How to define the purchase motivation?

Purchase motivation is the subjective feeling that will push the customer to make a purchase. Knowing the different purchase motivations will help guide the sales pitch and anticipate certain objections. A purchasing motivation is very often a subjective feeling specific to each individual.

What are the different purchase motivation?

In marketing we define 3 different typologies of purchase motivations.

Hedonic purchase motivation

The main goal of hedonistic motivation is to enjoy yourself. This feeling is driven by the personal satisfaction felt by the buyer. A large majority of purchases result from a hedonistic motivation; the seller will be able to identify this motivation quite easily during the discovery phase.

Oblative purchase motivation

Oblative motivation has the ultimate goal of pleasing others. The objective is therefore to please another person through a purchase or a gift. These are generally purchases that follow a very specific calendar (Christmas, birthday, Valentine’s Day, etc.). The seller must identify this motivation fairly quickly in order to adapt his argument according to the end customer. Parents are a very important target of oblative motivation, the final objective being to please their children

Self-expression purchase motivation

The motivation of self-expression aims to affirm, to express who we are. The purchase will allow the individual to express themselves and achieve in the eyes of others.

The “SONCASE”

The SONCASE is a tool that will make it possible to define the purchasing motivation(s) of customers through 7 axes:

“Sécurité” (Security)

The customer needs to be reassured when purchasing, he is afraid of making a mistake and not making the right choice. This is a significant psychological barrier; the seller must adapt his speech and reassure the buyer.

“Orgueil” (Pride)

The buyer likes to be noticed and flatter his ego. The seller must take this need for recognition into account and use vocabulary accordingly.

“Nouveauté” (Innnovation)

The customer is curious and wants to be at the cutting edge of technology. This is a very important motivation which makes the product very attractive. The attention paid to the release of a new product will allow the brand to differentiate itself from its competitors.

“Confort” (Comfort)

The buyer wants a solution of ease and comfort. The product must bring more comfort to the buyer’s daily life. The seller must prepare a sales pitch that will highlight all the benefits of using the product.

“Argent” (Money)

The customer wants to save money and is careful with their budget. This is the objection that we find most regularly; to remove this obstacle, the seller must provide an argument with figures or sometimes offer a reduction.

“Sympathie” (Liking)

The buyer needs to be confident, he will pay more attention to the welcome and the quality of service. The seller must take the customer into consideration and not force the purchase.

“Écologie” (Ecology)

The customer is concerned about the environment and the environmental impact that the use of the product will have. The argument must be focused on the energy performance of the product and the manufacturing process.

Obstacles

Inhibitions

Inhibitions reflect a lack of confidence, they are fears that come from the individual. Inhibitions can result in a feeling of difference, a feeling of guilt.

Fears

Fears are fears that prevent a person from making the purchase they want. These fears can be real or imagined and come from external fears. This can result in the fear of being ridiculous in the eyes of others.