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There was no way in 1943 that Abraham H. Maslow could have predicted that his Hierarchy of Needs would be so influential. It was considered to be one of the more influential theories in the study of human behavior and remained influential into the following century as well.
The theory developed by Maslow put forth that the motivation for any action made by any human being is an unfulfilled need. When we have unmet needs, we are motivated to meet them in a specific order. Once the needs on the first level are met, we move on to the needs of the next level, and so on until we reach the top tier.
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.
Obviously, a marketing campaign will be more successful the more it appeals to the lower levels of unfulfilled need in a person's life. What this means for you, the marketer, is that knowing your audience's needs is key. A product that promises to fulfill an esteem need will be virtually useless to a customer whose safety needs are not yet met.
The first step to being successful in any marketing endeavor is to get a firm grasp on the psychographic motivators that you will be most appealing to. Specifically, which need on the hierarchy is your product going to satisfy? How will it better serve this need, and how can you prove to your potential customers that it can truly be to their benefit?
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.
Daiv Russell is a management and marketing consultant with Envision Web Marketing. Read more Management Articles, learn about Abraham Harold Maslow and Maslows hierarchy of needs.
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