Is your Product Positioning a “Want” or "Need"? And Why You’re Probably Selling It to the Wrong Audience.
- Kaushik & Arpita
- Jun 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 29
Most founders wrongly classify their product as either a “need” or a “want.” The reality is simpler: products don’t create value on their own. The right customer determines whether your product feels essential. If you’re struggling to sell, your positioning and audience are usually bigger problems than your product.
Stop Asking Whether Your Product Is a Need or a Want
One of the most common statements I hear from founders is:
“Our product isn’t really a need. It’s more of a want.”
My response is always the same.
Is a BMW a need or a want?
Most people instantly say, “A want.”
But that’s only true if your goal is simply traveling from one place to another.
But now imagine that I (instead of being the co-founder of Brain Box Catalysts, a Global Top 10 PR & Personal Branding Agency) am the co-founder of a luxury real estate company meeting ultra-high-net-worth clients every day. I would have raised 1000s of crores from investors & the ticket size of each property is above 10 crores.
Suddenly, that BMW isn’t just transportation.
It’s credibility.
It’s positioning.
It’s a business asset.
The product hasn’t changed. The customer has.
People Don’t Buy Products. They Buy Outcomes.
One of our biggest realizations while working with founders on their personal branding and PR has been this:
People rarely buy a product because of what it is. They buy it because of what it helps them achieve.
Depending on the customer, the same product can represent:
Confidence
Convenience
Status
Recognition
Speed
Peace of mind
Security
Time savings
That’s why asking whether your product is a “need” is the wrong question.
The better question you should be asking is "Whose problem does my product solve so well that buying it becomes the obvious decision?"
Why Good Products Often Struggle In Their Positioning
Many founders assume poor sales automatically mean they have a product problem.
Sometimes that’s true.
But in our experience, the issue is usually one of four things:
You’re targeting the wrong audience.
Your positioning isn’t compelling.
Your messaging focuses on features instead of outcomes.
You’re failing to communicate the true value your product creates.
I’ve seen founders repeatedly reduce prices when the real issue was that they were speaking to people who never valued the outcome in the first place.
Lowering prices rarely fixes poor positioning.
Great Positioning Attracts the Right Customer
Great marketing doesn’t convince everyone.
It attracts the people who already need what you offer.
Great sales don’t pressure prospects.
They help qualified buyers recognise the value that’s already there.
Great personal branding works exactly the same way.
It doesn’t make everyone trust you.
It ensures the right people discover your expertise before they discover your competitors.
That’s exactly why positioning matters more than persuasion.
Btw, to get noticed by major media, you first need a solid personal branding strategy.
A Better Way to Think About Your Business
The next time you catch yourself saying,
“My product is a want, not a need.”
Pause for a moment.
Perhaps the problem isn’t your product.
Perhaps you’ve simply been selling it to people who don’t value the outcome.
Products don’t create value.
People do.
When the right product reaches the right customer at the right time, price becomes a much smaller part of the conversation.
That’s when buying stops feeling like a luxury and starts feeling like the obvious decision.
FAQs
Is every product either a need or a want?
No. A product’s perceived value depends on the customer and the outcome they expect.
Why do good products fail to sell?
Most products struggle because of poor positioning, unclear messaging, or targeting the wrong audience rather than poor quality.
What is product positioning?
Product positioning is how your product is perceived in the minds of your ideal customers compared to alternatives.
How do I know if I’m targeting the wrong audience?
If prospects consistently focus on price instead of value, you may be speaking to people who don’t truly need the outcome your product delivers.
At Brain Box Catalysts, a Global Top 10 PR & Personal branding agency, we don’t just manage reputations; we architect authority. We specialize in personal branding and PR for founders to build the "trust surplus" you need for your next stage of growth.
And we aren’t ‘just’ an agency. We reinvent ourselves by staying abreast of the latest algorithmic updates for our own ongoing "content-first" philosophy. With our 250,000+ community, which powered the Brain Box Podcast to the top of the Spotify charts & our collector’s edition, The Catalyst, we completes the omni-channel experience in-house, in addition to exclusive publications with many Tier 1 publications.
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