The Customer in You — Needs, Wants, and Demands of an Individual
Have you tried treating yourself as a Customer?
You are your most valuable customer. Have you been treating yourself like a premium customer you cannot afford to lose? This question will puzzle many people, for the answer is simple, yet confusing — as it makes many feel guilty; a feeling they want to avoid in spontaneity. The question is revisited at the end.
An Individual’s Needs, Wants, and Demands — what are they?
Many people keep a bucket-list or a wish-list of items they like to buy for themselves on their next paycheck, while pricier things require waiting out for a bit longer until the savings cross the threshold.
Everyone has a desire for acquiring ‘things’ that make them feel good — gadgets, luxuries, experiences, entertainment, possessions, moments of life, etc. And yet after getting: that really expensive new phone, that expensive car you wanted, the house you wanted to buy, the guy/girl you wanted to marry, the new game you wanted, or a get away you’ve longed for, some people feel fulfilled, while others still feel a void, unsure about what’s missing.
Missing a Personal Fulfillment is the answer. When a Personal Fulfillment is unmet, no matter what other type of Personal Fulfillment is acquired, one will not entirely feel contented. For example, if you got yourself a new gadget, but don’t have friends or family to share your happiness with — that expensive new gadget will mean nothing to you, irrespective of how ever long you had to save for it. The same can be said to be true about Personal Fulfillment when you have friends and family, but no new gadget to share your happiness.
Popularly in business academics, Personal Fulfilment has been known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Depending on your reading preferences in the non-fiction genre of books, you may have a fair bit of idea about needs, wants and demands. Nevertheless, it helps to unlearn and re-learn.
Personal Fulfillment Types
While Maslow identifies these individual areas of desires or requirements as ‘Needs’, Personal Fulfillment appears rather appropriate as a terminology — distinguishable from otherwise commonly used words with plenty of synonyms that make understanding nebulous.
A good way to understand Personal Fulfillment is to understand its five core types.
Physiological — Every biological and physical aspect directly affecting a person. Examples of Physiological Personal Fulfillments are: breathing, eating, drinking, tasting, sleep, satiating sexual or reproductive requirements, sleep, you get the idea.
Safety — Safety builds on top of physiological Personal Fulfillment by indirectly affecting a person’s biological and physical aspects. Examples of Safety Personal Fulfillments are, having : a place to live, a source of income, a family that protects you, resources available to you, a society governed by fair laws, and just about anything that gives you a feeling of security.
Love/Belonging — You can’t love someone or belong with someone you don’t feel safe with. Love and Belonging exist where there’s safety. Examples of Love/Belonging Personal Fulfillments are, being with: a family that cares for you, a significant other you share a mutual bond with, people you have a relationship with who make you feel like you belong with them. Love and Belonging isn’t entirely limited to being fulfilled by other humans, but also animals, and other living things — including Ai beings.
Esteem —Esteem is a Personal Fulfillment that does not directly build on top of any of the others, rather it is influenced by other Personal Fulfillment types. Esteem is everything occurring inside your head. One could say having Esteem results in willpower and a feeling of motivation that ultimately enhances Love/Belonging, Safety, and Physiological Personal Fulfillment. Examples of Esteem Personal Fulfillment are: achieving your planned goals, getting appreciated by people whose word matters to you, getting your body in shape, reciprocation of romance, care, and support, getting rewarded for your work, getting better from sickness, and similar motivating events.
Self-Actualisation — This Personal Fulfillment type functioning similar to Esteem in the sense that: it does not build on top of the others, it shares a relationship with other Personal Fulfillment types, including Esteem, in a way that the other fulfillments impact Self-Actualisation, and Self-Actualisation enhances Esteem. Examples of Self-Actualisation Personal Fulfillments are, becoming really good at: art by exploring your inner artist through learning artistic skills, romance by exploring your inner passion through learning emotional intelligence and empathy, controlling your anger by exploring your inner serenity through learning compassion and behaviour. The examples are endless.
Having explained the various Personal Fulfillment types, these are the missing feelings.
Personal Fulfillment vs Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The pyramid illustration of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is not an exact representation of the relationship between each Personal Fulfillment type. Neither is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs a complete theory. Personal Fulfillment as an idea uses Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a canvas.
Personal Fulfillments distances itself from Maslow’s ‘Needs’ through not only terminology, but also by measuring the intensity of desire for each Personal Fulfillment type. The Matrix illustration should give some idea of how each intensity of our desire, namely — Needs, Wants and Demands, affects each Personal Fulfillment.
Needs — These desires are mandatory. A person must definitely possess these otherwise their absence will make a person feel empty in associated Personal Fulfillment.
Wants — These are casual desires. A person would like to have these every now and then (at least once a month or at most twice a week). Without these a person can still feel fulfilled in the associated Personal Fulfillment type, but not happily. Wants provide the benefit of happiness more than Needs and Demands.
Demands — These are luxury desires. A person yearns for these once in a while or based on necessity. Without these a person can still feel fulfilled but less effectively.
Quality of Needs, Wants and Demands
Not all Needs, Wants and Demands are equal. Our desires can be further measured by their quality: poor, satisfactory, valuable. Here’s a simple example, you’d like to get yourself some ice cream, ignoring price you will find a variety of ice creams that are either: just alright (poor), suitable enough (satisfactory), or wonderful (valuable).
An ice cream isn’t a Physiological Need for food, you don’t need ice cream to survive. Ice creams are better identified as a Want; they make you feel happy when having them occasionally, fulfilling the food element of Physiological Personal Fulfillment. Poor quality ice creams will be a health hazard to you, while valuable ice creams will be nutritious.
Much like an ice cream, other elements of each Personal Fulfillment type can be imagined from the lens of their quality on the desire intensity scale.
Fulfillment of Needs, Wants and Demands Develops Attributes
Fulfilling one’s Needs, Wants and Demands (desires) for each Personal Fulfillment has an interesting effect on a person beyond contentment; they contribute towards developing one’s attributes.
Your personal attributes are as developed as how well you treat yourself.
Physiological Attributes — Treating one’s physiology well develops physiological attributes such as strength, endurance, agility.
Safety Attributes — A person who feels fulfillment in safety develops attributes such as intelligence and dexterity.
Love/Belonging Attributes — Fulfillment in Love/Belonging develops fairness, morality, harmony, empathy.
Esteem Attributes — Fulfillment in Esteem develops charisma, willpower, motivation.
Self-Actualisation Attributes — Feeling fulfilled in Self-Actualisation develops attributes such as leadership, spirituality, wisdom, mastery of roles, and other transcendent attributes.
People who have studied psychology or astrology, or played Role Playing Games (RPGs) can find familiarity with the concept of personal attributes (see illustration below). To summarise — your personal attributes are as developed as how well you treat yourself. So it’s no surprise that individuals who feel quality fulfillment in several Personal Fulfillments have better personal attributes than individuals whose one or more Personal Fulfillment types are left with a void.
Viewing yourself as your Customer
Having covered essential understanding about how Needs, Wants and Demands measure various Personal Fulfillments, how well do you think you’re attending to your various Needs, Wants and Demands?
You can start by Self-Actualisation of yourself as two entities: you — the self as the Business, and you — the Individual as the Customer. Bain & Company Inc’s Business to Consumer (B2C) Value Pyramid maps categorically various consumer desires on the template of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, identifying the various elements a retail business can provide value to a customer.
The various elements illustrated in the diagramme can also serve as parameters to measure Personal Fulfillment.
So lets revisit the question posed in the beginning: Have you tried treating yourself as a Customer? Were you a business responsible for the fulfillment of your individual self as the customer, what proportion of your Needs, Wants and Demands (Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualisation) are you able to fulfill? What scores will you as the Business get by you as the Customer?
I was intrigued when I asked myself the same questions. This has encouraged me to consider developing an assessment tool that measures Personal Fulfillment of Needs, Wants and Demands.
Should it fancy you to contribute to the tool I’m developing for Personal Fulfillment or just learn more about it, the best way to reach me is:
- comment under this piece;
- message me on Linkedin or,
- email me at: zein.saeed.5@gmail.com
