Marketing Debate: Does marketing create or satisfy needs?

One of the most popular definitions of marketing is the identification and satisfaction of

human needs. According to the American Marketing Association, “Marketing is an

organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value

to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and

its stake holders (Kotler 2006).” This definition creates an image for marketing as something

which merely reflects the needs of customers and marketers are tasked merely to identify and

respond to these various needs. However, there has been a heated debate about the real function

and essence of marketing in the global society. Critics have argued that marketing goes beyond

satisfying to “creating” consumer needs. This paper will take a position in this marketing debate

by looking at the different arguments put forward by these opposing views.

The marketing critics which argues that marketing create consumer needs instead of just

providing them recognizes the profit maximizing motives of business organizations. With huge

revenues and profitability in mind, companies create products to capture the customers. Thus,

companies create a wide array of product offerings which will consequently shape the needs and

wants of the market. This can be illustrated by makers of personal computers (PC). The

consumers’ need of printer, hard disks and drives, and monitors where commenced by the

invention of the personal computer. After the introduction of this product, consumers are

bombarded with other commodities that they should need together with their PCs. Afterwards,

manufacturers launched anti-virus and anti-spyware software to complement these products. And

the list goes on and on. Thus, companies are able to create needs through the introduction of a
simple product. It is argued that business organizations are constantly making products which

will bring them more revenues and profit.

However, this paper argues that marketing is not the creation but the satisfaction of the

market’s needs. It recognizes that marketers have a great part in shaping customer’s needs by

offering innovative solutions to their problems. Nonetheless, it is still the customers that

determine which among the various products they are bombarded with represent their real need

through their demand backed by purchasing power. Real world company experiences reveal the

power of customers in solely determining the success of manufacturers’ products.

It is irrefutable that business organizations are now operating on what Kotler termed as a

hypercompetitive environment. This arena is characterized by more intense rivalry between

players and higher buyer leverage. This becomes a great challenge for companies to create

products which suit the need of individuals and come up with strategies to capture their intended

markets. Market researches are continuously conducted to determine the need of customers.

Product research and development are also becoming the preoccupation of large companies.

Failure to understand and address the needs of customers leads to huge losses for marketers. This

illustrated by Robert McMath’s New Product and Learning Center which showcases the great

failure of marketers. Products offered by companies like Gerber food for adults, Ben-gay aspirin,

R.J Reynolds Premier smokeless cigars and others failed to address the needs of the customer

and were rejected by the market. This shows the huge power of customers in the marketplace.

This is also a strong proof that though marketers bombard customers with products which they

“should” to need, it is still the customers which has the final say.
Reference

Kotler, Philip. (2006). Marketing Management. Prentice Hall: New York