Consumer motivation:

Consumer motivation is an internal state that drives people to identify and buy
products or services that fulfill conscious and unconscious needs or desires. The
fulfillment of those needs can then motivate them to make a repeat purchase or to
find different goods and services to better fulfill those needs. Motivation is an
inner drive that reflects goal-directed arousal. In a consumer behavior context, the
results is a desire for a product, service, or experience. It is the drive to satisfy
needs and wants, both physiological and psychological, through the purchase and
use of products and services.

Nature and role of motives:

Motive is an inner state that mobilizes bodily energy and directs it in selective
fashion toward goals usually located in the external environment. This definition
implies that motives involve two major components.

1. A mechanism to arouse bodily energy

2. A force that provides direction to that bodily energy.

Role of motives:

The role of motives is to arouse and direct the behaviour of consumers. The arousal
component activates bodily energy so that it can be sued for mental and physical
activity. In their directive role, motives have several important functions for
guiding behaviour. They are:

(a)    Defining basic strivings

(b)   Identifying goal objects

(c)    Influencing choice criteria

(d)   Directing other influences

Types of Motives – 

 1.Physiological arousal – when a consumer become aware of his needs due

to changes inhis physiological state, it will give rise to physiological motives.
2.Emotional arousal – at times the mundane nature of routine life leads a person
tofantasize or day dream, and this stimulates his latent needs to satisfy his emotion.

3.Cognitive arousal – this occurs when we come across some information

incidentally &this triggers our thought process & arouses a need in us.

4.Environmental arousal – the various signals that we come across in our

environment inthe form of the sights smell & sound surrounding us also prompt
many needs.

Arousal of Motives:

The arousal of any particular set of needs at a specific moment in time may be
caused by internal stimuli found in the individual’s physiological condition,by
emotional or cognitive processes or by stimuli in outside environment.

•         Physiological arousal

•         Emotional arousal

•         Cognitive arousal

•         Environmental arousal

1. Physiological Arousal Bodily needs at any one specific moment in time are

based on the individual physiological condition at the moment. Ex..A drop
in blood sugar level or stomach contractions will trigger awareness of a
hunger need. Ex..A decrease in body temperature will induce
shivering,which makes individual aware of the need for warmth this type of
thing, they arouse related needs that cause uncomfortable tensions until they
are satisfied. Ex..Medicine,low fat and diet

2. Emotional Arousal Sometime daydreaming results in the arousal (autistic

thinking) or stimulation of latent needs.People who are board or who are
frustrated in trying to achieve their goals or often engage in daydreaming, in
which they imagine themselves in all sorts of desirable situations. Ex.A
young woman who may spend her free time in internet single chat room.
 3. Cognitive arousal Sometime random thoughts can lead to a cognitive
awareness of needs.An advertisement that provides reminders of home
might trigger instant yearning to speak with ones parents.

4. Environment arousal The set of needs an individual experiences at

particular time are often activated by specific cues in the
environment.Without these cues the needs might remain dormant.ex.The 8’o
clock news, the sight or smell of bakery goods,fast food commercials on
television, all these may arouse the need for food Ex.New cell phone model
display in the store window.

Self Concept in Consumer Behaviour:

Self-concept can be described simply as how one perceives himself and his
behavior in the market place. It is the attitude one holds towards himself. What one
thinks of himself. The self concept is not very realistic because an unconscious
component is always present. It can be divided into six types, as given below:

1. Actual self: How a person actually perceives himself.

2. Ideal self: How a person would like to perceive himself.

3. Social self: How a person thinks others perceive him.

4. Ideal social self: How a person would like others to perceive him.

5. Expected self: An image of self somewhere in between the actual and ideal
self.

6. Situational self: A person’s self image in a specific situation.

Self-concept is a social phenomenon. It is an attitude to the self. Consequently, the

way we dress, the products we use, the services we require, depend on how we
want to perceive ourselves. There is a relationship between the self-image of a
person and the product one wants to buy. Products act as symbols for consumers.

People like to use the products which match their personality. These include
clothing, leisure products, and personal care products. Marketers want an idea of
the self-concept and the image of the brand. 
Personality:

Personality has many meanings. In consumer studies, personality is defined as

consistent responses to environmental stimuli or we can also say patterns of
behaviour that are consistent and enduring. An individual’s personality helps
marketers to describe consumer segments as it provides for orderly and coherently
related experiences and behaviour.

Personality characteristics may be a basis for product positioning. For example,

one segment of the market may die because they want to stick to the group norms
and therefore uses diet product. In contest another segment is on diet because of
internal need.

To understand a buyer needs and convert them into customers is the main purpose
of the consumer behavior study. To understand the buyer habits and his priorities,
it is required to understand and know the personality of the buyer.

Personality signifies the inner psychological characteristics that reflect how a

person reacts to his environment. Personality shows the individual choices for
various products and brands. It helps the marketers in deciding when and how to
promote the product. Personality can be categorized on the basis of individual
traits, likes, dislikes etc.

Though personality is static, it can change due to major events such as death, birth
or marriage and can also change gradually with time. By connecting with the
personality characteristics of an individual, a marketer can conveniently formulate
marketing strategies.

Personal Values i.e. Self Concept or Self Images:

Why do some people make their consumption decisions differently than others.
Personality can be one reason and another can be personal values. Personal values
answer the question, “Is this product for me”? These are particularly important in
the need-recognition stage of consumer decision making. Values are also used by
consumers while evaluating brands as “Is this brand for me?

Values are basically “ends” people seek in their lives. Marketing often provides the
“means” to reach these ends. Rokeach has defined values as an enduring belief that
a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially
preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of existence.
Values are relatively stable but not completely static beliefs about what a person
should do. Values are concerned with the goals and the ways of behaving to obtain
goals.

Self Concept theory says that individuals have a concept of self based on who they
are that means actual self. And also the concept of who they think they would like
to be that is the ideal self. Consumers are asked to describe how they see
themselves or how they would like to see themselves on attributes like –

happy

serious

dependable

practical

sensitive

aggressive

energetic

self-controlled

successful.

Self-Concept means the desire to attain self – consistency and the desire to enhance
one’s self – esteem. Attaining self consistency means that individuals will act in
accordance with their concept of actual self. According to the marketer actual self
means consumers purchases are influenced by the image they have of themselves.

They buy products which they perceive as similar to their self- concept. For
example – beer, cigarettes, soap, toothpaste, car, clothes etc. all are purchased
keeping in mind his/her self concept. Ideal self s concept is related to one’s self –
esteem.

According to the marketer, a person who is dissatisfied with oneself will try and
purchase products that could enhance their self esteem. For example, a woman
who would like to be confident, efficient, modern may buy a different type of
perfume or shop at different stores than a woman who would like to be more warm
and attractive.

It is not always like this that our self image influences the products we choose but
also the products we choose frequently influences our self – image. The products
purchased with symbolic (badge) value say something about us and also what we
feel about ourselves. Extended self in simple terms means, we are what we wear,
and we are what we use, this is also known as symbolic interactionism.

This means it emphasizes the interaction between individuals and the symbols in
their environment. This shows that consumers buy products for their symbolic
value in enhancing their self concept. For example, products like Rolex watches.
Omega watches, Sony CD system, Nike, Reebok shoes, BMW, Hyundai Accent
etc., all have symbolic value.

Consumer Perception:
A marketing concept that encompasses a customer's impression, awareness and/or
consciousness about a company or its offerings. Customer perception is typically
affected by advertising, reviews, public relations, social media, personal
experiences and other channels.Customer perception plays a vital role in a
company’s ability to attract new customers and to retain existing customers. The
good news is that companies have the ability to control many of the factors that
build an individual’s perception of the company/brand.

Why is customer perception important?

In today’s digital age, virtually everything is a Google search away. This makes
your goods and services easier to find, but the tradeoff is that your competition is
easier to find as well. That means it’s easier for unhappy or unsatisfied customers
to leave.

Consumers want good quality, but they also want to know they are getting good
value. That value isn’t just judged by the product or service they are purchasing,
but by the availability and usability of the customer service that supports it.
It’s just not enough anymore to have brand recognition, consumers want to feel
good about a brand and company. They want to do business with civic-minded
corporations with positive world views.

What influences customer perception?

Knowing first what influences customer perception allows you to secure your
organization’s perceived identity.

Some factors that influence individual’s perceptions include:

 Advertising – The campaigns your company runs offer implied perceptions

about your products. What you say about your brand/company and the
messages you deliver help others form opinions.

 Influencers – The people that surround an individual have a massive impact

on their decisions. Whether they be in person or via social media, human
nature is such that individuals listen to the opinions and thoughts of those
around them.

 Personal experience – This is the biggest of all factors that weigh in to

customer perception. If someone has experienced firsthand the quality of a
product or service or the responsiveness and usefulness of a customer
service channel, it will positively or negatively impact their perception.

How can you work to create/maintain a positive customer perception?

So now that we’ve outlined what customer perception is and what influences
customer perception, let’s discuss how to create and maintain positive customer
perception.

Companies have the tools to create a positive experience for their customers and
even when unforeseen events create negative impressions, the best organizations
rise to the challenge and can often win back an unhappy customer.

It all begins by managing some foundational factors within the company’s control.

 Don’t make false promises – Companies should strive for truth in

advertising and truth in general communication. If you say a product does
 something, make sure it ACTUALLY does it and when someone calls your
customer service department and you tell them you can help, make sure they
do just that.

 Listen – Sounds easy enough but this can be a challenge for some
organizations. When customers talk (online, in person, on the phone), listen.
When what a client is saying is complaint related, it’s easy to stop listening
when you think you know the answer but it’s important to listen to what
customer’s expressed need is and then make sure your solution fits the
problem.

 Communicate – Quickly, clearly and often. Train your agents and

representatives to be knowledgeable, compassionate and responsive when
communicating with your customers. Ensure they are providing facts not
excuses.

 Use your social channels effectively – Social media presents unique

opportunities and challenges for communication. Many social channels
actually track a company’s responsiveness to customers and rate them. In
addition social media creates an open forum for customer complain. The
vocal minority can seemingly hijack your good name, but it is possible to
take negative comments and demonstrate positive outcomes. Responding
quickly and with knowledge and compassion can not only result in a
favorable outcome with the situation at hand but increase positive feelings
about your company with the casual observers on the channel. Be proactive
when a negative review posts and work to rectify the issue openly when
possible.

 Streamline – Wherever possible, make the decision making process easier.

Are your product/service benefit statements clear? Can existing and potential
customers easily see how you stack up against the competition? Make
purchasing and customer service easy and don’t make customers jump
through hoops to get resolution. This just exacerbates the problem. If you
can offer solutions that demonstrate you know your customer’s time is
valuable you make it easy to keep doing business with your company.
Offering quick response, centralizing information to prevent the need for re-
 explaining issues and utilizingcallback software are just some of the ways
you can improve the perception of your company.

 Never get complacent – It’s easy to get comfortable when everything

appears to be going well, but push your company to keep measuring your
customer’s satisfaction and keep training your teams. Both internally and
externally, ask questions and learn from situations that have occurred.

Customer perception is about feeling and fact. From the first touch point to last, the
entire company is involved in this perception and can contribute to it in a positive
way.

Customers not only need to feel good about your brand/company and its service,
they need to be treated well and the products and services need to perform as
advertised. When problems occur, manage expectations, communicate effectively
and work to resolve the issue while ensuring you make the customer feel valued
and respected. It will always be easier and more cost effective to create an
environment for positive customer perception from the beginning of the customer
journey than it is to fix a negative perception.

Marketing Stimuli:
Factors orchestrated by marketers that influence people’s consumption choices.  It
includes product, price, place and promotion.

Selective perception Process:

Selective perception refers to the process by which we select, categorize, and

analyze stimuli from our environment to create meaningful experiences while
blocking out stimuli that contradicts our beliefs or expectations. That is, we focus
on certain aspects in our environment while excluding others.
The Process of Perception in Marketing includes the following:

Perception establishes the meaning about a product or brand when a consumer

makes initial contact. In marketing, this is described as consumer information
processing. At this stage all of the senses are engaged in receiving brand marketing
communicate messages. In marketing literature, four distinct stages of perception
occur during consumer information processing: sensation, attention,
interpretation and retention.
Sensation:

Sensation describes what occurs when a person's senses are initially exposed to the
external stimulus of a product or brand marketing. The sensory receptors of a
consumer are engaged by product or brand cues through sight, sound, smell, taste
and texture. For example, Starbucks engages all the senses in its sensory brand
marketing. A customer who enters a Starbucks coffee shop may hear the sounds
and smell the aroma of the grinding of fresh coffee in the store. Background music
and a unique store design round out the experience of the taste of hot or cold coffee
and food products that can be enjoyed in-store at quaint cafe tables.

Attention:

In consumer information processing, attention occurs when a person lingers and

gives mental processing capacity to the external stimulus from a product or brand.
Selective perception is when a consumer pays attention to messages that are
consistent with her attitudes, beliefs and needs. When a product is inconsistent
with these factors, the consumer will withdraw attention.

Interpretation:

Interpretation occurs when a person assigns a meaning to the sensory stimulus

from a product or brand marketing. Comprehension is aided by expectations and
familiarity. A consumer scans his memory to retrieve previous experiences with
the brand or a similar brand. Store-brand marketing frequently capitalizes on the
interpretation stage when product packaging design contains logos, colors and
other elements that are similar to national brands that consumers are generally
more familiar with.

Retention:

The conclusion of the consumer perception process is the retention stage. This is
marked by the storage of product or brand information in short-term and long-term
memory. The marketer's goal is to provide positive stimuli in the proceeding stages
that translate into consumers storing the information about the product or brand
into long-term memory.
Learning and Memory:

 Learning involves "a change in the content or organization of long term memory
and/or behavior." The first part of the definition focuses on what we know (and can
thus put to use) while the second focuses on concrete behavior. For example, many
people will avoid foods that they consumed shortly before becoming ill. Learning
is not all knowledge based. For example, we may experience the sales people in
one store being nicer to us than those in the other. We thus may develop a
preference for the one store over the other; however, if pressed, we may not be able
to give a conscious explanation as to the reason for our preference.

Much early work on learning was actually done on rats and other animals (and
much of this research was unjustifiably cruel, but that is another matter).

Learning Elements:
Classical conditioning

Pavlov’s early work on dogs was known as classical conditioning. Pavlov

discovered that when dogs were fed meat powder they salivated. Pavlov then
discovered that if a bell were rung before the dogs were fed, the dogs would begin
salivating in anticipation of being fed (this was efficient, since they could then
begin digesting the meat powder immediately). Pavlov then found that after the
meat had been "paired" with the meat powder enough times, Pavlov could ring the
bell without feeding the dogs and they would still salivate.

In the jargon of classical conditioning, the meat powder was an unconditioned

stimulus (US) and the salivation was, when preceded by the meat powder,
an unconditioned response (UR). That is, it is a biologically "hard-wired" response
to salivate when you are fed. By pairing the bell with the unconditioned stimulus,
the bell became a conditioned stimulus (CS) and salivation in response to the bell
(with no meat powder) became a conditioned response(CR).

Many modern day advertisers use classical conditioning in some way. Consider
this sequence:

Operant conditioning

 Instrumental, or operant, conditioning, involves a different series of events, and

this what we usually think of as learning. The general pattern is:
There are three major forms of operant learning. In positive reinforcement, an
individual does something and is rewarded. He or she is then more likely to repeat
the behavior. For example, you eat a candy bar (behavior), it tastes good
(consequence), and you are thus more likely to eat a similar candy bar in the future
(behavioral change).

Punishment is the opposite. You eat what looks like a piece of candy (behavior),
only to discover that it is a piece of soap with a foul taste (consequences), and
subsequently you are less likely to eat anything that looks remotely like that thing
ever again (changed behavior).

It should be noted that negative reinforcement is very different from punishment.

An example of negative reinforcement is an obnoxious sales person who calls you
up on the phone, pressuring you into buying something you don’t want to do
(aversive stimulus). You eventually agree to buy it (changed behavior), and the
sales person leaves you alone (the aversive stimulus is terminated as a result of
consequences of your behavior).

In general, marketers usually have relatively little power to use punishment or

negative reinforcement. However, parking meters are often used to discourage
consumers from taking up valuable parking space, and manufacturers may void
warranties if the consumers take their product to non-authorized repair facilities.

Several factors influence the effectiveness of operant learning. In general,

the closer in time the consequences are to the behavior, the more effective the
learning. That is, electric utilities would be more likely to influence consumers to
use less electricity at peak hours if the consumers actually had to pay when they
used electricity (e.g., through a coin-slot) rather than at the end of the month.
Learning is also more likely to occur when the individual can understand a
relationship between behavior and consequences (but learning may occur even if
this relationship is not understood consciously).

Another issue is schedules of reinforcement and extinction. Extinction occurs when

behavior stops having consequences and the behavior then eventually stops
occurring. For example, if a passenger learns that yelling at check-in personnel no
longer gets her upgraded to first class, she will probably stop that behavior.
Sometimes, an individual is rewarded every time a behavior is performed (e.g., a
consumer gets a soft drink every time coins are put into a vending machine).
However, it is not necessary to reward a behavior every time for learning to occur.
Even if a behavior is only rewarded some of the time, the behavior may be learned.
Several different schedules of reinforcement are possible:

 Fixed interval: The consumer is given a free dessert on every Tuesday when
he or she eats in a particular restaurant.

 Fixed ratio: Behavior is rewarded (or punished) on every nth occasion that it

is performed. (E.g., every tenth time a frequent shopper card is presented, a
free product is provided).

 Variable ratio: Every time an action is performed, there is a certain

percentage chance that a reward will be given. For example, every time the
consumer enters the store, he or she is given a lottery ticket. With each
ticket, there is a 20% chance of getting a free hamburger. The consumer may
get a free hamburger twice in a row, or he or she may go ten times without
getting a hamburger even once.

Variable ratio reinforcement is least vulnerable to extinction.

Sometimes, shaping may be necessary to teach the consumer the desired behavior.
That is, it may be impossible to teach the consumer to directly perform the desired
behavior. For example, a consumer may first get a good product for free (the
product itself, if good, is a reward), then buy it with a large cents off coupon, and
finally buy it at full price. Thus, we reinforce approximations of the desired
behavior. Rather than introducing Coca Cola directly in Indonesia, fruit flavored
soft drinks were first introduced, since these were more similar to beverages
already consumed.

Vicarious learning

The consumer does not always need to go through the learning process himself or
herself—sometimes it is possible to learn from observing the consequences of
others. For example, stores may make a big deal out of prosecuting shop lifters not
so much because they want to stop that behavior in the those caught, but rather to
deter the behavior in others. Similarly, viewers may empathize with characters in
advertisements who experience (usually positive) results from using a product. The
Head ‘n’ Shoulders advertisement, where a poor man is rejected by women until he
treats his dandruff with an effective cure, is a good example of vicarious learning.
Memory:

Memory ranges in duration on a continuum from extremely short to very long

term.  Sensory memory includes storage of stimuli that one might not actually
notice (e.g., the color of an advertisement some distance away).  For slightly longer
duration, when you see an ad on TV for a mail order product you might like to buy,
you only keep the phone number in memory until you have dialed it.  This is
known as short term memory.  In order for something to enter into long
term memory, which is more permanent, you must usually “rehearse” it several
times.  For example, when you move and get a new phone number, you will
probably repeat it to yourself many times.  Alternatively, you get to learn your
driver’s license or social security numbers with time, not because you deliberately
memorize them, but instead because you encounter them numerous times as you
look them up.

Memory is the processes that is used to acquire, retain, and later retrieve
information. The memory process involves three domains: encoding, storage, and
retrieval.

The Memory Process:

Encoding – processing incoming information so it can be entered into memory.

Storage – maintaining information in memory for a period of time.

Retrieval – accessing or recalling stored information from memory so it can be

used.

Consumer Involvement and buying behaviour:

Like motivation, involvement too is an internal state of mind which a consumer

experiences. It makes one analyze and rationalize his/her choice. Involvement of
consumers can be induced by external sources and agencies. Involvement is the
embodiment of time, effort, consideration given and the enjoyment that is derived
by consumer while choosing a product or service.The involvement theory holds
that there are low and high involvement purchases. Consumers’ involvement
depends on the degree of involvement of purchase to a consumer. For example,
while buying a loaf of bread, the consumer does not feel very much involved. It is
because the life of the product is very short. Once it is consumed, it gets
exhausted. If the consumer is not satisfied with the particular bread brand, he will
purchase some other brand next time.

In the case of purchase of consumer durable (Laptop, refrigerator, household

furniture, two wheeler etc), the involvement of the consumer in making the
purchase decision is high. Consumers take a decision after much deliberations.
These products have long-term consequences. Consumers make lot of inquiries
before they purchase the products which have a high degree of involvement. The
following table shows various degrees of involvement depending upon the nature
of the product or service.

Product or
Degree Examples
Service

Low involvement Short life Fast moving consumer goods.

Medium Furniture, crockery, ordinary medical

Medium
involvement treatment

Automobiles, surgery, purchase of

High involvement Long
immovable assets, insurance policy etc.

Categories of Consumer involvement

Advertises have understood the symbolic role of products in influencing self-

image, therefore, they are using this concept successfully in their ads. Life style
Concept