Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
Abraham Harold Maslow, an American psychologist has proposed a new theory in psychological fields in his paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” published in 1943 (Maslow 2017). The prosed theory was ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’, it was five different sets of levels ranked in order to correspond to the factors that will cause a significant impact on human motivations (Taormina & Gao 2013). In descending order, the five levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy are Self-actualization, Esteem, Social, Safety, and Phycological needs.
Self-Actualization
Self-Actualization is the ultimate phase where consumers have the realization of their full potential. The consumer will wish to be transcended to their full potential either physically or psychologically with the products they purchase.
Esteem
This level refers to the ego and status needs of the consumers. Consumers will choose to purchase products that will boost their esteem and can gain respect from others
Social
Social is centralized on the feeling of belonging. Customers want to purchase a specific product to feel that they are related to specific communities.
Safety
Without safety, individuals will experience physical and psychological traumas such as Transgenerational Trauma and PTSD. Thus, consumers will target products that will protect them from harm as their second priority.
Physiological
Physiological needs are fundamental and are always the first priority for human beings. The products that related to this based level are products that suit the physical requirement for humans to survive.
These three companies Skillshare, Discord and Louis Vuitton has utilities this theory and selected the level that applies to their products.
Skillshare
Skillshare is an online learning environment that provides thousands of specializations in the design, business, technology and many more (Skillshare.com 2019). Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, Skillshare has target individuals who wish to reach the self-actualization level in their lives. As the academic programs provided by Skillshare have no limitations for an individual’s past academic achievement, thus anyone receives knowledge and reach their full potential. For example, a lecturer at a university can take psychology class at Skillshare, allowing him/her to have more knowledge on the behavior of the students
Discord Inc
Discord is computer software which is designed by Discord Inc. purposely to serve the communities of gamers worldwide (Discord 2019). Discord targets the Social level in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, this software provides free voice and text live chats for all gamers and e-content producers, allowing them to connect with each other whenever they wish. In addition, there are also channels that allow the users of Discord to join if they share a similar interesting in e-sports, thus creating a sense of belongingness
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier is a French luxury and fashion retail company established in 1854 (Vuitton L 2019). The products of this company are known worldwide to represent luxury and high social status
This 2018 LV advertisement has conveyed a message; it is the users of our products are confident and living a life of freedom. The girl in the advertisement stood on the highest reef, this symbolizes her high social status after using LV products. Therefore, we can conclude that Louis Vuitton is targeting the Self-Esteem level in the Hierarchy, as consumers can boost their self-esteem by this luxurious product.
In conclusion, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is fundamental for marketers to understand and implement into their marketing activities. As the correct utilization of this theory is beneficial to the business. For example, understand which level in the Hierarchy to target can conduct market activities more efficiently and reduce the possibility of misspending costs in marketing.
Reference
Discord. (2019). Discord Jobs and Company Information, viewed 29th June 2019,
https://discordapp.com/company
Taormina and Gao (2013). Maslow and the Motivation Hierarchy: Measuring Satisfaction of the Needs. The American Journal of Psychology, 126(2), p.155.
Maslow, A. (2017). A Theory of Human Motivation. Lanham: Dancing Unicorn Books.
Skillshare.com. (2019). Skillshare, viewed 1st July 2019, https://www.skillshare.com/about
Vuitton, L. (2019). LOUISVUITTON.COM – Louis Vuitton FAQ, viewed 28th June 2019,
https://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/faq
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