Consumer Needs & Motivation

What is Motivation?
• Motivation refers to an activated state
within a person that leads to goal-
directed behavior.
– It consists of the drives, urges, wishes, or
desires that initiate the sequence of
events leading to a behavior.
 What is a Motive?
• A strong and persistent internal
stimulus around which behavior is
organized
 Key Concepts
• Needs
– Innate / biological / primary
• Physiological needs
– Food, clothing, shelter
– Acquired / learned / secondary
• Psychological needs
– Self esteem, prestige, affection, etc.
– Multiplicity of needs
Biogenic vs. Psychogenic needs

• Biogenic needs
– Food, water, air, sex, sleep, shelter
• Psychogenic needs
– Dominance, superiority, emotional
stability, achievement, compliance,
affiliation, change, endurance,
aggression, play
 Key Concepts
• Goals
– The result of motivated behavior
• Types
– Generic goals
– Product specific goals
• Selection criteria
– Personal experiences
– Physical capacity
– Cultural norms
– Accessibility
– Self image
 Key Concepts

• Needs/goals constantly change

– Needs are never fully satisfied
– New needs emerge as old ones are
satisfied
– Success and failure influence goals
– Substitute goals
 Key concepts
• Positive motivation
– Drive towards an object or condition
• Negative motivation
– Drive away from an object or condition
 Key Concepts
• Rational / cognitive motives
– Selection of goals (products) according to
objective criteria (size, weight, price, etc.)
leading to maximum utility
• Emotional / affective motives
– Selection of goals according to subjective
criteria (pride, fear, affection, prestige,
self image, etc.)
 Key Concepts
• Manifest motives
– Motives which are known to people and
freely admitted
• Latent motives
– Motives which may be unknown to
people or which they may not be willing
to admit
– Purchase of new car: necessity or showing off to
neighbor??
• Different motives may lead to same
behavior. Observing behavior is not
sufficient to determine motives
General Theories of Motivation
Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Self-actualization
Self improvement activities

Esteem
Choice of stores, self gifting

Social
Greeting cards, designer clothing

Safety
Car safety features

Physiological
Food, clothing, shelter
 Hierarchy of Needs
• Physiological needs
– Basic needs
• Food, clothing, shelter, etc.
• Safety needs
– Stability, familiarity, health, etc.
• Savings, insurance, education, etc.
• Social needs
– Love, affection, acceptance
• Clubs, matrimonial, dating services
• Esteem needs
– Self esteem (inward), Prestige (outward)
• Premium products, beauty products
• Self-actualization needs
– Fulfill one’s potential, be all that you can be
• Art, yoga, Everest, Nokia’s exam papers ad
 McClelland’s Theory of
Learned Needs
• Power
– “Master of my
domain”
– Desire to obtain
and exercise
control over others
• High nPOW
• These people like being “in charge”
– more interested in the prestige of power than
in effective performance
– Macro Man vests, Pulsar motorcycles,
Havards 5000 beer
 McClelland’s Theory of
Learned Needs
• Affiliation
– “I BELONG”
– Motivates people to
make friends, to
become members
of groups, and to
associate with
others
– the desire for
friendly and close
interpersonal
relationships
• High nAFF
• These people strive for friendship
– prefer cooperative rather than competitive
situations
– desire relationships with a high degree of
mutual understanding
– Close Up toothpaste, Absolut vodka, mobile
phones with friends
 McClelland’s Theory of
Learned Needs
• Achievement
– “I am, I CAN”
– Seeking to get
ahead, to strive for
success, and to
take responsibility
for solving
problems
– need for
achievement, drive
to excel, drive to
achieve in relation
to a set of
standards
• High nACH
– they are not gamblers
– they avoid very easy or very difficult tasks
– low odds of losing present no challenge to
their skills
– get most satisfaction from “50-50 odds
 Involvement
• A person’s perceived relevance of an object
based on inherent needs, values, and
interests; or
• The motivation to process information; or
• The degree of personal relevance of an
object, product or service to an individual.
– Enduring: the degree of interest on an ongoing
basis
– Situational: the interest in a specific
situation/occasion
• More involvement = more motivation
Motivational Research
 Definition
• Qualitative (and quantitative) research
used to uncover consumers’
subconscious or hidden motivations
– Focus group discussions
– In-depth interviews
– Site visits
Motivation Analysis

Group and
Identify
structure
motivations
motivations

Assess
Assign strategic
motivation
roles
importance

Qualitative Research Techniques

Focus group discussions
In-depth interviews
On-site visits
 Uses
• Product/brand usage
• Promotional campaigns (pre-tests and
post-tests)
• New product introductions
• Nutrament, a product marketed by Bristol-Myers
Squibb originally was targeted at consumers that
needed to receive additional energy from their drinks
after exercise etc., a fitness drink. It was therefore
targeted at consumers whose needs were for either
love and Belonging or esteem. The product was not
selling well, and was almost terminated. Upon
extensive research it was determined that the
product did sell well in inner-city convenience stores.
It was determined that the consumers for the product
were actually drug addicts who couldn't not digest a
regular meal. They would purchase Nutrament as a
substitute for a meal. Their motivation to purchase
was completely different to the motivation that B-MS
had originally thought. These consumers were at the
Physiological level of the hierarchy. BM-S therefore
had to redesign its MM to better meet the needs of
this target market.

• Motives often operate at a subconscious level

therefore are difficult to measure.
 Discussion Questions
• Discuss advertisements that appeal to the
needs of power, affiliation and achievement
• Discuss advertisements that appeal to the
stages in Maslow’s theory of needs
• Most human needs are dormant most of the
time. What causes their arousal? Examples
of ads that are designed to arouse latent
needs? How effective are they?
• Can we use customers’ failures at achieving
goals to develop promotional appeals for
products / services?
• How to tap latent motives?
 Which need? Can it be used
for Mkt Segmentation?
• Young man looking for membership in
– Clark Hatch Radisson
– Jasmine Fitness Club
– Bulls Gym
• Tata’s car exchange offer
• New super compact and powerful
digital camera
• Push mail service
Thank You!