Neuromarketing, Emotions, Chaos

A Happy Diwali to everyone! Speaking of Diwali, our inboxes and social media walls were filled with Diwali Greetings. Did we actually download, view and respond to all the wishes that we received? Or did we even notice the greeting posts along with who posted it? Very few noticed it and many noticed only a few details. Anything that is part of facile chaos (situations that do not require logic and effort) is perceived as boring and not worthy of the brain's attention. To sum it up in a single word, SPAM.

What I usually refer to as 'Brand Chaos' in my sessions on neuromarketing, I consider it to be one of the most critical challenge for marketers in the current world. Reason being ease of use and unlimited accessibility to marketing tools and technology. It isn't anymore about only the 'budget' factor. All the marketing marvels are pretty much replicable these days at low or even no cost. Of course, the quality remains unmatched but what I'm trying to say is smallest of the brands are equipped fairly enough to add up to the chaos of brands. Imagine being a marshal of a marathon with no guides for directions, humans, animals, robots all competing at their own pace in fast changing track and weather conditions. The metaphor here is our brain, as a spectator, is a marshal of the marathon of brands; Robots signify AI, animals signify those who aren't classified as brands but are naturally skillful in what they do (could be festive greeting posting or any other irregular postings). Just imagine how difficult it gets for the brain to focus, understand and recollect one specific piece of information.

How do you, as a marketer, solve this?

Of course, neuromarketing is one way to do it. But, neuromarketing is more of an luxury. What is that secret which is floating right in the open air but people are ignorant about it because it is too simple and crude? To simplify with another metaphor, neuromarketing is a secret sauce that makes your recipe delectable and majority of the marketers fantasize using this sauce in their recipe. What most of us marketers forget is that the right amount of salt is what it takes to make a recipe an unforgettable dish. If the amount of salt is not spot on, the secret sauce really doesn't matter.

The salt? EMOTIONS!!

At the end of the day, we are emotional creatures. Although most assume that financial well-being dictates emotional state, I beg to differ largely. Emotions fundamentally govern our brain. Nothing else matters to the brain. We feel a certain way as a response to every stimuli which our brain encounters consciously or subconsciously.

One of the most fascinating things about the brain is that it is completely rational. Your conscious defines certain biases towards everything. The brain has no bias. You can assure yourself a thousand times that your complex classical music sessions are fun and you're enjoying it but the brain does not ignore the fact that they are stressful for you. You might feel motivated on certain days regarding your physical appearance but the brain lives another day to deal with the insecurities that we tuck under the blanket.

SOLUTION?

Understand emotions. Learning anatomy, radiology, neuroscience, psychology and other scientific subjects are still less complex because of their defined brackets and available metrics to learn. Human emotions remains the most dynamic and complex subject to practically comprehend and respond to till date. Leaders can be born or made. Marketers can only be made. With immense human interaction and analysis. Decoding every message enveloped inside an emotion like the The Bombe Machine of Alan Turing decoding every emotion is something that we earn with time.

Marketers sitting in board rooms and AC offices with no experience of sales or no understanding of market can only lead organizations to a certain height. A person with a knack for social engagement and interaction will naturally drive the marketing team above the ordinary.

To master the recipe with the secret sauce, we must first master the usage of salt.

Do you agree?

Let me know which topics related to neuromarketing would you like to discuss in the next Newsletter.

Regards,

Anurag Salunke