Marketing can both create and satisfy needs. While needs fundamentally preexist, marketers influence wants through promoting ideas that their products can satisfy needs like social status. Marketers educate consumers and give reasons to buy, potentially creating new needs. However, others argue that marketing only searches for and satisfies existing needs, as no function creates fundamental biological or emotional needs. Marketers may bend some consumers but do not truly create needs. Overall, marketing influences wants by developing attractive products to satisfy needs better than alternatives.

1. Does Marketing Create need or Satisfy Need or manipulate need?
“The real journey of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” -
Marcel Proust
The traditional concept of marketing was only about sales or meeting the “current needs” of a
consumer
Example:
Mac Books or laptops are such a common commodity among students and even school kids
irrespective of the fact that it is not really needed. Can’t they manage with a desktop at home?
But now day’s companies do more! They educate people and give them reason to buy their
products and this is what people might call it “creation of needs” people purchase something
when they need it, if they think they do not need the product they may not purchase it. How
many people today in Pakistan need I-pod? How many people really need Mobile + Internet +
Camera + TV all in one set? Can we call it marketers created their needs?
Looking at advertisements today the word 'free' is the most common denominator found in the
ads, free is used in combinations such as free home trial, free inspection, and buy one get one
free, free installation, free parking, free demonstration and free consultation. The word free is
usually a powerful catalyst that springs the consumer into buying that particular product or idea
even though he or she might not need it. I think it also attract people into buying things they
don't need. Also terms such as 'no payments till 2010' or 'money back guarantee' 'no down
payment' 'offer good while supplies last' encourage customers to try the product . Therefore it
creates needs, we will need something that didn't even exist a year ago but now we can't live
without.
So what really helps creating and satisfying needs?
The best answer to that would be NEW AGE MARKETING!

2. Social Networking:
In the same case many products and services are spoken about through Social Networking sites
and the need seed is planted immediately.
Celebrities that connect better with the youth are in hot demand: Mahendra Singh Dhoni,
Ranbir Kapoor and Genelia D'Souza, to name a few. Advertising and market research agencies
are busy researching this set of consumers. Since the youth can be influenced so easily by a role
modal they are willing to experiment on what any of these stars prefer.
Word Of Mouth and Personal Recommendations as play the most convincing role in marketing
goods and services as people believe their words as guarantee.
Therefore what Marketers now do is hypnotize the customer and turn it to a real need, satisfy it
and eventually create another need by introducing another product or rejuvenating the current
product.
The marketers are like farmers who plant the seed and wait to reap the fruits over a period of
time .Therefore Companies like Apple have planted the thought of “not enjoying a daily
experience” if one does not own an I PHONE but little do most people realize that they need
such a sophisticated phone.
Does Marketing Create or Satisfy Needs?
The marketing function is to search needs and then satisfy it! But the issue that some
companies create needs, so we should not call it Marketing, because none of the marketing
function is creating needs.
The marketing philosopher Philip Kotler says:
“Marketers do not create needs: Needs preexist marketers, marketers along with other societal

3. factors, influence wants. Marketers might promote idea that Mercedes would satisfy a person’s
need for social status. They do not, however, create the need for social status”. (Philip Kotler,
Marketing Management: eleventh edition, chapter one, page no.11)
But now a days companies do more! They educate people and give them reason to buy their
products and this is what people might call it “creation of needs” people purchase something
when they need it, if they think they do not need the product they may not purchase it. How
many people today in Pakistan need I-pod? How many people really need Mobile + Internet +
Camera + TV all in one set? I have asked many people why you have purchased color big display
Mobile-Phone with camera. They haven’t answered me yet. How many people really need to go
to space? They don’t need it at all, but they go. Can we call it marketers created their needs?
We know creation of need is not the function of marketing.
I dont agree that marketing can creat a need. You have given the examples of T.V , Mobile, Digital Camera and I pod.
If we look at all these they make life more easir and were essiantial so marketers created them. If we look at the i-pod
many people felt the need for something like which they can carry in their pocket and listen to music at all times. So
then it was all the creativity of marketers to satisify those needs.
But the important thing is that we needs are of different types. There are some needs which are fundamental to our
survival which can include food, shelter, air and water. So marketers can not creat these needs, as they exist already
and what marketers can do is to look at the gap between these needs and the products available and then come up
with creative solutions to fill that gap.
Now you would argue that what about products like fax,computers,telephone, mobile phone and many other products
that we couldnt imagine about but they were created. The creation of these products doesnt mean that marketer
created new needs but they simply addressed the old needs by making processes simpler and faster.
I think by advertising and promotional activities marketers sometime bend some people to buy their products but still
this doesnt mean that marketers can creat a need.
Neither marketing nor any other single social force can create needs deriving from the biological and
emotional imperatives of human nature. On the other hand, marketing activities – and many other social forces – do
influence people’s wants. Indeed, a major part of the marketer’s job is to help develop an attractive product or
service, then stimulate customers ’wants for it by convincing them it can satisfy one or more of their needs better than
available alternatives.

4. To answer these questions, we must know what market is. Market is the set of all actual and potential
buyers of a product or service and marketing is a social and managerial process where by individuals and
groups obtains what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with
others. The traditional view of marketing is that the firm makes something and then sells it.
In my words, marketing is how the producers create value to the customer and receive it by needs
and wants.From my understanding, marketing does both. It creates and satisfies needs of customers.
Marketers must use the marketing development’s term to create needs. They must learn how to
change in knowledge, behavior, attitudes, or creativity. Then, it helps customers to be motivated to
learn and make a decision, helps the customers effectively handle the information and experience, or
helps the customers understand the product applications and influences the buying behavior.
Marketing also satisfy needs. Marketing creates a transaction for exchanging the product for a value

5. and thus create a satisfaction to the buyer’s needs. Marketing is based on identifying and satisfying
customers’ needs profitability.
If we see so many ads in TV, magazine, internet, or newspapers with the unique illustration, great
picture, and so on, suddenly we will like the product that companies provided.
They must learn how to change in knowledge, behavior, attitudes, or creativity.
Human have so many needs and wants. Human never satisfy with what we have now. People always
want more and more. Therefore, that is why marketing exist.
For example, 30 years ago, some people might not think that they need a hand phone, but few people
might that need it. If marketers followed this information, they can make some people to need a hand
phone and maybe it will not be so popular now. Hand phone has an opportunity to make our
communication work speeder and more efficient. Marketing shapes consumers to realize and stimulates
this product. That is another example how marketing shape customers’ needs and wants.