Buying motives
Why do people decide to buy specific products? Buying motives arise from customer needs and are therefore important to understand. There are two buying motives, the rational buying motive and the social buying motive, and we'll take a closer look at both here.
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What are buying motives?
Buying motives refer to the underlying reasons, needs or desires that drive a person to make a decision to purchase a product or service. These motives can be both conscious and unconscious, vary from person to person and are influenced by a number of factors such as personal preferences, cultural norms and economic status.
Buying motives play a crucial role in consumer behavior and marketing as they help businesses understand what drives customer decisions. Whether you work in B2B marketing or B2C marketing, buying motives are important to understand so you can adapt your sales strategies to your customers.
In general, buying motives can be divided into two groups:
- Rational motives
- Social motives.
The rational motives
Rational motives refer to the logical and considered reasons people have when they choose to buy a product or service. These motives are often based on a careful assessment of the product or service's functional value, quality, price, durability and usability.
Consumers with rational motives seek to maximize the value of their purchase by comparing alternatives, reading reviews and gathering as much information as possible.
They are driven by a desire to make a financially sound decision that meets a specific need or solves a concrete problem, often resulting in more considered and less impulsive buying behavior.
The social motives
Social motives are linked to the human need for belonging, recognition and social status.
These motives are influenced by the desire to be accepted, admired or recognized by others within one's social circle or society in general. The social motives can be divided into 4 groups:
Bandwagon motif: Refers to the desire to follow the majority or to be part of a trend. Here, consumers buy products or services because they see that many others are doing it too. It can include everything from fashion and technologies to popular cultural phenomena.
The Snob Motive: Is based on the desire for exclusivity and individuality. Snob buyers seek to stand out from the crowd by owning unique, rare or luxurious items that not everyone has access to.
The Veblen motif: Named after the economist Thorstein Veblen, it refers to the consumption of luxury goods to demonstrate wealth or social status. Unlike the snob motif, which focuses on uniqueness and exclusivity, the Veblen motif focuses on the visibility of consumption and its ability to signal economic power.
The thrifty motive: revolves around the desire to get a bargain or value for money, but with a social twist. Consumers driven by the thrifty motive seek not only to save money, but also to be recognized for their ability to find deals, discounts or leverage financial strategies that demonstrate their financial acumen.
For businesses, understanding social motives means they can position their products or services as tools to achieve these social goals, making their offering more appealing to their target audience.
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