Selling to Human Needs

Many years ago, a psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow spent a lot of time categorizing human needs. Dr. Maslow organized our human needs into four categories:

• Physical needs

• Safety needs

• Belonging needs

• Esteem needs

If he were alive today and on the Internet, I bet he would have created a pretty successful Yahoo! store. Using his list of human needs, he would be very good at choosing products or services to satisfy them.

Let's see how well we can do.

Selling to Physical Needs

The basic physical human needs are food, shelter, and clothing. If you were going to sell products or services that satisfy these physical needs, you could consider these types of products and services.

Let's look first at some products that can satisfy our physical needs.

We all need to eat and drink, so selling food products online is a natural. It's something that we all need, and better yet, it's consumable. That means it's a product that people buy over and over again. That's good for a business. If you're selling food, your product can be gourmet in nature, or ethnic or regional food types that certain customer segments would want to buy (see Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1. This Northwest Gourmet corporate gift basket features the best gourmet foods of the Northwest.

The need for shelter from the elements is right up there with sustenance. Outdoor products such as camping and hunting gear and goods for the patio and garden make very good merchandise to sell at a Yahoo! store (see Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2. Tents, Etc. sells primarily tents, at a discount.

Finally, though we might not buy clothing as often as we do food, covering our bodies is a social necessity. Apparel both meets the needs of the fashion conscious and protects us from the elements.

What about services? Which ones can satisfy our physical needs? Many who eat also cook. Providing consumer information on how to cook, what to cook, and where to cook is a very good service to sell online, such as an "Ask Mr. Chef" site where consumers can ask cooking questions of expert chefs.

Here's another idea. We all eat out. Many of us eat out frequently. An online business that lists and categorizes restaurants and their reviews is another service that can be provided online and can meet human physical needs.

Take clothing and shelter. A Yahoo! store could provide a directory of the best places to camp in an area or a list of places to fish and hunt. One might even include the ways to catch, clean, and cook the fish and game that you get.

You then have a site that does double duty: where to hunt and fish and how to cook what you catch. Sell this kind of information and you have a business.

Figure 2.3. Restaurant Ratingz provides reviews and ratings of restaurants and cafés in your community. You can even write your own reviews.

Selling to Safety Needs

Feeling safe and secure is one of our strongest basic needs. The safety needs of protecting self, family, and home offer an online business the opportunity to sell a variety of merchandise and a nice selection of services to the online consumer. An additional safety concern is our health. Think about these product and service ideas if this is the type of human need that you wish to satisfy.

Let's start with product ideas that satisfy safety needs.

Security products such as self-defense items and security devices to use when traveling would make very good products to sell at a Yahoo! store (see Figure 2.4). Books and tapes on self-defense are other product ideas. Child safety products such as baby seats and identification systems would sell well, along with home safes and surveillance equipment.

Figure 2.4. Safe-Mart sells a security system for the home.

Diet books, exercise tapes, and health and nutrition products are very big sellers on the Net. First-aid equipment and home medical supplies also are good products to sell as well as products for people with disabilities.

What about services?

Many types of safety services can be delivered online and would make a low-overhead, profitable business. They would include private investigative services, directories of alarm services and their reviews, and emergency alert services for the infirm and elderly (see Figure 2.5). Another service idea would be to provide nutrition and health information. Weight-loss information; nutrition services and guides; and even life, auto, and health insurance can be profitable services sold at a Yahoo! store.

Figure 2.5. 911 Broadcast offers emergency alert phone systems and services for contacting members of a community or organization in the event of an emergency.

Selling to Belonging Needs

To be loved, to have friends, and to be part of a family fulfill our need to be a part of something greater than ourselves. This need to belong and to express our appreciation for being part of something important offers a variety of online business opportunities.

Gift giving can satisfy the need to belong and express our affection for lovers, friends, and family. Online gift shops are a natural for the Net (see Figure 2.6). When people want to express their affections in a more tangible manner, gifts are one of the best ways to do it. Other products that do just as well are the traditional flowers, cards, and candy. Any of these should be considered as merchandise ideas for your online business.

Figure 2.6. Grandma's Gift Baskets sell gifts baskets for all occasions.

Service ideas could include establishing a gift registry service. This type of service enables visitors to your storefront to list the actual gifts they want and then inform the potential gift givers. You can either sell the gifts directly or send orders to a gift house that would fulfill and ship them to your customers. Another good example of servicing belonging needs is a genealogy service. Tracing one's roots has become very popular over the last several years. And of course, another popular service that meets the belonging need is an online dating service.

Selling to Esteem Needs

We all like to gain recognition and feel good about ourselves. Products and services that cater to our esteem needs offer a great opportunity for an online business. How we feel about ourselves and how others perceive us is important to us. Recognition and vanity are strong personal needs that we seek to fulfill.

Beauty and grooming items and other personal care merchandise are the most popular products to sell if your online business is targeting the esteem needs of the consumer. For women, perfume, bath and body lotions, cosmetics, and even fashion products are key items to sell (see Figure 2.7). For men, cologne, razors, and electric shavers would fill the bill.

Figure 2.7. StrawberryNet sells women's cosmetics for any occasion.

Other products that "stroke" our esteem are jewelry items for the ladies such as rings, diamonds, bracelets, and precious stones, and for men, watches, cufflinks, and rings. Then there are books and videos on personal care, dieting, and products to reverse the aging process.

Services that satisfy esteem needs include training and educational courses. Many of these can be easily offered online, such as computer certification classes or real estate courses. You can sell beauty tips to your customers or offer a jewelry appraisal service. Finally, you can offer advice on how to succeed in business or even, after reading this book, offer a course on how to set up your own Yahoo! store!