Delivering on Needs

Needs drive consumption.In a first world context, our unmet needs are minimal (by comparison), so advertisers are employed to create the illusion of need by reminding us of what we don’t have. They do this by pointing out—sometimes explicitly, others times subtly—our deficiencies. In the case of one beverage manufacturer, that’s to the tune of $4 billion each year. The goal: create desire.But there are real needs. Those, however, don’t require advertisements. No one needs to be sold toilet paper on a billboard.Faith communities ought to be in the latter group. But what is it a faith community needs to deliver on? What is the specific need?I contend that most of them don’t know, so they begin for a short time in the latter group ("We’re meeting a real need here!”), but live most of their existence in the former group (“How do we best advertise this material/program/opportunity?”).That’s a mistake.Know the real need, not the illusory need stoked by repeated reference to deficiency.Then deliver.Repeat.