Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has become a landmark in the study of human behavior. He could not have imagined that his conception, completed in 1943, would continue to influence the world for the next 65 years.
Abraham Maslow said that people act out of feelings caused by emotional needs which have not been satisfied. We are compelled to try and resolve those needs in a certain set order. Second tier needs follow those that are of prime importance to the individual. Third tier needs follow second level ones, and so forth.
Physiological needs, the things humans need in order to live, form the first and most fundamental level of the hierarchy of needs. Safety is the next level, and social needs come next. Self-esteem follows next once the social level has been satisfied, and the final level is self-actualization. Maslow's theory is an excellent framework for marketing efforts. Each sale of a product sells a concrete product but also an abstract view of that product (such as its prestige or the change it will help the consumer achieve). The more levels of the hierarchy a product seems to satisfy, the more successful the marketing will be for that product.
A marketing campaign would be sufficiently more successful if it appealed more towards the lower levels of unfulfilled needs in a person's life. In order to succeed you really need to know your customer. If your product promises to fill an esteem need, it wouldn't be attractive to a prospect who hasn't met their safety need yet.
Any successful marketing campaign must first focus on what consumer motivators you will target. It's important to figure out where in the hierarchy the need you want to fulfill would fit. Then you will need to clearly communicate to the consumer how your solution will address their need. The key is to reassure the consumer that your approach will actually be effective in resolving their needs.
It is very important to understand the need and requirement of your potential customer. If the customer comes to you looking for the product he requires then your job is half-done! It is very difficult to understand and assess the needs of an unknown customer through cold calls.
The best way to overcome this obstacle is also the simplest. Every novice marketer is taught to engage the potential customer. Small talk with prospects about the weather, sports, family life helps the marketer gain valuable insights into the needs of the customer. At the same time, this kind of talk puts the potential customer at ease and he or she does not feel pressured by sales talk.
When you are able to understand the motivations of your potential customers, you approach the ability to meet their needs. After you figure out what motivates them then you can gear your sales pitch towards what will be effective for each customer. As you understand the needs of customers in general you can be more effective in selling to the market in general.
While Maslow's theories stand behind the majority of current management practices, they are also effective guidelines for designing marketing campaigns. The most important thing is to ensure that your customer knows how his life will change because of your goods and services.
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