The Neuroscience of ethical marketing

As most of you know who follow me, I am a big proponent of understanding consumer psychology when working on a marketing and advertising strategy. But in the same way that understanding psychology and the way the brain works (Neuroscience) can be used to get customers to engage and buy, it can also be used to make ethical marketing decisions and strategies that do not cross the line into unethical tactics.

Some basic principles of neuroscience can be used to create more ethical marketing practices. For example, understanding how the brain processes information can help marketers avoid using tactics that exploit cognitive biases.

Some cognitive biases that can be exploited in marketing include:

-The sunk cost fallacy: This is the tendency to continue investing in something as long as you have already invested a lot in it, even if it is no longer rational to do so. An example of an unethical marketing tactic would be to encourage a client to continue running ads even after it is clear that they are not effective, just because the company has already invested a lot of money in them.

A more ethical decision would be to stop running the ads and invest the money elsewhere.

-Confirmation bias: This is the tendency to seek out information that confirms your existing beliefs and to ignore information that contradicts them. An example of an unethical marketing tactic would be to only show customers information that confirms their existing beliefs about your product and to ignore any information that contradicts those beliefs.

A more ethical decision would be to show customers all the information, both good and bad, so that they can make an informed decision. (Of course, the best strategy is to have a great product and great customer service so that you can get a majority of positive reviews)

-The bandwagon effect: This is the tendency to do something simply because other people are doing it. An example of an unethical marketing tactic would be to create a false sense of urgency by saying that everyone is buying your product

An ethical approach would be to use scarcity tactics only when there is a genuine shortage of your product.

-The primacy effect: This is the tendency to give more weight to information that comes first, and to discount information that comes later. An example of an unethical marketing tactic would be to bury the negative information about your product in fine print while highlighting the positive information in big, bold letters.

An ethical approach would be to highlight both the positive and negative information clearly and concisely.

-The halo effect: This is the tendency to judge something based on one positive or negative trait while ignoring other information. An example of an unethical marketing tactic would be to show only celebrities or models using your product while hiding the fact that it is also used by regular people.

An ethical approach would be to show a diverse group of people using your product, not just celebrities.

So I know some of you reading this may be thinking that I am naive and that getting customers to purchase is the only priority no matter what tactic works (for the most part). I get that. And I have been guilty of the tactics mentioned above. They work. But at what cost? Is it really worth losing the trust of even a handful of your customers? Is it worth pushing someone in an inhumane way to make a decision they really don't want to make? My last question is this... would you do this in real life to your friends or family members?

I believe it's my role as a marketing strategist and behavioral consumer psychologist to operate and make decisions that are not only ethical but restorative. In other words, if I can leave someone better than I found them and connect with them in genuinely human and empathetic ways, then I have done my small part to make the world better, and our media and tech landscape better.

Many other cognitive biases can be exploited in marketing, but these are just a few examples. The key takeaway is that understanding how the brain works can help marketers make more ethical decisions and avoid crossing the line into unethical territory. Thanks for reading.