The Hierarchy of Human Needs: A Crucial Tool for Branding

Perhaps the most important take away from Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs is his theory that all human beings start fulfilling their needs at the bottom levels of the pyramid. In short, we fill our low physiological needs first.

Higher needs like safety, social interaction, and esteem basically do not exist at this point. Logically, survival comes first. However, once an individual has satisfied his or her lower level needs, the higher level needs become influential in motivating behavior.

As Maslow notes time and time again in his work, "Man is a perpetually wanting animal." Maslow's writings break down the underlying drivers of human behavior and decision making.

Maslow never mentions the phrase "brand loyalty" in his books, but his Hierarchy of Human Needs and concepts like self-actualization are key to understanding why consumers consistently choose one brand over another and enjoy such strong relationships with them.

So, why is fulfilling higher level needs so integral to building strong customer loyalty? What's the connection, you ask?

The answer is, higher level needs influence future human behavior much greater than lower level needs. It is the brands that can fulfill human needs on the higher levels of the hierarchy that become irreplaceable in the mind of the consumer.

That's what customer loyalty is really all about: being irreplaceable. True customer loyalty is not only about getting a customer to consistently choose your brand over another. It's for that same customer to always believe (and then go tell the world) that your company's brand has no equal!