Paula certainly is not alone in her belief that eating green is good for the body, the soul, and the planet. About 7 percent of the general population is vegetarian, and women and younger peo- ple are even more likely to adopt a meatless diet. An additional 10 to 20 percent of consumers explore vegetarian options in addition to their normal dead-animal fare. More and more people are taking the next step, too, as they adopt a vegan lifestyle. Vegetarianism refers only to a diet that excludes meat (some animal prod- ucts that do not involve the death of an animal, such as milk, cheese, and butter, may be included). Veganism, in contrast, links to a set of ethical beliefs about use of and cruelty to animals. In addition to objecting to hunting or fishing, adherents protest cruel animal training; object to the degrading use of animals in circuses, zoos, rodeos, and races; and also oppose the testing of drugs and cosmetics on animals. 1
Although the proportion of vegetarian or vegan consumers is quite small compared to those of us who still like to pound down a Quarter Pounder, big companies are taking notice of this growing interest in vegetarian and cruelty-free products. Colgate purchased a controlling interest in Tom’s of Maine, and Dean Foods (America’s largest processor of dairy foods) bought Silk and its parent company White Wave. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) offers resources to promote an animal-friendly lifestyle, including an Online Vegetarian Starter Kit for kids. 2 The beef industry fights back with a high-profile advertising campaign: “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” and a Web site to promote meat consumption ( beefitswhatsfordinner.com ). 3 It’s obvious that our menu choices have deep and far-reaching consequences.
The forces that drive people to buy and use products are generally straightforward— for example, when a person chooses what to have for lunch. As hard-core vegetarians dem- onstrate, however, even the basic food products we consume also relate to wide-ranging
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OBJECTIVE 1
It is important for marketers to recognize that products can satisfy a range of consumer needs.
beliefs regarding what we think is appropriate or desirable. In some cases, these emotional responses create a deep commitment to the product. Sometimes people are not even fully aware of the forces that drive them toward some products and away from others.
To understand motivation is to understand why consumers do what they do. Why do some people choose to bungee-jump off a bridge or compete on reality shows, whereas others spend their leisure time playing chess or gardening? Whether it is to quench a thirst, kill boredom, or attain some deep spiritual experience, we do everything for a reason, even if we can’t articulate what that reason is. We teach marketing students from Day 1 that the goal of marketing is to satisfy consumers’ needs. However, this insight is useless unless we can discover what those needs are and why they exist. A beer commercial once asked, “Why ask why?” In this chapter, we’ll find out.
Motivation refers to the processes that lead people to behave as they do. It occurs when a need is aroused that the consumer wishes to satisfy. The need creates a state of tension that drives the consumer to attempt to reduce or eliminate it. This need may be utilitarian (i.e., a desire to achieve some functional or practical benefit, as when a person loads up on green vegetables for nutritional reasons) or it may be hedonic (i.e., an expe- riential need, involving emotional responses or fantasies, as when Basil longs for a juicy steak). The desired end state is the consumer’s goal . Marketers try to create products and services to provide the desired benefits and help the consumer to reduce this tension.
Whether the need is utilitarian or hedonic, the magnitude of the tension it creates determines the urgency the consumer feels to reduce it. We call this degree of arousal a drive . We can satisfy a basic need in any number of ways, and the specific path a person chooses is influenced both by her unique set of experiences and by the values her culture instills.
These personal and cultural factors combine to create a want , which is one manifes- tation of a need. For example, hunger is a basic need that all of us must satisfy; the lack of food creates a tension state that we reduce when we eat cheeseburgers, double-fudge Oreo cookies, raw fish, or bean sprouts. The specific route to drive reduction is culturally and individually determined. When a person attains the goal, this reduces the tension and the motivation recedes (for the time being). We describe motivation in terms of its strength , or the pull it exerts on the consumer; and its direction , or the particular way the consumer attempts to reduce it.
This ad from the United Arab Emirates appeals to our basic drive to reduce hunger.
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