94 CHAPTER5ANALYZINGCONSUMERMARKETS ANDBUYERBEHAVIOR
➤ Freud’s theory.Sigmund Freud assumed that the psychological forces shaping
people’s behavior are largely unconscious, and that a person cannot fully
understand his or her own motivations. A technique called ladderingcan be used to
trace a person’s motivations from the stated instrumental ones to the more terminal
ones. Then the marketer can decide at what level to develop the message and
appeal.^16 In line with Freud’s theory, consumers react not only to the stated
capabilities of specific brands, but also to other, less conscious cues. Successful
marketers are therefore mindful that shape, size, weight, material, color, and brand
name can all trigger certain associations and emotions.
➤ Maslow’s theory.Abraham Maslow sought to explain why people are driven by
particular needs at particular times.^17 His theory is that human needs are arranged
in a hierarchy, from the most to the least pressing. In order of importance, these
five categories are physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs.
A consumer will try to satisfy the most important need first; when that need is
satisfied, the person will try to satisfy the next-most-pressing need. Maslow’s theory
helps marketers understand how various products fit into the plans, goals, and lives
of consumers.
➤ Herzberg’s theory. Frederick Herzberg developed a two-factor theorythat distinguishes
dissatisfiers (factors that cause dissatisfaction) from satisfiers (factors that cause
satisfaction).^18 The absence of dissatisfiers is not enough; satisfiers must be actively
present to motivate a purchase. For example, a computer that comes without a
warranty would be a dissatisfier. Yet the presence of a product warranty would not
act as a satisfier or motivator of a purchase, because it is not a source of intrinsic
satisfaction with the computer. Ease of use would, however, be a satisfier for a
computer buyer. In line with this theory, marketers should avoid dissatisfiers that
might unsell their products. They should also identify and supply the major
satisfiers or motivators of purchase, because these satisfiers determine which brand
consumers will buy.Perception
A motivated person is ready to act, yet how that person actually acts is influenced by
his or her perception of the situation. Perceptionis the process by which an individ-
ual selects, organizes, and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful pic-
ture of the world.^19 Perception depends not only on physical stimuli, but also on the
stimuli’s relation to the surrounding field and on conditions within the individual.
The key word is individual.Individuals can have different perceptions of the same
object because of three perceptual processes: selective attention, selective distortion,
and selective retention.
➤ Selective attention.People are exposed to many daily stimuli such as ads; most of these
stimuli are screened out—a process called selective attention.The end result is that
marketers have to work hard to attract consumers’ attention. Through research,
marketers have learned that people are more likely to notice stimuli that relate to a
current need, which is why car shoppers notice car ads but not appliance ads.
Furthermore, people are more likely to notice stimuli that they anticipate—such as
foods being promoted on a food Web site. And people are more likely to notice
stimuli whose deviations are large in relation to the normal size of the stimuli, such
as a banner ad offering $100 (not just $5) off a product’s list price.
➤ Selective distortion.Even noticed stimuli do not always come across the way that
marketers intend. Selective distortionis the tendency to twist information into