Needs
The initial idea behind marketing is the idea of human needs. We define need as follows:
Need is the feeling felt by a person of a lack of something.
People's needs are diverse and complex. There are basic physiological needs for food, clothing, warmth, and security; social needs for spiritual closeness, influence, and affection; and personal needs for knowledge and expression. These needs are not created by the efforts of Madison Avenue, but are the original components of human nature.
If the need is not satisfied, the person feels deprived and unhappy. And the more this or that need means to him, the more deeply he experiences. The unsatisfied person will do one of two things: either look for an object that can satisfy his need, or try to drown it.
Needs 2
The second initial idea of Marketing is the idea of human needs.
Need - a need that has taken a specific form in accordance with the cultural level and personality of the individual.
A hungry resident of Bali needs mango fruits, a young pig and beans. To the hungry citizen of the United States, a bun with chopped steak, potato chips fried in oil, and a glass of Coca - Cola. Needs are expressed in objects that can satisfy the need in a way that is inherent in the cultural order of the society.
As society progresses, so do the needs of its members. People encounter more and more objects that arouse their curiosity, interest and desire. Producers, for their part, take purposeful actions to stimulate the desire to possess goods. They are trying to form a connection between what they produce, and the needs of the people. The product is promoted as a means of meeting one or a number of specific needs. A marketing person does not create a need, it already exists.
Sellers often confuse needs with needs. The manufacturer of drill bits may consider that the consumer needs a well. With the appearance of another product that can drill a well better and cheaper, the customer will have a new need (for a new product), although the need will remain the same (well).
Requests
The needs of people are almost limitless, but the resources to meet them are limited. So the person will choose those products that will give him the greatest satisfaction within his financial capabilities.
A request is a need backed by purchasing power.
It is not difficult to enumerate the needs of a particular society at a particular time. In the late 1970s, 200 million Americans bought 67 billion eggs, 250 million chickens, 5 million hair dryers, 133 billion passenger miles on domestic airlines, and more than 20 million lectures by English language and literature teachers in colleges. These and other consumer goods and services in turn generated more than 150 million tons of Steel, 4 billion tons of cotton and many other industrial goods. And these are just a few requests of the economy, estimated at 1.5 trillion. doll.
The company could plan production volumes for the next year, based on the aggregate of the previous year's requests. This is how production is planned in centrally planned economies. However, requests are not reliable enough. People get tired of the things that are now in use, and they look for variety for variety's sake. The change in choice may also be the result of changes in prices or income levels. K. Lancaster notes that the goods-it is, in fact, a set of properties, and people opt for those products that provide them with a set of benefits for their money. So, the car “Volkswagen “embodies the elementary property of transport, low purchase price, fuel efficiency and European course, and” Cadillac " - high comfort, luxury and prestige. A person chooses a product whose set of properties provides him with the greatest satisfaction for a given price, taking into account his specific needs and resources.