By Dr.

Dongmei Li

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THE WHEEL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

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PART 1: NEED
Need refers to the state of
felt deprivation.

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BASIC HUMAN NEEDS
To be popular, attractive, wanted most typically used for c
osmetics, health, beauty
To have material things luxury items, fads
To enjoy life through comfort and convenience luxury item
s, home furnishings, fast foods, et.
To create a happy family situation insurance, travel, enter
tainment
To have love and sex beauty aids, health products
To have power private clubs, designer labels
To avoid fear medical products, insurance
To emulate those you admire fads, style, fashion
To protect and maintain health exercise equipment, healt
h products
TYPES OF NEEDS
Needs necessary to maintain life.
E.g., food, water, air & sleep
Biogenic
Needs

Psychogenic
Needs

Needs learnt from a specific culture.

E.g., power, status, affiliation
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 Utilitarian
TYPES OF NEEDS Needs
A desire to achieve some functional or practical
benefit.
E.g., travelling from A to B

Hedonic
Needs

An experiential need, involving emotional

responses. E.g., excitement, self-confidence
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UTILITARIAN AND HEDONIC NEEDS
LEAD TO CONSUMER BEHAVIORS

Utilitarian Hedonic
Example needs lead to needs lead to
Choosing a The most A trendy, new
restaurant for convenient place restaurant
dinner
Retailers that are Retailers that are
Choosing to shop seen as useful seen as fun and
with retailers and easy to use exciting
SHORT QUESTIONS
Is it driven by utilitarian need or hedonic nee
d?
Using air freshener to cover up a strange smell
in the apartment.
Going gift shopping out of a sense of obligation
to give a gift.
Driving the car fast on curvy road even when n
ot rushed.
MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

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Maslows hierarchy of needs
Physiological: for basic survival
Safety: The need to feel secured and protected
Love/Belonging: The need to feel like a member
Of community or family.
Ego/Esteem: The need to be recognized as a per
son of worth.
Self-actualization: The need for personal fulfill
ment.
This is NOT just utilitarian value.
Theoretically speaking, it is hard to achieve an
d not many people can be completely satisfied
with this need.
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FOR REFLECTION
Some studies show that an activity can satisfy e
very level of Maslows hierarchy. What does this
say about the hierarchy?

I like to work in the soil

I feel safe in my garden
I can share my produce with others
I can create something of beauty
My garden gives me a sense of peace
 NEEDS AND BUYING BEHAVIOR

NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT NEED FOR AFFILIATION

Value personal accomplishment Want to be with other people
Implication: Place a premium on Implication: Focus on products that
products that signify success used in group

NEED FOR POWER

NEED FOR UNIQUENESS
Control ones environment
Assert ones individual identity
Implication: Focus on products that
Implication: Enjoy products that
allow them to have mastery over
focus on their unique character
surroundings

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PART 2: MOTIVATION

Motivation is the process that

leads people to behave as they
do. It occurs when a need arises
that a consumer wishes to
satisfy.

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NEEDS, GOAL, DRIVE
The desired end state is the consu
mers goal (e.g, to feel loved).
The unmet needs, represent by a d
iscrepancy exists between the con
sumers present state (e.g., feelin
g unloved) and some ideal state (e
.g, to feel loved), create an arousa
l. The degree of arousal is called a
drive.
The consumer seeks to reduce tens
ion (e.g, by buy love).
MOTIVATIONAL STRENGTH
Motivational strength: degree of willingness t
o expend energy to reach a goal
Drive theory: biological needs that produce u
npleasant states of arousal (e.g., hunger)
Expectancy theory: behavior is pulled by exp
ectations of achieving desirable outcomes
Goal valence (value): consumer will:
Approach positive goal
Avoid negative goal
DRIVE THEORY
Motivation can be described in terms of:
- Strength: The pull it exerts on the consumers
- Direction: The way the consumers attempts to reduce the tension

Ideal state

Ideal state Ideal state

Actual state Actual
state

Actual
state
No Motivation Motivation Motivation
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 MOTIVATION
Now we know that consumers have different needs. The nee
d creates a state of tension that drives the consumer to atte
mpt to reduce or eliminate it. Therefore, marketers should
create products and services to provide the desired benefits
and help the consumer to reduce this tension.
Give some everyday life examples to illustrate the motivatio
n process
Are perception and motivation independent or related? Justi
fy.

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 NEED, MOTIVATION, & PERCEPTION
This cup can hold 300ml of water when it is f
ull. How much water is there now?
Doyou perceive it to have more water when you
are thirsty or not?

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MOTIVATIONAL CONFLICT
A purchase decision may involve more than one source of
motivation, consumers often find themselves in situations i
n which different motives conflict with one another.

Two desirable alternatives

Approach - Approach
Cognitive dissonance

Positive & negative aspects

Approach - Avoidance of desired product
Guilt of desire occurs

Avoidance - Avoidance Facing a choice with two

undesirable alternatives

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THEORY OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
People have a need for order and consistency in their lives
and a state of dissonance (tension) exists when beliefs or b
ehaviors conflict with one another. We resolve the conflict
by reducing the inconsistency.

Smoking cause
cancer..but you still
smoke!
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PART 3: INVOLVEMENT

Involvement refers to
a persons perceived
relevance of the
object based on their
inherent needs,
values, and interests.

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INVOLVEMENT
High involvement (obsession)
Low involvement (disinterested)

type of information processing depends

on the consumers level of involvement
Simple processing: only the basic features of th
e message are considered
Elaboration: incoming information is linked to
preexisting knowledge
CONCEPTUALIZING INVOLVEMENT

Involvement = f (Person, situation, object)

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LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT:
FROM INERTIA TO PASSION
Inertia is consumption at the low end of invol
vement; decisions made out of habit (lack of
motivation)
Flow state occurs when consumers are truly i
nvolved
Sense of control
Concentration
Mental enjoyment
Distorted sense of time
INVOLVEMENT
Strategy to increase involvement:
Appeal to hedonic needs
Use novel, prominent stimuli
Include celebrity endorsers
Build a bond with consumers by maintaining an ongoing r
elationship with consumers
Some potential benefits:
Increase ad effectiveness
Increase importance of product class
Increase preference for a particular brand
Facilitate the learning process
 MEASURING INVOLVEMENT
To me (object to be judged) is:
1. important _:_:_:_:_:_:_ unimportant
2. boring _:_:_:_:_:_:_ interesting
3. relevant _:_:_:_:_:_:_ irrelevant
4. exciting _:_:_:_:_:_:_ unexciting
5. means _:_:_:_:_:_:_ means a lot
nothing
6. appealing _:_:_:_:_:_:_ unappealing
7. fascinating _:_:_:_:_:_:_ mundane
8. worthless _:_:_:_:_:_:_ valuable
9. involving _:_:_:_:_:_:_ uninvolving
10. not needed _:_:_:_:_:_:_ needed
PURCHASE SITUATION INVOLVE
MENT
Purchase situation involvement: differenc
es that occur when buying the same objec
t for different contexts.
Example: wedding gift
For boss: purchase expensive vase to show th
at you want to impress boss
For cousin you dont like: purchase inexpensi
ve vase to show youre indifferent
EXERCISE
You are the boss of an insurance company. H
ow you would reward your top 10 salespeopl
e? Design some strategies/policies based on t
he following concepts.

(a)Maslows hierarchy
(b)Utilitarian needs
(c)Hedonic needs
(d)Involvement
MATERIALISM
Materialism: the importance people attach to worl
dly possessions
The good life...He who dies with the most toy
s, wins
Materialists: value possessions for their own status
and appearance
Non-materialists: value possessions that connect t
hem to other people or provide them with pleasur
e in using them
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Products address a wide range of consumer n
eeds.
How we evaluate a product depends on our i
nvolvement with that product, the marketing
message, and the purchase situation.
Our cultural values dictate the products we s
eek out and avoid.
Consumers vary in how important possessions
are to them.