The Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs was originally developed by the Psychologist Abraham Maslow; his theory basically describes the stages of the human needs which he explained through in his paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”. The first and most important need for a person is physiological: these are the physical requirements for human survival, without these requirements the human body could not function properly. These are the most important needs to fulfill and should be met first. Some examples of physiological needs are: water, food, sleep, sex, breathing, excretion and homeostasis. One product that would satisfy this need would be Dasani, bottled water which is a product of the largely Coca-Cola Company. This product satisfies the basic need of thirst providing the consumers bottled water. Coca-Cola Company introduced Dasani water in new bottles made of more plant based materials.
This made more people consume Dasani water because bottles were friendly with fixed recycling plants and represent a reduction in carbon releases when related to their competitor’s bottles. This product is marketed as an aid to satisfy thirst as a purified drinking water beverage. It has lots of advertisement and it’s positioned in almost every single dispenser or market as Coca-Cola Company is one of the largest drinking companies in the world. The second need is Safety: after the physical need, the next need to satisfy is safety. People need to feel safe in many ways such as security, shelter and protection. Examples of safety needs are: insurance, alarm systems, retirement and investments. A product that will satisfy the need of security is insurance, the State Farm Group Insurance; this company provides different types of insurance and financial service programs. One of the important insurance that they offer is of Life and health; this insurance makes people secure by providing protection and health for one only or more people. Consumers feel the need of buying this life and health insurance because they know that if they quickly have an accident or a health issue, paying for the medical services and or treatments will be an excess of money and maybe could not afford it.
That’s why they feel safer and better with a life and health insurance. The third need is Belongingness or sometimes called, Social needs; it involves interpersonal feelings of belonging, love, friendship, acceptance by others and intimacy. Humans need to be loved in sexual and non-sexual ways. A product that will satisfy this need of Belongingness is Nike. Nike is the biggest and valuable brand in sport businesses. Their slogan and trademark is “Just do it”. This product satisfy this need because it makes people as well as athletes feel identified with this brand wanting to buy and use their clothing and other sporting accessories. For example the fact that Nike sponsors many famous athletes in popular sports, this brings more consumers and fans to buy the same things their favorite athletes use. The fourth need is Ego or Esteem need; involves prestige, status, accomplishment. All humans need to feel respected, accepted and valued by other humans. They need to have self-esteem and self-respect, to feel for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention. Also feel mastery, strength, competence, freedom, self-confidence, and independence on their life. A product that meets the need is Visa credit card. Visa is a multinational financial service corporation that offers different types of cards such as credit, debit, visa signature and more. If you have a credit card people would realize that you have money, Visa is a well know brand and in order to have a credit card you need a sustainable profit. Their slogan is “Life takes Visa”.
This means people know that visa is everywhere and most of the stores and every other business which makes easy the way to pay. The fifth and last need is self-actualization; this level refers to a person’s full potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal goals. It also involves spontaneity, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts, morality, creativity and problem solving and trying to be a better person. A service that fulfills this need is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. This hotel now a day is owned by Marriott international chain. It offers customers a service of hospitality and tourism, always located in the heart of famous cities. Also is one of the most known and prestigious hotels in the world who provide guests a service of lodging and a wonderful experience of an incredible night. Customers buy this service because they want to feel the experience of being part of this prestige hotel and it’s a very high quality five stars service, which it involves an expensive price but people pay this to feel this experience and feel good about themselves, it’s a luxury. In conclusion, I think that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an effective theory that describes the stages of human needs, which can be used as a reference for many people, societies and also for many companies for the purpose of organization and personal development. We cannot have automatic self-actualization without passing through the first needs, each are steps that shows different motivation needs, in its hierarchy Maslow’s describes them step by step, even though some of this needs may occur at the same time.
