In marketing, the psychology concept “Maslow’s Law” is often applied. A theory proposed by American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow, which analyzes the internal needs of humans and categorizes them into stages, also known as the “Five Hierarchy of Needs.”
This time, we will explain the five hierarchy of needs that make up Maslow’s Law, and introduce key points to incorporate into marketing.
What is Maslow’s law (5 levels of needs)?
There are many different desires in our human hearts. No matter what kind of person you are, you will never lose your inner desire to “do…” or “want…”. Maslow’s Law is a pyramid-shaped classification of these needs into five stages as shown in the table below.
When physiological needs are satisfied, people want to satisfy safety needs, and when safety needs are satisfied, they want to satisfy social needs. This is the theory that the desire for is born.
The meaning of each of Maslow’s five stages of needs
Now, let’s take a look at what the five needs defined by Maslow’s law are.
1. Physiological needs
2. Need for safety
3. Social needs
4. Need for approval
5. Desire for self-actualization
1.Physiological needs
It is located at the bottom of the pyramid. It is the level of instinctive desire that humans or living creatures seek in order to sustain life.
Specifically, this includes things related to the three major desires (appetite, sleep desire, sexual desire), excretion, and breathing. The reason we feel “hungry” or “sleepy” is because our physiological needs are at work.
2. Desire for safety
Once a person’s physiological needs are satisfied, they want to maintain a stable supply of food and a safe place to sleep. The “need for safety” is the desire to ensure the safety of one’s surroundings, such as physical safety, economic stability, and health.
3. Social needs
Also called “love desire”. It is the desire to belong to some kind of social group, such as a family or organization, and to be in a state of spiritual fulfillment. Feelings of “loneliness” and “wanting to talk to someone”, seeking friends, and getting married are all based on this social desire.
4. Desire for approval
It is an external desire to belong to a social group, to be recognized by others, to be accepted by others, and to be respected and respected. This desire for approval is at the root of our feelings of “wanting to be seen as amazing,” “wanting to be praised,” and “wanting my work to be evaluated.”
5. Desire for self-actualization
This desire is at the top of the pyramid. Even when the above needs are fulfilled, humans continue to pursue their ideals. The reason we think, “I want to grow more,” “I want to be recognized by more people,” and “I want to live more like myself” is because we have a desire for self-actualization.
Maslow himself realized the 6th level of “self-transcendence needs” in his later years.
Maslow later added one higher level to the above five stages. That is the “desire for self-transcendence.”
When all human needs are satisfied, we not only want to satisfy our own needs, but also want to satisfy the needs of society as a whole, such as “I want to improve the world” and “I want to change the world.”
This self is why successful business owners focus on social contribution activities, celebrities who have achieved wealth and fame donate money, and popular celebrities run for political office. This is thought to be due to the desire for transcendence.
“Self-transcendence” is a state of transcending oneself, and refers to a psychological state in which one is focused only on what one should do, without any sense of self.
It can also be said that it is a state where you are oriented towards a way of life where you act without getting caught up in yourself. In other words, they do not seek anything in return for their actions from those around them, and instead focus solely on achieving their goals and tasks.
This desire to contribute to things that exist outside of ourselves, such as others, society, and the world, is called the “self-transcendence need.”
According to Maslow’s law, needs are fulfilled as they climb up the pyramid.
Maslow’s law states that humans satisfy their needs step by step as they climb up the pyramid, such as once physiological needs are met, safety needs are met, and once safety needs are met, social needs are met. As mentioned above, this is a theory.
For example, a person who is suffering from hunger and whose physiological needs are not satisfied may jump over the pyramid and develop a social desire to “get married” or a self-fulfillment desire to “improve one’s skills.” That’s hard to imagine.
First, they overcome hunger and create an environment where they can secure a stable supply of food, and then they start thinking about making friends and family and growing themselves.
There is a Japanese proverb that goes, “When you have enough food and clothing, you learn manners,” and Maslow’s law embodies this.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and McGregor’s Theory X Theory Y
Douglas McGregor, an American management scholar and psychologist, established two opposing theories of human behavior and motivation, “Theory X” and “Theory Y,” based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. It was proposed in the late 2000s.
What is “Theory X”?
Theory
This is a human behavior model in which “lower-order needs,” which are physiological needs and safety needs, occupy a relatively large proportion of one’s self.
A strong management method is considered effective, which involves managing through commands and coercion, and punishing people if they fail to achieve their goals.
What is “Theory Y”?
On the other hand, “Theory Y” is a theory built based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which states that “Work is the nature of human beings, and depending on the conditions and treatment, they actively engage in work and take responsibility by themselves. This is a theory derived from “accepting the
“Higher-order needs,” which are social needs, approval needs, and self-actualization needs, are a human behavioral model that occupy a relatively large proportion of one’s self.
A management method that “gives people opportunities and opportunities” is considered effective, as it allows employees to improve by continuously providing them with challenging work, big goals, and important responsibilities.
The relationship between Drucker and Maslow
Drucker, a contemporary business scholar and also known as the father of management, was criticized by Maslow, and in his book “Management,” he created an article called “Criticism of Maslow” to refute it. However, they were also good friends who worked hard together, such as praising Maslow’s book “Perfect Management.” Here we will explain the interesting relationship between Drucker and Maslow.
Maslow criticizes Drucker
Although Maslow and Drucker were good friends, Maslow often criticized Drucker. Drucker, who is said to be the father of management, is famously criticized by Maslow.
Maslow criticized Drucker’s management principles by showing that they only work for a limited number of people, saying that they only work for people who are at the top of the human development hierarchy. is.
In other words, “It is not something that applies to all people, but it is necessary to select people.” Despite this background, Drucker criticized him for not recognizing it.
Drucker criticizes Maslow
It is well known that Drucker refuted Maslow’s criticism in Chapter 19 of his book Management, but before that, Drucker also made other criticisms of Maslow.
This is illustrated in Chapter 16, “What we know (and what we don’t know) about work, working, and workers.”
Drucker has long proposed that “there are five dimensions of work (physiological, psychological, social, economic, and power), and their wholeness is emphasized, and one of them is the only dimension.” I was doing it. Maslow, on the other hand, showed that human needs form a hierarchy.
In response to the formation of this hierarchy, Drucker said, “The arrangement itself is not important,” and “What Maslow doesn’t understand is that needs change when they are satisfied.” It was criticized as
Drucker takes up Maslow’s criticism
After the above-mentioned exchange, in Chapter 19 of “Management”, “Working with Workers: Theory and Reality,” there is a section called “Maslow’s criticism,” which deals with Maslow’s criticism. I accept Maslow’s criticisms of myself.
Maslow’s criticism begins by calling Drucker “cruel,” and then from the perspective of Theory X and Theory Y, “the theory proposed by Drucker is not lenient.”
On the other hand, Drucker understands Maslow’s criticism and admits this, saying, “It is true that explaining the theory I am proposing using Theory X will not work.” On top of that, he refutes this by saying, “There are aspects of management that cannot be assumed like Theory Y.”
In this way, Drucker and Maslow were allies who often exchanged opinions on each other’s research results and inspired each other, and their relationship is still talked about in the world of business administration.
Maslow’s famous sayings and sayings
Maslow left behind many famous sayings and sayings. Here are some of them.
| If the only tool you have is a nail, all problems will seem like nails. |
| To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail. |
| This is an example of how if you don’t have much in you and your perspective is narrow, you will only be able to find certain answers. By having many tools, you will be able to consider solutions and breakthroughs from various angles. |
| If you want to change people, you need to change their mindset. |
| What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself. |
| People cannot change others unless they put pressure on them. If you want to change someone, you need to change yourself and change that person’s mindset. |
| A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting. |
| A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting. |
| This is an example of how professionals who have mastered their craft are far more attractive than amateurs, even if the genre is different. It can be said that a person with specialized skills is stronger than someone who is broad and shallow and can do everything. |
| Your only competition is your own potential. Your only failure is not living up to your potential. |
| One’s only rival is one’s own potentialities. One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s own possibilities. |
| What is needed is motivation and action, and the only failure in life is not taking action. After all, you won’t know until you try anything. |
| Becoming a complete human being is difficult and scary. Perfection is also a problem for us as humans. |
| Being a full human being is difficult, frightening, and problematic. |
| This probably means that it is difficult for humans to overcome their flaws, and that we are human only because of our flaws. It can be said that this quote makes us imagine what kind of perfect human beings with no flaws, like AI or robots, would seek from others. |
Develop a marketing strategy for your company’s products and services by applying Maslow’s law
By applying Maslow’s law to your company’s products and services, you can develop more effective marketing strategies.
Even if the product or service is the same, “Which needs does it satisfy?” and “Which needs do customers have?” differ from company to company.
For example, even among companies that deal in housing products, house builders and construction companies that sell low prices, or real estate brokers that offer immediate occupancy, tend to say, “I want to move in right away,” or “I want to live without spending a lot of money.” The target audience will be people who want to satisfy their physiological needs and safety needs.
On the other hand, companies that sell design-oriented homes may target people who want to be recognized and want to show off their individuality in their homes and want a home they can be proud of.
Employment and job change services are also easy to understand.
For example, if you are looking for a part-time job with a daily wage, your target audience would be people who have lost their jobs and have physiological needs who are struggling to make ends meet.
Headhunting targets people who have a desire for self-actualization, such as “I want to acquire skills and abilities” and “I want to do a job that is more rewarding than my current job.”
Using housing and employment/career change services as examples, we have summarized the types of appeals that can be made according to the stage of desire.
| stages of desire | housing | Employment/career change services |
| self-actualization desire | Self-design, free design, etc. | Work that allows you to acquire skills and is rewarding, etc. |
| desire for approval | A well-designed house, a house to be proud of, etc. | Recruitment of executive candidates, meritocracy, etc. |
| social needs | A house where you can spend time with your family, a house where you can hold home parties, etc. | A homey workplace, fun work, etc. |
| desire for safety | High earthquake resistance, comfortable space, etc. | Stable income, long-term possibility, etc. |
| physiological needs | Low cost, immediate move-in, etc. | Daily payment possible, inexperienced people welcome, etc. |
For example, if you give a menu of information such as “I can enjoy my job” or “This is a job where I can learn skills” to a person who has lost his job and has physiological needs that are causing problems in his daily life, it will not resonate with him. Probably. This is because the person is searching for a job where they can work immediately and get paid in order to make a living.
On the other hand, if you give people who have a high desire for self-actualization information such as “daily pay” or “stable income”, it will not resonate with them. This is because the person is searching for a job looking for skills and fulfillment rather than daily living expenses and a stable income.
summary
In the field of marketing, the psychological theory of “Maslow’s Law” is often mentioned. This law classifies human internal needs into the “Five Hierarchy of Needs”. Specifically, there are five levels: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, approval needs, and self-actualization needs, and these needs are shaped like a pyramid. It is said that when one need is satisfied, people try to satisfy the next level of need.
For example, companies that provide products or services such as housing or employment/career services can use Maslow’s law to clarify which needs to target. Even with the same product or service, which needs are satisfied will vary depending on the characteristics of the company and the target customer group. By understanding this law and positioning your company’s products and services appropriately, you can develop effective marketing strategies.
Maslow’s law has become an important tool for understanding human needs and applying them to business and marketing. Proper use of this law allows companies to understand the true needs of their customers and develop effective marketing strategies. In particular, clarifying which needs your product or service satisfies is the key to accurately identifying your target customer group.