Recommend This!: Delivering Digital Experiences that People Want to Share

Chapter 7

Understanding Need

There are only three things women need in life: food, water, and compliments.

—Chris Rock

Well, life may not be as simple for women as Chris Rock says, but he actually reveals something critical about us all—we have needs. Sometimes they are essential, like love and food (and compliments, if you ask Chris). Sometimes they are materialistic like that shiny new car. And, sometimes, they are situational like health care or parts to fix the kitchen sink.

Most business organizations live in the world of situational and materialistic needs, and those same needs drive us to interact with businesses. We have a problem, which might be as simple as Mrs. Appleyard’s need for a lightbulb, and we are compelled to solve it.

But buying is more than just money, goods, and services changing hands. Transactions create a connection between people and organizations from which we buy. As we discovered in Chapter 3, people want to form relationships. Buying things is one way we connect to each other, to all the other people that have purchased a similar good, and to the company that sells the product that has been purchased.

Need and the Relationship Cycle

Need typically begins the relationship cycle that we dug into in Chapter 4. It provides an opportunity for people to spend their attention. Of course, in the real world, that may be done through traditional advertising, word of mouth, or even a sign on the street. In the digital world, the development of our relationship ...