Most marketing texts that mention Abraham Maslows article on the Hierarchy of Needs only give it a brief overview. We think it important enough for small business owners to devote a couple of articles to the subject. This is the first of those articles.

You can view Maslows original article online at:

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm

The 5 needs:

• The Physiological Needs
• The Safety Needs
• The Love Needs
• The Esteem Needs
• The Need for Self-Actualization

Ever wonder why achievers work well for your organization? One clue lies in this classic article from sixty years ago.

Many excellent marketing books cover Maslows theory of the Hierarchy of Needs. But the article itself is a worthwhile read. Its a short seventeen pages, and written in a style a layman can understand. A one-hour initial read followed by some reflection and note-taking is a wonderful investment in your marketing education.

Most marketing books take a significant but narrow slice of Maslows hierarchy and focus on motivating customers or prospects. Marketers usually concentrate on how to sell something, and so marketing authors focus on the Hierarchy as a tool to find out how to motivate or discover customers and prospects. All well and good and as it should be, but there is so much more to Maslow.

Rather than caption this vital work, right now lets examine one level of the hierarchy: Self-Actualization. Why are your achievers better at what they do? Why do they achieve? The answer lies in this fifth rung of the hierarchy, self-actualization. Maslow writes: A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization.

By focusing on just the fifth need in the hierarchy, self-actualization, we discover the key to why those achievers achieve: because they actually need to. They dont achieve for self-esteem, only. Rather, many of them achieve because of an inner need to do a good job. This is inherent inside their psychological make-up, and it is not something you need to worry about arranging for them. Companies can make some limited progress in turning so-so workers into better employees, but they cant turn them into achievers. That desire to exceed and excel must arise from inside the individual, not outside from the employer.

What you can do, as the Chief Marketer for your small business, is tap into the achiever resource and use it! Discover the achievers, and then channel them. Achievers are truly goldenyou cant make gold, only mine it. Just discover your achievers, and then help them learn how to help you. They probably wont know much about marketing--and may care less about it--but they can be extremely useful to you and give you insight you dont have nor easily get.

Also, just because the Achievers have this inner need to do a good job for the company, that doesnt mean you should ignore the fourth level of need in Maslows hierarchy, the esteem needs. You can and should pay attention the need for esteem in the achievers; compliment them for the good job they do, and make sure you give credit where credit is due--especially in front of peers and other employees.

We will return to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs in part two of our article. Please do yourself and your small business a favor: sometime during the next few months print out this article, and then take a couple blocks of 45 minutes to read, highlight and reflect on this vital theory.

Remember: Brand (who you are) + Package (your Face to the Customer) + People (customers and employees) = Marketing Success.

2006 Marketing Hawks