Buying Motives: How To Target Ecommerce Buyer Motivations

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 assist you sell effectively, boosting your conversion rate and ultimately bringing in more money.

discover 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 rationale a buyer decides to make a particular purchase. ordinary categories include require, terror of deficit, and desire for social acceptance. Understanding ordinary buying motives can assist you identify the messages that will drive conversion for your business. Understanding the buying motive will ultimately assist you optimize your marketing efforts, construct an effective sales procedure, and earn more income.

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. receive a look at the overarching types of buyer motives:

Rational vs. emotional buying motives

A customer with a rational buyer motive identifies a concrete require and assesses objective information like worth or act data to make a buying selection. 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 require and purchases a product to meet it. For example, a customer sees their neighbors with a trendy recent 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 back a specific business. You might buy a subscription to The recent York Times to back 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 recognize about. A buyer might purchase a gym membership because they desire 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 require for control (subconscious).

Some motives also become conscious during the buying procedure. These are known as dormant buying motives. Consider the gym membership buyer, for example. They might research gym memberships out of the conscious drive to get in shape. Then they encounter marketing materials that commitment additional benefits like joining a throng and learning recent skills. The buyer might ultimately make their purchasing selection based on these dormant buying motives.

Buying motive categories

• require
• terror
• Health, well-being, or personal growth
• Social position, approval, or acceptance
• monetary gain
• Personal satisfaction or pleasure

Theoretically, there are infinite different buying motives underneath the umbrellas of buying motive types. declare you sell women’s athletic apparel. A customer might buy a recent pair of running tights because their doctor told them to exercise more, because their ancient pair wore out, because they liked the pattern, and because they desire to be a spider for Halloween.

Although you can’t foresee every feasible purchasing drive, establishing buying motive categories for your business can assist you cater your marketing strategies to your potential customers. receive a look at six ordinary categories:

require

require-based purchases solve a issue. A customer is getting married, so they require a tuxedo. Their recent puppy isn’t house-trained, so they require an enzymatic carpet cleaner. Sometimes, customer needs are obvious, but to accurately address their drive, inquire your customers what problems your product solves for them. You might be surprised to discover that customers use your product in unanticipated ways or have found a type of product worth you didn’t consider.

After identifying the issues your product or service solves, communicate how your product solves those problems to recent, prospective customers. receive the tagline of the outerwear business dryrobe, for example: “Get changed. remain warm.” It neatly articulates a familiar issue (being cold) and how the business’s distinctive apparel solves it (you can transformation into a dryrobe coat outdoors and still remain warm).

terror

terror exists to drive action, and it’s a powerful purchase motivator. You’re most likely to have terror-based buyers if you sell safety and safety products—ponder 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 business.

Be wary of melodrama or heavy-handed attempts to instill terror—these are known as scare tactics, and consumers can discover them off-putting. Instead, consider using research or statistics to state the risks your customers face and specific your product’s impact on mitigation.

Health, well-being, or personal growth

The desire to enhance health or encounter personal growth can also motivate purchasing behavior. Nutrition, fitness, education, personal worry, and lifestyle brands often depend on these health, wellness, and self-advancement buyer motivations.

Successful marketing strategies paint a picture of what life can be like after a customer makes a purchase. They inspire potential customers to imagine a fitter, smarter, or more vibrant version of themselves. You can also tap into this buyer drive by citing research to back up your claims. Just make sure that any health claims adhere to the guidelines established by the Federal Trade percentage.

receive a look at superfood retailer Golde, which targets health and wellness buyers with product descriptions like this one for the business’s Matcha Turmeric Latte Blend:

“Our original superfood latte blend paired with 100% pure, shade-grown matcha for a gentle boost of jitter-free vigor. 7 essential superfoods for skin glow, gut health, and sustained focus.”

Social position, approval, or acceptance

The social approval or acceptance buyer drive is largely driven by FOMO, or the terror of missing out. Prospective customers feel like everyone else is buying a sure product, and they don’t desire to be left out. Alternatively, consumers might view a sure product as a marker of an aspirational social class and desire to purchase that product to demonstrate they fit in.

Ecommerce businesses can inspire these consumers to make purchases by sharing social proof like customer reviews and user-generated content (UGC). For example, the jewelry business Pura Vida asked buyers to post on social media using the hashtag #purevidabracelets to display the throng of customers. The more aware a buyer is that others are using and enjoying your products, the stronger that buyer’s drive.

monetary gain

monetary gain buying motivations are based on a buyer’s conviction that a product or service will assist them save or earn money. These buyer motivations are ordinary with business-to-business (B2B) prospects, whose primary motive is typically returns, but you can also view monetary gain motivations with a range of business-to-customer (B2C) ecommerce businesses.

For example, the Aarke Carbonator offers a expense-effective alternative to buying sparkling water, and The Manicure business’s DIY gel nail kits expense less than a trip to the salon. You can target buyers with monetary gain motives by using messaging that compares the expense of your product to the expense 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 propose primarily aesthetic or entertainment worth. A buyer needs clothes, but they don’t require an outfit that costs $1,000, for example. Customers require to eat, but they can survive without imported caviar.

You can target customers with personal satisfaction motives by using high-standard product photography and intentional branding. view the high-contrast, photo-heavy website of the high-complete clothing brand SIMKHAI as an example.

When putting together brand messaging speaking to these buying motives, center on product excellence and exclusivity, leaving self-esteem of ownership and the pleasure of consumption implicit. Messages like “Crafted from the highest-standard Mongolian cashmere for feather-light, heirloom-standard 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 instant, typically out of thrill or sudden desire.