Do you WANT it, or do you NEED it?

What is the difference between wants and needs? Is there a difference anymore? Everyone seems to need things that at some point, they simply wanted. They now want things, that before, they couldn't imagine existing. Soon those wants somehow become needs. Whoever isn't quite sure what the difference is anymore, pay attention!! This one's for you.

A need is a basic requirement that a person wants to satisfy. As much as some people think, a product like is cell phone is not a need. It is a want that fulfills a need. I'm I confusing you. Let's start slow.
People have basic needs for food, shelter, affection, esteem and self-development. Many of these needs are created from human biology and the nature of social relationships. So, there are few real needs. Pretty much anything that keeps you physically and emotionally healthy is a need.
Now wants are things that help you fulfill needs.
Here's a basic example. I need food. Everybody needs food, right! That's the need. I WANT sushi! See i'm fulfilling the need, which is food. The want is sushi. Same goes for clothes. I Need shoes. I want prada.
Go ahead, think of some examples!
Here's some more, I need shelter, I want a mansion.
Get it? Good!
Now here comes the juicy stuff. Wants are individual. Everyone needs food, shelter, and so on. Everyone wants something different. Someone may want B.M.W. while the other wants a Jeep. What determines our wants?
Consumer wants are made by social and cultural forces, the media, and marketing activities of businesses. As much as you don't want to admit it, the things around you affect the way you think.
This leads onto another important concept - that of customer demand
Consumer demand is a want for a specific product supported by an ability and willingness to pay for it.
Oh, so here's the catch. The ability to pay for it. Everyone has unlimited wants, its the $ that makes stops you from attaining your wants. I'm sure many people would like a nice Italian car that I know, but very, very few people in the world can afford it.
Businesses therefore have not only to make products that consumers want, but they also have to make them affordable to enough people to create a demand that will make you money.
Now this one kills you when you hear it. Many people believe that Marketing creates needs. Hey, I was one of them! I got shot down and nobody could not come up with a need that marketing has come up with. Everything on the market was created because people need or want it. Can somebody sell something that is absolutely useless? If you can think of something that marketing created, please, feel free to go into the challenges section of this blog and tell us. Really, it's a challenge. Name something, anything, that we can't shoot you down with!
Now, nobody is saying that marketing is innocent. They deffinetely play around with your needs and wants. The may make an advertisement that makes you feel like you need something. But, sorry to say, they don't create the need.
So, what have we learned? May be nothing, may be alot, but hopefully you have at least understood what the difference between wants and needs. From then on, to each their own.

By Dardane