Chapter three

3. Overview of consumer needs and Motivation

In consumer behavior, motivation plays an important part in making a decision. What is the
motive of buying? A motive is why an individual does a thing. Motivation is an inner feeling that
stimulates the action that is to be taken by an individual. It provides a specific direction or,
results in a response. A person can be motivated to buy a product for convenience, for style, for
prestige, for self-pride, or for being at par with others.
3.1. What is Motivation?
Motivation can be described as the driving force within individuals that impels them to action.
This driving force is produced by state of tension, which exists as a result of unfulfilled needs.
Individuals strive-both consciously and subconsciously to reduce this tension through behavior
that they anticipate will fulfill their needs and thus relieve them of the stress they feel.
In a society, different consumers exhibit different consumer behavior because they are unique
And have unique sets of needs. Motivation is that internal force that activates some needs and
Provides direction of behavior towards fulfillment of these needs.
3.2. Model of the Motivation Process
• Motivation Process starts when the consumer comes to know of a particular need.
• If this need is not satisfied it creates a state of tension within the minds of the consumer.
• This state will drive the consumer to adopt a behavior that will help reduce the tension. The
type & nature of the behavior people adopt depends on their learning, knowledge, perception,
belief, way of thinking, reasoning, etc.

1|Page
Motivation in the context of consumers may be best understood with the help of following
concepts:
 Needs
 Goals
 Positive & Negative goal
 Rational vs. Emotional Motivation
 Types of needs and Hierarchy of needs
3.3. Types of needs
A person has many needs at any given time. Needs are a state of felt deprivation. Needs can be
innate (physiological or biogenic, basic or primary needs) and acquired needs (psychological or
psychogenic or secondary needs). Some needs are biogenic; they arise from physiological states
of tension such as hunger, thirst, discomfort, clothing and shelter .Other needs are psychogenic;
they arise from psychological states of tension such as the need for recognition, power and
learning, esteem, or belonging. A need becomes a motive when it is aroused to a sufficient level
of intensity. A motive is a need that is sufficiently pressing to drive the person to act.
Each person has distinct motives for purchases, and these change by situation and over time.
Consumers often combine economic (price, durability) and emotional (social acceptance, self-
esteem) motives when making purchases. Example of motives: Hunger reduction, safety,
Sociability, social responsibility, achievement, and economy
Needs are essence of the marketing concept Fulfillment of consumers’ needs better and sooner is
the key to a company’s survival, profitability, and growth. Marketers do not create needs.
They may make consumers aware of unfelt needs. Motivation begins with the presence of a
stimulus that spurs the recognition of a need. Need recognition occurs when a perceived
discrepancy exists between an actual and a desired state of being.
Characteristics of Needs
Each of the preceding needs has several characteristics:
Needs are dynamic. Needs are never fully satisfied; satisfaction is only temporary. Clearly,
eating once will not satisfy our hunger forever. Also, as soon as one need is satisfied, new needs
emerge. After we have eaten a meal, we might next have the need to be with others (the need for
affiliation). Thus, needs are dynamic because daily life is a constant process of need fulfillment.
Needs exist in a hierarchy: - Although several needs may be activated at any one time, some
assume more importance than others. You may experience a need to eat during an exam, but

2|Page
 your need for achievement may assume a higher priority—so you stay to finish the test. Despite
this hierarchy, many needs may be activated simultaneously and influence your acquisition,
usage, and disposition behaviors. Thus, your decision to go out for dinner with friends may be
driven by a combination of needs for stimulation, food, and companionship.
Needs can be internally or externally aroused. Although many needs are internally activated,
some needs can be externally cued. Smelling pizza cooking in the apartment next door may, for
example, affect your perceived need for food.
Needs can conflict. A given behavior or outcome can be seen as both desirable and undesirable
if it satisfies some needs but fails to satisfy others.
1) Types of Goals
• Goals are the sought-after results of motivated behavior. All behavior is goal oriented Goals
can be:-
 Generic: the general classes or categories of goals that consumers see as a way to fulfill their
needs (Eg. The need for a graduate degree)
 Product-specific: specifically branded products and services that consumers select for goal
fulfillment ( BA degree in marketing from DDU)
Selection of goals
• For any given need, there are many different and appropriate goals.
• Selection depend on factors such as personal experiences, physical capacity, prevailing
cultural norms and values, and the goals accessibility in the physical and social environment
• Self-image (an individual’s own perception of himself or herself) also influence selection of
goals
• Self-image influences the products the person owns, would like to own, or would not like to
own
• Needs and Goals are interdependent; neither exists without the other. However, people are
often not aware of their needs as they are of their goals.
E.g., a college student may not consciously recognize for her need for achievement but
may strive to attain a straight A GPA
• Individuals are more aware of their physiological needs than psychological needs
• People striving to fulfill their physiological needs subconsciously engage in behaviors that
satisfy their psychological needs.

3|Page
 Positive and negative goals
• Needs, wants, or desires may create goals that can be positive or negative
• Goal towards which behavior is directed is positive and known as approach object
• Goal from which behavior is directed away is a negative goal and known as avoidance
object .E.g., husband and wife views of physical exercise:
Wife: physical exercise for health and fitness
Husband: getting fat is a negative goal- avoidance of a flabby physique
A Positive Goal/Approach Object
A Positive Goal is one toward which behavior is directed.
Ex. Middle-aged woman may have a positive goal of fitness, so they join a health club to work
out regularly.
A Negative Goal/ Avoidance object. is one from which behavior is directed away.
Ex. Asmamaw may view getting fat as a negative goal, and so he joins a road runners club.

2) Rational Vs. Emotional Motives

• Economists view of rationality: consumers considers all alternatives and choose those that
give them the greatest utility
• Marketers view: consumers select goals based on totally objective criteria: size, weight,
price, etc.
• Emotional motives imply the selection of goals according to personal or subjective criteria:
pride, fear, affection, or status.
• The assumption underlying this distinction is that subjective or emotional criteria do not
maximize utility or satisfaction.
Obliviously, the assessment of satisfaction is a very personal process, based on the individuals
own need structure as well as on past behavioral and social or learned experiences.
Consumer researchers who subscribe to the positivist perspective tend to view all consumer
behavior as rationally motivated, and they try to isolate the cause of such behavior so that they
can predict, and thus, influence, future behavior.
Motivation is the process that moves a person to behave in certain ways how behavior gets
started and energized, sustained, directed and stopped.

4|Page
3.4. The Dynamic Nature of Motivation
Motivation is constantly changing construct in reaction to life experiences
• Needs and goals change and grow in response to an individual’s physical condition,
environment, interactions with others, and experiences
• As individuals attain their goals, they develop new ones.
• If they do not attain their goals, they continue to strive for old goals or they develop
substitute goals.
Motivation is a highly dynamic construct that is constantly changing in reaction to life
experiences.
3.5. Characteristics of Motivation
Needs and Goals are constantly changing
Needs and goals are constantly growing and changing in response to an individual’s physical
condition, environment, interactions with others, and experiences. As individuals attain their
goals, they develop new ones. If they do not attain their goals, they continue to strive for old
goals, or they develop substitute goals. Some of the reasons why need-driven human activities
never cease include the following:-
1) Existing needs are never completely satisfied; they continually impel activity designed to
attain or maintain satisfaction:
2) As needs become satisfied, new and higher- order needs emerge to be fulfilled; and
3) People who achieve their goals set new and higher goals for themselves.
a. Needs are Never fully satisfied
Most human needs are never satisfied fully or permanently satisfied. For example, at regular
intervals people experience hunger needs that must be satisfied. Most people regularly seek
companionship and approval from others to satisfy their social needs.
b. New Needs emerge as Old Needs are Satisfied
Some Motivational theorists believe that a hierarchy of needs exists, and that new, higher
order needs emerge as lower-order needs are fulfilled. For example, a man has largely
satisfied his basic Physiological needs may turn his efforts to achieving acceptance among
his new neighbors by joining their political clubs and supporting their candidates.
c. Success and Failure Influence Goals
A number of researchers have explored the nature of the goals that individuals set for
themselves. In general, they have concluded that individuals who successfully achieve their

5|Page
 goals usually set new and higher goals for themselves; that is they raise their levels of
aspiration and this probably due to the fact they become more confident of their ability to
reach higher goals. Conversely, those who do not reach their goals sometimes lower their
levels of aspiration. Thus, goal selection is often a function of success and failure.
Substitute Goals
When, for one a reason or another, an individual cannot attain a specific goal that he or she
anticipates will satisfy certain needs, behavior may be directed to a substitute goal. Although
the substitute goal may not be as satisfactory as the primary goal, it may be sufficient to
dispel uncomfortable tension.
Frustration
Failure to achieve a goal often results in feelings of frustration. At one time or another,
everyone has experienced the frustration that comes from the inability to attain a goal. The
barrier that prevents attainment of a goal may be personal to the individual (e.g. Physical or
financial limitations), or it can be an obstacle in the physical or social environment.
Regardless of the cause, individuals react differently to frustrating situations. Some people
are adaptive and manage to cope by finding their way around the obstacle or, if that fails,
select a substitute goal. Others are less adaptive and may regard their inability to achieve a
goal as a personnel failure and experiences feelings of anxiety.
3.6. Needs and Goals Vary among Individuals
One cannot accurately infer motives from behavior. People with different needs may seek
fulfillment through selection of the same goals, while people with the same needs may seek
fulfillment through different goals.
Arousal of needs
Most of an individual’s specific needs are dormant much of the time. The arousal of any
particular set needs at a specific point in time may be caused by internal stimuli found in the
individual’s physiological condition, notional or cognitive processes, or by stimuli in the
outside environment.
Causes for arousal:
Physiological Arousal: - bodily needs. E.g., stomach contraction trigger awareness of
hunger need. Bodily needs at any one specific moment in time are rooted in an individual’s at
that moment. Secretion of sex hormones will awaken the sex need. A decrease in body
temperature will induce shivering, which makes the individuals aware of the need of warmth.

6|Page
 Most of these physiological cues are involuntary; however, they arouse related needs that
cause uncomfortable tension until they are satisfied.
Emotional arousal:-sometimes thinking or daydreaming results in the arousal or stimulation
of latent needs. People who are bored or frustrated in attempts to achieve their goals often
engage in daydreaming (autistic thinking) in which they imagine themselves in all sorts or
desirable situations. These thoughts tend to arouse dormant needs, which may produce
Uncomfortable tensions that “Plush” them into goal- oriented behavior.
Environmental Arousal: The set of needs activated at a particular time are often determined
by specific cues in the environment. Without these cues, the sight or smell of bakery goods,
fast –food commercials on television all these may arouse the “need” for food.
3.7. Theories of Motivation
Psychologists have developed theories of human motivation. Three of the best known, the
theories of Sigmund Freud, Abraham Maslow, and Frederik Herzberg carry quite different
implications for consumer analysis and marketing strategy.
A) Freud’s Theory of Motivation6
• Assumption: real psychological forces shaping people's behavior are largely unconscious.
A person cannot fully understand his/her own motivation.
• A person reasons for buying laptop: to work more efficiently; at a deeper level- to
impress others; more deeper level- helps him feel smart and sophisticated
• Brand choice: focus on stated capabilities and less conscious cues-shape, size, weight,
material, color, and brand name
• Motivation researcher try to uncover deeper motives using different techniques
B) Maslow's Theory of Motivation
Abraham Maslow sought to explain why people are driven by particular needs at particular
times. Why does one person spend much time and energy on personal safety and another on
gaining the esteem of others? Maslow’s answer is that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy,
from the most pressing to the least pressing. It is based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which
states that a human being has a variety of needs and, these can be classified as primary and
secondary needs or, lower-order and higher-order needs. Once a need is fulfilled, human beings,
try to fulfil other needs. This is usually done in a hierarchy, which can be classified as under:
Physiological: Food, water, sleep, clothing, shelter and sex. Products in this category include
foods, health foods, medicines, drinks, house garments, etc.

7|Page
Safety needs: Seeking physical safety and security. Safety of person, belongings, security of job
and etc. Products are locks, guns, insurance policies, burglar alarms, retirement investments, etc.
Social needs: The need to be approved in a society. To love and be loved, friendship, love
appreciation and group acceptance. Products are general grooming, entertainment, clothing,
cosmetics, jewellery, fashion garments.
Esteem needs: Desire for status, for superiority, self-respect and prestige. Products are
furniture, clothing, liquor, hobbies, and fancy cars.
Self-actualization needs: The desire for self-fulfillment, the desire to become all that one is
capable of becoming. Products are educational, art, sports, vacations, garments, foods. Maslow’s
hierarchy is a good guide to general behavior. The same consumption behavior can fulfils more
than one need.

Maslow.s theory helps marketers understand how various products fit into the plans,
goals, and lives of consumers
Herzbergs Theory. Frederick Herzberg developed a two-factor theory that distinguishes
dissatisfiers (factors that cause dissatisfaction) and satisfiers (factors that cause satisfaction). The
absence of dissatisfiers is not enough; satisfiers must be actively present to motivate a purchase.
For example, a computer that does not come with a warranty would be a dissatisfier. Yet the

8|Page
presence of a product warranty would not act as a satisfier or motivator of a purchase, because it
is not a source of intrinsic satisfaction with the computer. Ease of use would be a satisfier.
Herzberg theory has two implications. First, sellers should do their best to avoid dissatisfies (for
example, a poor training manual or a poor service policy). Although these things will not sell a
product, they might easily unsell it. Second, the manufacturer should identify the major satisfiers
or motivators of purchase in the market and then supply them. These satisfiers will make the
major difference as to which brand the customer buys. E.g., presence of warranty (absence
of dissatisfaction) Ease of use (satisfaction).

9|Page