3.2 BUYING MOTIVES

3.2 BUYING MOTIVES

A customer purchases a particular product or service because of a strong inner feeling or force which instills in him a strong desire to have possession of the same. A buying motive can be said to be all the desires considerations and impulses which induce a buyer to purchase a given product. Basically, buying motives are of two kinds:

1.     Product motives.

2.     Patronage motives.

 Product Motives

The impulses, considerations, and desires that induce a person to be positively inclined to purchase a product is called product motive. The product is inclusive of the attributes i.e. color, size, attractive design, package, price etc, which may be the reasons behind product motives. Product motives can be classified on the basis of the nature of satisfaction sought by the buyer. Based on this classification, we can have two categories of product motives:

1.     Emotional product motives.

2.     Rational product motives.

Emotional product motives: Emotional product motives are those impulses which persuade a customer to purchase a product spontaneously without giving prior thought to the consequences of the action or decision. Evaluation of the pros and cons of the decision or logical reasoning and analysis is not pertinent in these purchase decisions. Here, the buyer lets the heart rule over the mind.

Rational product motives: Rational product motives, on the other hand, involve careful reasoning and logical analysis of the intended purchase. The buyer will work out whether it is worthwhile to purchase the product. The buyer will carefully think and work out the valid and relevant reasons to justify the proposed purchase of the product.

However, sometimes it has been observed that some product motives may be a mixture of emotion and rationality. In such a case, a buyer may react quickly to a situation and make an impulsive buying decision but there could be some conscious reasoning behind such a purchase. So a more logical way of classifying product motives is by adding two dimensions to the product motives- utility and prestige.

PATRONAGE BUYING MOTIVES

 Why do buyers purchase from specific shops? What are the considerations or factors which persuade the buyers to display such patronage? These questions can be answered by understanding buyer patronage motives. Patronage motives can also be categorized into two groups namely, emotional patronage motives and rational patronage motives.

Emotional patronage motives: Emotional patronage motives are those impulses which motivate or persuade a buyer to purchase from specific shops. There may be no logical reasoning behind his decision to purchase from a particular shop. He may simply decide to buy from his “most preferred” shop, merely based on subjective reasons.

Rational patronage motives: If a buyer solicits a particular shop after following a logical reasoning of the mind, this is called rational patronage motives. He may select a shop because it offers a variety of products, or stocks the latest designs and models, or assures prompt delivery and good after sales service.

As mentioned earlier, even patronage motives can be a combination of emotional and rational motives.