In Order To Maximize Sales, You Have To Understand Buy Motives

By Leslie Ball


In order to purchase a given item, a person is influenced by a combination of facts and the emotional states that generates the feeling of making the purchase and deciding to purchase one item as opposed to the other. The marketing team of a given business organization has the responsibility to take into account the key buy motives and use them strategically to enhance their sales within a target consumer group.

As a marketer, it is important to understand that the consumer is not going to buy the product as a result of your persuasion but due to your ability to arouse their motives. In order to succeed in this, you need a deep understanding of the instincts, the feelings, thoughts, and the emotions that determines the decision to purchase.

The consumer purchase motives can be categorized into product buying decisions and the patronage buying decisions. Under product category, there are emotional decisions and the rational decisions. The patronage decisions are also further subdivided into emotional and rational.

The customer is prompted to buy one product as opposed to the other by the product buying motives. In most cases, these are physical factors such as appearance (color, size, texture, package, dimension, and shape), weight, price, and the physiological attributes such as its role in enhancing the social well-being.

Under the emotional product buy motivations are factors such as prestige, pride, emulation, imitation, comfort, affection, ambition, habit, thirst, hunger, need for sexual appeal, and the need to be unique or be distinct. Generally, these are not facts but just emotional considerations.

The other subdivision of product buying motivations is the rational product buying decisions. There is where conscious consideration and logic goes into the process of decision-making. The buy decision is based on facts rather than emotions. Some examples include durability, convenience, economics, safety issues, low prices, versatility, and utility.

The second major classification is the patronage buying motivations. These are the considerations that induce the buyer to make the purchase form a particular shop as opposed to the others. In simple terms, the buyer tends to patronize one seller more than others when it comes to purchase of some products. These too fall into two categories; emotional and rational.

Under the emotional motivations, the particular reasons that make a buyer patronize a seller without relying on reasons or rational consideration. The factors such as the arrangement of products in the shop, the service given, habit, imitation, prestige, and shop appearance are some factors under this category.

The rational patronage motivations are those motivations that arise when the buyer patronizes one shop as opposed to others after a careful consideration. It involves careful thinking and proper reasoning before opting for one seller against the other. Some of the factors in this category include convenience, lower price by the shop, the credit facilities offered, efficiency, service offered, treatment, a wide range of products and reputation among others.

As a leader or a member of sales team, it is important to understand and use the classifications of the buying motivations to your advantage. The success of your team depends on how well you understand the consumers and be able to appeal to them. You have to appeal to appeal their motives in order to win more sales.




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