MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY ON
GADGET BRAND PURCHASE DECISIONS
INTRODUCTION
Device development
electronic
at this time it is unstoppable, technology companies
from various countries are competing to release their flagship products. Starting from
companies that already have a name in the field of
electronic devices or companies that
have
just arrived, they are also participating in enlivening the competition in the
electronic device market segmentation.
Competition always appears in the
business world, encouraging the emergence of new
ideas that
can build products or services to provide more value to consumers (Jain, 2008).
Gadget is
part from
Device
electronic
.
Which
currently popular for use by people
around the world, including in Indonesia. The classification of types of products
included in gadgets consists of products
such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and so on.
There are many functions and benefits to be gained from using gadgets, namely
providing fast information, and also helpin to support work or educational activities
for its users.
Discussions about gadgets are no longer unfamiliar to discuss at this time, there are
many meanings regarding gadgets themselves.Gadget is a small mechanical or electronic
device or tool,
especially an ingenious oneaccording to
Oxford English Dictionary.A gadget
or device is a device or instrument that has a practical purpose and function that is
specifically designed to be more sophisticated than previously created technology
(Lutfianisa, 2019).
Gadgets are one of the needs of modern society today, both for children, teenagers,
adults and the elderly. Needs that are intended to support the activities of people from
various circles. This need is a very big
concern for gadget industry players in order to
attract potential consumers with the features offered, thus giving rise to many new
gadget brands that offer various advantages over their
competitors. The increasing growth
of
gadget brands from various companies lately has had a major impact on competition
between companies to attract more consumer attention (Sukotjo & Radix, 2010).
According to the American
Marketing Association (AMA), a brand
is a name, term,
sign, symbol, design, or a combination of both that is intended to identify goods and
services from one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from competitors
(Sudarso, Kurniullah, Halim, & Purba, 2020). In choosing a product brand, consumers
will go through a trial stage first. At this
stage, consumers will often try various
uses of
gadget product brands available on the market. If the brand is considered suitable and
meets the
needs expected from similar products,
consumers will focus on that one
brand.Many alternative choices for
consumers in choosing gadget products
their dreams
that suit the needs of
each consumer, requiring consumers
to decide on one of the many
brands of gadgets available. Decision as the selection of an action from two or
more
alternative choices (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2015). The consumer decision-
making process is
an integration process that combines knowledge to evaluate two or more alternative
behaviors, and chooses one of them (Setiadi, 2008).
Their dreams that suit the needs of
each consumer, requiring consumers
to decide on
one of the many brands of gadgets available. Decision as the selection of an action
from two or
more alternative choices (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2015). The consumer decision-
making process is an integration process that combines knowledge to evaluate two or
more alternative behaviors, and chooses one of them (Setiadi, 2008).
In previous research conducted by (Nofianti, 2014) it was found that threat
emotion has a positive influence in making purchasing decisions on gadget products
compared to brand trust factors. This influence is a motivation that encourages
consumers to make purchases.
Abraham Maslow put forward five human needs based on their level of
importance starting from the lowest, namely physiological needs, safety needs, social
needs, ego needs, and the highest need for self-actualization. According to Maslow's
theory, humans try to fulfill their lower-level needs first before fulfilling higher
needs. Consumers who have been able to fulfill their basic needs, then other higher
needs usually emerge and so on (Sumarwan, 2011).
The needs of a student in choosing
a gadget are certainly different from the needs
of elderly consumers in deciding to buy a gadget brand. The needs of adult
consumers in choosing a gadget are certainly different from the choice of gadgets
from parents who provide gadget facilities for their children who are still under
adolescence.
One of the factors that consumers consider in making purchasing decisions for a
brand, in this case gadgets, is based on needs (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2015). The
problem studied in this study is how the influence of needs based on the theory
Maslow's hierarchy on gadget brand purchasing decisions. This study was conducted
on consumer respondents who live in Palembang City. The objective to be achieved
in this study is to determine the influence of needs on gadget brand purchasing
decisions in Palembang City.
BK
MAGIC
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THE
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Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Figure
I
Maslow's Hierarchy Theory
Abraham Maslow, a clinical psychologist, introduced a hierarchical theory of needs
known as Maslow's Theory or the Hierarchy of Human Needs which states five human needs
based on their level of importance. Humans try to fulfill needs from the lowest level, namely
physiological needs, then will rise to the next level after the previous needs have been
fulfilled, and so on until they reach the highest need, namely self- actualization (Sumarwan,
2011).
Physiological
Needs
It is a basic human need, namely the human body's need to sustain life. These needs
include food, water, air, shelter, clothing and sex.
Need
for
Safety
It is the second level of need after basic needs. This is the need for protection for the
human body. Humans need protection from criminal disturbances, so that they can live safely
and comfortably.
Social
Needs
It is a need based on a sense of belonging and being owned in order to
be accepted by the
people around you or
relate to one another.
Ego
Needs
It is a need to achieve a higher degree than others. Humans try to achieve better
prestige, reputation and status. Humans have a strong ego to be able to achieve better
achievements for themselves and better than others.
Self-Actualization Needs
It is a need based on the desire of an individual to make himself the best person
according to his potential and abilities. An individual needs to express himself in an
activity to prove himself that he is capable of doing so.
Decision-making
In the research journal conducted by
(Maharani, 2015) said the decision-making
process carried out by consumers can be viewed into three different stages, but each is
still related to each other, namely; input stage, information processing stage, and
output stage. The input stage is the introduction of product needs that can influence
consumer decisions, at this stage consumers get two sources of information, namely
the company's marketing efforts (marketing mix) and non-commercial influences such
as the socio-cultural environment.
The process stage relates to how consumers make decisions. In
understanding this
process, consider the
influence of various psychological areas (motivation, perception,
learning,
personality, lifestyle needs, awareness of
available product choices, activities in
gathering information and evaluating various available alternative choices).
The output stage in the consumer decision-making model involves two post- purchase
activities that are closely related to purchasing behavior and post- purchase evaluation.
The purpose of these two activities is to increase consumer satisfaction with their
purchase (Kotler & Keller, 2007).
Without
realized
every
consumer
decision making for purchasing gadget brands make
a decision every day or a certain period. Every consumer performs various decision
activities that include searching, purchasing, using various products and brands. Various
decisions regarding life activities often have to be done by every consumer every day.
Brand
Image
Brand is the most important factor for marketing because the activity of introducing
and offering a product or
service cannot be separated from a brand
that can be relied on or
recognized by consumers. A brand is a picture of the overall perception of a company and
is formed from information and knowledge received about the brand. According to the
American Marketing Association, a
brand is a name, term, symbol and design
or a
combination of all of them, which is entered to identify goods or services or a group of
sellers and differentiate them
from competitors' goods or services. So, a
brand is a product or
service that adds dimensions that in some way differentiate it from another product or
service designed to satisfy the same need (Kotler & Keller, 2007).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Jain, SC (2008).Essentials of Global Marketing. Marsh Publications.
2. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2007). Marketing Management. Twelfth Edition.Jakarta:
index.
