Today marketing is becoming total, it is a control element of any field of activity. Since it is aimed at satisfying needs through exchange, in marketing, need is a key concept. It fits into the basic triad: need - demand - product. Let's answer the question: in marketing, a need is what: an object, an idea, or a function?
Marketing concept
The term "marketing" does not have a single and generally accepted interpretation. There are several approaches to defining this phenomenon. Most often it is considered that marketing is the process of moving a product from the manufacturer to the consumer. In this case, it is often equated with the concepts of "advertising", "public relations", "promotion".
However, this is a broader phenomenon. Within the framework of another approach, marketing is understood as a kind of human activity to meet the needs and requirements of people throughexchange between them. This approach was set by the concept of the marketing classic F. Kotler. And in this case, the key concept is precisely the process of studying and satisfying needs. Marketing in this case becomes not an instrument of pressure on the consumer, but a means of helping the buyer.
Within this understanding, any consumer needs goods that satisfy his needs as fully as possible. In this perspective, this concept includes the study of the consumer, and the design of the best products, and promotion tools. In this understanding, in marketing, the need is the initial, key concept.
Need and need
Whenever it comes to marketing, the question arises about its basic categories. These include the concepts of "product", "market", "consumer", "need" and "requirement". In marketing, as in psychology, the main categories should be clearly distinguished. Each of these concepts is actively comprehended by researchers and practitioners and has several interpretations. Need and need are often confused. What is the main difference between them?
They differ in the degree of certainty and the sequence of occurrence. Need is a state of deficiency felt by a person. He feels uncomfortable that he is missing something. Need has an indefinite and heterogeneous form, it pushes a person to find a way to get rid of it. In the next step, need becomes need.
T. e., according toversion of F. Kotler, acquires a certain form, due to the cultural and personal characteristics of the consumer and the environment of his existence. It can be imagined that a hungry person experiences discomfort, this is a need. And in the process of deciding how to get rid of this need, what to eat and how to cook it, the consumer chooses the ways that culture, traditions, environment dictate to him.
Essence of Needs
Influence on the consumer involves the study of each stage of his behavior: from the appearance of motives and incentives to the performance of certain actions. Therefore, in marketing, the need is the starting point for the study of consumer behavior. The essence of this phenomenon can be described as follows:
- The need is historically and socially determined, that is, they change with the development of society, production relations. So, for example, the need for protection from the cold over time has turned into a social need for clothing that meets the trends of fashion and time. The ways in which needs are met are also changing. Today, a person does not agree to satisfy hunger with simple food, we get used to deliciously prepared dishes. With the advent of new production opportunities, a person begins to consume semi-finished products, prepared food, etc.
- Need, unlike need, is subjective, it can be formed and created by society and people.
- Needs change, they are affected.
- Needs are met in stages: from early to new, from lowest to highest.
- Needs depend onin which area of activity the consumer is involved.
The essence of needs, therefore, lies in the fact that they are the source of human activity. Only by feeling the need, the consumer is ready to take any action. A specific characteristic of needs is that they are unlimited and there is no possibility of their full satisfaction due to finiteness and limited economic resources.
Types of needs
There are several classifications of human needs. In the concept of psychologist E. Fromm, varieties are distinguished on the basis of the interaction of man and nature. In this case, needs are highlighted:
- in interpersonal relationships, such as love or friendship, in communication;
- in creativity, it does not depend on the field of activity and is aimed at creation;
- safe based on feeling deeply rooted with family, group, community;
- in identification with someone or something, in assimilation, in the presence of an ideal;
- in the knowledge of the world.
D. McClelland develops the theory of acquired needs and identifies the following varieties:
- need to achieve something;
- need for connections with other people;
- need for power.
There are other ways to distinguish types of needs. Marketing traditionally relies on Abraham Maslow's pyramidal model.
Pyramid of Needs
In the concept of A. Maslowneeds are arranged in a hierarchical sequence, in the form of a pyramid. This form is due to the fact that a person satisfies needs in stages, from the bottom up, and some people stop at different steps of the pyramid. In accordance with this approach, the needs of consumers in marketing are characterized. Maslow singled out the following steps of the pyramid:
- lower - physiological needs (thirst, need for sleep, hunger);
- self-preservation (the need for security, protection);
- social needs (love, friendship, sense of belonging, spiritual intimacy);
- respect, need for respect by reference groups and self-respect;
- higher - the need for self-realization and self-affirmation.
A person, according to Maslow, first satisfies the most significant needs for him. The higher a person climbs the steps of the pyramid, the more he is ready for action. Maslow believed that the higher the needs of a person, the more he althy he is mentally and spiritually developed.
He also believed that the needs of higher levels develop later than the lower ones, the beginning of this process falls on adolescence. The higher the need, the easier it is to delay its satisfaction. Higher needs are perceived by people as less urgent.
Thus, the consumer will more easily refuse to buy a ticket to the theater than to buy delicious food. At the same time, satisfaction of higher needs brings a person more happiness and joy, enriches his life with meaning, and contributes to the development of personality.
Processneeds generation
Social dynamics and human development lead to changing needs in phylogenesis. This process can also be observed in the framework of ontogeny. In both cases, the initial incentives for human activity are material needs. And already on their platform, social, spiritual needs develop and form. Several processes and factors influence the awareness of needs and the process of their formation - education, communication, knowledge, social environment, culture, traditions.
Ways to meet needs
A person's life depends on the completeness and timeliness of meeting needs. If biological needs are not satisfied, then there is a threat to human life. And if you ignore the spiritual, social needs, then there is a risk of losing personality. In the course of life, people learn different ways to meet their needs.
Including consumers learn from advertising different ways to get what they want for a comfortable existence. Therefore, basic needs in marketing are an object of study and influence, as well as a way of teaching consumers how to satisfy needs.
Psychologists say that the formation of needs occurs in the course of education, training, socialization, activities. A person in the process of life realizes the content of needs, learns about relevant and economical ways to satisfy them, fixes the most acceptable ways.
The Importance of Marketing Needs
Promotion processfrom producer to consumer should take into account the peculiarities of the psychology of buyers. Therefore, marketing puts the concept of need in the first place among its basic categories. Knowing the needs of the consumer, the ability to manage them helps marketers offer people new products and services that make the life of buyers as comfortable and happy as possible, improve its quality.
Needs and demand
Marketing aims to increase sales. To do this, marketers study the needs of consumers, form and stimulate demand for goods and services. The concepts of "demand" and "need" are very closely related, the first cannot exist without the second. Needs drive consumer demand, but demand is not consumption. Experts understand demand as the buyer's intention to purchase a product.
It must match the buyer's ability to keep demand in balance with supply. Thus, demand is the sum of need and purchasing power. The consumer should not only want something, but also be able to buy a certain product in a certain place and in a certain quantity to satisfy this need.
Methods for studying needs
Influence on consumer behavior requires a study of the characteristics of its behavior. Therefore, the study of marketing needs is the most important and urgent task. Since needs are often unconscious, the methods of their research should take this into account.
To study perceived needs, various survey methods, questionnaires, and interviews are used. And to study unconscious needs, projective methods, experiments, scaling and semantic differential methods are used.
Influence on marketing needs
Despite the fact that the basic principles of marketing recognize the freedom and independence of the consumer, there is also the principle of legitimacy and the ability to influence consumer behavior. Since one of the goals of marketing activities is to generate demand and increase sales, marketers must know the mechanisms for the formation of human needs and be able to manage them.
Marketing considers human needs as the object of its influence. For this, primarily such tools as advertising and public relations are used. You can also influence the needs of the consumer with the help of prices, sales promotion tools.
