What are the needs, wants and demands of marketing?

Marketing serves customers, and each customer has different needs, wants, and demands for themselves. Differentiating them is the marketer’s responsibility. In summary, needs are items that satisfy basic requirements only. Items that a buyer desires but does not require can be considered wants.

Products the buyer will go over and beyond to acquire and pay for are known as demands. In actuality, a particular product or service can be distinguished based on whether or not it meets the requirements, desires, or needs of the consumer. This page goes into great length on each of them.

Key takeaways

1. Needs: Basic human requirements like food, clothing, and shelter; essential and basic physiological needs for survival.

2. Wants: Desires beyond basic physiological needs are influenced by a person’s or individual’s perception of personal preferences and culture.

3. Demands: Luxury brands must be backed by purchasing power and premium products that customers are willing to pay for.

4. Marketing Importance: Differentiating the customer’s needs, wants, and demands helps marketers tailor their customer’s or brand’s own product or service offerings.

5. Example Sectors: Needs: Agriculture, Real Estate; Wants: Hospitality, Electronics; Demands: Luxury Cars, Cruises.

What are Needs?

The fundamental requirements for human survival in today’s world are clothing, food, and shelter. Humans cannot survive without these. Healthcare and education now comprise a larger portion of increased sales of today’s market research essentials. Products that fit into the necessities category typically do not need to be pushed. Rather, the client purchases it on their own.

However, in today’s harsh and cutthroat markets, so many firms and consumers have developed identical products that meet consumer demands that even “needs category products” must be pushed into the same category without customer and marketing management awareness.

Examples of sectors such as food companies or items in demand in the requirements category are FMCG, real estate (land always appreciates), agriculture, etc.

Learn more about needs by reading Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory.

Examining how services that respond to different human needs pay off can be interesting.

1. Physiological: Consider how companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Kellogg’s provide the basic demand for nourishment.
2. Safety: Since security is important, companies like Allstate, State Farm, and ADT concentrate on this tier and offer insurance and safety solutions.
3. Belonging: Sites like LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Pinterest appeal to our social tendencies by satisfying our need for company.
4. Esteem: Companies that offer a sense of achievement, such as Rolex, BMW, or L’Oréal, attract people who are looking for status and recognition.
5. Self-fulfillment: Organizations that provide opportunities for personal development and community service, such as Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders, meet the needs of people with higher purposes.

These examples provide a window into how various organizations align their service-effective marketing strategies with our complex spectrum of social needs.

Another technique is effectively meeting group and individual personality needs in marketing campaigns. Consumer requirements in marketing management can be broadly classified into five categories:

1. Stated Needs: The customer expresses these needs clearly. Someone might say, “I am looking for a laptop,” for example.
2. Real needs: In this case, the accuracy of the customer’s request is important. If someone is looking for a laptop for advanced video editing, they need something with a lot of computing power instead of just a big screen.
3. Unstated needs: These are expectations that a client may have but may not express out loud. For example, they may hope for a long warranty or dependable customer service when buying a laptop.
4. Delight needs: In this group, buyers wish for an extra benefit that adds value, although they might not say so. An illustration might be the expectation of obtaining special extras like a premium software package or a customized laptop sleeve.
5. Secret Needs: These are wants that people may be unwilling to express. For example, they might buy a fancy laptop to conform to social norms or project a particular image, but they might not publicly discuss these reasons.

What are Wants?

Wants are primarily concepts driven by basic human needs and desires and are always one step ahead of the self-actualization of the physical needs themselves. For instance, you should take a bath. However, I am sure you use the best soaps when taking baths. Thus, desires are not a necessary component of life.
A pleasant-smelling soap is NOT necessary. But since you want it, you will utilize it for sure. The infant in the picture above needs milk, but it also wants candy.
Product and sector examples of customer wants include the hospitality industry, electronics, consumer durables, FMCG, etc.

What are Demands?

You can choose a Mercedes or a BMW if you need a vehicle. Perhaps you should take a cruise. But is it possible to cruise or purchase a BMW? If you can purchase a BMW or take a trip, then sure. Demands are, therefore, one step ahead of customer needs and wants.
When someone has the financial means to purchase the product desired or something of a higher standard, their desires become demands. Desire is the fundamental distinction between demands and wishes. A client might have a wish, desire, or demand for a product, but he might not be able to get it.

Difference between Needs Wants and Demands

• A need is a basic survival requirement of human beings. Example: food, Shelter, and others
• A want is based on an individual’s personality and culture and generally brings convenience. Example: A car or a bike
• A demand is a customer’s desire backed by buying power—for example, a supercar or luxury handbag.

Needs, wants, and demands are vital components of marketing because they help the marketer decide the specific products and services he needs to offer to the target market. Thus, the flow is like this:

Real-life Example

Reflect on vehicles:

• Need: The basic requirement is the ability to efficiently travel from home to work.
• Want: A particular need and desire for a comfortable, fuel-efficient car with advanced safety features.
• Demand: The preference for an actual need for a new electric SUV that fits one person’s budget, understanding needs, and lifestyle choices.

Here is a video by Marketing91 on Needs, Wants, and Demands.

Conclusion

In marketing, differentiating between needs, wants, and demands is essential. Needs such as food, clothing, and shelter are fundamental for survival. Personal preferences and culture impact wants, which are desires beyond essential needs, like a particular brand of soap.

Demands are wants backed by purchasing power, which encourages the purchase of high-end goods like luxury cars. Understanding these distinctions helps marketers tailor their strategies to effectively meet consumer requirements, enhance product offerings, and ensure better market alignment.

Liked this post? Check out the complete series on Marketing