"I need to get a pair of platform wedge sandals."
"You need them? Why?"
"Because they're gorgeous, so comfortable, and will make me taller...duh!"
"Those don't sound like needs to me...."
Here is a sample conversation between my impulsive self, and my rational self, that should really happen more often. You can swap 'platform wedge sandals' for almost anything, and the conversation would be the same. So much of my consumer behavior is impulsive, or spurred on by reasons completely unrelated to 'need'.
This is on my mind this week for a couple reasons. First, as some of you may remember from this post, I recently visited the library. Among the pink-hued covers and satisfyingly frivolous reads I took home was a book by consumer behavior consultant Philip Graves. In the very first chapter of Consumer.ology, Graves begins to describe the subconscious emotional desires that trigger spending, which often go undetected by consumers' conscious minds. He goes on to explain how adept our conscious brains are at finding totally reasonable explanations for our behavior, a practice that maintains our own sense of self as autonomous, well-intentioned, sensible humans. Our purchase may be driven by things as complex as social symbolism, or as simple as how a store smells. For many of us, our conscious brain will then identify reasons for the purchase, and justify it as a 'need'.
The topic of want and need is top of mind for another reason. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion organized by the American Marketing Association, titled the The Canadian Chief Marketer. At one point, the panel was discussing 'Want' vs. 'Need' in the context of the Nest Thermostat. One of the panelists was on the side of 'Want', citing that there is no way adjusting your thermostat from the comfort of your home is a 'Need'. Another panelist raised the example of driving to his cottage in the winter, setting the cottage thermostat as they left home so they could arrive to a comfortable cottage climate. In this case Nest was fulfilling a 'Need'.
Convincing consumers their 'Want' is, in fact, a 'Need' is what marketing is all about, but society's role can not be overstated. Perhaps that is why social advertising, brand advocates, and content generation will be so critical for marketing moving forward, though not to such an extent that credibility and transparency is lost.
