Customers make purchases to solve problems, whether they’ve consciously identified their problems or not. Effective marketing showcases how products solve those problems, and it does so by correctly identifying customers’ buying motives.
Knowing what actually drives your customers to shop can help you sell effectively, boosting your conversion rate and ultimately bringing in more money.
Learn about the different types of buying motives customers have, and strategies for addressing them.
What are buying motives?
A buying motive (or buyer motive) is the reason a buyer decides to make a particular purchase. Common categories include need, fear of loss, and desire for social acceptance. Understanding common buying motives can help you identify the messages that will drive conversion for your business. Understanding the buying motive will ultimately help you optimize your marketing efforts, build an effective sales process, and earn more revenue.
Types of buying motives
- Rational vs. emotional buying motives
- Product vs. patronage buying motives
- Conscious vs. subconscious buying motives
Identifying buyer motivations can be tricky. Buyers make purchases based on multiple factors, and they may or may not be aware of all of them. Take a look at the overarching types of buyer motives:
Rational vs. emotional buying motives
A customer with a rational buyer motive identifies a concrete need and assesses objective information like price or performance data to make a buying decision. For example, a buyer needs a rake to remove leaves from their lawn and reads reviews before purchasing one.
A buyer with an emotional buying motive, on the other hand, experiences a less concrete psychological need and purchases a product to meet it. For example, a customer sees their neighbors with a trendy new type of rake and purchases it without reading reviews, even though they already have a functional rake.
Product vs. patronage buying motives
Product and patronage motives distinguish desire for a particular product from desire based on brand reputation, brand loyalty, or brand mission. Product buying motives are related to owning or using something. A buyer purchases a lawnmower to mow their lawn or lipstick to freshen up their look.
Patronage buying motives refer to a buyer’s desire to support a specific business. You might buy a subscription to The New York Times to support journalism or select an airline because you’re enrolled in its frequent flier program.
Conscious vs. subconscious buying motives
Customers make buying decisions for multiple reasons, and they’re not always aware of all of them. Conscious motives are the ones buyers know about. A buyer might purchase a gym membership because they want to get in better shape (conscious). They may also make the purchase because they ran into an ex who broke up with them and are experiencing a psychological need for control (subconscious).
Some motives also become conscious during the buying process. These are known as dormant buying motives. Consider the gym membership buyer, for example. They might research gym memberships out of the conscious motivation to get in shape. Then they encounter marketing materials that promise additional benefits like joining a community and learning new skills. The buyer might ultimately make their purchasing decision based on these dormant buying motives.
Buying motive categories
- Need
- Fear
- Health, well-being, or personal growth
- Social status, approval, or acceptance
- Financial gain
- Personal satisfaction or pleasure
Theoretically, there are infinite different buying motives underneath the umbrellas of buying motive types. Say you sell women’s athletic apparel. A customer might buy a new pair of running tights because their doctor told them to exercise more, because their old pair wore out, because they liked the pattern, and because they want to be a spider for Halloween.
Although you can’t foresee every possible purchasing motivation, establishing buying motive categories for your business can help you cater your marketing strategies to your potential customers. Take a look at six common categories:
Need
Need-based purchases solve a problem. A customer is getting married, so they need a tuxedo. Their new puppy isn’t house-trained, so they need an enzymatic carpet cleaner. Sometimes, customer needs are obvious, but to accurately address their motivation, ask your customers what problems your product solves for them. You might be surprised to learn that customers use your product in unanticipated ways or have found a type of product value you didn’t consider.
After identifying the issues your product or service solves, communicate how your product solves those problems to new, prospective customers. Take the tagline of the outerwear company dryrobe, for example: “Get changed. Stay warm.” It neatly articulates a familiar problem (being cold) and how the company’s unique apparel solves it (you can change into a dryrobe coat outdoors and still stay warm).
Fear
Fear exists to drive action, and it’s a powerful purchase motivator. You’re most likely to have fear-based buyers if you sell safety and security products—think helmets or home defense systems.
You can harness these buyer motivations with reassuring messages about safety. A familiar example is the reassuring slogan “Nationwide is on your side” from the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
Be wary of melodrama or heavy-handed attempts to instill fear—these are known as scare tactics, and consumers can find them off-putting. Instead, consider using research or statistics to state the risks your customers face and specify your product’s impact on mitigation.
Health, well-being, or personal growth
The desire to improve health or experience personal growth can also motivate purchasing behavior. Nutrition, fitness, education, personal care, and lifestyle brands often rely on these health, wellness, and self-improvement buyer motivations.
Successful marketing strategies paint a picture of what life can be like after a consumer makes a purchase. They encourage potential customers to imagine a fitter, smarter, or more vibrant version of themselves. You can also tap into this buyer motivation by citing research to back up your claims. Just make sure that any health claims adhere to the guidelines established by the Federal Trade Commission.
Take a look at superfood retailer Golde, which targets health and wellness buyers with product descriptions like this one for the company’s Matcha Turmeric Latte Blend:
“Our original superfood latte blend paired with 100% pure, shade-grown matcha for a gentle boost of jitter-free energy. 7 essential superfoods for skin glow, gut health, and sustained focus.”
Social status, approval, or acceptance
The social approval or acceptance buyer motivation is largely driven by FOMO, or the fear of missing out. Prospective customers feel like everyone else is buying a certain product, and they don’t want to be left out. Alternatively, consumers might see a certain product as a marker of an aspirational social class and want to purchase that product to demonstrate they fit in.
Ecommerce businesses can encourage these consumers to make purchases by sharing social proof like customer reviews and user-generated content (UGC). For example, the jewelry company Pura Vida asked buyers to post on social media using the hashtag #purevidabracelets to show the community of customers. The more aware a buyer is that others are using and enjoying your products, the stronger that buyer’s motivation.
Financial gain
Financial gain buying motivations are based on a buyer’s belief that a product or service will help them save or earn money. These buyer motivations are common with business-to-business (B2B) prospects, whose primary motive is typically profit, but you can also see financial gain motivations with a range of business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce businesses.
For example, the Aarke Carbonator offers a cost-effective alternative to buying sparkling water, and The Manicure Company’s DIY gel nail kits cost less than a trip to the salon. You can target buyers with financial gain motives by using messaging that compares the cost of your product to the cost of the products or services it replaces.
Personal satisfaction or pleasure
Pleasure and personal satisfaction often motivate customers to purchase non-essential products. These include luxury alternatives to everyday purchases and items that offer primarily aesthetic or entertainment value. A buyer needs clothes, but they don’t need an outfit that costs $1,000, for example. Customers need to eat, but they can survive without imported caviar.
You can target customers with personal satisfaction motives by using high-quality product photography and intentional branding. See the high-contrast, photo-heavy website of the high-end clothing brand SIMKHAI as an example.
When putting together brand messaging speaking to these buying motives, center on product excellence and exclusivity, leaving pride of ownership and the pleasure of consumption implicit. Messages like “Crafted from the highest-quality Mongolian cashmere for feather-light, heirloom-quality garments” are more effective than “Sweaters that feel soft and comfortable to wear.” Pleasure can also motivate impulse buys, which are purchasing decisions made in the moment, typically out of excitement or sudden desire.
Buying motives FAQ
What are examples of emotional buying motives?
Emotional buying motives include the desire for social status and the need to feel valued or accepted. Unlike rational buyers, emotional buyers don’t require proof that a purchase will meet those needs.
What is the difference between buying motives and selling points?
Selling points are the messages a company uses to motivate customers to make a purchase, whereas buyer motives are the emotional or logical reasons an individual buyer decides to make a purchase.
What are buyers’ motives?
A buyer’s motive is the emotional or logical reason behind a purchasing decision. Common examples include fear of loss, desire for financial gain, and personal satisfaction.
