According to Hoyer and Macinnis, needs are a state of internal tension caused by an imbalance with an ideal physical or psychological state. This tension results in necessary outcomes to satisfy the need. Alternatively, needs can also generate specific goals that represent desired accomplishments. Differentiating between needs and wants can be difficult due to their unclear distinction. Basic needs, which are essential for survival, refer to a specific amount of products and services that humans require, while everything else falls under the category of wants.
The needs of individuals can differ based on their social, economic, and cultural status, as well as their personal beliefs, values, and lifestyle. As the significance of non-basic needs grows, various objectives may be established to meet those needs. Moreover, different products or services can fulfill the same need. Marketing has contributed t
...o the transition from a "seller's market" to a "buyer's market". Previously, customer needs shaped the market; however, marketers now hold considerable influence over it.
According to the text, customers are urged to purchase products, which leads to the development of artificial needs. Marcuse defines these artificial needs as desires imposed on individuals by societal interests that perpetuate concepts such as hard work, aggression, unhappiness, and injustice. Marcuse critiques the fulfillment of these artificial needs by suggesting that it can cause individuals to experience a false sense of happiness despite their actual unhappiness. This is because these needs are predetermined and controlled by external forces rather than genuinely satisfying the individual.
False needs often emerge in the shadows, when customers are not fully aware of the underlying process. Marketers specialize in generatin
false needs and selling products that consumers truly do not require. This happens because these needs represent objects of desire. Additionally, depending on their nature, goals may be classified as either concrete or abstract, thereby offering marketers a chance to fabricate false needs. Customers' abstract goals may revolve around attaining a "healthy body" or a "happy life," which aren't specific objectives or necessities.
Marketers can present products to consumers that they think will assist them in reaching their abstract objectives. Yet, occasionally these products fail to deliver the expected outcomes or the goals themselves are unachievable. Products that create false needs are frequently advertised persuasively, making them appear essential rather than merely wanted. They are often marketed as satisfying particular requirements, even though they do not genuinely meet those requirements. False needs can fall into various categories, including physiological, safety, social, egoistic, and self-actualization needs.
Another way to classify needs is by their relationship to other individuals, which can be social or nonsocial. Moreover, needs can be categorized based on their purpose as functional, symbolic, or hedonic. False needs can be found within all of these categories. Physiological needs are essential for an individual's survival. However, there is a separate type of need called functional food that involves the addition of new ingredients to provide extra benefits, usually related to health promotion and disease prevention.
While it is possible for customers to get enough vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from food, excessive intake of these substances can cause diseases. The extensive promotion of such products makes people believe that they are vital for their overall health, making them seem necessary. In essence,
functional food works as a psychological suggestion by creating an artificial need for dietary supplements. Nevertheless, marketers have been able to create a market because customers want to feel secure and physically well beyond their basic needs.
People have a desire for safety and look for remedies in case accidents happen. However, there are certain insurances that are based on false assumptions and lead to unnecessary needs. Flight insurance is one such insurance, which provides compensation for loss of life or serious injury during air travel. However, the chances of being involved in a plane crash are extremely low, at 1 in 11 million. This makes it unlikely that your life and health insurance will cover you in such an event. The popularity of flight life insurances increased after the 9/11 attack because some customers mistakenly believed that plane travel is dangerous.
The desire of insurance customers is to financially protect themselves and their loved ones. However, flight insurance fails to effectively fulfill this need. Steve Jobs once famously said, "people don't know what they need until you show it to them." With the recent industrial and technological revolution, more people can now meet their basic and security needs, leading customers to seek higher-quality products. Consequently, businesses and marketers have developed a wide array of innovative new products.
Smart phones have become an increasingly useful and effective means of communication and connection for individuals. Their success can be attributed to their adaptability to societal developments and changing consumer demands. Initially, phones were mainly used for socializing, but they now offer a range of functions that cater to various needs. These tasks include
finding restaurants, playing online games, and even self-expression through daily blog updates. As more needs are met, new ones naturally emerge.
The need for personalization and exclusivity has arisen due to the availability of a diverse range of modern products. This encompasses specialized car equipment, phone cases in different colors, and design choices for various items, all of which contribute to making these products distinctive and linked to a feeling of prestige. Nevertheless, even luxury items like silver cars or summer-house islands are ultimately artificial desires. To address individuals' egoistic and self-actualization needs, marketers have developed various solutions.
The Implementation of false needs involves considering certain characteristics of goals and needs during the development of new products. Introducing new needs can be an effective strategy for boosting sales, but it is also important to consider existing needs. False needs follow the same principles. Firstly, all needs are dynamic, meaning they are never completely satisfied. As soon as one need is met, others will arise, creating a continuous cycle.
Marketers who create successful false needs either introduce new needs or avoid conflicting with existing products that fulfill the same need. In the past, individuals owned clocks, which served the basic purpose of telling time. Marketers encountered the difficulty of generating new needs for this product as mobile phones also provided the same function, and even more. This resulted in clocks becoming highly precise and many of them no longer required a battery. Additionally, watches have evolved into a fashion statement and cater to the desire for achievement. On the other hand, new products appeal to diverse needs and objectives.
In meeting
consumers' needs and objectives, marketers have addressed both necessary and unnecessary desires. The iPhone exemplifies this by fulfilling people's communication and connectivity demands while also satisfying their functional, symbolic, and hedonic needs. Additionally, it caters to social as well as nonsocial aspects. Moreover, needs are organized hierarchically, with certain ones carrying greater importance than others. The changing society and the influence of commerce greatly shape individuals' outlook on life and values, especially among younger generations.
The hierarchy of needs has undergone changes, leading to the emergence of false needs. In turn, these false needs contribute to the alteration of the hierarchy. Some teenagers prioritize the need for a game machine over the need for food, choosing to allocate their living expenses towards unnecessary desires. Marketers are able to observe market trends and make informed decisions to produce and promote new products, harnessing the power of advertising and mass media. Another method of cultivating false needs involves both internal and external stimuli that arouse the desire for a particular product.
Many marketing strategies focus on building connections and fostering relationships between the product/brand and consumers, persuading customers that they are actively engaged. Advertisements, logos, and brand images often prompt individuals to connect them with their identity or aspirations. Through employing targeted segmentation based on consumer needs and objectives, marketers can enhance their ability to develop innovative products and services. By narrowing down their focus to specific groups and comprehending consumer traits, marketers can customize new products, needs, and goals to cater to them effectively.
The text emphasizes the creation of false needs in marketing. Various segments of false needs are created by marketers
to cater to different groups of customers. For instance, whole grain breakfast targets health-conscious individuals, while customized cars cater to different price ranges. The more segmented false needs marketers generate, the higher the chances of customers adopting them. Marketers can also eliminate conflicts between false needs by associating products with fashion or trends, thus making them more popular and aligning with customers' beliefs and goals. The increasing concern for the environment has made being environmentally friendly a trendy and widely accepted public belief.
Even individuals who prefer fast and powerful gasoline cars for their style and self-esteem may want to consider utilizing electric cars instead. This exemplifies an approach-avoidance conflict, wherein marketers can make certain that their products fulfilling artificial needs are more difficult to avoid or more enticing than alternative products, so as to ensure that the need for their product does not clash with other needs. Certain needs are created in a manner such that, although they may not align with other needs, they generate a new and distinct need. Credit cards have become an essential aspect of consumers' lives, even though they may not always serve the objective of saving money.
Marketers across various industries have successfully generated a desire for consumption, and credit cards present an opportunity to indulge even more. This creates a conflict for customers who wish to avoid both financial scarcity and debt. As a result, the demand for credit cards arises as it is perceived better to be in debt than to lack sufficient funds, satisfying the urge for consumption. However, marketers often make the mistake of relying on their personal opinions and overlooking comprehensive
research on market conditions, competitors, and consumer preferences when developing new needs or products.
As a result, companies that aim to develop and invent new products typically have an advanced R;D department. This leads them to focus on pursuing high-tech and unique creations. When marketers introduce new products, they must ensure that the needs they are creating are truly unique and that other products are not as effective in satisfying those needs. Additionally, having an excellent communication department is crucial in convincing customers to adopt these artificial needs. In conclusion, the main reason false needs exist is to generate profits.
False needs are considered immoral and unhealthy commercial activities in several ways. They lead to wastage of resources, pollution of the environment, distorted values, and excessive competition. Marketers are often blamed for creating these needs. However, customers accepting and consuming these needs is an inevitable outcome in the market's development. Simultaneously, false needs, along with merchandise, advertising, and media, contribute to social prosperity and material civilization.
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