Question # 1
Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What are the implications of each on Build-A-Bear’s actions?
It is very important for any company to fully understand their customers’ needs, wants, and demands in order to perfectly satisfy them, and consequently capture customer value in return.
Needs are states of felt deprivations, they include basic physical needs, social needs, and individual needs.
According to our case study, we can observe that the target customers of Build-A-Bear Company are children and consequently their parents.
Examples of needs demonstrated by Build-A-Bear customers are:
Children’s needs:
1-Playing, enjoy time, have fun, and exploring new things
2-Have a toy
Parent’s needs:
1-Enrich their children experience
2-Utilize their children’s energy in a useful way
Wants are basically needs that are shaped by culture and individual personality.
Examples of wants that are demonstrated by Build-A-Bear customers are:
Children’s wants:
1-To go to a convenient fantasy place where they can meet their favorable cartoon characters, and allow them to touch their dreams
2-To get a customized, personal toy of their favorable character
Parent’s wants:
1-To enroll their children in a practice that will result in joy, and experience
2-To buy their children their favorable customized toy
Demands are wants backed up by buying power.
Examples of demands demonstrated by Build-A-Bear customers are:
From parents view point their demand is:
To let their children spend an enjoyable day in a fantasy place, and buy them their customized favorable toy that they can create on their control with affordable price.
It is clear that Build-A-Bear Company fully understands their target customers’ needs, wants, and demands from the actions that it has took in order to satisfy them, and consequently succeeded to capture customer value in return.
First Build-A-Bear Company comes up with the idea that, it will allow the child to participate in the creation of his personalized and favorable toy, and make the child enjoy an entertainment experience, all this will be available in a store perfectly designed such as a cartoon land to attract and dazzle children.
Consequently Maxine Clark decided to design Build-A-Bear store such as a genuine fantasy world including friendly assembly line comprised of 7 work stations that the child pass with to create his/her personalized stuffed animal.
The idea and the design of Build-A-Bear store succeeded to satisfy customers’ needs and wants by allowing them to spend an enjoyable day in a genuine fantasy world, having fun, enhancing their experience, and keeping a pleasant lasting memory, also get their favorable toy that they create it on their control according to their different personalities and cultures.
Second Build-A-Bear Company reacts perfectly to the demand of its customers by providing its product and value with an affordable price ranging from $10 to $25 which reflects a high price-to-delight ratio.