Concept of Needs, Wants and Demands in Marketing

The concepts of need, drive, want and demands are important in marketing. They seem to be used in similar terms. However, there are substantial differences among these terms.

Needs

Needs are the state of self-deprivation in an individual. The starting point of marketing is human needs. Human needs can be physiological, social, cultural and individual. There are unlimited human needs. All new inventions try to satisfy the human needs. We cannot imagine marketing activities or existence of the market in the absence of human needs.

Wants

Wants are desires for specific satisfiers of needs. The needs of the human are unlimited. So, to satisfy unlimited needs a person desire for different products, services and methods. Such desire to satisfy the needs is called wants. Wants depend on the culture, social class, and individual personality. A marketer can influence human wants by providing a variety of need-satisfying objects.

Demands

Demands are human wants backed by ability and willingness to buy. The person wants only those goods which provide them maximum satisfaction. Marketers can also influence demand by offering products at different price and quality.

Primary and Secondary demand

1. Primary demand:
   Primary demand refers to the demand of the products and services that can satisfy particular type of need. A primary demand is the total demand of the goods with different names and is manufactured by different firms which fulfill the similar needs. For example:in summer, the demand for cold drink increases. The primary demand is important for an individual firm because it sells its products to a part of the primary demand.
   
   
2. Secondary demand:
   Secondary demand refers to the demand of goods with special brand produced by any producer. The special demand is more specific and includes demand for a firm's product or band. The marketers use brand differentiation features such as brand name, packaging, price and promotion to convince the consumers that its brand is different from competitor's brand.

Creation of demand

A consumer should be motivated for creating demand. A producer should provide information about the availability of product, use of the product, change in product or service, etc. to the customers for creating demand. The important methods of creating demand are as follows:

1. Personal selling:
   Personal selling is the oral communication with the potential customer for the purpose of selling goods. Personal selling takes place to place, face to face, or it may be directed to a middleman or final consumer. It is a direct method in which seller or sales representative negotiates directly with customers, presents information to them, and motivates them to buy products. In this way, demand is created.
   
   
2. Advertisement:
   Advertisement is a non-personal communication process where the customers are given information about new goods and services to arouse curiosity in them for buying products. The most familiar forms of ads are found in the broadcast ( TV, radio, newspaper, magazine and media).
   
   
3. Sales promotion:
   Sales promotion is the demand stimulating activity besides personal selling and advertisement. Sales promotion activities are display and decoration of products, trade fair, exhibition, free distribution of sample, gifts program etc. This will help to increase sales volume.
   
   
4. Publicity:
   Publicity is the special form of public relations that involves news stories about an organization or its products. It reaches mass audiences through the media. An organization provides material for the publicity in the form of news releases, press conferences, and photographs.

Satisfaction of demand

The objective of the organization cannot be achieved only through creating the demand for goods and services. If the customers are not satisfied by the goods and services supplied, then they can"t be permanent customers. So, the satisfaction from the goods and services should be more than the price paid.

Customers satisfaction depends on the product's performance and customers expectation. When the specific expected utility of consumer is reduced from the total utility than if the result is positive then it is called satisfaction of customers and if the result is negative then it is called dissatisfaction of customer.

References:

Koirala, Dr. Kundan Dutta.Elementary Marketing.Kathmandu: Buddha Academic Publishers and Distributors Pvt. Ltd, 2014.

Thapa, Gopal, Dipendra K. Neupane and Dilli Raj Mishra.Introduction to Marketing.Kathmandu: Asmita Books Publishers and Distributors (P) Ltd., 2014.