Understanding Consumer Motivation: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Consumer Motivation
- Abraham Maslow originally developed his influential hierarchy of needs to understand personal growth and how people attain spiritual “peak experiences”.
- Marketers later adapted his work to understand consumer motivations.
We must first satisfy basic needs before we progress up the ladder. For example, a starving man is not interested in status symbols.
Physiological Needs
- At the bottom of the pyramid are physiological needs. They are the basic needs that each person needs to survive. Food and water fall under this category. These physiological needs are of absolute priority.
Safety Needs
- After the physiological needs have been fulfilled, focus can be shifted to the needs for safety. This category is more complex than the physical needs of our bodies that we need to live. The need for safety looks into the security of: body, employment, resources, property, and family, as well as others. These securities are not only short-term and immediate, as with the need to eat, but deal with long-term issues.
Belongingness Needs
Maslow’s theory includes the need for belongingness. Friendship and family are the two largest aspects of this level. The need for support and connection to others is a large part of the experience of life. It is difficult to think about what it would be like to live without any connection to others. Dating sites have gained a major following in recent years. Being associated with a particular group is considered part of this level as well. We often make purchases that make us feel like part of the ‘in-crowd’.
Esteem Needs
- Maslow’s ego needs level. The ideas of self-esteem, confidence, achievement, and respect for/by others are what make up this level. For many, everything from the clothes that they wear to the car they drive is often tied to this level. One of the largest purchases associated with the ego need is purchasing a car. Many people attach at least some of their identity to the car they buy. The idea of the midlife crisis sports car purchase is a clear look at this theory.
Self-Actualization
- Once all of the other needs have been met, the consumer finds themselves in a position of self-actualization. Some products, such as vacations, can be seen as sometimes within this area.
Values and Consumer Behavior
- Value: A belief that some condition is preferable to its opposite.
- Example: Looking younger is preferable to looking older.
- Core values: Values shared within a culture.
- Example: American culture has freedom, usefulness, achievement, materialism, and activity as core values.
Cultural Influences on Values
- Enculturation: Learning the beliefs and values of one’s own culture.
- Acculturation: Learning the value system and behaviors of another culture.
- Socialization agents: Parents, friends, and teachers. Another important agent is the media (for example, looking at values in ads).
Materialism and Consumer Well-being
- Materialistic values tend to emphasize the well-being of the individual versus the group, which may conflict with family or religious values. That conflict may help to explain why people with highly materialistic values tend to be less happy.
- Materialists are more likely to value possessions for their status and appearance-related meanings (expensive products, stronger connections to brands, etc.), whereas those who do not emphasize this value tend to prize products that connect them to other people or that provide them with pleasure when they use them.