Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing is a strategy that uses the knowledge of neuroscience and cognitive science to accurately identify customer needs, desires, and preferences. It studies consumers’ responses to marketing stimuli and assesses non-conscious reactions to specific advertising campaigns, packaging, design, etc. The approach helps develop effective marketing campaigns and strategies that resonate with the target audience.

In this article, we’ll find out whether neuromarketing is legal, its importance, and how it works. We’ll also unveil 6 techniques, outstanding examples, and get to know how to implement neuromarketing into your strategy.

Is neuromarketing legal?

Many scientists highlight the controversial nature of neuromarketing. Some people assume that several types of ads might be deceptive and dishonest. They also add that these methods influence people’s brains and encourage customers to take the desired action. On the contrary, neuromarketing advocates claim that their techniques help understand customers’ needs and desires and serve them better.

Neuromarketing companies operate ethically towards consumers the same way regular advertising agencies do. They don’t intend to promote illegal and deceptive products and create ads that control consumers’ purchasing decisions. Neuromarketers say that this approach allows customers to understand the patterns of their choices. Besides, it enables people to find out whether companies manipulate their buying decisions or influence them.

Now that you know whether the strategy is legal, let’s explore the reasons that might encourage you to implement it into your business.

Why is neuromarketing important?

Although neuromarketing is controversial, it’s still essential for businesses. It encompasses different techniques that enable brands to understand customers’ needs and preferences and meet them. They can also study customers’ responses to different types of ads, campaigns, and product packaging. As a result, business owners can choose the best option among all available and improve campaigns and strategies' effectiveness.

Besides the mentioned reasons to consider neuromarketing, you can reap even more benefits from this strategy. It helps:

• identify customers’ non-conscious responses to different ads, designs, methods;
• develop new unique strategies;
• resonate with the audience’s needs and desires;
• improve advertising campaigns and strategies;
• explore the feelings and emotions particular ads, logos, phrases can trigger in customers;
• improve customer experience;
• satisfy customers;
• increase sales;
• gain competitive advantage.

With neuroscience’s help, marketers can identify product elements that receive a favorable response from customers and increase sales. So now that you know about the importance, it’s time to figure out how neuromarketing works.

How does neuromarketing work?

Neuromarketing uses functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalogram tools to scan people’s brains and evaluate physiological and neural signals to specific ads, packaging, design, etc. Brains’ responses are crucial for companies since they provide business owners with a clear picture of customers’ needs and wants.

Marketers show ads, packaging, or product design to customers and track their reactions and brain activity. After they get responses and measure the changes, companies can decide what steps they need to take next.

Brain scanning allows brands to track every brain activity such as eye movement, the change of pupils, face expression, heart rate, emotions and empower brands with customer insights. Based on the given results, companies can decide how to improve their ads and content, product packaging and design, website design, and branding to hook the audience’s attention and resonate with customers’ needs.

Now that you know how neuromarketing works, it’s time to walk you through 6 useful neuromarketing techniques.

6 Neuromarketing Techniques

To successfully implement neuromarketing, brands need special tools and neuromarketing specialists. They will empower you to use the following neuromarketing techniques.

• Eye-tracking (gaze). The technique focuses on gaze and where customers direct it. With its help, you can figure out colors, fonts, ads, designs that succeed to grab their attention. Besides, eye-tracking can also cue the objects that evoke confusion among these people. If you are interested in brand recognition, you can find out the customers’ recognition speed. This approach will tell you whether you have a high level of recognition or need to work on it to make people recall your company faster. Once you choose eye-tracking, it allows you to improve website design, packaging, and ads at a low cost. Although the technique is easy to manage, it won’t help you evaluate customers’ emotions. So use it with biometrics to get a more detailed analysis of your target audience.
• Pupillometry. This method draws conclusions based on the state of subjects’ pupils. It checks whether the pupils are dilated to assess the level of customers’ engagement. With its results, you can figure out the steps to revise ads, site design, and product packaging. The approach is relatively cheap and easy to execute.
• Facial coding. This method focuses on the facial expressions of subjects to identify emotional responses. It enables you to figure out the emotions people feel: happiness, fear, anxiety, surprise, satisfaction, etc. For a relatively cheap price, you’ll receive information that will help you improve your ad content and resonate with the audience.
• Biometrics. This technique identifies the level of engagement and the type of response (positive or negative) based on skin respiration, conductance, and heart rate. Biometrics allows you to make your ad content in accordance with people’s desires. Together with eye-tracking, it can significantly improve the ads and content you choose for them.
• Electroencephalogram. It enables you to reveal customers’ engagement and recall with the help of electrical signals that come from neurons inside the brain. This relatively expensive technique enables you to evaluate changes in short periods and improve the quality of ads and branding.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This most expensive approach provides detailed emotional responses, recall, and customer engagement. To perform the method, you need a lab. fMRI identifies blood flow in the brain during high neural activity. As a result, you receive information that helps improve branding and set prices.

Now that you know the methods you can use and which of them will help reach your goals, it’s time to unveil how to effectively make neuromarketing a part of your strategy.

How to implement neuromarketing into your strategy?

Neuromarketing is a vast concept that helps marketers grow a business faster. However, you should know how to adapt its methods into your strategy to be effective. We’ve prepared some steps for you to consider.

1. Study patterns of eye-tracking. Although you might not have paid much attention to eye movements and changes in them, they can provide insights into your business. Eye-tracking can identify whether customers like your advertising, product packaging, and design. The technique can also determine the elements on your ads online and in-store that drive more attention. By studying the gaze of customers, your team can define the things that help stand out and hook the audience. Gather a group of research participants to figure out whether customers like your company’s colors, font, and visuals. Look carefully at customers to find out whether they got engaged with your ads in a store. Once you figure it out, you’ll know what to do with your ads, packaging, and branding next.
2. Create a positive personality. It’s a well-known fact that a smile drives attention, and images of happiness release endorphins. As a result, people become more interactive and open to society. Being friendly, open-minded, and cheerful enables you to be closer to the audience. It will establish trust and transparency. If you place an image of a smiling person on your ads or social media posts, it will shape a positive image of your brand. People will be more likely to purchase with your company.
3. Simplify the rules to enter. When you ask prospects to insert their credit card details to get a free trial, you are more likely to scare them away. They will look for a service that doesn’t require this information. Users who sign up for a free trial without submitting card details are more likely to convert into customers. So consider this fact and try to reduce the barriers to entry. You can simplify the sign-up process, create intuitive web forms, and enhance the buyer journey.
4. Implement psychological tricks. Marketers adapt numerous tricks to capture customers and influence their buying decisions. All companies use specific price points to convince shoppers that they save a lot. For example, you’ll often encounter prices like $99.99 instead of $100. Some companies can remove the dollar sign. Neuromarketers highlight other “tricks” that might be useful for the brand’s revenue. If you place goods with light colors on the top shelves and goods with dark colors on the bottom shelves, your sales are more likely to increase.
5. Use sensory marketing. By appealing to customers’ senses, you can reach them and build a positive image of a brand. You’ll win attention and build trust. Nice smells and pleasant lighting can create an exceptional atmosphere and ensure an outstanding experience for customers. It’ll have a positive effect on sales. Scents can create great memories and excitement people will associate with your brand later.

The process is clear, so let’s proceed to some real examples. They will provide you with a clue to creating a unique neuromarketing strategy.

Examples of Neuromarketing

We’ve prepared some examples that demonstrate the usefulness of neuromarketing research. You’ll see that brands even change their designs to the most suitable options for customers. So let’s jump in.

Chips Ahoy

The legendary cookie brand is our first example of how neuromarketing helped be closer to consumers. After conducting research, the brand’s team received crucial information on the product’s packaging. Marketers found out that people couldn’t read since the brand used inappropriate colors. To eliminate the issue and find the right design, the company implemented an eye-tracking technique. Chips Ahoy’s team demonstrated different design options and chose the best one based on the response. The brand changed the packaging and improved text, image, and colors.

Game of Thrones

This research was designed to show whether people find video materials more engaging than audio. To figure this out, researchers took the same video and audiobook scenes from Game of Thrones to analyze the physical responses of participants. The results showed that the video was 15% more interesting, but the audiobook caused a faster pulse rate and higher body temperature and skin conductivity.

Neuromarketing has many benefits and reasons to implement it. Consider using our techniques to grow the sales and revenues of your company.

References:

1. This article provides readers with neuromarketing techniques.
2. In this article, you’ll find about neuromarketing and tools companies use.
3. This article unveils how to apply neuromarketing to your strategy.

Last Updated: 22.03.2023