
• Motivation • Motivation
– A driving force A driving force away
toward from some object or
some object or condition
condition • Avoidance Goal
• Approach Goal – A negative goal from
– A positive goal which behavior is
toward directed away
which behavior is
directed
Rational versus Emotional
Motives
• Rationality implies that consumers
select goals based on totally objective
criteria such as size, weight, price, or
miles per gallon
• Emotional motives imply the selection
of goals according to personal or
subjective criteria
Discussion Question
• What products might be purchased
using rational and emotional motives?
• What marketing strategies are effective
when there are combined motives?
Rational or 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
Substitute Goals
• Are used when a consumer cannot attain a specific
goal he/she anticipates will satisfy a need
• The substitute goal will dispel tension
• Substitute goals may actually replace the
primary goal over time
Frustration
• Failure to achieve a goal may result in
frustration.
• Some adapt; others adopt defense
mechanisms to protect their ego.
Defense Mechanism
• Methods by which people mentally
redefine frustrating situations to
protect their self-images and their self-
esteem
Table 4.2 Defense Mechanisms
• Aggression • Projection
• Rationalization • Autism
• Regression • Identification
• Withdrawal • Repression
Arousal of Motives
• Physiological arousal
• Emotional arousal
• Cognitive arousal
• Environmental arousal
Philosophies Concerned with
Arousal of Motives
• Behaviorist School
– Behavior is response to stimulus
– Elements of conscious thoughts are to be ignored
– Consumer does not act, but reacts
• Cognitive School
– Behavior is directed at goal achievement
– Needs and past experiences are reasoned,
categorized, and transformed into attitudes and
beliefs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Figure 4.10
weblink
Group Discussion
• Give example of one type of
product related to more than
one level of Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs.
• For that type of product – consider two
brands. How do marketers attempt to
differentiate their product from the
competition?
A Trio of Needs
• Power
– individual’s desire to control environment
• Affiliation
– need for friendship, acceptance, and
belonging
• Achievement
– need for personal accomplishment
– closely related to egoistic and self-
actualization needs
Measurement of Motives
• Researchers rely on a combination of
techniques
• Combination of behavioral, subjective,
and qualitative data
• Construction of a measurement scale
can be complex
Motivational Research
• Qualitative research designed to
uncover consumers’ subconscious or
hidden motivations
• Attempts to discover underlying
feelings, attitudes, and emotions
Qualitative Motivational
Research
• Metaphor analysis
• Storytelling
• Word association and sentence
completion
• Thematic apperception test
• Drawing pictures and photo-sorts