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Need, Want and Demand

Needs are essential to human survival, while wants are desires that are not critical but complement needs. Demand exists when a consumer both wants a product and has the ability to pay for it. The document provides examples to illustrate the differences: water is a basic need, but consumers may want a specific branded water due to advertised health benefits and create demand if able to purchase it. Similarly, while a phone is now a necessity, consumers want particular smartphone models for their features, generating demand if affordable. The author concludes that understanding how needs, wants and demand interrelate is important for businesses to successfully market products.

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2K views

Need, Want and Demand

Needs are essential to human survival, while wants are desires that are not critical but complement needs. Demand exists when a consumer both wants a product and has the ability to pay for it. The document provides examples to illustrate the differences: water is a basic need, but consumers may want a specific branded water due to advertised health benefits and create demand if able to purchase it. Similarly, while a phone is now a necessity, consumers want particular smartphone models for their features, generating demand if affordable. The author concludes that understanding how needs, wants and demand interrelate is important for businesses to successfully market products.

Uploaded by

bim269
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Need, Want and Demand

Four of the five steps recognized in marketing process deals with


understanding consumers needs and wants. This knowledge creates a
relationship that is both profitable to the consumers (consumer and product
value) and businesses (success and revenue generation) (Bhasin, 2016).
Needs
Human needs are vital to their survival. If needs not met or satisfied, we are
left with a feeling of deprivation (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). Needs can be
categorized as
1. Physical: this include needs for food, water, shelter and clothes
2. Social: sense of belonging to a society and affection (includes need for
education, entertainment, health care, insurance and so on)
3. Personal: need for self-expression, learning and knowledge
The needs specified above are critical to the human life and as such must be
satisfied. It can be said that whatever is needed by humans do not need
aggressive advertising because consumer will always buy it, but due to the
fact that there exist different brands of the same need (e.g. water),
companies have to ensure they focus the consumer mind onto their product
(Bhasin, 2016).
Wants
Wants is human desire which can either be fulfilled (if the consumer can
afford it) or not (if the consumer cannot afford it). These desires are likely to
change as our desires are known to change with time, when we get to a new
place or society, or as we grow up over the years. Also the culture we belong
to and our individual personalities also mold our desires (Kotler & Armstrong,
2012). Wants are not critical but they complement needs.
Demand
I have a desire and I can afford to pay the price tag attached to it, then I
have created a demand for that want. Demand occurs when one is able to
financially afford a product as this automatically opens up a market where
we can avail ourselves of goods and or services that can satisfy our wants
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2012).
The differences are as highlighted in the picture below

Figure 1: Source (Walter, 2016)


Nestle Zinc Water
For examples, water is a need as it is crucial for human survival. Depriving
oneself of water will greatly affect us as we become dehydrated and this
could lead to death if one does not get water to drink in time
Now while I can drink tap water, I might decide to go for Nestle water with
Zinc as it has been advertised to be healthier and safe from impurities.
Because of these feature of the Nestle water, I will desire it over tap water
and other brands of bottled water
My ability to be able to purchase this nestle water to quench me of my need
for water will create a demand for nestle water since it gives me a feeling of
drinking safe water and also allows me to stay healthy.
Phone

Phone before this generation was a luxury. But as technology advances, it


has become an item that is crucial for survival in this information age
Need: is to use a phone for communication
Want: use of smartphone is a desire as I would like to do more with my
phone that just dialing/receiving calls or sending/receiving text messages. I
want to be able to connect to the internet, check my mails and use my
phone as a mini computer. Of the smartphones there are, I so much desire
the HTC phones because of the many features available and its simplicity of
use.
Once I can afford to pay for an HTC phone, then I have created a demand for
that phone which the company has to meet.
One way to get market approval is discerning the wants of consumer
notwithstanding what the consumer might say (Boundless, 2016) as has
happened to phones where at want time it was a desire which if you like you
fulfil or not but has now become a necessity required for effective
communication
Nike Shoes
Need
There is need for me to wear shoes
Out of the variety of shoes available, I desire Nike because it is a good
athletic kit which is more comfortable than most other products of its
category. Then desiring Nike shoes becomes a want which I might fulfil or
not.
If I now possess the buying power to own a Nike shoe, then I have created a
demand for the Nike shoes
In conclusion from the examples given above we can deduce that demand
will only occur when there is wants backed by the desire of the consumers in
question and the ability to pay for the need or want i.e. Demand = Wants +
Buying Power (Armstrong et. all, 2007). Also wants is what might be desired
by the consumer but might not be needed in reality. Why? Because wants is
related to our personality and or character.
Opportunities for business are created when peoples desire to satisfy and
meet their needs and wants. Also we can conclude that everyone has a need

and when these needs can be met, it turns to what we want and when we
can afford it financially, then we have created a demand for it and
companies who can make a product that satisfy our needs and wants
(Alamgeer, 2015). Also our desires keep growing as we attain more
knowledge so we can say in a way education is helping with awareness of a
brand as it has ensure consumers are more aware of their wants. In todays
society, a large number of people have helped pushed for the demand of
certain products which have in turn led to many success stories of
companies whose sole responsibility now lies in ensuring brand awareness
and corporate social responsibility which is a vital part of the companys
engagement with the consumers
What someone wants might be what another requires for survival. Also our
demands are mostly based on wants and not necessarily needs as these
demands sometimes are as result of the choices available to us as at the
time we could financially afford our wants (Neil & de Graaff, 2016). For
businesses to be successful, they have to understand that consumers get
more satisfaction, value and happiness when they purchase what they want
instead of what they need and as such wants become the powerful motivator
consumers apply when purchasing products (Cameron, 2015)

References
Alamgeer, H. H. (2015). What is the difference between need, demand and
want? [Online] Available from:
https://www.bayt.com/en/specialties/q/198231/what-is-the-differencebetween-need-demand-and-want/ (Accessed: 21 October 2016)
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P, Cunningham, P, Mitchell, P. & Buchwitz, L. A. (2007)
Marketing: An Introduction, Second Canadian Ed., Canada: Pearson
Education.
Bhasin, H. (2016). Needs wants and demands. [Online] Available from:
http://www.marketing91.com/needs-wants-and-demands/ (Accessed: 21
October 2016)
Boundless (2016). Customer Wants and Needs. [Online] Boundless
Marketing. Available from:
https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketingtextbook/introduction-to-marketing-1/introduction-to-marketing-18/customerwants-and-needs-107-4453/ (Accessed: 19 October 2016)

Cameron, J. (2015). The Difference Between Customer Needs and Wants.


[Online] Available from: http://www.game-changer.net/2015/05/20/thedifference-between-customer-needs-and-wants/#.WAeIXuUrIdU (Accessed:
21 October 2016)
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing, 14th Ed. Upper
Saddle River, N. J.: Prentice Hall

Neil, A. & de Graaff, B. (2016). Need, want and demand: What is really
happening with low-acuity presentations?, EMA - Emergency Medicine
Australasia, 28(3), p. 363-364. [Online] Available From:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.liverpool.idm.oclc.org/doi/10.1111/17426723.12591/pdf;jsessionid=5643C9A0D1772F179DC7B7CC7AF8CFF3.f02t03
(Accessed: 21 October 2016)
Walter, W. (2016). Needs Wants and Demands: Marketing Concept. [Onine]
Available from: http://inevitablesteps.com/marketing/needs-wants-anddemands/ (Accessed: 21 October 2016)

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