Consumer Behavior & Market Research Assignment - 2

Motivation is said to be a complex process in understanding for marketing

purpose. Explain this statement giving suitable examples based on the
marketing stimuli you have come across in the recent past.
Answer:
Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological
deficiency or need that activates a behavior or drive that is aimed at a goal or
incentive.
Thus, the process involves needs, which set drives in motion to accomplish a
goal (anything that alleviates a need and reduces a drive).
To understand the process of motivation, one has to understand the meaning of
need, drive, and goal and the relationships among them.
Needs, Drives and Goals (Incentives)
Needs: Needs are created or come into existence whenever there is a
physiological or psychological imbalance. A need exists when cells in the body
are experiencing a shortage of food or water.
Drives: A drive is a deficiency with a direction. Drives denote actions and
intention to act by individuals and they are exhibited to alleviate needs. Drives
and motives are terms used interchangeably. Drives provide an energizing thrust
toward reaching an incentive or goal.
Incentives or goals: Anything that will alleviate a need is an incentive or goal
in the motivation cycle. Attaining an incentive or goal will tend to restore
physiological or psychological balance and will reduce the drive up to zero level.

Consumer Behavior & Market Research Assignment - 2

Consumer motivation

is the drive to satisfy needs and wants, both

physiological and psychological, through the purchase and use of products and
services. Some motives are simplewe need food, water, warmth, and shelter in
order to survive. Others are more complex, such as the yearning for love or the
desire for status and admiration.
Marketers have long recognized it as an impelling and compelling force behind
most marketplace behavior. Consumer motivation can be viewed as a process
through which needs are satisfied.

How Consumer Motivation Affects Marketplace Behavior

The motives described by Maslow, Dichter, and Sheth affect several types of
consumer behavior: most important, consumer decision making, consumer
conflict resolution, and consumption patterns.

Influence on Consumer Decision Making

In making product and service decisions, consumers move through a sequence of
choices. First, the consumer selects a generic category of goods or services. A
would-be tourist, for example, decides to travel rather than spend money on new
furniture. Second, the consumer makes a modal choice. For the tourist, this
involves choosing between air or rail travel. Finally, the consumer makes a

Consumer Behavior & Market Research Assignment - 2

specific choice. Once the decision is made to fly, the choice is made between,
say, Delta and United Airlines. In each of these three decisions, the consumer is
swayed toward or away from different alternatives by the strength or weakness
of different motives. For example, the consumer who decided to travel instead of
spending money on furniture is motivated by his being a big fan of a certain
sports team. He finds out the team is playing in a game in Hawaii. He may have
made the travel-versus-furniture decision based on his emotional attachment to
the team and his strong desire to be part of the sport event experience in an
exotic place. The choice of airline to get there, though, might boil down to the
lowest fare. The flight decision is mostly dictated by a functional motivethe
need to save money.

Influence on consumer conflict resolution

Approach-approach conflict
Approach-avoidance conflict
Avoidance-avoidance conflict

Influence on consumption patterns

Motives, once activated, shape resulting behaviors.
The need for achievement affects such behaviors as performing well on the job
or in school; the need for power affects such behaviors as competing for a
management position; the need for affiliation affects such behaviors as being
pleasant to others in order to gain their friendship.
Several studies have revealed the influence of consumer motives on actual
marketplace behavior. One study measured health motivation using a self-report
inventory with items such as I try to prevent health problems before I feel any
symptoms, I am concerned about health hazards and try to take action to
prevent them, and I try to protect myself against health hazards I hear about.
Health-related behaviors have also been measured using self-report inventories
related to dieting (eating a well-balanced diet, reducing sodium intake, cutting
back on snacks and treats), stress-related behaviors (getting enough rest and
sleep, reducing anxiety, maintaining a balance between work and play), and
consumption of tobacco and alcohol, among others. Since consumers are eating
away from home more often, there is a question of whether this contributes to

Consumer Behavior & Market Research Assignment - 2

the rise in obesity due to higher caloric foods consumed at these eateries. Are
certain consumers motived to consume healthy food but not aware that their
behaviors in the marketplace conflict with that motivation? One recent study
looked at how simply providing nutritional and food labeling on menus may help
consumers make better eating decisions. [15] The findings were mixed and the
researchers suggested that consumers might be impacted by halo effects from
a general brand perception of the larger franchise at which they are eating. [16]
For example, the consumer might think that since they are eating at a Subway
franchise all the offerings are fresh and healthy, since Subway has touted that
message for years.
Although many consumption behaviors can be directly related to obvious
motives, others involve a web of different motivations. A study investigated the
various and complex motives behind high-risk leisure activities. The study
revealed that people who engage in activities such as skydiving, mountain
climbing, scuba diving, and hang gliding tend to be motivated differently at
different stages of the activity. First, motives for getting started include curiosity,
thrill seeking, social compliance, and a desire for adventure. As one skydiver puts
it, There were twenty of us. One guy goes, Man, Ive always wanted to skydive.
Why dont we do that this weekend? And we were like, Yeah, sure, in one ear
and out the other. Well, this guy organized the whole trip. I was so excited. It was
something I would never pursue on my own. Five of us went, three guys and two
girls. I can say one thing. It helped out a lot having them with me. I would never
have done that by myself.
Second, motives for sticking with the activity include efficacy (a desire to
develop technical skill for both personal satisfaction and social status), the
creation of a new self-identity, group camaraderie (a need to develop and
reinforce interpersonal bonds), and heightened experience (a desire for intense
emotional experience).
Third, motives for increased involvement include flow (a need for intense
experience with thrill and excitement), communitas (a need for a sense of
community), and phatic community (a need for a special means of
communication or language that helps the bonding process and that excludes
those who do not share the experience).

How Marketers Can Trigger Consumer Motives

Consumer Behavior & Market Research Assignment - 2

Marketers can trigger consumer motives by inducing need recognition,
motivation through need-benefit segmentation, and subconscious motivation.
Inducing need recognition to activate consumer motives and thus guide
marketplace behavior, the marketer must steer the consumer from an actual
state to a desired state.

Triggering Motivation through Need-Benefit Segmentation

By understanding consumer motivations, marketers can better target goods and
services to meet the needs of specific market segments. They can emphasize
benefits that satisfy recognizable needs. A tire manufacturer, for example, might
advertise in Modern Maturity that its radial tire is blowout-proof, satisfying the
need of older consumers for safety and security. Advertised in Maxim, the same
tire can be offered with racy white lettering to appeal to consumers eager to
project a young, sporty image, satisfying the need for esteem.
Triggering Subconscious Motivation
Many purchases reveal subconscious motivations. For instance, the use of cigars
and cigarettes is connected to such hidden motives as oral and sexual
gratification. Similarly, some consumers view sports cars as symbols of virility.
Some consumers of luxury goods might be more concerned about how others
view them, while others may be more motivated by their own internal intrinsic
desires. In the mobile phone world, one researcher argues that focusing on the
subconscious motivation of the mobile phone providing comfort and calm is
much more sustainable and enduring than trying to focus on connectedness
that may lead to feeling safe and in control, as most mobile providers do in some
manner.
Can marketers sell anythingno matter how trivial or useless the product or
service? They can, of course, by associating the offering with important
consumer needs or motives.