Say Yes to Neuromarketing
“Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.”
~Walter Landor,
In today’s day and age we live in a society where we are not just exposed but
literally bombarded by marketing campaigns. The average person can see as
many as 5,000 advertisements a day. More then ever before, it is important that
your advertisements makes an impact. This leads us to an age-old question:
How do we make our audience say ‘Yes’?
To answer this question I would like to introduce you to the wonderful study of
Neuromarketing. At its core Neuromarketing is a scientific research that studies
human reaction to different stimuli like visuals, sounds or smells.
This type of marketing research is significantly different from traditional
marketing research. In traditional marketing research we would take a selected
group of consumers and ask: ‘What do you think of this advertisement?’
However the truth is that they don’t really know that what they think, of course
they have a personal opinion about the advertisement, but they can’t really tell
you what you need change to make them buy your product.
That is where Neuromarketing research comes in. This marketing research does
not focus on the actual verbal response but rather all the physical changes that
happen to a person when they see the advertisement. This is done through
observation of eye tracking, facial expressions and brain scanning. Through
these means scientist are able to tell how your brain unconsciously reacts to
these advertisements, revealing your true emotions or reactions.
Because we are not scientist but simple marketers wanting to sell our product,
we are going to break it down to the very basic.
Above you see your consumer’s brain. As you can see the brain is divided into
three sections. First you have the top layer, which is your New Brain. This part of
your brain would be the person that you see yourself as. These include your
values, traditions and preferences. Underneath is your Middle Brain, this part
controls your emotions and feeling you experience. Finally in the core of your
brain is the Reptilian Brain, which is the most powerful part of your brain. This
part functions as an instinct to help your body survive; like eating, drinking and
sleeping. It can override any part of your body and has the greatest impact on
making your final decision even if you are not conscious about it. Let me give an
example:
You are walking down the street with your significant other, discussing your
marriage plans, while sipping on your Starbuck’s coffee. Then out of
nowhere, a ball fly’s towards your face. At that very moment you forget your
conversation, forget the fact that you are holding a cup of coffee and protect
yourself from the ball. This is the Reptilian Brain doing its work.
Of course you should not throw a ball at an unsuspecting by passers, however
there are great marketing tools that do trigger their reptilian brain with out
them even knowing it.
A basic marketing tool that Neuromarketers use is created from
the different stimuli your reptilian reacts too. People are very
self-centred creatures, even if some might not admit it. Your
Reptilian Brain is always looking for something of self-interest.
If the consumer feels this product or advertisement is made for
them, they are more likely to react.
Always addresses your consumers personally, convince your consumer that
the message is relevant to them.
Other marketing tools are more difficult to integrate, but in return will be more
effective. ‘The Elements of Persuasion’ a book written by Richard Maxwell and
Robert Dickman, has great marketing tools and tips on how to persuade your
consumer, make them trust you more and lead them to say: Yes.
One of the elements used in the book is the principle of ‘Authority’. The idea is
that people will believe someone that is credible and knowledgeable. A brewery
could state that they have making beer for over 100 years.
This statement becomes even more credible if a beer expert makes this
statement about that brewery. With just a simple statement consumers will trust
your brand more then before.
Consumers are more likely to trust credible knowledgeable experts
The last marketing tool I will briefly discuss is ‘Priming’. This is a difficult but
useful tool. To be effect this tool needs to be implemented perfectly. Priming
means making your consumer ready before they come across your product or
store, in order that they are more likely to have an interest in your product. Time
for another example:
It is 6 o’clock and you are driving home from work on the high way. As you
drive along you notice a giant billboard with a man eating a delicious
looking burger, suddenly you are reminded that you haven’t eaten for 5 hour
and you are ready for dinner. When you see a drive-thru 2 kilometres
further, it becomes really tempting to buy a snack for along the road.
Of course I have only just scratch the surface with these marketing tools. There
are so many more great techniques to cover. Neuromarketing can be applied in
countless situations. With this blog I have hopefully at least peaked your interest
in the application of Neuromarketing. But we are just at the beginning,
throughout the following weeks I will discuss each of these tools in greater detail
to help market your business more effectively.
My next blog will cover the 6 core stimuli that will activate your consumer
Reptilian Brain. I encourage you to keep up with this series of blogs if you
perceived this blog as useful. Remember to become successful always desire to
learn something.