Maslow's Hierarchy Applied to Life

Maslow & Marketing Consider which stage of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs you are most likely in that drives a lot of your purchase decisions. The stage of Maslow that could or would be most applicable really would depend. Indeed, it would boil down to something physiological, or at least be related to that, given that there are products that one could buy that are related to breathing, food, water, sex, sleep and excretion.

Obviously, no product is technically needed to engage in those acts directly, but if one is hungry they are probably going to buy the product from a store rather than stealing it from someone else or said store. However, a product could relate to safety such as security of the body, employment of resources, or morality.

For example, someone buying condoms or birth control does not need those materials to engage in sexual activity but they are doing so because they want to be responsible when they do engage in the activity. When it comes to love/belonging, there are many ways that a good or service could enable (or seem to enable) friendship, family or sexual intimacy. Of course, any product for that end would be the vehicle and not the actual feeling or execution behind it, but items could play a role.

Products could be bought as a manifestation of esteem (or lack thereof). For example, someone might buy diet pills due to lack of self-esteem about one's body. Finally, self-actualization could be a reason to buy something because it could be part of a problem-solving endeavor. For example, someone could buy a wrench to fix something…but again, it's a manifestation of the Maslow hierarchy more than the need itself doing the trick.

Are those purchases consistent with this stage? For example, have you switched to buying only organic food because you are mostly concerned with fulfilling your social needs? It could be an interest in fulfilling a social need. However, it could be a reaction to a social assertion or program such as people saying that natural foods are safer than those that are mass-processed with insecticides and/or are genetically modified in nature.

In short, buying organic could be a manifestation of peer pressure from other people that tout organics (government, advocacy groups, friends, etc.) or it would be something that a person discovered and researched on their own and that they are simply reacting to in their own personal way. Or, are you still searching for the lowest-priced foods because you are still filling your basic need for food? Since organic food is usually MORE expensive rather than less expensive, the basic need to find food is technically surpassed.

To be honest, buying the regular non-organic food is beyond that too because a person acting in primal and basic instincts would just be worried about getting and grabbing the food rather than working with the social constructs and norms (not to mention the law) that says that the food has to be paid for and the money used to pay for the food has to be earned legitimately. Or, do you.