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The R in STRATEGY stands for Reach, and it's all about getting to know your customers.
Customers have always been the most important element of any marketing strategy. For as long as marketing has existed, customer research has been top of the priority list. But in today's world, customer research is more complicated than ever. Constant developments in technology and devices have led to changing marketing environments and swift changes in customer behaviour.
What's fascinating is the pace of change in modern consumer mindsets. Things go from unthinkable to normalised, and sometimes back again, within the space of a few months.
Location tracking provides an interesting example. Initially perceived as invasive surveillance, it rapidly became essential. Who would function today without a maps app?
The speed of this change can unsettle traditional marketers. However, exploring consumer psychology reveals compelling insights into how needs evolve.
Marketing with the Hierarchy of Needs
The Hierarchy of Needs was proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943. It's a five-tiered pyramid showing the position, level, and relative urgency of human needs. Each level must be satisfied before progressing to the next. For instance, someone feeling cold will prioritise warmth over self-actualisation.
Maslow's framework describes human survival motivations, and these principles are easily applied to marketing strategies.
Take location tracking again. Initially, people resisted adopting it. However, once this technology addressed tangible customer needs, such as easier navigation, hesitation diminished. Brands marketing location features as fulfilling multiple needs reduced consumer concerns.
Location tracking now fulfils several levels of the hierarchy at once:
- Safety. Informing loved ones of your whereabouts.
- Physiological needs. Locating restaurants and hotels.
- Belonging. Coordinating meetups with friends.
- Esteem. Arriving punctually to important events.
- Self-actualisation. Exploring beautiful natural areas.
Other modern indispensable technologies integrate into the hierarchy in similar ways. Social media markets itself as fulfilling belonging. Smartphones address virtually all hierarchical needs. Digital cameras facilitate esteem and self-actualisation, while photo apps emphasise community through shared imagery.
To meaningfully impact customers, determine where your product fits within their Hierarchy of Needs. That requires researching what your customer actually needs.
Finding out what's important to your customer
Customers purchase products because they fulfil genuine needs, not to benefit sellers. When products cease addressing those needs, or competitors offer superior solutions, customers migrate elsewhere.
The Hierarchy of Needs reveals something compelling: strong brand communities fulfil belonging requirements. That loyalty persists even if products underperform, right up until competitors offer superior alternatives.
Successful marketing strategies position both brands and products as addressing customers' hierarchical needs. Achieving that requires understanding those needs first.
