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ОглавлениеMotivation and Consumer Behavior
Motivation is characteristic of all human beings to have needs and wants, which when unsatisfied lead to tensions or drives. These drives toward relief of the tensions created by unsatisfied needs furnish the motivation - the activation forces - that determine and explain consumer behavior.
To be effective in her work, the salesperson must be able to analyze and understand consumer behavior and the motives that underlie it. What influences a particular customer to buy a particular good or service? If the salesperson understands these motivating influences, she will be in a stronger position to sell. Strictly speaking, the salesperson does not sell a product or service, but rather she changes the consumer’s mind about the product or service. The product and salesperson remain the same, and it is the buyer’s mind that must be changed. People buy products for what they will do for them, not for the product in and of itself. It is necessary, then, to study the behavior of consumers and to determine why they buy.
A great deal has been written about consumer behavior in the past, and this vast subject can only be touched upon lightly in this brief chapter. There are also varying theories and philosophies regarding consumer behavior and researchers in this area are not in agreement.
No two customers are identical
The first thing to recognize about consumer behavior is that no two individuals are exactly the same. People tend to have differing degrees of traits such as optimism, confidence, aggressiveness, conservatism, and so on. Not only do people differ from one another, but also the same person can be different under different circumstances. Changes in the weather, changes in time, and many other physical conditions can attract or distract a person’s attention. How a person feels will influence her behavior. Whether she is happy or unhappy, alert or sleepy, relaxed or tense will greatly affect what she perceives and does. Her use of alcohol, drugs, or medicine can produce changes in her behavior. And such incentives as praise, recognition, and reward usually will elicit a greater degree of response. Under varying conditions such as these, the salesperson should carefully analyze the total selling situation to determine the best approach to use.
Basic kinds of motives
Although the terminology varies and there is no general agreement on how many basic motives there are, authors in this area generally see the consumer responding to three basic types of motives. The first of these classifications is physiological. These motives are related to the physical needs of the body and include those arising out of sex, hunger, thirst, and the desire for comfort. The second is psychological, motives are largely subjective and include such motives as pride and fear. And the third is sociological. These motives are related to a person’s social status, including motives arising from the urges or needs for conformity, recognition, and prestige.
Some authors have pointed out that motives can be arranged as a hierarchy, with those needs the consumer regards as most important, and will try to satisfy first, at the top and the others that can wait listed in turn below. The psychologist Abraham Maslow saw five levels of needs, which he listed in ascending order as follows:
1.Physiological needs.
2.Need for safety.
3.Need to belong, to love and be loved.
4.Desire for esteem and status.
5.Need for “self-actualization.”
Maslow interpreted the need for self-actualization as a desire to find and fulfill the true self to the highest degree possible. He realized that this need came later in the hierarchy of needs after the others had been met.
Primary, selective, and patronage motives
Motives can also be classified as primary, selective, or patronage. A primary motive is related to those particular factors which motivate a person to choose one general type of product or service over another. For example, a person may simultaneously wish to purchase a new shotgun and storm windows. However, she usually doesn’t have a sufficient amount of money to purchase both; consequently she must choose one over the other. In the case of the family person, although she wants to buy a new shotgun, she may decide that it is more important and sensible to buy storm windows for her home. Such considerations as the comfort of other family members, reduced heating bills, and increased value of her home may cause her to choose the storm windows over the shotgun and are referred to a primary buying motives. They relate to the type, kind, or class of product or service that will be purchased. Selective motives, on the other hand, are those that determine the consumer’s choice of a brand. Once she has decided to purchase storm windows, she must next decide on the particular brand. Finally, patronage motives come into play. They involve decisions regarding the particular retailer or dealer from whom the product or service will be purchased.
Product motives
Consumer choice can also be influenced by the physical qualities or psychological attractiveness of the product. Such factors as design, color, size, quality, package, or price of the product can greatly influence or motivate the purchaser. For example, in designing packages, curved lines and fancy packages are generally thought to appeal to women, while straight lines and more functional packaging is considered more appropriate for products sold to men. With reference to color, red will normally attract more attention than green. And in promoting the cool taste of a cigarette, green and blue colors are frequently used.
The size of the container can also be an important motivating factor. Many shoppers select a larger size container because they can usually get more for their money by buying in larger quantities and it reduces the numbers of shopping trips. In addition, with our higher standard of living there is an increased emphasis on quality, but at the same time the product must be competitively priced. All of these factors can influence the purchase of a product, and they vary from one person to another. Product motives may also be thought of as economic or rational, as in the considerations of package size and price discussed in the preceding paragraph, or they may be classified as emotional. These classifications will be treated further later in the chapter.
The type of product being sought also influences consumer behavior. For example, such products as cigarettes, bread, meat, fruits and vegetables, gasoline, and toothpaste are classified as convenience goods. These products are frequently consumed on a daily or weekly basis, are available in many stores which are located near the consumer, are competitively priced, and are generally intensively advertised - particularly national brands.
Shopping goods, on the other hand, are such items as dresses, sport jackets, appliances, furniture, and automobiles. These products (in comparison with convenience goods) are consumed less frequently, are available in fewer outlets which are generally located further away from the consumer, and have greater variances in quality and price. The unit value of these products is also higher and often represents a sizable investment -- particularly in the case of purchasing an automobile, furniture, or a major appliance. Consequently, the consumer plans these purchases more carefully and will usually compare or do considerable shopping before a final decision is made.
Specialty goods are products which have very special and unique characteristics. The consumer generally will “go out of her way” to purchase such products, and usually is reluctant to accept substitutes. A certain blend of pipe tobacco, an exceptionally fine camera, pastry products which are made in a special way, and rare woods which are available only from a certain area of the country are examples of products which are classified as specialty goods. In summary, the salesperson should know the particular classification of her product and what effect its characteristics might have on influencing consumer behavior.
Indicate whether each of the following statements is true or false
1.Most products are bought by consumers rather than sold by salespeople.
2.Salespeople may use the same basic appeal to everyone because most people have the same needs.
3.Researchers do not agree on how many basic buying motives there are.
4.Consumer choice is influenced by other factors besides the sales talk.
Answer
1.True. Strictly speaking, salespeople do not sell products or services. Rather, the consumer buys them. Therefore, it is necessary to understand consumers and why they buy.
2.False. People not only differ from one another, but the same person may react differently under different circumstances. Salespeople must vary their appeals according to the circumstances and needs of each customer.
3.True. Although there is no general agreement about buying motives, it is believed that at least three are basic: physiological (needs of the body), psychological (such as pride and fear), and sociological (the need to belong).
4.True. Consumer behavior is influenced by the product itself (design, color, size, price, package, and so on), by the type of product (convenience, shopping, or specialty good), and by the information provided by the salesperson.
Positive versus negative motives
When the salesperson emphasizes benefits or satisfactions that will be obtained from buying the product, she is emphasizing the positive approach. On the other hand, if she refers to a problem which the consumer wants to eliminate or avoid, she is using a negative approach. In selling life insurance, the salesperson can emphasize the retirement benefits -- this would be positive motivation. Or, she could emphasize the negative approach by referring to the financial difficulties a widow would have if her husband died and were inadequately insured. In selling a tire, the salesperson can emphasize the positive by referring to its trouble-free qualities and the long mileage it will give. Or she can emphasize the negative by pointing out the dangers of traveling at high speed and having a blowout. The negative approach is based on problems and fears. Both approaches are effective, depending upon the product or service being sold and the consumer’s particular circumstances. However, recent research has revealed that a person generally responds more favorably to a positive appeal than to a negative one.
Basic versus acquired wants
Motivation can also be analyzed from the standpoint of basic versus acquired wants. Almost everyone has the same basic wants, and they are generally uniform for all human beings. Psychologists differ as to the number of basic wants they identify, and the following ones are representative of those most frequently mentioned.
Love
Each of us has a basic need to love and to be loved by others. The urge to appeal to the opposite sex plays a major role in our lives and influences our actions as consumers. A person also is concerned about the welfare of those she loves and usually assumes the responsibility for caring, protecting, and providing for them. Many parents not only provide a home for their children, but also labor to put them through college and even “help them out” in later life.
Food and shelter
Food and shelter are absolute essentials for living. There is a great range of differences in these needs varying from a dish of rice to a sirloin steak and from a simple hut to a stately manor. Nonetheless, we need food to live and work, and shelter to protect us from the elements.
Safety and security
A person wishes to avoid or eliminate anything that endangers or threatens her life. This basic urge manifests itself by her purchasing all forms of insurance, and in protecting herself and others through laws, support for police and fire protection, and other governmental services.
Achieve and accomplish
Most people strive to achieve and be recognized for something. They desire to be proud of what they do or accomplish. Attention, praise, and prestige are important motivating factors in our lives. In all things she undertakes, a person basically wants to succeed rather than fail. She constantly seeks new challenges and is motivated by a strong desire to master them. Climbing a mountain, conquering space, breaking records, and fulfilling one’s ambitions are common examples of this basic want.
Approval and acceptance
It is common for all of us to seek approval and acceptance by others. We generally try to avoid criticism and ridicule. Our need for approval, therefore, causes us to conform and imitate, rather than to deviate from social convention.
Leisure and relaxation
In addition to working and achieving, a person also seeks rest, relaxation, pleasure, and fun. The increase in her leisure time and increased pressures of living have greatly influenced this need. Hundreds of recreational and vocational opportunities are available to her including golfing, fishing, hunting, surfing, skiing, reading, watching sports events, gardening, and many other activities.
Need for health and survival
Maintaining good health is a major concern of a person, and she will normally do everything in her power to avoid death. She also seeks to be free from fear, frustration, and pain. Millions of dollars are spent each year to research to find cures for common diseases and to lengthen her life. To live a long and happy life is a wished goal of almost everyone.
Acquired or learned wants are further refined, and therefore become secondary or selective wants that vary with the person’s background and cultural environment. Every individual has the basic need for play and recreation, but the specific form it takes will vary considerably. For example, one person may fulfill this want by staying at home and reading a book. Another may attend a baseball or football game, and still another may fulfill this want by going on a lion hunt in Africa. Hence, the basic wants are common to all people, but the acquired wants will be different.
Emotional versus rational motives
As discussed in connection with product motives, consumer behavior can be viewed as being either emotional or economic or rational. Emotional motives are generally those which are based on feelings, are impulsive, and are not carefully planned in advance. Rational or economic motives, on the other hand, are more likely to be based on objective analysis and carefully planned. Examples of emotional motives would be those based on satisfaction of the senses, preservation of the species, love, pride, fear, emulation, sociability, acceptance, curiosity, and so on. Examples of rational motives would be those based on factors such as economy, efficiency in operation, durability, dependability, and others.
Difficulties in analyzing motives
In order to sell effectively, the salesperson usually must be able to determine the motives of her potential customers. Sometimes this is relatively easy to do, but at other times it may be extremely difficult. For example, a person may not be aware of the true reasons why he is interested in purchasing a particular product or service. A buyer may tell himself and the salesperson that he wishes to buy a new car because his old one is costing him too much for repairs. However, the real reason may be that he feels inferior and wishes to impress a certain young lady by buying a new car. The salesperson must realize that stated reasons are not always the real reasons. A person may sometimes believe he knows why he is interested in buying a particular product or service, but actually he is unaware of his true motives; or in some cases he may be aware of his true motives, but is unwilling to disclose them. How many women would admit that they were buying a new dress in order to attract the attention of men? Or how many men would admit that they use a certain product in order to give them more masculinity? Thus, the salesperson must understand human behavior and be careful in interpreting what the buyer says.
Finally, the salesperson should remember that it is often a combination of motives with varying priorities that motivate people to buy. Two housewives will buy a vacuum cleaner to keep their homes clean. However, in addition to this basic need, one bought the cleaner because it was like the one her mother had, and she also liked the salesperson because he reminded her of her own son. The other woman bought the cleaner because it was easy to handle, and it was also a better one than her neighbor had. Buying motives can vary greatly, and often no two people will buy a particular product or service for identical reasons. The salesperson should be constantly aware of this and should adapt her presentation to the prospect’s particular motives whenever possible.
Theories of motivation
There are three basic theories of buyer motivations. The first is the “mental-states” theory, which maintains that the buyer’s mind passes through successive stages during the buying process. These stages generally are “attention, interest, desire, action and satisfaction.” The second is the “appeal-response” or “buying-decisions” theory, which maintains that the buyer makes a number of separate decisions in response to the appeals or stimuli presented by the salesperson. The third theory is called the “problem-solution” theory. This theory states that the wants, needs, or problems of the buyer should be the salesperson’s frame of reference; and she gears her presentation to showing how her product or service will fulfill these wants or solve these problems. According to this latter theory, the salesperson does not sell a product or service but rather she sells solutions to problems. Therefore, the more benefits her product can give, the more likely she is to make the sale.
Regardless of which theory the salesperson may accept, she should recognize that there are different theories for analyzing motivation, and new discoveries are made each year which will help her to better understand the consumer she serves.
Indicate whether each of the following statements “is true or false
1.Psychologists agree that an individual generally responds more favorably to a positive appeal than a negative one.
2.People have basic wants that are uniform for almost everyone, but they also have acquired wants that vary considerably from individual to individual.
3.In order to determine why a customer wants a product, the salesperson has only to ask the customer directly.
4.People always have a major reason for buying a product that is clear in their mind.
Answer
1.True. Salespeople are usually more successful when they stress positive benefits, such as the satisfactions received from using a product, than they are when they dwell on negative factors, such as the dangers or problems resulting from not using the product.
2.True. An individual has certain basic wants such as approval, comfort, food, and mastery over obstacles, safety, and survival. She also has acquired or learned wants. A salesperson must determine how she can satisfy her customers’ acquired wants as well as her basic wants.
3.False. Salespeople must realize that the reasons given by a customer for wanting a product are not necessarily the real reasons. The salesperson must look for hidden reasons in order to fully satisfy the customer’s needs.
4.False. It is often a combination of reasons that motivate people to buy. These reasons are complex and difficult to analyze. A salesperson must be flexible and try to plan her presentation to meet the prospects’ different motives.
Perception
Perception is an important factor affecting the behavior of consumers. It is the process of becoming aware of something through the senses of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, and internal sensing. In relating to her environment, each person’s needs, cultural background, past experiences, mental readiness, and motives will have an effect in determining how a given stimulus is perceived, even though the stimulus is the same in all cases. For example, a jackknife may be perceived by a youngster as a toy, by her mother as an object for possible injury, and by the minister as an instrument which promotes violence and killing. How it is perceived greatly depends upon who the perceiver is and her particular frame of reference. No two persons are likely to perceive the same stimulus in exactly the same way. Each individual sees what she wants to see, making perception a subjective and individualized process.
Perception is also selective, for often we are unable to comprehend or interpret all the sensations that converge on the senses at any given time. When a person looks down an aisle in a supermarket, she does not see the hundreds of items that are actually present. This is because the human mind generally is unable to absorb everything at once, and it selects those items which are of immediate importance. In addition, perception is generally of short duration. When we listen to a particular piece of music, we may respond to it very strongly; but when it is ended, our attention is quickly diverted to other things, and the music fades from our minds.
Finally, perception is a summarizing experience. Consumers receive many varying sensations and put them together into a single, meaningful whole. For example, the brand name, special features, price, and many other factors will all be considered by a consumer in deciding whether she will or will not purchase a particular product. No two persons are identical in what they see or do, and being familiar with some of the basic processes of perception will help the salesperson to relate more effectively with the customer.
Consumer attitudes
An attitude may be loosely defined as a person’s state of mind, feeling, or disposition toward something. Such terms as belief, feeling, opinion, inclination, and bias are often used synonymously with attitude. Attitudes are also formed by a person’s personal experiences in life, influences exerted by others, and the particular environment in which she lives. Consumers are not born with a given set of attitudes, for they are developed and formed as one lives.
Attitudes have a tendency to persist because of past experiences, agreement or harmony associations, and relating one factor with another. An illustration of conditioning by past experience would be when a person responds unfavorably to purchasing a new shirt made of a new synthetic fiber because she was dissatisfied with one previously purchased. This can happen even if the new synthetic fiber has been improved and is superior to the earlier one. Associations that are in agreement or harmony take place when the consumer responds favorably to a particular salesperson because she (the salesperson) is in agreement with the consumer’s attitude. For example, if the consumer prefers conservative clothes and the salesperson also has conservative tastes, the consumer is more likely to respond favorably to the salesperson. An example of the effect of relating one factor with another is a situation where the customer judges the whole store and all its merchandise on the basis of a single unpleasant experience with a sales clerk.
Factors causing attitudes to change are contradictory influences, strength or intensity of the experience, multiple syndromes of circumstances, and emphasis of a particular factor. An example of an attitude changing because of contradictory influences is when a very thrifty and conservative bachelor buys an expensive, flashy car because her girlfriend liked it and he wishes to impress her.
The strength or intensity of an experience can cause an attitude to change. An illustration of this is when a person who is completely indifferent to the dangers of smoking suddenly changes her mind because of a heart attack.
Or the consumer may have an attitude unfavorable to the purchase of a particular product but reverses her attitude and makes such a purchase because of a multiple syndrome of circumstances. The circumstances may be that the product catches her eye, a friend strongly recommends it, almost everyone is currently using it, and she is influenced by a highly persuasive salesperson.
Changes in an attitude can also occur when there is emphasis of a particular factor or when the consumer makers a decision to purchase on the basis of a single dominant factor which is stronger than several others combined. For example, a person may have definite attitudes regarding the brand name, color, material, and price she wishes to pay for a sport jacket but chooses one almost entirely on the basis of its style because of the attention it will attract. A change in the product or service, new ways of perceiving the product, a change in the type and/or amount of information available on the product, a change in how the product idea is communicated, and a change in the importance of the product are additional factors which can influence and change consumer attitudes.
Learning
Another important dimension of consumer behavior is learning. There are varying definitions, but generally the essence of learning is that it involves a change in a person’s response or behavior, Human responses can either be learned or unlearned. Examples of unlearned responses are breathing, blinking your eyes, and crying. All other responses not based on instinct or reflexes are learned. Forgetting, which is the loss or fading of a thought that was previously in the mind, is another aspect of learning. Because of forgetting, it is often necessary for the salesperson to repeat or reinforce and idea if she is to be effective in influencing the consumer to buy a particular product or service.
Although learning takes place in different ways, the three basic processes involved are stimulus, response, and reinforcement. In order for a stimulus to take place, and object generally must be perceived, and motivation must also be present. The object may be physical or non-tangible. For example, the customer may be stimulated by such physical things as a particular product, a given size or quantity, its color, or its style. In other cases she might be stimulated by such intangibles as the service she receives or the prestige value of the product. In addition to perceiving the object, the customer will also be motivated by love, security, safety, or many other motives.
The response is an action or reaction resulting from the stimulus and can be either physical or mental. Responses vary in speed, frequency, and/or in the nature of the response. Research has also shown that learning tends to increase as the speed, the frequency of correct responses, and the reward of the response increases.
Reinforcement is the third basic factor in the learning process. Definitions vary among authors, but it may be loosely defined as a condition which increases the probability of an identical favored response. It can also be defined as a rewarding or satisfying situation which helps to stimulate the same response. There are three laws of reinforcement -- the law of effect, the law of exercise, and the law of readiness. The law of effect refers to repetition of a satisfactory response. If an association is formed between a stimulus (a product advertisement), a response (going to the store to buy it), and reinforcement (experiencing satisfaction with the product), the connection of these three processes is generally strengthened by repetition.
The law of exercise relates to a form of conditioning. If the customer experiences the same stimulus a second time, she responds more quickly and with less difficulty because of her satisfying experience in the first instance. It is similar to a runner who continues to improve her performance as she continues to exercise and practice.
The law of readiness refers to the customer’s ability and willingness to solve a problem. If she has the ability and willingness to learn, effective learning generally can take place. And conversely, if these two qualities are absent, then little or no learning will occur. As previously discussed, learning is any change in a person’s response or behavior. Applying it to selling, then, means that the salesperson must be able to change customers from negative or indifferent positions to positive ones if she is to be successful in making sales.
Dyadic interaction
There has been considerable research on qualities necessary for success in selling and on consumer behavior. However, most of these studies have been made exclusive of each other, and only in recent years has there been research on the interaction between the customer and the salesperson. Such research is referred to a “dyadic interaction” where two separate units are treated as one. It is an integrated analysis of the roles played by both parties in a sale. These studies also focus attention on the transaction itself and on such factors as content of the transaction, average length of the transaction, and when and where the transaction takes place.
Other related variables also are isolated, controlled, and studied. Some of these studies have shown that the more alike the customer and salesperson are in such factors as age and economic and social background, the greater is the probability for a sale. Other studies have indicated that dependent persons tend to favor more assistance from the salesperson in arriving at purchase decisions, while independent persons tend to prefer a minimum of assistance. As far as the sex of the purchaser is concerned, some of these studies have shown that males are more likely to respond favorably to aggressive salespeople than are females. Research of this kind is relatively new, and the findings should not be accepted as hard-and-fast conclusions which will always apply. However, such studies emphasize the many variables that must be analyzed in order to better understand the interaction between the customer and the salesperson.
Indicate whether each of the following statements “is true or false
1.If two persons witness the same robbery of a bank, they are both likely to give identical accounts of the event.
2.A “straight” college professor may buy mod clothes because of a multiple syndrome of circumstances.
3.The three basic factors in the learning process are stimulus, response, and readiness.
4.Dyadic interaction research has produced some hard-and-fast conclusions regarding the interaction between the customer and the salesperson.
Answer
1.False. No two persons are likely to perceive the same stimulus in exactly the same way. Two witnesses to the same event often tell vastly different stories based on different perceptions.
2.True. The clothes may have caught his eye, a friend (or his wife) may have recommended them, almost everyone else at the university was wearing them, and he was influenced by a highly persuasive salesperson.
3.False. They are stimulus, response, and reinforcement. Readiness is one of the three laws of reinforcement.
4.False. The findings should be regarded as tentative at best, but relevant variables are being identified and future research is likely to produce more useful knowledge.
