Consumer Buying Motives

Buying motives refer to the underlying reasons why a consumer decides to purchase a particular product or service. These motives can be both rational and emotional, and can vary widely from person to person. Some common buying motives include fulfilling a need or want, solving a problem, seeking pleasure or enjoyment, or making a statement about oneself or one’s lifestyle. Understanding a consumer’s buying motives is essential for businesses to develop effective marketing strategies and products that appeal to their target audience.

The concept of buying motives is based on the idea that consumers are not simply purchasing products or services for their functional benefits alone, but rather for the underlying needs, desires, and motivations that drive their behavior. These motives can be both conscious and unconscious and can be influenced by a range of internal and external factors such as personal values, social norms, cultural influences, and marketing messages. For example, a consumer may choose to buy a luxury car not only for its performance and features but also to express their social status or self-image.

Understanding the different buying motives of consumers is important for businesses to create effective marketing strategies that resonate with their target audience. By identifying the underlying needs and desires that drive consumer behavior, companies can tailor their messaging, product design, and customer experience to meet these needs and create a more compelling value proposition. By appealing to consumers’ motives, businesses can build stronger brand loyalty and drive long-term customer relationships.

Buying motives include:

• Need: A consumer may have a genuine need for a product, such as food, clothing, or shelter.
• Desire: A consumer may want a product because it makes them feel good, such as buying luxury items like designer clothes, expensive cars, or jewelry.
• Social status: A consumer may purchase products or services to show off their social status, such as buying high-end cars, homes, or designer clothes.
• Convenience: A consumer may purchase a product or service because it is more convenient than an alternative, such as purchasing pre-packaged meals instead of cooking from scratch.
• Safety: A consumer may purchase a product or service because it is safer than an alternative, such as buying a car with advanced safety features or purchasing a home security system.
• Health: A consumer may purchase a product or service because it is better for their health, such as buying organic food or purchasing gym memberships.
• Emotional reasons: A consumer may purchase a product or service because of an emotional attachment or personal significance, such as buying a particular brand of perfume because it reminds them of a loved one.

Buying Motives Process

The buying motives process is the sequence of steps that a consumer goes through in making a purchase decision, taking into account their needs, wants, motivations, and constraints.

Understanding the buying motives process is essential for businesses to create effective marketing strategies and products that meet the needs and desires of their target audience at each stage of the process. By identifying the different factors that influence consumer behavior, businesses can create more compelling value propositions that appeal to consumers’ motivations and drive long-term customer relationships.

The following are the general steps of the buying motives process:

• Recognition of a need or want: This is the first step in the buying process where the consumer realizes a need or want that must be satisfied. This could be prompted by internal factors such as hunger or thirst, or external factors such as a new product or promotion.
• Information search: Once a consumer has identified a need or want, they will begin to search for information about potential solutions. This could involve research on the internet, asking for recommendations from friends or family, or consulting with salespeople.
• Evaluation of alternatives: After gathering information about different options, the consumer will evaluate the pros and cons of each alternative based on their buying motives. This could involve comparing prices, features, quality, and other factors.
• Purchase decision: After evaluating the different alternatives, the consumer will make a purchase decision based on their buying motives. This could involve factors such as price, quality, availability, convenience, or brand loyalty.
• Post-purchase evaluation: After making a purchase, the consumer will evaluate their decision based on whether it met their needs and expectations. This could lead to positive or negative feedback about the product, which could influence their future buying behavior.

Buying Motives Theories

There are several theories that attempt to explain the buying motives of consumers. Here are three of the most prominent:

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: This theory posits that humans have a hierarchy of needs, starting with basic physiological needs (such as food, water, and shelter) and progressing through safety, love and belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualization. According to this theory, consumers will be motivated to purchase products that satisfy their current level of need in the hierarchy.
• Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory: This theory suggests that there are two types of factors that influence consumer behavior: hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors are basic needs that must be met in order for a consumer to consider purchasing a product, such as product quality, price, and availability. Motivators, on the other hand, are higher-level needs that are not strictly necessary but can drive purchase decisions, such as social status or personal fulfillment.
• Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory: This theory suggests that consumers are motivated by unconscious desires and emotions, including fears, anxieties, and desires for power or control. According to this theory, consumers may make purchase decisions based on subconscious desires or needs that they may not be aware of.

How to Alter Buying Motives?

Altering buying motives involves changing the underlying needs, desires, or motivations that drive consumer behavior. Here are some ways that businesses can attempt to alter buying motives:

• Targeted marketing: By understanding the specific needs and desires of their target audience, businesses can create marketing messages that appeal to those motivations. This could involve highlighting the benefits of a product that align with consumers’ values, or showcasing the lifestyle or social status associated with a particular product.
• Product innovation: Developing products that better align with consumers’ needs and desires can help alter their buying motives. For example, if consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of their purchases, developing products with eco-friendly features can appeal to those motivations.
• Pricing strategies: Changing the price of a product can alter consumers’ buying motives by making it more or less attractive. For example, offering discounts or promotions can make a product more appealing, while increasing the price can make it less attractive.
• Influencer marketing: Partnering with influencers or other trusted sources can help alter consumers’ buying motives by leveraging their influence and credibility. This could involve sponsoring a celebrity or social media influencer to promote a product, or partnering with experts in a particular field to lend credibility to a product.
• Social proof: By showcasing positive reviews or testimonials from satisfied customers, businesses can alter consumers’ buying motives by providing social proof that a product is desirable and worth purchasing.