Having buyers is the basic necessity of any business, be it small or big. Universally, every product or service is only profitable when it has new and repeat customers. Though sales and marketing have different functions, their goals remain the same: present products or services in a way that makes the buyers come back for more!
The approach to selling and buying includes the sales process, buying decisions, and universal buying motives. Out of these, the buying motives often have the most impact on the success and failure of the products.
What are buying motives?
Buying motives, or the motivation to buy investigates the buyer’s mindset, i.e., why they purchase the product or service. This includes their thoughts, desires, feelings, emotions, instincts, feelings and drives that entice the reaction to convert a sell. The motives can also be economic, social, or psychological etc. These can further be expanded to include, cost, fashion, fear, love, comfort, convenient, and even pride. The trigger points, or buyer motives, are the reasons why people buy something regardless of the price, or size, or reach. Buyer motives are the insight hat help the marketing and sales team to present the product in an appealing manner.
Buyer motives can be gathered from a lot of sources, such as reviews, presentations, website content, blogs, newsletters, or white papers, etc. They also help reduce the pain points for the product or service so that the development process can be more refined and successful. It addresses both, the needs, and challenges of consumers. A small example, for a person shopping for the latest line of clothes, the buying motive can be a need, or a desire to suit a special occasion or maybe a weather change. Similarly, the customer will buy fans in the summer months and opt for heaters in the winter months.
Customers might not always be able to define their buying motives. For example, buying a bag because of a brand’s reputation is a dormant buying motive, whereas buying a laptop because it has the latest processor, is a conscious buying motive.
Types of buying motives
Every purchase has its reasons. A purchase has many factors working behind it, and sometimes both motivations and instincts come into play for the same reason. The most common types of buying motives that every salesperson should know and understand are
- Gain or Desire to gain: This buying motive comes into play when the customer feels that they are getting a good deal or the purchase will help them increase or grow in some way. The desire might be a financial gain such as saving money or ROI, or it can be a personal gain such as higher education or a gain of status or recognition such as owning a brand, etc. This buying motive helps the marketer present the product in a way that emphasises the value of the product in terms of convenience, emotional fulfilment, status symbols, etc.
- Loss or Fear of Loss: The biggest example is FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out. The buyers make a purchase if they feel they will miss out on the offer, or the special promotion, or a free gift etc. This buying motive can also be based on the need to avoid damage, injury, harm, and unnecessary costs. Examples include buying an insurance policy, or a subscription to a website. Understanding this helps a salesperson take advantage of the fear and tailor the product or service to create an urgency in their sale and push to taking-action now.
- Comfort and convenience: The desire for comfort and convenience is paramount for most people. Buyers want to purchase things when it is easier for them and there is minimal effort or time wasted. For example, if the customer wants to buy ear phones, then he will prefer a store or a website with many options, offers, quick delivery, ease of comparison, adaptability, etc. to make the purchase. The same applies to other things such as subscriptions, readymade shoes and things like this. For a sales person, this buyer motive can be used to emphasize the ease of buying their product and highlight the time saved by the consumers.
- Security and Protection: Customers buy when they feel confident that their purchase will not harm them in any way. The fear of loss or harm or fraud can keep them away from your product. The sales marketing messages should emphasize the safety features that come with the product. These could be in the form of reviews, warranties, on call assistance, security features, etc.
- Pride or Pride of Ownership: This is a buyer motive that touches the chord of pride in the purchaser. Examples include owning a purse from a reputed brand or a luxury holiday. We all have a ‘label mentality’ which a salesperson can encash to sell the exclusive items. Most consumers will pay a premium price when they get the exclusive ownership experience.
- Satisfaction of Emotion: This buying motive is understanding the emotions behind the customer’s choosing to buy. Emotions help fill a need inside the customer. These emotions can be about delight, surprise, approval, or even a memory. By creating a sales environments that meets the emotional needs, a salesperson can increase customer loyalty and improve personalized experiences.
There are other factors too that form the part of buying motives. These include
- Acceptance: When the customer feels valued. For example, a prompt customer service.
- Pleasure: It is about creating a great customer experience. For example, having a smooth experience from start to finish including packaging, personal notes etc.
- Aspiration: This is one of the key motivators, as it highlights the stand out features of a product and tailors it to the customer’s needs.
- Health: This buying motive concerns with the desire to live long and well. For example, buying health insurances.
Shopping for a product or service is successful for a buyer when his or her personal needs are met. The buying motives can be rational or emotional. There can be multiple buying motives when making a purchase decision. People usually don’t worry about sharing their details, unless they know that you care. Listen to what the customers are saying, this will give you a clear understanding of what they want and when will they buy. As a salesperson, you should address the customer’s needs first. When you do this, you will the consumer’s trust and set your company apart from the competition.
