UNDERSTANDING WHAT PEOPLE CRAVE FOR CAN HELP MARKETERS POSITION THEIR PRODUCTS BETTER IN THEIR CONSUMER’S MIND.

Although there are three basic things that all human beings really need, namely food, shelter and clothing store, these things alone would not bring fulfillment to our lives. That is why we have wants which is what we desire after we have fulfilled our 3 basic needs. As the name suggests there is no limit to the number of material things or services or conditions of how our lifestyle or our body should be or even how the things that fulfill our basic needs should be like or look like.

Upon this basis is how marketers of things and services get the ideas and inspiration in how their goods or services should be marketed and who it should be marketed at. However I believe that it would be a more profitable proposition to take a step further to understand beyond needs and wants to what people crave or desire. To crave for something is to have an urgent desire for or to need something urgently. Humans crave for a few things to the point that, even though their basic needs or wants have been fulfilled they have a desire so deep in the depths of their souls to fulfill it urgently and definitely. Below is a list of what I think are what all of us crave for as people.           

We humans most of all crave attention. Mental institutions are built all over the world to lock up people who go crazy trying to gain the attention of others. Children their parents, employees their bosses, lovers their partners and even leaders their people. It is something we must have at all costs even though we already have everything and many people are willing to risk their sanity trying to get people to pay attention to and to acknowledge them.

I got to know this fact years ago from my readings. I think it was from Dale Carnegie's book How to win friends and influence people. Dale said that we humans are selfish creatures. The only people we care about more than anyone or anything else in the world are ourselves. When we look at photographs, who do you think we find first? That's right, ourselves and there is an urgency to know how we look like or if there is any flaw about us. People crave for attention to a point that it has become a sort of disorder. Try to google ‘Histrionic Personality Disorder’ and you will find that this is a ‘dramatic’ personality disorder where people with histrionic personality disorder, their self-esteem depends on the approval of others and does not arise from a true feeling of self-worth. They have an overwhelming desire to be noticed, and often behave dramatically or inappropriately to get attention. Another type of attention seeking personality disorder is the Manchausen syndrome.

How can you as a marketer use this to your advantage? Consumers buy products to make themselves stand out from the crowd and be different from others. This is how we fulfill our craving from attention. No person want to be caught wearing something that another 10 person in the same place is wearing or maybe drive a car that look like every other car in town. Even though the model of the car is a popular one, people would go out of their way to get a nice number plate or customize it in a unique way for example. Being different is one way for people to attract attention to themselves. This difference makes them feel empowered and satisfied with themselves. This is also one of the reasons why people buy expensive items, sometimes even to their own disadvantage. Have you ever heard of this saying, ‘people buy things they don’t need, with prices they cannot afford, to impress people they don’t know’. That is also how people grow deeper and deeper in credit card debt.

Secondly, we humans crave recognition and praise both from our peers and even people who doesn't even know or know us. Ever heard someone yell, do you know who I am? to another person as a public display of some might say arrogance with a hint of inferiority complex and a huge craving for praise and recognition from others. Mark Twain said, I can live for two months on a good compliments. Whether it has anything to do with having a low self-esteem is debatable but almost everyone craves for recognition and praise from others. Marketers of luxury goods are good at selling products that gets their customers the recognition and praise they truly desire. Whether it has been programmed into our minds or by other means, we are oftentimes inclined to give due recognition and praise to people who have and use expensive and branded products and services regardless of whether or not these people can afford it or not. Maybe it’s because deep down inside we crave these things as well thus the jealousy and envy.

That brings us to the third cravings of mankind which is a craving for love and affection. This craving is more intimate and does not require public outcry but it sometimes leads people to display it outwardly in a public display of affection or love. Marketers fully understand this craving and use it well on special occasions such as Valentine's Day, birthdays and Christmas Day every year by flooding the market with specially commissioned products catered specially for these special occasions. It is of no surprise that profits gained in a day on these special occasions (Xmas and valentine) are enough to cover a whole year of operations if executed well. Cravings for love and to be loved are not only between partners but between children and their parents, siblings, family members and between friends. Fulfilling one’s sexual desires would normally also be considered as fulfilling one’s cravings for love and affection but that would probably of interest to marketers of goods or services of that nature.

Finally as human beings we crave safety and security. On an individual level, that craving would be for personal safety and security for our belongings and things that are precious to us. Marketers of physical goods who incorporate features to satisfy this craving of people often find their products being favored more by consumers. Examples are, fingerprint scanner for new iPhones, added security for car tint, a house with built in security system etc. However, today as markets become more and more competitive, consumers too are becoming smarter and expect a lot of these added features as a standard feature for products they purchase.

Understanding what people crave for can help marketers of goods and services position their products better in their consumer’s minds. Human beings find all ways to fulfill their needs and wants everyday and beyond that, they also spend a lot of money to fulfill their cravings as well. Arguably there are a lot more things that people crave for, like craving for good food and cravings for fun and entertainment. That would probably be a topic of discussion for another article. 

David Geh is a head of faculty and a senior lecturer at a top private university in Malaysia. He is also an avid writer and can be contacted at davegeh@gmail.com for comments.