in: Business Strategy
by: Melissa Wildstein
While many companies are sufferring during this latest recession, other companies are not only staying afloat, but they're thriving. How? They've created recession-friendly (or even recession-proof) products that appeal to their customers. Here's a tip for how you can make your products recession busters!
Tap into your customer's mindset and figure out what drives their purchasing behavior. Very rarely do people forgo buying things they really 'need'. But 'needs' are very subjective. There's a theory in psychology called Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And it basically says that there are a series of needs that people have.
There are basic needs like food, water, shelter, etc. But once those are met, then people look to find ways to meet their 'higher order' needs including:
- Need for safety and security
- Need for love and a feeling of belonging
- Need for respect, self esteem and confidence
- Need for self actualization - morality, creativity, etc...
The key to building a recession-proof product is to turn your product into a way for someone to fulfill one of their needs. No one needs a new lipstick, but does buying one help fulfill someone's need for self-respect and self-esteem? Absolutely. There's a reason why the L'Oreal tagline is, 'Because you're worth it'. And it's no wonder that they're one of the companies that's thriving in the recession. They figured out what their customer's need was and they sell, sell, sell to that. They're profits are up 12% from last year despite the rest of the economy going down the tubes. Click here for more recession-busting companies.
