Motivation is important in any marketing segment because it stimulates the behavior of consumers. The tension of a need that is not satisfied initiates the motivation process. Marketers should understand the motives that influence consumer behavior so that they can easily convince them to purchase their products. The process of motivating the consumers is not easy because people have different needs, motives, and personalities. The marketers should strive to understand all these aspects for the success of the business. This paper will discuss various challenges and difficulties that the marketers encounter as they try to motivate the consumers. It will also present how the marketers may motivate their customers.
The marketers need a lot of finances and time in driving the consumers to try their products. Marketers with new products have to have high finances which can be helpful in advertising their product till it becomes a commercial success. They have to please the first buyers that the product is excellent since later on, they will influence other brand users to turn to their products. The customers have to get the feeling that the product meets their need (Bianchi, 2006). The whole process of convincing the customers can be expensive and time consuming to the marketers.
The marketers have the challenge of retaining their previous clients. The technique that they applied in motivating the former customers may not apply to the current time or other consumers. The competitors can offer new incentives to the clients who set new standards (Wilson, 1997). Trying to meet the needs of all the customers is challenging because their motivation differs. In trying to motivate the buyers, there can be high competition between the marketers thus the company with better incentives is likely to have more customers. The marketers struggle so that they can motivate the consumers to purchase their products while at the same time trying to gain the competitive advantage with other sellers.
There can be difficulties in meeting the customer expectations. Some consumers can have unrealistic expectations concerning the product or the organization. The marketer can struggle to motivate the buyer by applying different marketing strategies, but if the buyer has a lot of expectation which he/she cannot meet, they can end up not purchasing the product (Penfold, 2009). For example, the consumer can expect that they will get all that they need under one roof, or the product’s price will always be constant. The marketer can have a difficult time trying to inform the customer about their unrealistic expectations in a manner that is consumer-friendly.
The digital revolution is highly contributing to the lack of customer loyalty. The marketer can find it difficult in motivating the customer to start or continue using their products because they have real exposure to timely information, offers, and updates. They can learn from the internet about the marketer’s products thus it can be challenging to convince them because they already have concrete information. The consumers who were willing to purchase the company’s products can immediately switch to another product as soon as they get motivating information about a service or a product that is better. Marketers find it challenging in figuring out the best digital platform that they can adopt in motivating the consumers. The buyers use different social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook, apps or email marketing (Doolin et al., 2007). The marketers have to be on toes so that they can manage to motivate the consumers from all the platforms.
Marketers have difficulties in predicting what the consumers exactly like. The buyers get information about a particular product from those close to them like family and friends, from the magazines and the internet. The marketer may not be able to motivate an individual to purchase a given product if those close to them do not approve it. The motivation can only occur if one has an internal locus of control (Ford & Joseph, 1999). The marketer has to convince the other individuals about the product so that the buyer can change his/her mind. If the source of information was media, the marketer also has to use the same media in motivating the consumer to change their mind towards trying another product.
The consumers’ motivation to purchase a product varies from culture to culture and from country to country. The marketers experience challenges in deeply understanding the customer’s morals, customs, culture and the religious views (Lawson & Loudon, 1996). The sales person can end up use an advertisement a language that may seem to be insulting to the buyer. Therefore, there is an expectation that all the marketers should have adequate knowledge about the customers’ culture, and this can be unrealistic. There can be language barrier especially if the marketer is working in a new locality. It can be difficult to motivate the consumers because there is a lack of clear communication and mutual understanding. The marketer will be struggling to convey a message while the consumer will be having struggles in understanding the information.
Marketers can motivate their customers by improving their brand image. The relationship and awareness with the brand highly influence the consumer’s decision. The band image should engage with the target audience, and it should clearly reflect the marketer’s message and value. Users choose a given brand just the same way that they select their friends. A particular set of characteristics repels or attracts them (Murthi & Srinivasan, 2004). The consumer will make a decision of purchasing or not purchase depending on how you have made them feel and thus it is essential to building a brand that is motivating the buyers. The brand should engage the target population, create brand loyalty and nurture customer relationship.
Secondly, the marketers should encourage loyalty and always communicate a message that is consistent. They can secure a reliable business by building brand loyalty. The customers can get a motivation of a stronger incentive or offer in any purchase so that they can repeat the buying process (Ziems, 2004). The marketers should have a consistent voice. They should have a compelling message that is clear and which they can deliver to all consumers. Everybody in the business should present a similar message be it through word of mouth or on the social media platforms (Neal & Queensland University of Technology 1999)).The consumers can turn to a product with a clear message and offer.
The consumers can get motivation from the marketers if there is an offer for testers. The testers will give the customers an opportunity of trying out the service or product before making a commitment of buying it (Todd et al., 2001). Customers like to buy the products that they are sure of the result. By testing the product, they can make an independent decision thus the chances of coming back to get it again will be high. Buying a product without knowing what to expect can make the customer switch between different products consistently.
The markets may motivate the consumers if they encourage positivity and ensure that everything is about the client. Positivity has a powerful effect since it can inspire, persuade and motivate the buyer (Lawson et al., 2006). If a marketer has a positivity approach, the customer can develop positive emotions thus encouraging the sales. The marketer should also focus on how the service or the product will be beneficial to the consumer (Shergill & Chen, 2005). The idea will help the customer to develop an attitude to buy the product.
In conclusion, it is important to understand the consumers’ motivation in the purchase of goods. The marketer needs to have a clear understanding of the consumers’ culture because there are messages that can be insulting to one culture but be of praise to another culture. They may encounter language barrier which blocks the motivation process. The process can be expensive and time-consuming, and there can be difficulties in meeting the consumers' unrealistic needs. The marketers can motivate the customers by improving their brand image, developing loyalty, delivering a consistent message, offering testers and always being positive and in so doing, they would affect the consumer behavior.
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