Downsizing Hummer
Maslow’s needs make us realize that each of us is motivated by needs in our daily life. We strive to meet our basic needs which deal with the most obvious needs for survival. Therefore, when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied than only will one be concerned with higher order needs of influence and personal development. Since, without meeting lower order needs, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs. Similarly, in the case of GM: Downsizing the Hummer, it is very obvious that esteem and self actualization are the only needs that will motivate a purchase of a Hummer H2. Esteem needs can be categorized as external or internal motivators. Internally motivating esteem needs are those such as self-esteem, accomplishment etc. External esteem needs are those such as reputation and recognition. For a person to own H2, they have to feels the sense of “belonging”, and then the desire to attain a degree of importance emerges to hold the strong feeling of meeting its esteem needs which will motivate that individual to purchase H2. The fact that GM target buyers with an average age of 42 and annual household incomes above US $125,000 for its sale of H2 are a conclusion that one has to surpass its basic needs in order to meet its high order needs. Therefore, we can say that esteem need is one of the motivator to increase sale of H2 because individual in this category are highly ambitious in maintaining its status and would feel the importance to purchase H2. Self actualization needs are needs that do not involve balance because once he/she is engaged to it, they continue to be felt. They involve the continuous desire to fulfill potentials and become the most complete, the fullest, “you”, which in terms called self-actualization. GM’s target market would be those individual who falls under this category of Maslow’s needs because according to its research, studies showed that only 10 percent