Consumer Needs, Wants, and Marketing Strategy Explained

Defining Consumer Needs, Wants, and Demands

A need is defined as "a state of felt deprivation in a person" (Kotler, Chandler, Gibbs, & McColl 1999, p. 4). The most basic human needs are those for food, clothing, warmth, and safety. There are also needs that are more psychological in nature, such as the need to feel loved, to feel successful, or to feel a sense of belonging. A more thorough explanation of needs can be found by considering Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory.

It is important to distinguish a need from a want. A need refers to a general desire a person has and does not refer to a specific product. A want is more specific and is defined as "the form taken by human needs as they are shaped by culture and individual experience" (Kotler, Armstrong, Brown, & Adam 1998, p. 6). For example, a person may need clothing, but the specific type and brand of clothing they purchase will be shaped by their culture and by their own experiences and preferences.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The next important term is demand. This is defined as "human wants that are backed by buying power" (Kotler, Armstrong, Brown, & Adam 1998, p. 6). For example, an individual may want a convertible sports car and may have a specific product in mind. However, if they do not have the buying power to actually purchase it, it remains a want and not a demand. These distinctions among needs, wants, and demands are all foundational to the consumer behavior model.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory describes five levels of need arranged in hierarchical order. From lowest to highest, these needs are: physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization (Daft 1997, p. 530).

The physiological need refers to the basic human requirements for food and water — the essential things every individual needs to physically survive. The safety need refers to the need to feel safe, secure, and free from threats. Depending on individual circumstances, this could mean feeling financially secure (including having job security), feeling free from threats of violence, or feeling emotionally secure within family relationships.

The third level is belongingness, which refers to the need for social acceptance. This includes the need to be accepted by peers and, in some cases, by a partner. The fourth level is esteem, defined as "the desire for a positive self-image and to receive attention, recognition, and appreciation from others" (Daft 1997, p. 530). The fifth and final level is self-actualization, which refers to the need to reach one's full potential and experience a sense of self-fulfillment.

Consumer Needs and the Behavior Model

This overview of Maslow's hierarchy illustrates that physical needs are only a small portion of all human needs, with psychological needs comprising the three highest categories. The other critical point concerns the hierarchical structure itself: the needs have an order of priority, with lower-level needs taking precedence first — but only when they remain unfulfilled. Once a person satisfies their physiological needs, safety needs become the priority. Once both physiological and safety needs are met, belongingness needs move to the forefront. In this way, the need a person is actually motivated to fulfill at any given moment depends on where they currently stand in the hierarchy.

The central component of the consumer behavior model is that consumers recognize or become aware of a need or want. This recognition is influenced by both internal psychological factors and external or social influences. The internal psychological factors include motivation, learning, attitude, and personality (Perreault & McCarthy 2000, p. 123).

Motivation is closely linked to need because an unsatisfied need is what motivates an individual to take action — a point made clear by Maslow's hierarchy, where the unfulfilled need always takes priority. Learning is closely linked to the process of needs becoming wants, because it helps determine the specific form that a need takes. For example, consider an individual who needs a new vehicle and has previously owned both a Ford and a Honda. With the Honda, they experienced constant mechanical problems and found repairs expensive. With the Ford, they had few problems and found servicing inexpensive. From this experience, the individual has learned that Ford vehicles are reliable and economical while Honda vehicles are the opposite. As a result, this individual is most likely to want a Ford — not a Honda. This illustrates how past experience shapes the transition from a general need to a specific want, either by creating a preference for a particular product or by generating an aversion to one.

This example also demonstrates how attitudes shape the form a need takes. The individual in the example developed a positive attitude toward Ford and a negative attitude toward Honda, and these attitudes influenced the specific product desired. However, attitude formation does not require personal product experience. Another individual may believe that Ford vehicles are for the average consumer while Mercedes vehicles are for the elite buyer. If that person views himself as elite, he may reject purchasing a Ford based entirely on brand perception. Attitudes can also be shaped by advertisements, other people's opinions, and general public sentiment about a company. The final psychological factor — personality — may likewise affect the specific form a need takes.

External and social influences also play a significant role. Family situation, for instance, can strongly affect consumer wants. A single individual seeking a vehicle will likely have very different preferences from a married person with four children — not only because the product's use changes with family status, but also because priorities differ. The single individual may focus primarily on personal gratification and choose an expensive, exclusive vehicle. The married individual with four children may prioritize long-term family welfare, causing the desire for an elite vehicle to yield to the practical choice of an affordable, reliable one. Other influential factors include social status, culture, and reference groups. A teenager, for instance, may develop a need to own a particular brand of item simply because their social group endorses it. All of these factors shape how needs become wants — and ultimately, what consumers decide to pursue.