Meaning & use
latent needs
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
desires or requirements that people have but are not yet aware of or have not yet expressed
Grammar: Usually plural; use 'a latent need' for a single unexpressed desire.
Patterns
- latent needs of someone
- identify latent needs
- meet latent needs
Good marketers try to identify the latent needs of their customers.
The product was designed to meet a latent need for convenience.
Surveys often miss latent needs because people cannot articulate them.
Word forms
| singular | latent need |
|---|
Common combinations
- identify latent needs
- Companies use interviews to identify latent needs.
- meet a latent need
- The new app was created to meet a latent need for easy budgeting.
- latent needs of consumers
- Understanding the latent needs of consumers can give a business an advantage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unspoken needs
- Unspoken needs are simply not said aloud, while latent needs may not even be recognized by the person.
- hidden demands
- Hidden demands suggests they are deliberately concealed, whereas latent needs are usually unconscious.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: latent needs or latent demand?
latent needs vs latent demand
Latent demand is a similar business term, but it refers to potential demand for a product that is not yet being met, rather than the underlying desires themselves.
Practice
In marketing, what are 'latent needs'?
Choose one answer.
The second option correctly describes latent needs as unexpressed or unrecognized desires. The first describes expressed needs, the third suggests they are outdated, and the fourth wrongly limits them to businesses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “latent needs”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.