Does marketing create or satisfy needs?

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There can be various answers to this question, and it can be varied in depth and example. I shall
try to provide some guidance. From my understanding, I feel that marketing does both. It creates
and also satisfies needs of customers. For establised firms, it's essential to be able to satisfy the
needs of customers. As they say, a satisfied customer is a profitable one. To be able to satisfy the
customer's needs, the firm thus tries to understand it's customer's needs and then attempt try to
deliver it. On the other hand, new firms or marketing these days also attempt to 'create' needs. By
doing so, the customer have a reason to buy the product. The basic reason customers purchase
anything is they need it. However if customers have a perception that they do not need it, they
may not purchase the product. Hence marketing these days have evolved to create needs for
customers. Marketing these days does not only mean existing customers, which have needs but
also non existing customers, which have no needs. Creating needs by marketing can mean the
excellent usage of promotion activities, from words on a poster to colours on it. It can also mean
effective sales techniques by the door to door salesman which can talk their way to sell you
anything.

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I have always believed that when there are two opposing viewpoints, and they are primarily
centered around belief systems, that the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. Such is the
case, I believe with this debate. On one hand you have those who primarily see marketing as
merely the promoting, and in most cases pushing, a certain product, concept, or value onto an
unwilling, or at least unprepared, consumer. On the other hand you have those who describe
marketing as merely the process through which value is created for a consumer by various
means of communication.

Who is right?

Well, I am going to plant myself firmly on the fence here, at least for the moment. I can see both
sides of the argument. As a consumer I feel that sometimes I am being told that I want, or at least
should want, certain things:

Beer commercials promote a lifestyle that appears on the surface to be exciting and glamorous,
something, at least superficially, that I may want;
Sports related shoe commercials seem to promise me that I will perform better if I wear their
shoes;
While diet products suggest that by merely consuming them I will lose weight, be more attractive
to the opposite sex, and get that promotion I have been wanting.

All of these point me to a want, or need, that I may have not realized I had.

Now I will jump off the fence.

The problem here lies in what we perceive marketing to be. One of the myths in the recent epic
of marketing suggests marketing is nothing more than promoting, or advertising a product.

Marketing, however, is not synonymous with Advertising.

It is a communication process; in effect, almost an educational process for both the consumer and
the organization.

My ‘need’, or want, to be a better athlete comes from within me. Nike is merely exploiting that
desire.

Advertising is just one small piece of an entire process. To blame the whole marketing process
for my ‘wanting’ to acquire a product or lifestyle, based on an advertisement, is ignoring the
other processes involved in developing the whole concept.

Suggesting that my ‘needs’ are driven by advertising also takes personal responsibility out of the
equation. I make the decision as to whether or not I am going to purchase the product, or pursue
the lifestyle.

I am not forced by the advertising to do that. Nike, or any other organization, has simply done
their homework, and determined that there is a desire for the image that their product represents.
A. Marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of customers. B. Marketing shapes consumer
needs and wants. 

Part A  

'Marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of customers.' We all need to eat, drink and sleep
and reproduce, this is all part of who we are as human beings. Therefore at the basic level
companies will strive to satisfy these functions and keep doing so by once in a while showing
advertisements that tells the public that they are around and can provide the products they need.  

The other aspect is that needs vary depending on what country you live in. "For example a
consumer in the United States may need food but may want a hamburger, french fries and a soft
drink and a person that lives in Mauritius that needs food may want a mango, rice, lentils and
beans. Wants are shaped by our society." The other part is wants, everybody can want something
but only a few has the means to acquire it. A good example would be that everyone wants to eat
out at expensive restaurants everyday but in reality only very few people can actually afford that
lifestyle. This is why various segments have been created to target different groups and classes of
people.

Marketers must therefore continually be creating and developing attractive products and then in
turn devising a brilliant marketing strategy to win the consumer over to buy their product over
other competing products. Companies strive to retain their customer base by delivering value and
satisfaction from their products and this is formulated in consumers' minds as a combination of
service, quality and price. Some consumers would not mind paying a higher price for an item or
service if they received very good service.

This is all part of what a consumer's expectations on a product are, if these perceived
expectations are met time after time then they become a loyal customer to that particular
company. We as people like consistency and if a marketer provides consistent service in addition
to great products and price then we will keep on going back for years. A good example would be
Ben's Chili Bowl located in Washington DC. It is an eatery that has been in business for decades
and the fact that it had kept so many loyal customers is because they have offered consistent
service and great food over the years and people who used to go there to eat as kids still go there
as adults. They even have patrons fly into Washington DC just to experience their food and
service. Companies also create brands and these brands have an effect on people's purchasing
habits.

These brands can mean several aspects of the company combined to form a perception in the
consumer's mind such as products, services, information and experiences. The more unique and
interesting a brand the better it will perform. One brand that comes to mind is the Coach
Company that manufactures accessories in the retail sector. They produce items such as
handbags, purses, belts and other items. Coach has built a strong brand name for themselves by
being unique in their style and service and this is primarily the reason that customers create a
high demand for their products. This has also allowed the company to maintain an above average
price for their products compared with their competitors with the knowledge that consumers
would pay that higher price. Segmentation is another way that companies target the consumer to
satisfy their needs and companies use this technique to target where they should market their
products. There are various criteria that companies use to segment their products and some of
them are geographic, demographic, psycho graphic and behavioral.

They would use factors such as how populated and area is or how wealthy the population of a
specific area is and target products that fit that mold. This has proved to be a very successful
tactic for companies in marketing. Marketing channels are also used by companies to reach their
consumers. They use three types of marketing channels which are communications, distribution
and service channels. Communications is important to get the company's message out to the
public and this could be in many forms such as the radio, television, the internet, posters and the
like. They also need to distribute their products to the consumer and this means they will need a
physical location like a store, or be a wholesaler and have others retail your products for you and
also sell your products on the internet. Service channels are needed to effect transactions with the
consumers and these could be banks for credit card purchases and transportation companies such
as UPS to deliver the products to homes and businesses.

Marketing has relied on four marketing skills and tools and they are the sales force, advertising,
sales promotion and marketing research, they must also use brand building, customer relations,
telemarketing and others to make their product selling become reality. Companies must also
function ethically and honestly to serve the consumer in the best possible manner. Marketing in
the United States is unique in the world because it has evolved and changed over the years to
blend in with the capitalistic society we live in in the US. This also means that some of the
marketing we use in this country can only work with the credit system we currently have. This is
not so in other parts of the world even in industrialized countries. So I would view marketing in
the United States as one of the spokes in the wheel that makes our economy such a giant as it is
today. 

Part B 

Regarding the second argument 'Marketing shapes consumer needs and wants.' I have to also
agree with this statement. My reasons are many and varied. After seeing so many television
commercials and advertisements both on the Internet and on newspapers I have concluded that
some companies construct their ads to create a need in the consumer's mind even if originally
they were not interested in the product. I took some time to research some of the words that
advertisements commonly use and I found an interesting mix of words and phrases. The word
'free' is the most common denominator I found in the ads, free is used in combinations such as
free home trial, free inspection, buy one get one free, free installation, free estimates, free
parking, free demonstration and free consultation. The word free is usually a powerful catalyst
that springs the consumer into buying that particular product or idea even though he or she might
not need it. I think other terms also kind of bait people into buying things they don't need.

Terms such as 'no payments till 2010' or 'money back guarantee' 'no down payment' 'offer good
while supplies last' help dissipate any doubts that the consumer may have and spur them on to
make the purchase. "Because the goal is to get customers' attention, persuade and create demand,
market segmentation has historically been based on variables that correlate to creating demand:
geography, age, gender, income, education, occupation and other traditional demographics, as
well as psychographics around personality, lifestyle, values and attitudes. It works because these
attributes are helpful for defining how to effectively speak to different groups of people."

Some companies do act unethical in their advertising, for example I have seen some ads on the
internet especially where companies would advertise a product and make it very appealing to the
consumer then at the very bottom is tiny fonts the word 'restrictions apply' they would hide the
link that takes you to where the restrictions are listed. So if you happen to buy that product
without reading the fine print and something happens that you are not satisfied or want to return
the item the company would refuse and make reference to their restriction policy. Other tactics
that companies use to shape consumers needs and wants is to use celebrities or other famous
people to sell their products. A good example of a company would be Nike. Nike teamed up with
Michael Jordan to create marketing giant. One of the themes behind their partnership was to
create the desire within consumers that if they wore Michael Jordan's sneakers they could play
basketball or jump as high as him.

This was directed primarily towards the younger consumers and turned out to be a huge
marketing success. Companies also take advantage of world events or changes in the economy to
come out with new products. A good example is the ever increasing popularity of hybrid cars.
This has been brought about by gas prices going up and the economy slowing down. However
the increase in hybrid cars has led to a marked decrease of large SUV vehicles. In the past we
used to associate hybrid cars with car companies such as Toyota and Honda, but nowadays
companies such as Lincoln, Ford and others are coming out with hybrid vehicles. This has been a
necessity of them to compete in today's changed car market.  

However advertising is not the only force that drives the consumer. Most companies do a lot of
research before releasing an advertisement in getting a feel of what the consumers really desire.
There is a constant interaction with the public in studying what is in vogue at the time and also
what brands people want to be associated with. I have always wondered at why companies come
out with new models or new releases at such a quick pace. This tactic is basically mainly a tweak
or an enhancement of the previous model or version in order to create the perception of a totally
new product which in turn creates more demand for the product.

Good examples of these products would be software, Microsoft is especially good at coming out
with new versions of their products. For example with the release of Microsoft Vista operating
system it meant that people had to upgrade their computers also because their existing hardware
could not support Microsoft Vista's requirements. In conclusion, newer firms tend to lean more
towards creating needs because the public does not yet know about their products. Established
companies are more interested in fulfilling the existing needs of consumers. These companies are
already known and their products have already being deemed essential to their lives so they
would continue buying their products even with little or no advertisement. 

This article was done by me at the University of Maryland last October 2008. I wanted to share it
because me and my husband just launched our new business online shopping website associated
with amazon http://www.freetownmall.com and I thought it ironic that I did an article on
marketing as this is our quest now to get our business off the ground.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2186483

Does marketing create or satisfy needs?

2009-02-09 23:08

It is very confusing thing to discuss in this era. To discuss this matter we will have to focus on
the key words of the subject. The key words here are marketing, and needs.

First of all lets define what is marketing. Marketing deals with identifying and meeting human
and social needs (Kotler and Keller 12th edition). One of the shortest definition. In other words
marketing is the total business activities which include pricing, promoting, warehousing
distributions etc.    

Needs> needs are the basic human requirements. A man cannot be a man without any needs.

In this debate we have to create many dimensions of discussiion. In my opinion I will like to say
that marketing actually satisfies needs. marketing provides the things that definitely help people
to satisfy their needs. But if we look at some situations closely then we will probably find some
differences.

For example; there are needs of mobile phones. That is well satisfied by marketing. But what
about the creation of the need of using multiple sims. This need is definitely created by
marketing. Because marketing is controlling the prices of lines and rates of lines. Then we can
also talk about multimedia mobile phones. The peoples need for multimedia mobile phone has
been created by marketing. Then in the automobile sector we will see that the market is vastly
segmented there. And people buy different types of car. Car is simply for transportation. But the
luxury in it is not a need. Marketing is creating that very need. People buy luxurious cars only
because marketing has the ability to create that need. However, we can call it the need for
brands. marketing is creating the needs for brands and satisfying it.  At a time people had needs
of walkman. That was the latent demand of the people. Marketing satisfied that need. But
marketing compelled science to provide this feature to the mobile phones, and thus they created
needs for multimedia phones. Walkman was a simple thing that played on cassettes. Then came
CDs, MP3 players. Now marketing started to create the need for i-pods. Although people can
satisfy their needs by simple MP3 players, they are buying i-pods. This is because marketing
created that need. In other words, we can say marketing actually create the needs of brand.

Marketing satisfies needs. This is the real marketing concept. The needs are latent in customers.
Marketing satisfies needs of the customers. For this marketing plays many types of roles in the
existing business world. 

“Marketers do not create needs: Needs preexist marketers, marketers along with other societal
factors, influence wants. Marketers might promote idea that Mercedes would satisfy a person’s
need for social status. They do not, however, create the need for social status”. (Kotler and Keller
11th edition)

Does marketing create needs or needs create marketing?

Today this topic is going to a debate to all.

'Marketing purely reflects the needs and wants of customers.’

We all need food, shelter, cloths, education and so on.

Needs vary depending on situation, custom, country, people, norms and

values. For example the people of United States can prefer hamburger or
French fries for their lunch but the people of Bangladesh can prefer rice and
carry for their lunch. Wants are shaped by our culture.

Customers always want quality products which satisfy their needs properly.
Customers are looking best combination of service, price, quality and
availability.

Well, I am going to plant myself firmly on the fence here, at least for the
moment. I can see both sides of the argument. As a consumer I feel that
sometimes I am being told that I want, or at least should want, certain
things:

1.Foot wear commercials seem a promise to me who provides swiftness,

smoothness and fit for foot that I may want.

2.Oil food commercials always suggest a picture that they are very concern
about my health, heart and digestive system which I like.

3.Bank/Insurance commercials provide a picture where they are always

beside people with their security policy that promotion I may like
sometimes.

All of these point me to a want, or need, that I may have not realized I had.

Marketers must therefore continually be creating and developing attractive

products and then in turn devising a brilliant marketing strategy to win the
consumer over to buy their product over other competing products.

Companies strive to retain their customer base by delivering value and

satisfaction from their products and this is formulated in consumers' minds
as a combination of service, quality and price. Some consumers would not
mind paying a higher price for an item or service if they received very good
service.
Marketing, however, is not synonymous with Advertising.
It is a communication process; in effect, almost an educational process for
both the consumer and the organization.

My 'need', or want, to be a better athlete comes from within me. Nike is

merely exploiting that desire.
Some products don’t need advertising. People are searching those products
because they need.
Marketing has relied on four marketing skills and tools and they are the
sales force, advertising, sales promotion and marketing research, they must
also use brand building, customer relations, telemarketing and others to
make their product selling become reality.

Companies must also function ethically and honestly to serve the consumer
in the best possible manner.

Regarding the second argument 'Marketing creates consumer needs

and wants.'

After seeing some television commercials and advertisements both on the

Internet and on newspapers I have concluded that some companies
construct their ads to create a need in the consumer's mind even if originally
they were not interested in the product. Some words and phrases are
commonly used in advertising.
 
The word 'free' is the most common denominator I found in the ads, free is
used in combinations such as free home trial, free inspection, buy one get
one free, free installation, free estimates, free parking, free demonstration
and free consultation, such as 20% free, buy one and get one free, free
home service, free home trial etc.

Some terms like “money back guaranty”, “no payment before service” help
dissipate any doubts that the consumer may have and prompt them on to
make the purchase. "Because the goal is to get customers' attention,
persuade and create demand, market segmentation has historically been
based on variables that correlate to creating demand: geography, age,
gender, income, education, occupation and other traditional demographics,
as well as psychographics around personality, lifestyle, values and attitudes.
It works because these attributes are helpful for defining how to effectively
speak to different groups of people."

Some commercials are forced towards the younger consumers and turned
out to be a huge marketing success. Companies also take advantage of
world events or changes in the economy to come out with new products.
 
A good example of the huge market share of cell phone companies in
Bangladesh. They use attractive slogans, low call rates (sometimes free),
favorite celebrities to attract young people. Today five grade’s student has
cell phone with good features. But some of them don’t need a cell phone.
Here marketers create needs forcefully. Today people can’t imagine a single
day without phone but cell phone is introduced in 1993 in Bangladesh then
how our elder generation passed their days!
 
Some cosmetics commercials are creating needs among customers.Think
about Fairness cream’s commercials where girls can get jobs, get high
positions in society or get married because of these creams. These things
actually have no basis, all are created by marketers to capture market
share.
   
However advertising is not the only force that drives the consumer. Most
companies do a lot of research before releasing an advertisement in getting
a feel of what the consumers really desire. There is a constant interaction
with the public in studying what is in mode at the time and also what brands
people want to be associated with. This tactic is basically mainly a tweak or
an enhancement of the previous model or version in order to create the
perception of a totally new product which in turn creates more demand for
the product.

Good example of software and books. Software companies always offer new
version and people have to upgrade this. And also books come with various
editions with the reader’s opinion and needs.

Advertising should their tasks simply, logically and determine that there is a
desire for the image that their product represents. Like Bata, Cocacola, Nick.

Tina Sudeshna Sikder

Does marketing create needs or does it just satisfy needs?

No, marketing does not create needs. Your clients have needs. It’s your job to identify what
needs are currently not being satisfied and craft a solution that will meet those needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs back in the 1950s and 60s.
Humans are motivated by one or more of the following needs classifications.

 Physiological needs – These needs are fundamental to our survival and include things like food,
water, air, shelter, and sleep. We seek out these basic needs above all else. For instance, if we
haven’t eaten or slept in days, those basic actions take priority over everything else we might
do.
 Safety needs – We need to feel that our lives are not in danger. Here we are concerned with
things like staying safe from physical harm, sickness, and having enough money to live.
 Belonging/love needs – This is our desire to feel loved by others. We want to fit in and belong
to certain groups so we seek out companionship. If we can’t fulfill such needs, we experience
loneliness, depression, and other mental health problems.
 Esteem needs – We need to feel both that others respect us and that we respect ourselves.
 Self-actualization needs – Here, we want to become better than we currently are so we seek
ways of growing on a personal or spiritual level. These needs are about harnessing our talents
and making the most of the opportunities they provide.

How These Needs Apply To Business

In one way or another, all our products and services address such needs. Entrepreneurs may seek
out ways to grow their business because

 They want to achieve economic security

 They fear failure
 They want to gain the respect of peers
 Succeeding in business makes them feel good about themselves
 They want to see what they’re capable of accomplishing
 They want to grow as a person
 They want to use their knowledge/skills to help others succeed
 They want to be true to themselves and their desires and interests

On the other hand, a mid-level manager may be looking to

 Impress his boss

 Gain the respect of his colleagues
 Fix a mistake he made
 Demonstrate his managerial skills in overseeing a project
  Show that he has a lot of creative ideas that can benefit the company
 Cut costs so the company gains financial stability
 Make his job more interesting
 Gain new skills that will make him more marketable in the job hunt
 Pitch his boss for a raise
 Deal with personal problems, so work isn’t a priority right now.

As you can see, many of the needs classifications overlap. And, if someone’s basic needs aren’t
met – they can’t make their rent this month or they’re having marital problems or a loved one
just died – they may have difficulties focusing on work. People are often juggling their personal
and professional needs, so this can be a major problem if it leads to the company’s goals not
being met.

On the other hand, if you are offering a complex solution, that usually means that a number of
people are involved in the decision making process. For each person involved, it’s up to you to
determine which of these needs are motivating them to consider your product or service – Are
they enthusiastic about it? Do they even believe the problem is large enough that it merits
implementing a solution? Do they feel slighted that their project was labeled a low priority so
this project could be pursued?

What About Computers And Fax Machines?

When the first computers hit the market, most companies didn’t buy. They already were doing
business a specific way, and these new machines were expensive and difficult to use. Besides,
businesses were already used to the paper process. They didn’t see how using a computer could
make their lives easier. As computers have become cheaper, easier to use, and more powerful,
they’ve become essential to doing business. This doesn’t mean that computers created a new
need. They simply addressed the old needs by making processes simpler and faster. Eventually,
the marketplace adapted.

Fax machines are similar. When they first came out, no one bought them. No one else had a fax
machine, so what was the point in buying one? Over time, as more and more businesses started
buying them, fax machines became one essential way to communicate. Did this create a new
need? No, but it got documents from one company to another a heck of a lot faster than going
through the post office. There are other services – like expedited shipping and email – which also
address that need, thus offering people a number of choices.

Marketing’s Role

Marketing’s role in all of this is to look for places where there is a gap between what people need
and the types of products and services available. Marketers must experiment with creative
solutions that address these needs. Then they must educate prospects about how their products
and services will meet these needs better/faster/cheaper than what businesses are currently doing.