Session Overview

Welcome to the session on ‘Drivers of Consumer Behaviour’.

Let’s consider an example. Two friends, Monica and Rachel, went to the nearby
shopping store to buy dresses for themselves. The store manager showed them the
best dresses available with him. Rachel immediately purchased two dresses, but
Monica returned home empty-handed. The dresses were a little expensive for
Monica and she preferred simple designs as compared to the designer clothes
available at the store.

In the above example, Rachel and Monica had similar requirements, but there was
a huge difference in their taste, mindset and ability to spend.

This prompts the question, what motivates consumers to buy something? Why do
they behave the way they do? You will learn the answers to these questions in this
session.

Before you begin, let’s understand the meaning of consumer behaviour. It refers to
the various stages that a consumer goes through before purchasing products or
services.
 All these questions considered several factors that influence the purchase decisions
of a consumer, including personal, psychological, situational and social factors that
you have already learnt.

However, the study of consumer behaviour will answer three basic questions:

  Why or why not a consumer buys a product?

  When does a consumer buy a product?
  How does a consumer buy a product?

Inherently, it converges to one single answer - motivation.

In this session

You will see how can ‘motivation’ be the single most important driver to influence
a consumer’s purchase decision.

The broad agenda of this session is as follows:

1.  Introduction to motivation
2.  Consumer’s decision-making process
3.  Consumer’s needs, wants and demands
4.  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
5.  Introduction to emotions
At the end of this session, you will be able to identify the drivers of motivation that
influence consumers’ behaviour to purchase a product or a service and decide an
appropriate marketing strategy accordingly

Introduction to
Motivation
In the previous session, you learnt the importance of consumer focus and consumer
insights. A product only sells if the customer sees value in it. So, for your product
to sell, you need to derive consumer insights by conducting market research and
using the wisdom you’ve gained from your and others’ experience. You also learnt
the different factors that motivate the purchase decision of an individual. Now,
let’s take a look at the underlying principle of motivation that allows a user to
make a decision and how you can use it to your advantage at each stage of the
consumer journey.

You must have wondered why some marketing campaigns are so successful at
inducing purchase behaviour while some are not. Or, the following question would
have surely crossed your mind - ‘Why do consumers tend to select certain brands
over a multitude of different brands in the market?’ Motivation is the reason for
such consumer behaviour. Therefore, it is crucial for marketers to understand the
concept of motivation and its implications.

In the next video, let’s understand this concept in greater detail.

 
 Note: Please watch the following TV commercials before proceeding further.
These ads will be referenced in the upcoming video.

Lux TVC

Axe Chocolate TVC

Motivation is an internal process, and hence, it is not directly observable. It can

only be deduced from the behaviour of a person. One of the most important
characteristics of ‘motivated behaviour’ is that it is goal-oriented. In the video, you
learnt that the beginning of the motivation process is the experience of a need gap
or emotion.

There are two different types of motivations that lead to goal-directed behaviour.
These are listed below:

1. Intrinsic motivation:  Here, motivation is driven by self-driven, intrinsic factors.

2. Extrinsic motivation:  Here, motivation is driven by external factors, such as
family, friends, neighbourhoods, etc.

After having learnt about the individuals being driven by different types of

motivations, now let's take a look at how, as a marketer, you can use these
motivation factors to target your customers.

In this video, you learnt how upGrad targeted the intrinsic and extrinsic
motivations to create an ad for its digital marketing programs.
Introduction to Motivation
Watch this ad and identify the motivation that the brand Volkswagen Vento uses to
motivate consumers to buy.
Intrinsic

✓ Correct
Feedback:
The person in the ad gives away his bike, saw himself in the mirror and decides to
change his lifestyle. The ad also motivates to buy the car for a new beginning.  Since
the orientation is inward, it is the intrinsic motivation that the ad targets.

Consumer's Decision-
Making Process
Now that you have identified the factors that help a consumer in making a decision
and have learnt that motivation is the one-stop solution to identifying how a
consumer will behave, let’s understand how these concepts work in an actual
decision-making process in the next video.

This explains the consumer’s purchase decision-making process. This process

could be either offline or online; however, the key stages remain the same. These
stages are as follows:

1. Need recognition
2. Information search

3. Evaluation of alternatives

4. Driving sales

5. Improving post-purchase experience

 To summarise, you learnt the different stages involved in a consumer’s decision-
making process. These stages are as follows:

1. Recognising a need gap

2. Searching for information

3. Evaluating alternatives

4. Making the purchase decision

5. Delighting consumers

Consumer Purchase-Making Process

 

Based on your current understanding of what you have learnt so far, answer the
following question. At which of the following stages of the customer’s purchase
decision can the user be leveraged most effectively to generate advocacy for your
firm?

Post-purchase experience

✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! At the post-purchase stage, the user is your customer and has already
used your product or service. So, they are most likely to act as a promoter and
share positive reviews or posts about your brand, which will create advocacy for
your brand.

You saw in the beginning that a person desired a Jaguar but she couldn’t afford it.
What essentially separates a need from a want and a want from a demand? In the
next segment, you will learn the concepts of needs, wants and demands, and how
they aid in consumer motivation
Consumer's Needs, Wants
and Demands
The concept of needs, wants and demands are important because they help a
marketer decide the products to offer in the market and create a differentiating
factor.

Let's understand about this concept further in the next video.

In this video, you learnt what are the basic differences in each of these terms and
how these can be used by a marketer in enhancing the need gap and
influencing brand selection.

Now, it is time to check your understanding of the subject.

Can marketing create a need? Explain your reason for choosing your answer.

 Answer
Marketers do not create needs. They might promote some specific products or
services and can create a want for those products or services, but they cannot create
a need. For example, marketers might promote the idea that insurance can satisfy a
person’s need for safety and security, but they do not create the need for it.

In the next segment, you will learn a detailed classification of needs, as proposed
by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. 
 Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs
It is essential for a marketer to know the different needs due to which consumption
actions are initiated. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a 5-layer model of human
needs. This framework has, over the years, been utilised extensively by marketers
to understand the need gaps that exist in the market and position their brands
accordingly. So, let's study this framework in detail.

In this video, you learnt that, as a consumer, you make purchases because you are
trying to bridge a need gap and progress to the next level of the hierarchy. 

You also learnt that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comprises a set of needs that are
arranged in a pyramidal shape. In this pyramid, the hierarchy starts at the bottom,
which constitutes the most basic needs, and then progresses towards other more
advanced needs. The moment the basic needs are satisfied, the needs on the next
level become dominant. The five levels of needs are classified as follows:

1. Physiological needs:  These are the most basic needs that need to be satisfied by
humans to survive which include the need for food, water, shelter, air, clothing and
sex.
2. Safety and security needs:  Once the basic physiological needs are satisfied, the
need for stability, safety and order arises. These needs include the needs of
physical security or safety from violence, and aggression; security of
employment, and resources; security of family and health; and security of personal
property against crime.
3. Social needs:  This set of needs emerges primarily when the physiological and
safety and security needs have been satisfied. Social needs refer to the need to
belong, need to love, need for affection, need for friendship and need for sexual
intimacy.
4. Self-esteem needs:  Once the social needs have been satisfied, people shift to the
next higher need, that is, the need for self-esteem. This need refers to your sense of
self-worth and to have people recognise this self-worth. Therefore, Maslow’s self-
esteem needs can be divided into the following sub-categories:

1. Self-worth in one’s own eyes that includes one’s sense of competence

and independence

2. Self-worth recognised by others and, in consequence, helps gain

recognition, prestige, acceptance, attention, status, appreciation and
reputation

5. Self-actualisation needs:  This is the top-most need in the hierarchy. According to

Maslow, a person tries to actualise himself only after all their other needs have
been fulfilled. Self-actualisation is defined as the desire to become all that one is
capable of becoming. A person who is seeking self-actualisation tries to realise all
their potential, abilities and talents.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been widely utilised in marketing and consumer
research to understand consumption patterns and generate consumer insights. One
very specific application of Maslow’s hierarchy is to help a brand differentiate
itself from its competitors and create its position in the market accordingly. 

Note: Please watch the following TV commercials before proceeding further. The
ads will be referenced in the upcoming video.

Ford TVC
Chevrolet TVC
Mercedes-Benz TVC

Let’s see how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be applied to help a brand
differentiate itself from its competitors in the next video

Now, let's answer a few questions based on your learnings of the concept.

There is another driver for consumer motivation and the reason why you are
inclined towards a particular product or service. In the next segment, let’s take a
look at this driver

Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs
It is essential for a marketer to know the different needs due to which consumption
actions are initiated. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a 5-layer model of human
needs. This framework has, over the years, been utilised extensively by marketers
 to understand the need gaps that exist in the market and position their brands
accordingly. So, let's study this framework in detail.

In this video, you learnt that, as a consumer, you make purchases because you are
trying to bridge a need gap and progress to the next level of the hierarchy. 

You also learnt that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comprises a set of needs that are
arranged in a pyramidal shape. In this pyramid, the hierarchy starts at the bottom,
which constitutes the most basic needs, and then progresses towards other more
advanced needs. The moment the basic needs are satisfied, the needs on the next
level become dominant. The five levels of needs are classified as follows:

1. Physiological needs:  These are the most basic needs that need to be satisfied by
humans to survive which include the need for food, water, shelter, air, clothing and
sex.
2. Safety and security needs:  Once the basic physiological needs are satisfied, the
need for stability, safety and order arises. These needs include the needs of
physical security or safety from violence, and aggression; security of
employment, and resources; security of family and health; and security of personal
property against crime.
3. Social needs:  This set of needs emerges primarily when the physiological and
safety and security needs have been satisfied. Social needs refer to the need to
belong, need to love, need for affection, need for friendship and need for sexual
intimacy.
4. Self-esteem needs:  Once the social needs have been satisfied, people shift to the
next higher need, that is, the need for self-esteem. This need refers to your sense of
 self-worth and to have people recognise this self-worth. Therefore, Maslow’s self-
esteem needs can be divided into the following sub-categories:

1. Self-worth in one’s own eyes that includes one’s sense of competence

and independence
2. Self-worth recognised by others and, in consequence, helps gain
recognition, prestige, acceptance, attention, status, appreciation and
reputation
5. Self-actualisation needs:  This is the top-most need in the hierarchy. According to
Maslow, a person tries to actualise himself only after all their other needs have
been fulfilled. Self-actualisation is defined as the desire to become all that one is
capable of becoming. A person who is seeking self-actualisation tries to realise all
their potential, abilities and talents.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been widely utilised in marketing and consumer
research to understand consumption patterns and generate consumer insights. One
very specific application of Maslow’s hierarchy is to help a brand differentiate
itself from its competitors and create its position in the market accordingly. 
 

Note: Please watch the following TV commercials before proceeding further. The
ads will be referenced in the upcoming video.

Ford TVC
Chevrolet TVC
Mercedes-Benz TVC

Let’s see how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be applied to help a brand
differentiate itself from its competitors in the next video

Now, let's answer a few questions based on your learnings of the concept.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Identify the set of needs targeted in this ad by the brand ‘Dairymilk’.
Social needs

✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! Social needs refer to the need for love, affection, care, belongingness
and friendship. Dairymilk targets the need for care and belongingness provided
by a son to his old housemaid.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Twenty-year-old Mary is pursuing her higher education in the field of her interest. To
attend college, she had to move to a new city away from home. Living in a hostel,
she is learning a bunch of chores and managing her studies on the side. Since the
environment is very new to Mary, she oftentimes feels lonely and homesick.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy, which set of Mary’s needs are unfulfilled?

Social needs
✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! Social needs refer to the need for love, affection, care, belongingness
and friendship which are unfulfilled for Mary currently.

There is another driver for consumer motivation and the reason why you are
inclined towards a particular product or service. In the next segment, let’s take a
look at this driver.

Emotion As A Driver For

Motivation
Emotions not only play a reinforcement role but also play a role in the process of
consumption of products/services. There are hundreds of emotions that human
beings feel. For example, positive emotions felt during the consumption of the
service compel the customer to continue with it and feel satisfied. On the other
hand, negative emotions may lead to dissatisfaction and cause them to switch to
some other service. 

This implies that there is a certain level of emotion attached to the brand that you
purchase. Thus, a marketer’s job is to identify this emotion in order to sell their
product/service and create a loyal following. In the next video, you will learn more
about this concept.

Based on the categorisation of emotions proposed by the American psychologist

Robert Plutchik, there are eight basic emotions that are shared by every human
being. These emotions are joy, anticipation, anger, disgust, sadness, surprise, fear,
and trust. All other emotions are a mix of these primary emotions. Given below is
an image of Plutchik's wheel of emotions that captures the primary emotions and
the derived emotions, as learnt in the video.
Now, let's answer the following questions.

Type of Emotions
Johnson & Johnson’s products are specially customised for babies, with the tagline ‘A
Family Company at Work for a Better World’. Which of the following emotions is
associated with the brand Johnson & Johnson in this case?

Trust

✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! As you may have observed, the tagline talks about a company that
boasts of its pride in being a family brand that is involved in making a better
world for its consumers, thereby evoking the response of trust in its consumers.

In the next segment, let’s summarise the key learnings from this session.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Identify the set of Maslow needs that is targeted by the brand Wildstone in its TVC. 
Social needs
✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! Social needs refer to the need for love, affection, care, belongingness,
friendship or intimacy. The ad targets the need for affection and intimacy.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Choose the correct option from those given below.

L’Oréal Paris Makeup Genius app lets you virtually try on their products, explore
curated looks, share with your friends and experiment with beauty. What needs of
the customer is this app targeting?

Self-esteem needs

✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! In this ad campaign, the app is trying to inculcate the feeling of self-
worth and beauty in its users and thus targeting their self-esteem needs.

Drivers for Consumer Motivation

From the following options, identify the emotion that the brand Panasonic is trying
to evoke through this ad campaign.
Optimism

✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! The underlying theme of the advertisement is hope. It portrays how
people with disabilities could identify their passion and make a career out of it.
It gives hope to look beyond frames. Thus, to have hope is to be optimistic.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Peter works as a Digital Marketing Manager for a leading FMCG company. His day-
to-day work involves a lot of ideation as he is working with his team to develop end-
to-end brand concepts for the products in the company. He leads a team of five and
thoroughly enjoys his work.

Peter has three very close friends who he loves to spend time with. However,
whenever he is out with them, he feels they undermine his work with their
condescending comments and by not understanding the impact of his work in the
industry. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which need of Peter is being left
unfulfilled in this scenario?

Self-esteem needs
✓ Correct
Feedback:
Correct! Self-esteem needs refer to the internal self-esteem needs such as self-
respect, confidence, competence, achievement as well as external esteem needs
such as pride, recognition, power and status. Peter’s friends not acknowledging
his work makes him feel unfulfilled in this area.