Does marketing create a need, or does it create desire?

It’s often said (and believed) that the purpose of marketing is to create or meet customers’ needs. But the truth is, it doesn’t. What marketing really does is create desire.

The fact that so many of us have grown up believing the opposite only proves that marketers have been doing their jobs extremely well. Their role is to research and analyse both existing customers and potential ones, looking closely at their needs and, more importantly, their desires. From there, they figure out what can be leveraged to create a product or service that generates revenue.

So, what’s the real difference between needs and desires?

A need is something essential for human survival: food, water, clothing, shelter, safety, all the basics we can’t live without.

A desire, on the other hand, is everything else. It’s not necessary for survival, but it makes life more enjoyable or exciting. Think gadgets, fashion, pets, or even preferences within basic categories. For example, you need food to survive, but you might desire a specific type of cuisine, brand, or flavor.

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Interestingly, desires can sometimes transform into needs depending on the value we assign to them. Take technology, for instance:

You don’t need a smartphone to survive, but in today’s world, so much of modern life such as work emails, banking, directions, social interaction, etc., happens through that little device. So, what started as a desire (we could have gotten by fine with a basic phone) has now become something we treat as a need: having the ‘latest smartphone’.

Now, the specific brand or mode you choose? That’s pure desire.

Once your basic needs are covered, everything else that marketing sells you is a desire. Here’s an example: you run out of your usual shower gel. Normally, the basic one would satisfy that need. But then you see a TikTok ad for a shower gel with ‘rare ingredients’ that promises smoother skin. Suddenly, the basic gel doesn’t seem so appealing anymore, you now desire that special shower gel instead. Marketing has shifted your focus from simply meeting a need for hygiene to fulfilling it in a very specific (and more expensive) way.

And that’s the power of marketing. It doesn’t create needs, it creates desires.

So next time you’re about to hit “add to cart,” stop and ask yourself: Do I really need this… or do I just desire it? Chances are, once your needs are met, everything else is desire, cleverly planted and nurtured by marketing.