There is considerable debate over whether marketing creates or meets consumer needs. When it comes to consumers, many of them believe that marketing creates needs. They feel that, through their strategies, marketers expose consumers to the risk of purchasing unnecessary products and services, which forces people into a spiral of debt and dissatisfaction. Marketers, on the other hand, believe that consumers know how to distinguish needs from wants and that a marketer’s goal is to satisfy their needs. The latter is the prevailing view: it is generally accepted that marketing only enlightens what customers want, not determines it. Thus, marketers must know what consumers need to influence their willingness to buy products. This is the position the post above defends, and, while I respect this stance, I disagree with it.
To understand where I come from in my disagreement, I suggest that one looks at it from the following perspective. Solomon (2017) cites the words of a social critic named Vance Packard, who, almost half a century ago, noted that a wide-ranging effort was being made to direct one’s mindless habits and purchasing decisions. In that effort, radio and television are essential for manipulating the masses: to use these media, consumers do not need to be literate; therefore, repetitive and convincing messages can reach almost everyone (Solomon, 2017). This might be even more relevant for modern online spaces, with their ability to aim at target audiences and deliver specialized advertisements. According to Kotler and Keller (2015), skillful marketing is a pursuit of success in which businesses need to change and adapt. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume that marketers do their best to sell the product – convincing a customer that they need the product might be the first step. Educating people on the usefulness of the product and giving them reasons to buy it – even if they had never thought about needing it before – can easily be deemed a creation of needs.
References
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2015). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson Education Inc.
Solomon, M. (2017). Do marketers create artificial needs? Medium.