Buyer Motivation

I have just bought a t-shirt and it got me thinking about many things.

Unravelling what motivates an individual purchase is a very complex thing and my most recent purchase made online with free postage was just £4 in total paid via PayPal, very little. But it was not the price, the free postage or the ease of online buying that motivated me….it was the fact that I found out a few days ago someone close to me has breast cancer.  So I bought a t-shirt from cancer research UK.

I had signed up for the race for life 2014 a week before I heard the sad news and I had received my pack and my running number, 170, just a few days before I got the phone call.

I decided to do the Race for Life because I am very aware it could be anyone of us at any time that receives the news but my motivation was to contribute a little to the big effort. I had decided to raise my running number £170 in sponsorship. Now I have decided to buy a t-shirt and get out and raise as much as I can with a minimum of £1700. So you see what motivates a buyer to make a purchase is very unpredictable.

The most important thing all this has taught me is to maintain my naturally positive frame of mind, and I am certain that Marinella will make a full recovery after her operation this week and subsequent treatment.  It is also a reminder to keep balance and perspective in all I do and never miss the elephant in the room.