What Can Brands Learn from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

Hello, and welcome to another edition of #MeaningfulMarketingMessages!

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So, let's get to it...

At some point, we've all most likely been exposed to the famous work, by Abraham Maslow: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

It may not be top of mind, but it's probably tucked away in your sub-conscious mind somewhere.

So, here's a little reminder for you...

The hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill their basic needs before moving on to more advanced needs.

It makes a lot of sense, of course, because if you're hungry or cold, you'd be much more obsessed over finding food and shelter before worrying about the safety of your belongings.

And wanting to find the love of your life would have to wait until your tummy is full, and you had a nice, warm place to live.

And your desire to be held in high esteem by others would possibly be less important than finding your 'one and only.'

But, maybe not for everyone.

For some, being respected and esteemed highly for their creativity or the amount of money they've accumulated may be more important than romantic love (or any love).

To each his own!

Think about some of the most famous artists, like Vincent Van Gogh.

He only sold one painting, during his lifetime, and he didn't achieve the global esteem he sought until long after his death.

Feeling a total failure, he took his own life, shortly after cutting off his ear in 1886.

He was penniless and destitute, believing himself to be an artistic failure.

Moving up...

Then, at the top of the pyramid, we come to Self-Actualization.

"What a man can be, he must be." Maslow

Maslow was referring to the need people have to achieve their full potential as human beings.

He described self-actualization this way...

"It may be loosely described as the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, potentialities, etc. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doing. They are people who have developed or are developing to the full stature of which they are capable." Maslow

Maslow's hierarchy of needs have been grouped into two types of needs: deficiency needs and growth needs.

• Deficiency needs: Physiological, security, social, and esteem needs are deficiency needs, which?arise due to deprivation. Satisfying these lower-level needs is important to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences.
• Growth needs: Maslow called the needs at the top of the pyramid growth needs. These needs don't?stem from a lack of something, but rather from a desire to grow as a person.

So, to the question I posed in the headline...

What Can Brands Learn From Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

Let us postulate that Brands may want to consider to what extent their target audience is operating from deficiency needs or growth needs.

Stick with me here... I'm just wondering out loud!

Selling to Deficiency Needs

If a company is selling a home security system, for example, the kind of person who would be interested in that would fall under 'Deficiency Needs.'

They'd be saying to themselves...

"Aha, I actually don't feel safe in my neighborhood anymore, and I'd really like to have a home security system, so I could protect myself and my family better."

And how often do we see Brands that play off social and esteem needs?

I'm sure you can think of a gazillion.

How about all the beauty products... everyone wants to look good, in order to fit in, or impress, their social circles.

And the latest music craze... everyone (or a LOT) wants to get the coolest music and have the latest delivery systems for it.

From video games, to sexy clothes that'll attract that popular boy or girl, to all the latest, greatest technology...

Think AI today...

All of these are things we don't yet have (deficient of), and that we MUST have, in order to feel part of our social world. (At least a huge chunk of people think they need these things.)

Selling to Growth Needs

This may be when a Brand has a product or service that is truly designed to help people. Or to fulfill their deepest longings ...

as opposed to fill a physical, social, or esteem need.

This may look like some kind of technology that is designed to help students learn faster, while retaining what they've learned much better.

It could be a new prosthetic limb that allows athletes, who've lost a leg, to compete again.

Or, it could be a wide range of courses that help people to broaden their worldview, exposing them to different cultures, in an effort to better understand each other.

These offerings may fall under the 'BE ALL YOU CAN BE' category.

In Conclusion...

Better understanding humans' hierarchy of needs can assist marketers, I think, on some pretty basic level.

To distinguish whether a company's product or service fulfills consumers' deficiency or growth needs can be another tool in our marketing tool box.

Adding this knowledge to what we can learn in behavioral science and neuroscience, may actually be helpful.

What do you think?

Do you see the hierarchy of needs as useful for marketers to understand?

Or, do you think it's silly, outdated, or doesn't have a place in marketing strategies?

Please share in the comments.

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Thanks for reading...

Carolyn