Neuromarketing: The Complete Guide

Marketers can track everything from views to social shares to ROI. However, there is one important factor that basic analytics cannot yet measure: emotional resonance.

Consumer neuroscience, also known as neuromarketing, is the study of the brain to predict and potentially influence consumer behavior and decision-making. Neuromarketing, to put it simply, is the application of neuroscience to marketing. A subject's response to specific products, packaging, advertising, and other marketing areas is measured using brain imaging, scanning, or brain activity measurement technology. Neuromarketing research, on the other hand, is considered more revealing than self-reporting surveys, target groups, and traditional market research because the brain responses to the research stimuli may not be able to be consciously perceived by the subject.

From principles to examples and techniques, this blog post covers everything there is to know about Neuromarketing. I've divided it into the following sections for the convenience of my readers:

• What is Neuromarketing?
• Principles of Neuromarketing
• Neuromarketing Techniques used by Famous Marketers
• 6 Examples of Neuromarketing

WHAT IS NEUROMARKETING?

Let's start with a basic understanding of neuromarketing before moving on to more technical terms and aspects. Marketers can use neuromarketing technology to make better strategic decisions. You've probably heard the phrase "work smarter, not harder" before. The same can be said about Neuromarketing. When it comes to gaining a complete understanding of a customer's preferences, traditional marketing research techniques are limited. That's why smarter techniques like neuromarketing are employed to gain a better understanding of their brain's reaction to specific stimuli, such as a product's design, colour, packaging, email header, or other marketing elements.

Although neural manipulation may appear to be creepy, many companies are already using it in their marketing strategies to influence consumers. Better segmentation, as consumers could be segmented based on brain differences rather than demographics or psychographics, is one-way neuroscience can influence consumer behaviour. Another method is sleep nudging, which has been discovered by neuroscientists to be more susceptible to influence during sleep windows.

Roger Dooley's book Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing is one of the best in the field. In business, leadership, and everyday life, he has been researching the effects of psychology, behavioural research, and neuroscience on persuasion and marketing.

In his book, he describes a variety of consumer marketing strategies based on brain and behaviour science. In general, the benefits of neuromarketing include the ability to link psychological reactions to specific parts of an ad or message, as well as providing insight into the consumer's brain by revealing responses that occur at the subconscious level. Unfortunately, both in terms of time and money, neuromarketing research is extremely expensive to conduct. The limitations include the cost of conducting experiments in a short amount of time, which results in small samples. Furthermore, because experiments must be carried out in laboratories, it is difficult to replicate real-life situations because subjects are restricted in their movement. When applied in real-world scenarios, the validity of these experimental results is ambiguous.

Understanding the fundamentals of neuromarketing can make a huge difference in your marketing efforts. PepsiCo, eBay, The Weather Channel, and other companies representing a wide range of product offerings and industries are already using neuromarketing to conduct market research, run focus groups, and design marketing campaigns.

PRINCIPLES OF NEUROMARKETING

For many people, the field of neuromarketing is new and a little confusing. Marketers' lives are made easier by neuroscience. Before neuromarketing, marketers relied solely on traditional market research methods such as focus groups, interviews, and field trials to learn about their customers' preferences. Traditional market research reveals far less about your customers than what neuromarketing can reveal by reading their brain activity. As a result, we can say that neuromarketing technology aids marketers in understanding how a specific person's brain reacts to a specific situation by utilizing various resources and tactics.

Here are four neuromarketing principles you can use to keep your current customers as well as attract new ones:

• SCARCITY

It is undeniable that if a product or service appears to be scarce or in short supply, consumers are more likely to purchase it. The reason for this is that the desire to gain something can sometimes outweigh the fear of missing out or losing something. Marketers who are aware of the concept of scarcity can use it to increase demand for their products. The concept of the product "drop" was popularised by streetwear retailers like Supreme and Yeezy, who offered less product than demand, causing limited-edition drops to sell out in minutes.

• THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HABIT

The logic behind developing a habit is straightforward: it's all about repetition. It is said that if you want to become well-known on any channel, make people crave your presence by becoming their habit, whether consciously or unconsciously. The same is true for your company, which is why gamification and subscription services have recently become popular. People crave these games after playing them repeatedly because they have become an unintentional habit.

• UNDERSTAND EMOTIONS

Almost everyone wishes to have someone in their life who understands and accepts our feelings without expressing them. What if technology takes care of everything for us? Is there anything better than this?

The main goal of neuromarketing is to understand people's emotions using various techniques to gain an understanding of how they think about a particular subject. It's a great way to tweak your marketing campaigns or ads to get the best response from customers. Many well-known companies have used neuromarketing technology for this purpose and have seen tremendous success as a result.

• SOCIAL PROOF

We are social creatures, and our behaviour is influenced by societal norms in many instances. If those around him/her do something, he/she is more likely to do so as well. When several people buy a product or service, this is known as "social proof," and it encourages more people to do the same, thereby increasing demand for that product or service. For instance, testimonials in marketing are a way to attract customers because seeing how other people have benefited from a product or service can be a powerful motivator to repeat the same behaviour (e.g. purchase).

NEUROMARKETING TECHNIQUES USED BY MARKETERS

Several neuromarketing agencies and businesses use neuroscience concepts to help their businesses succeed. fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), EGG (electroencephalogram), eye-tracking (gaze and pupillometry), biometrics, and facial coding are some of the successful techniques.

• fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) detects blood flow in the brain associated with increased neural activity. Because it reveals detailed emotional responses, levels of engagement, and recall, marketers use it to help set pricing or improve the brand. Functional MRI is a technique for reading brain activity to get a precise idea of a customer's interests and preferences.
• EGG (electroencephalogram) records electrical signals on the scalp from neurons inside the brain. Marketers use it to improve advertisements and branding because it reveals the level of consumer engagement and recall.
• Companies that use eye-tracking (gazing) technology use images and videos that detect exactly where subjects direct their gaze. For example, it has been proven that babies attract a large number of people, so creating advertisements with cute baby faces for baby products is a great way to boost your company's sales. Marketers use eye-tracking technology to improve website design, ads, and packaging because it can detect what attracts a customer's attention, what confuses them, and how quickly they recognize something. This technique is used to get an idea about a customer's interests by tracking his eyes, as the name suggests. It does not always necessitate a thorough examination in a laboratory, but it can also be performed in real-time. Modern eye-tracking devices are extremely small, and consumers can wear them while walking outside to provide marketers with a detailed picture of their interests.
• Pupillometry measures whether subjects’ pupils are dilated and is used to improve website design, ads, and packaging as it can reveal the level of engagement.
• Biometrics measures skin conductance, heart rate, and respiration. They reveal the level of engagement and whether the consumer’s response is positive or negative, hence, being able to improve the ad content.
• Last but not least, facial coding identifies facial expressions and is used to get a general emotional response e.g. happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, and so on. This can be used to improve ad content.

6 EXAMPLES OF NEUROMARKETING

There are a few basic concepts in neuromarketing that are simple to grasp and can be used by anyone to increase conversion rates. Here are a few examples of successful examples:

• Colour Psychology

According to colour psychology, using the right colours to catch a customer's attention is essential. For example, the most common blunder made by businesses is to use pink or purple colours for a brand that sells men's clothing. As a result, when running a business, picking the right colour is critical.

• Audio Branding

Your branding efforts shouldn't end at visuals. Audio branding is an effective way to make customers remember your company. Advertisements with a distinctive background voice or the sound of a few catchy lyrics can help people remember the brand name quickly. Every major brand has an audio logo, but those that are short and easy to remember are the most successful. Audio branding is a hack that works in tandem with other branding efforts to establish a consistent image of who you are, what you do, and what you stand for in the minds of your customers.

• Focus on the Senses

In some cases, the surface or packaging of a product feels different in the hands than it does in the eyes. Sensory branding is primarily used to appeal to the senses of sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. Let's look at olfactory marketing as an example of sensory marketing. Scent marketing entails more than simply diffusing a pleasant scent in a room. It is the art of creating a scent that amplifies a company's brand identity, marketing messages, and target audience. Abercrombie & Fitch is a good example of olfactory marketing. One of the first companies to use olfactory marketing in their company branding was the well-known clothing brand. Abercrombie & Fitch has a line of fragrances that augment its collection of woody and intense scents.

• Pricing

The revenue and profit of a company are determined by its price. Smart pricing strategies make a big difference, according to neuromarketing research. Is it better to round or not to round? That is a difficult question to answer. Rounded prices are easier for the brain to process, whereas odd prices require more mental effort. In their advertising, brands and businesses can choose to use emotion, rational arguments, or a combination of both. According to research, the best pricing strategy is predetermined based on which path they take.

• The Wrong Font can literally kill you and your Sales

Another neuromarketing technique is selecting the appropriate font. Fonts are used for a variety of purposes. Simple sans-serif fonts have an immediate impact on the brain, whereas complex fonts make the brain work harder to understand and remember what is being said. When you have a very clear message, use a simple font. For instructions and a call to action, simple fonts are best. Complex fonts, on the other hand, are more visually attention-getting than simple fonts and should be used only as a highlight for important information.

• Effective Packaging

From aesthetics to functionality, neuromarketing applied to packaging can improve the consumer's experience. Neuromarketing is used by big companies like Campbell's Soup, Frito-Lay, and Chips Ahoy to create great product packaging. Companies can locate design elements that aren't resonating and appealing to their audience by using eye-tracking and EEG (electroencephalography) data. Consumers valued the resealable feature on the Chips Ahoy packaging, for example, but after testing it, Nabisco discovered that it was eliciting negative emotions in consumers. They recognized that the packaging was difficult to read and that the front-of-package cookie image evoked uninteresting emotions. As a result, they decided to make significant changes to the packaging, making it more legible and the cookie image more dynamic. Small changes in packaging can have a big impact.

CONCLUSION

To summarise, breaking through the clutter is becoming more difficult, and marketers who understand the most fundamental roots of human emotion have a significant advantage. The versatility of neuromarketing allows it to be used in both inbound and outbound marketing campaigns. We can see that the brain is subconsciously responding in the same way when we use tactics like spraying your store with a distinctive fragrance or using baby pictures in advertising. If the budget allows, marketers should use neuromarketing to better understand their customers' preferences.