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Writer's pictureStewart Severino

Felt need vs Real need- Church marketing strategies

Updated: Aug 19, 2023


In marketing we often talk about the felt needs of the consumer. A felt need refers to a perceived requirement or desire that a person may feel is necessary or important, but may not be essential for their survival or well-being.


Felt needs are based on a person's subjective experience and can be influenced by factors such as culture, social norms, personal beliefs, and emotions. For example, buying a new car or owning the latest smartphone may be a felt need, but not necessarily a real need. Felt needs can even be expressed as aspirations like being a more attentive spouse, or a more engaged parent.


A real need refers to an actual requirement or necessity that a person or group of people must have to survive, function properly, or achieve a specific goal. For example, basic food, shelter, water, and medical care are real needs.


When using innovative church marketing strategies and innovation practices, many teams jump right to developing a product or service that will address felt needs. We love to impulsively communicate our experiences and our creativity. There is nothing wrong with that but when you are looking to innovate in an existing -or new- space, we need to take a few steps back and change the way we look at how people are trying to accomplish tasks.


I leverage the Jobs-To-Be-Done theory because it forces me to understand why consumers 'hire' products and services to accomplish specific tasks or reach goals. If my wife, during her busy day, asks me to get dinner ready, and me also being busy, will look to 'hire' a product or service that will help accomplish that task easily and efficiently. I may run out to Whole Foods and 'hire' a rotisserie chicken to help me accomplish my task. We do this daily.


I love using the example of Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-26). In this narrative Jesus immediately identifies her real need and is not distracted by her questions that could have easily derailed you and me (v 4:11-12).

One need was her thirst. The woman at the well was there to draw water because she was thirsty. This can be seen as a job-to-be-done, and Jesus recognized this need and offered her living water that would quench her spiritual thirst. Her spiritual thirst could be seen by the symptoms of her felt needs. She went through 5 husbands. Don't most of us try to satisfy our relational needs (felt needs) through other people?


Another real need we see is identity. The woman at the well was a Samaritan, and Jesus was a Jew. The social and cultural barriers between them made it difficult for her to feel accepted or valued. Jesus recognized her need for identity and belonging and offered her a new identity as a daughter of God. Remember, she, at this point still had felt needs and tried to use them to replace her real need.


One other need I see here is forgiveness. As mentioned above, the woman at the well had a history of failed relationships and moral shortcomings. She probably felt shame and guilt because of her past. Jesus recognized her need for forgiveness and offered her a path to redemption and a new beginning.


My point in using this Biblical illustration is to help you clearly distinguish between felt needs and real needs. Take a step back and consider the jobs or tasks that person is trying to accomplish. Remove those felt needs or assumed needs and take a 30,000 foot view.



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