Neuromarketing: Marketing Mind Games

Today, we're going to take a quick look at the controversial, yet exciting world of neuromarketing.

Picture the scene – you're neither hungry nor tired, yet when you get home from your supermarket shop or lunch break, you've bought more than you'd initially planned. Knowing how and why we make impulse purchases isn't just important for your own wallet, it's important for your company's marketing strategy, too.

What you need to know about decisions

It's a well-known fact that the majority of purchasing choices are not consciously made decisions. It's becoming increasingly well-known that these decision making processes also don't obey the laws of logic. We're not always even able to explain why we bought something. Sometimes, it just kind of happens.

This is where neuromarketing comes in. This is a new(ish) field of market research, based on the ideas and research from marketing expert, Martin Lindstrom. It's a field of research which relies on brain scanning techniques (Magnetic Resonance Imagery) to evaluate a product's impact on the consumer. Whether or not a consumer regards an item as positive or negative will inevitably influence their purchasing decision.

So what do we know?

Just in case you don't have a portable brain scanner and/or willing consumers to test, we've got a summary of some of the more interesting neuromarketing research results here.

Originality wins

Think of the latest TV advertisement you saw. Can you remember what it was for? Seemingly, our capability to remember TV advertisements is decreasing; in 1965, around 34% of viewers could remember what they'd seen, whereas in 1990, it was only 8%. With one commercial blending into the next, with the same campaign slogans or CTAs, there's little wonder we can't remember them. What this means for your advertising campaign – make sure you stand out from the crowd.

Time for Something New

Consumers are heavily influenced by ritual. When a company's check-out procedure is based on a set sequence of events, for example in a Subway sandwich shop, consumers are better able to remember the business. Not only that, but knowing there's a set ritual to the purchasing process influences buyers' decisions, too, which may be why you leave with one cookie more than you'd anticipated.

No-Go Logo?

Whilst it's always good for a company to have a logo, it's not always the aspect of the company that consumers remember. Images have a greater effect on consumers and their purchasing decisions, which makes a lot of sense – a logo acts much like a direct advertisement. Consumers are aware they're seeing an advert, whereas images have a much more subliminal impact. Think about Apple – what is the font like on the Apple name? Or can you just see the little apple image?

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot that neuroscience can tell us about consumer purchasing and consumer mentality in general, which is vital for any marketing strategy. But is this the best way to get to know your customers? Let us know what you think!