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Deep interviews, focus groups ,and surveys are declarative techniques commonly utilized in traditional marketing research. These explicit research techniques are based on studying the behavior demonstrated or explicitly verbalized by the consumer. However, it is very probable that the answers given by the participant are biased or skewed, consciously or unconsciously, due to the influence of stereotypes, cognitive biases, emotions, social and moral norms or simply because he/she is incapable of expressing his/her feelings, thoughts, and what motivates the purchase decision.

In the most recent years, researchers and brands have started to direct interest to the study of nonconscious processes as a way to overcome this challenge, employing implicit investigation techniques, which guide in a subjacent way the behavior of consumers, their decision making and purchase actions. To this end, neuromarketing laboratories are employed, which include human body monitoring technologies that enable the extraction of quantitative data that are crucial to guide the future strategies of brands.

What neuroscience techniques are employed in neuromarketing?

Neuroscientific methods and procedures include a wide range of tools and techniques to measure and map neuronal activity and comprehend how our brain reacts to different somatosensory stimuli. Emotional, cognitive and behavioral information can be obtained with the following techniques. However, not all neuroscientific methods provide value to neuromarketing studies.

Neuroscientific techniques applied to business and advertising research can be divided into three categories:

1. Techniques that register brain physiological activity (of the central nervous system, CNS).

2. Techniques that register other physiological activity (of the peripheral nervous system, PNS).

3. Other techniques that register behavior and conduct.

Techniques that register the physiological activity of the brain (CNS)

The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a very used technique in neuromarketing, and besides being portable and relatively economical, provides valuable information on brain activity. With this technique, the brain's electrical activity is analyzed and registered by a headband or helmet that has small sensors, which are placed on the scalp. This method detects changes in the electrical currents of brain waves.

EEGs are usually distinguished by their applications. There are versatile EEGs that can be employed in scientific research, characterized by utilizing headgear that resembles a shower cap with numerous sensors around the head that can be repositioned. And there are EEGs oriented to a final application, that are comfortable and easy to use, with fewer sensors placed strategically on areas of the brain that need to be registered ( minimalist EEG).

EEG offers a high temporal resolution for the detection of slight changes in brain activity at relatively low costs. Therefore, for neuromarketing investigation, EEG is very useful because it evaluates the value of a marketing stimulus, obtaining a series of metrics such as atention, engagement, affective valence, and memorization.

Diadem EC from Bitbrain is one of the most utilized technologies in neuromarketing studies because it is reliable, comfortable for the user and so lightweight and acceptable that it captures natural behavior. With this device, we can measure affective valence (if a stimulus is perceived as more positive or negative), the probability of memorization, the degree of attention, and engagement (personal relevance).

2. Functional Magnetic Resonance (fRMI in neuromarketing)

Functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) measures and maps brain activity through the detection of changes associated with blood flow. In this method, participants lie in a bed and with their heads surrounded by a scanner that tracks the variations in blood oxygenation in the brain, which are correlated to neuronal activity ( Bercea, 2012; Zurawicki, 2010).

A tridimensional view of the brain is also provided, which can distinguish each internal cortical structure and its activity. In other words, small and deep structures of the brain can be investigated. However, despite its high spatial resolution, it presents very low temporal resolution. Also, it is a very expensive technique, restrictive and intrusive (the patient must lie down and be still inside a machine) and not portable.

3. Magnetoencephalography (MEG in neuromarketing)

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) analyzes and registers magnetic activity in the brain with a helmet that contains 100-300 sensors. This is a method that detects changes in magnetic fields that have been induced by the electrical activity of the brain ( Morin, 2011; Plassmann et al., 2007).

MEG offers a good temporal resolution to detect slight changes in brain activity ( Bercea, 2012; Morin, 2011) but installation costs are much higher than EEG, with the disadvantage that MEG is not portable. Therefore studies can only be carried out in laboratory settings.

4. Positron-emission tomography (PET in neuromarketing)

Positron-emission tomography (PET) is an invasive technique that measures the metabolic activity of the human body. It detects and analyzes the tridimensional distribution of an ultra-short life radiopharmaceutical injected intravenously in the body. Changes in chemical composition can be detected, as well as in the flow of fluid in small and deep structures of the brain.

As PET is an invasive method that employs radioactive agents and exposes subjects to radiation, its application to healthy subjects in non-clinical studies (such as neuromarketing studies) is restricted. Also, it is expensive and presents a very poor temporal resolution.

5. Steady State Topography (SST)

This technique measures the variation in visual evoked potentials SSVEP measured in the EEG activity of the subject when exposed to visual stimuli (in this case, marketing stimuli). Good temporal resolution is achieved through the continuous monitoring of these changes in brain activity with high tolerance to noise during long periods of time. However, these devices can only be utilized with visual stimuli and are, to a certain extent, intrusive to the participant ( Silberstein, 1992, 1995).

Techniques that register the physiological activity of the brain (SNC)

6. Electrocardiogram (ECG in neuromarketing)

Bitbrain's Ring is one of the most employed technologies in neuromarketing studies as it includes both sensors: a galvanometer or GSR and an ECG. Besides, participants present high acceptance of this technology. With the ring, we can measure the emotional activation produced in a time interval that oscillates between a calmness state and an excitation state (emotional activation) and the instantaneous increase of emotional activation produced by a specific stimulus (emotional impact).

The galvanometer is a technology that evaluates the galvanic response or skin perspiration ( galvanic skin response, GSR). This method measures and registers slight changes in the responses of skin conductance. In other words, also in neuromarketing, GSR measures subtle changes in skin perspiration of participants, when skin becomes a better electricity conductor, which can occur due to an increase in the activity of endocrine glands (sweat) after exposure to a marketing stimulus that was physiologically exciting ( Ohme et al., 2011; Venkatraman et al. 2015).

The electrocardiogram (ECG) measures and registers the electrical activity of the heart by placing sensors on the skin. In neuromarketing, the ECG is frequently employed because it enables information to be collected, in real time, on the emotional state of participants exposed to publicity stimuli. Besides, this technique is low-cost and not very intrusive, and participants are comfortable with this technology.

7. Galvanic skin response (GSR in neuromarketing)

The galvanometer is a technology that evaluates the galvanic response or skin perspiration ( galvanic skin response, GSR). This method measures and registers slight changes in the responses of skin conductance. In other words, also in neuromarketing, GSR measures subtle changes in skin perspiration of participants, when skin becomes a better electricity conductor, which can occur due to an increase in the activity of endocrine glands (sweat) after exposure to a marketing stimulus that was physiologically exciting ( Ohme et al., 2011; Venkatraman et al. 2015).

Bitbrain's Ring is one of the most employed technologies in neuromarketing studies as it includes both sensors: a galvanometer or GSR and an ECG. Besides, participants present high acceptance of this technology. With the ring, we can measure the emotional activation produced in a time interval that oscillates between a calmness state and an excitation state (emotional activation) and the instantaneous increase of emotional activation produced by a specific stimulus (emotional impact).

Eye tracking (ET) is a technique that measures and registers eye movements to identify the position of the pupil by utilizing infrared light (which is completely innocuous). Otherwise speaking, it follows the eye movements and registers gaze patterns of the participants. Eye-trackers identify and register gaze patterns to explain the visual path as a response to a specific stimulus and therefore obtain information on visual attention. If you want to know more about how eye tracking technology works, click here.
We can distinguish between several types of eye-tracker:

Stationary eye-tracker: Placed on the lower part of a screen and is employed in controlled or laboratory contexts.

Eye-tracker glasses: Register the gaze pattern in real surroundings thanks to glasses that incorporate an infrared camera.

Eye-trackers in virtual reality glasses: novel technique that brings real contexts to the lab, by immersing the participant in virtual surroundings.

Eye-tracking through webcams: This type of eye-tracking employs a webcam, which is an inexpensive and non-intrusive device. However, in comparison with light-based eye-trackers, these are less precise and do not work well if the person is not in a well-lit room (something difficult to control in online market studies, which are the main application). Resolution and sensitivity to movement are low, requiring the participant to maintain an unnatural posture.

Eye-tracking provides information on temporal processes, with high resolution, at a reasonable cost. There is high acceptance from participants, and it is portable. Therefore, unsurprisingly, eye-trackers are one of the most employed techniques in neuromarketing.

The following video is an example of a study that employed a stationary eye-tracker, along with an EEG, GSR, and ECG:

Facial electromyography (fEMG) is a method that measures and registers the voluntary and involuntary movements of facial muscles to comprehend the emotions correlated with certain facial expressions. That is to say, fEMG uses facial sensors to register the electrical response produced by muscle contractions and therefore is an intrusive and unecological method. Its application is very obstructive to the normal movements of the participant and therefore can alter the facial expressions. Moreover, the amount of muscles that can be measured is limited by the number of sensors that can be placed on the face.

Facial coding (FC), similarly to the electromyogram, measures and registers the voluntary and involuntary movements of facial muscles, but does not employ sensors. This is an indirect measurement technology, and cannot measure the electrical response produced by muscle contraction. The main difference is that it is not necessary to place sensors on the face of participants because a camera is responsible for recording the facial microexpressions (voluntary and involuntary), associated with specific emotional and cognitive states while participants are exposed to investigation stimuli.

The greatest advantage of FC is that it is an inexpensive and portable technology, given that it can be implemented with a webcam. Nevertheless, facial coding loses precision to measure micromovements in comparison with EMG. FC is less intrusive but also less precise.

However, we must keep in mind that the reliability of these neuroscientific techniques depends on different factors:

1. Quality of the technologies: reliability and precision to measure the specific physiological activity.

2. Data processing: algorithms translate physiological changes into cognitive or emotional information. Also, they must be able to remove artifacts.

3. Context of use: not all technologies can be applied to all contexts. It is important to verify whether technologies are mobile, comfortable, etc.

4. Experimental protocol: an inadequate procedure in neuroscience can give place to random results or even the opposite of reality.

Techniques that register behavior and conduct

Besides the tools that measure physiological activity related (or not) to the brain, neuromarketing also frequently employs other techniques and tools that register behavior and conduct.

Implicit Response Test (IRT) in neuromarketing

The Implicit Response Tests (IRT) are another type of tools that provide nonconscious information on attitudes or assets of the participants when exposed to stimuli. These tests are employed with the purpose of capturing the implicit attitudes of people when exposed to, for example, two brands or two characters that are compared. These tests have been widely employed for the last 40 years by psychologists in scientific research and in clinical practice, and endorsed by Washington, Virginia, Harvard and Yale universities.

Contrary to other neuromarketing techniques, the participant does not have to be connected or wear any technology or device. With these type of techniques, what we actually measure is the reaction time: the time elapsed for the participants to classify concepts using the keyboard or screen of their device. Among these tests, we highlight the Implicit Association Tests (IAT), the Semantic Priming and Visual Priming.

The breakthrough of this type of tests is that they can be carried out online, enabling to enlarge considerably the sample of participants and execute several tests simultaneously around the world. The participant does not have to go to a specific location or place any sensors. The only requirements are a connection to the internet, a device (computer, tablet or smartphone), and approximately 10 minutes of concentration to accomplish the task.

12. Indoor positioning techniques (Indoor-GPS in neuromarketing)

Indoor positioning techniques complement other neuromarketing tools in studies where the participant has the freedom to move, such as in a store or market. These techniques register the location of the subject to provide sense to the remaining metrics recorded and identify what causes a reaction in the

Beacons (Indoor-GPS based on beacons)

Devices are installed in walls (beacons), which are capable of detecting the Bluetooth of mobile phones. Nevertheless, these devices present low precision (average errors of 2 meters) and therefore focus on detecting the presence of people, not on identifying their exact location. An application example is when the beacon connects with the Bluetooth of a mobile phone, and the beacon sends an offer from the store to the phone.

The use of cameras in stores in very frequent because they are required for security reasons. For this reason, many stores use the recordings to analyze the zones most visited by users. In these cases, computer-based vision algorithms are employed to identify the zones. There are also cameras that carry out qualitative analysis. In other words, the counting of people that visit a specific zone can be more or less precise, according to the effort invested in the counting. Clearly, this method of obtaining information presents low efficiency. If higher efficiency and precision is required, there are also laser cameras, which are more expensive and employ people-following algorithms. However, it is not cost-effective as a neuromarketing research tool.

Neckly is the only commercially available Indoor-GPS device based on Ultra Wide Band (UWB). This is an indoor positioning system based on a radiofrequency technology, called UWB, consisting of receivers that are located on the walls, covering the entire environment to be analyzed, and of a tracking device that participants place autonomously. The largest advantage of this device, in comparison with beacons, is its lower sensitivity to the presence of obstacles and non-interference with other devices, as occurs with beacons and cell phones. Its high precision enables the location of participants, individually, with average precision lower than 30 cm, which is very important in many applications, including neuromarketing.

An advantage of this technology is that, when combined with other neuromarketing techniques, enables registration of emotions felt by participants throughout the entire route and identify what are the triggers. It is frequent in points of sale and customer experience, and in other environments.

The following video shows the trajectory obtained with this technology, as well as the impact, emotional activation, and visual attention of a participant in a real, point of sale study.

The following video shows the heat map of the grouped results from the same neuromarketing study.

These techniques provide the required tools so that market investigation can document, quantitatively, aspects produced at nonconscious levels related to consumer emotion, cognition, and conduct. Put differently, these techniques help complement declarative techniques employed for years in traditional market investigation and conduct observation tools (such as big data or field observation). Valuable information is provided on the nonconscious of consumers, and there is a better understanding of how purchase processes occur from a holistic perspective. Although we have seen that some technologies are not habitual in the practice of companies and agencies dedicated to neuromarketing due to high costs, reliability or acceptance by participants, other technologies are essential to provide this information that would not be obtained otherwise.

From this perspective, neuromarketing constitutes an important advance in the analysis and comprehension of consumer behavior through the rigorous application of neuroscience knowledge and techniques, and reveals itself as a new fundamental tool, in the present and future, to complement market investigation.

If you are interested in obtaining more information on neuromarketing techniques, there is considerable information available in news and blogs, courses and masters and related scientific studies.

You might be interested in:

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The 7 most common neuromarketing research techniques and tools

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Neuromarketing is a new discipline that complements marketing research and makes use of scientific laboratories and techniques such as brain imaging (with EEG), implicit response tests, eye-tracking and facial coding, to name a few. Do you know all the existing techniques, their advantages, and limitations?

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We already suspected that: the Bavaria commercials with Playboychef Hugh Hefner in the leading role scoring like a 🤬 madman. The Neuro Intelligence Group scanned the brains of a trial panel, which reacted positively to the man and the brand. The nucleus accumbens in particular were stimulated considerably, says the case in a fine preface

https://www.sprout.nl/artikel/8-x-neuromarketing-de-praktijk

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively. The following articles outlines 15 fascinating examples of neuromarketing in action.

1. The Importance of Eye Gaze

It is old news that ads that include people are much more effective than those that do not. In particular, images and videos that include babies tend to attract longer and more focused attention from potential customers. Advertisers have long attempted to boost sales for baby products using close ups of adorable baby faces - with the help of eye tracking technology they have identified that this alone is not enough.

Researchers discovered that when the infant looks face on, viewers will be far more focused on the baby's face to the detriment of focusing on the ad content. However, if the infant is directing its gaze at the product or text then the viewer will in fact focus on the advertising content.

Takeaway: As a result of such findings advertisers have now taken on board that although baby faces are popular among consumers, they also make sure that the baby is looking at what they want the consumer to buy. Read more about the study here.

2. Using Effective Packaging

We all know the feeling of being drawn to particularly striking or attractive packaging. Advertisers have always known that it's not always what's inside that counts, but neuroimaging has managed to take this to a whole new level. Brands such as Campbell's and Frito-Lay have used neuroimaging to reimagine their packaging. In studies, customers were shown packaging with their responses recorded as positive, negative or neutral. In addition, they were interviewed extensively in relation to color, text and imagery.

This research revealed that customers had a negative response to shiny packaging, but didn't show a negative response to packaging when it was matte. Frito-Lay then went on to scrap the shiny packaging, and move on with the new, matte look.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques are being employed extensively to redesign packaging and presentation. To read more about the study above (and some other interesting studies) check out this link.

3. Color is Key

When selecting colors, bear in mind that you may be influencing how potential customers feel. Colors can evoke a wide range of emotions, with studies consistently showing a link between certain colors and certain emotions.

Utilizing a color effectively can be a powerful marketing tool. One of the most infamous examples is Coca Cola's ubiquitous use of the color red, but there are many more companies who have also used color to great effect. Neuromarketing experts specializing in color and advertising have divided colors into subgroups as a guide to how they may be used effectively. Cool blues, for example, are the go-to color if you wish to attract professionals.

Takeaway: Make sure to familiarize yourself with how color may be used to influence purchasing behavior.

4. Ad Efficiency

For many years brain imaging was purely the reserve of the academic or the scientific. Neuromarketing however, has tapped into the incredible potential of fMRI imaging to grant us insights into human behavior and consumer habits.

One example of how neuromarketing has made use of fMRI is to compare advertising campaigns before releasing them to the general public. In one particular study, three different ads for the National Cancer Institute's telephone hotline were viewed by participants. The ad campaign that elicited the highest amount of brain activity in a particular region, led to significantly higher calls to the hotline. This novel approach is a new avenue for identifying ad campaigns that will genuinely engage the public.

Takeaway: fMRI has incredible potential for enhancing marketing strategies, increasing engagement and action.

5. Decision Paralysis

Sometimes, consumer behavior research goes against what we may have previously believed. A study by Columbia University revealed that too many choices may actually be a deterrent for potential customers. Using different types of setups, they found that displays containing a wide array of options were less likely to get customers to stop.

Takeaway: Less is more and sometimes customers can be overwhelmed by too many choices. Interested in learning more about decision paralysis and what to do about it? Take a look at this great article.

6. Evaluating Satisfaction

Emotion Response Analysis (ERA) uses EEG imaging to identify the emotional response an individual has to a product, advertisement etc.

Our level of engagement or emotional arousal in relation to a product is invaluable to the advertiser. If, for example, the consumer experiences high levels of frustration in response to your product then there is evidently an issue with usability you may wish to address. EEG may be used to evaluate consumer satisfaction. In one study EEG was used to evaluate satisfaction with a dermatological treatment. They found that customer satisfaction correlated with activation in the neural circuits involved in evaluating facial beauty.

Takeaway: Like fMRI, EEG can shed light on the most effective ways of advertising (amongst other uses). If you're interested in how EEG can be used in conjunction with iMotions software then check out this link.

7. Loss Aversion

One interesting finding utilized by neuromarketing is that people really don't want to lose out. People are just as worried about what they might lose as what they might gain. For this reason "buy before it's gone" strategies are highly effective.

When the alternative option is posed as a loss, consumers are much more likely to buy. For this reason, a concept called "framing" is highly important in neuromarketing. This technique is how advertisers present decisions to consumers in a way that makes them more likely to splash the cash.

Takeaway: Consumers hate to feel they are missing out on a bargain, so make sure to emphasize if they are set to lose out.

8. Anchoring

The first piece of information your customer receives is highly important. It can be the basis for any subsequent decision making and set the tone for their purchasing behavior. Neuroscientists have discovered a flaw in the workings of the mind, and how it reaches decisions. As individuals, we are rarely able to evaluate the value of something based on its intrinsic worth, but instead compare it with the surrounding options.

A valuable application of neuromarketing therefore, is to take advantage of this "anchoring effect". If for example, you are looking at two hotel rooms which are priced similarly but one offers a free coffee in the morning, you are much more likely to go with the free coffee. You will more than likely not explore the quality of the rooms offered or any detailed features.

Advertisers often take advantage of this when comparing bundle packages or deals against each other. In this way, we may often find ourselves signing up to contracts or a year- long commitment.

Takeaway: Anchoring can help you swing the deal the right way. This interesting piece highlights how anchoring methods can work for businesses.

9. The Need for Speed

Neuromarketing is useful for detecting customer trends. Whilst companies often seek to portray a sense of safety and security, speed and efficiency may be what customers are after. PayPal discovered this by conducting a study which found that the promise of convenience activated the brain more than security. They used this information to convert more shoppers to their online payment service by emphasizing their speedy payment system.

Takeaway: Whilst it may seem like emphasizing the safety and security of a product will win customers over, you may instead want to get the message across that your product is fast and efficient.

10. Revealing Hidden Responses

When testing a new advertisement, Cheetos used focus groups and EEG to evaluate consumer response.

In this particular ad, a woman played a prank on her friend by filling her white load of laundry with orange Cheetos. Focus Groups reported a dislike for the ad, however when an EEG study was ran with the same participants it revealed that they really liked it. Participants in the focus group were afraid to voice the fact they found the ad humorous in case other members thought they were unkind. In this manner, neuromarketing can reveal hidden thoughts and preferences.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques can reveal hidden responses. To read about another interesting technique capable of illuminating our thought processes check out the IAT.

11. Reward and Punishment

Even video game design has started to use psychological principles in the product design process, specifically using reward and punishment in order to make engaging games, and to keep people playing them. By increasing the reward presented by the game, the action may also increase the levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) within the brain. This neurotransmitter is associated with pleasure and positive associations, which can increase the attachment to keep playing.

Game designers are now even hiring psychologists to help with game design, building psychological principles directly into the game mechanics.

Takeaway: Create a pleasurable experience for consumers to keep them attached, and coming back, to the product.

12. Prototype Testing

Whilst advertisements are obviously vital to influencing consumer behavior, the design of products themselves can also be instrumental.

In a famous neuromarketing case, Hyundai used EEG to test their prototypes. They measured brain activity in response to different design features, and explored which kind of stimulation was most likely to result in buying.

The findings of this study led Hyundai to change the exterior design of the cars themselves.

Takeaway: The growth of neuromarketing has the capability to transform the world we live in.

13. Setting the Right Price

How to price products in a way that tempts consumers is a long-running and contentious question. We are all aware that pricing something at $9.99 instead of $10 is an advertising tactic, but does it work?

An array of new findings are shedding light on this age-old question. One fascinating new piece of information being used by neuromarketers, is that rounded figures are more likely to work alongside emotional decision making, whilst more complex figures work better when the logical brain is engaged. This is because complex numbers make the brain work harder, perhaps convincing it that the complexly priced product is the more logical decision.

Takeaway: Take the neuromarketing approach to setting your price.

14. Website Layout

Neuromarketing techniques are also being employed to inform how websites are designed.

From color schemes, layouts, font size and beyond, neuromarketers are delving into our website preferences. There are now some firm rules of thumb when it comes to creating websites. For example, using certifications, testimonials and social widgets are sure to draw customers in more than those that don't.

Another interesting finding is that newer, horizontal style website layouts are less effective than traditionally vertical. This is because reading webpages from the top down engages the brain, and makes viewers more likely to keep on scrolling.

Takeaway: Use science to inform your website design. For 15 additional ways to engage web traffic take a look at this link.

15. Memorable Headlines

Headlines are one of the first things the viewer sees so obviously they need to stand out and be noticed.

As a result they have been heavily researched, with a new neuromarketing technique called "Hippocampal Headlines" being coined. What does this mean? Researchers at University College London found that when a familiar phrase is slightly altered, our hippocampus is activated, and our attention is piqued. Many bloggers have used the example of Patron and their marketing slogan "Practice makes Patron" as an example of this.

Takeaway: If you surprise the brain your advertising campaign will be much more effective.

We hope you have enjoyed these examples. If you want to learn more about neuromarketing, and to see how iMotions can elevate your neuromarketing research, please feel free to get in touch or download our guide below to see how eye tracking can help you uncover valuable insights.

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15 Powerful Examples of Neuromarketing in Action

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively.

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IKEA: de customer journey centraal. Ook IKEA ziet het belang van neuromarketing. Zij gebruiken dit o.a. om de customer journey in kaart te brengen. Dit doen ze door klanten met een headset door de winkel te laten lopen. Hierdoor wordt er geregistreerd waar de klanten naar kijken en hoe zij zich verplaatsen. Nog een leuk weetje: wist je dat IKEA een conceptstore heeft in Delft? Deze winkel ziet er uit als een normale IKEA, alleen is hier de consument onderdeel van een experiment. De bewegingen en acties worden namelijk nauwlettend in de gaten gehouden.

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IKEA: de customer journey centraal. Ook IKEA ziet het belang van neuromarketing. Zij gebruiken dit o.a. om de customer journey in kaart te brengen. Dit doen ze door klanten met een headset door de winkel te laten lopen. Hierdoor wordt er geregistreerd waar de klanten naar kijken en hoe zij zich verplaatsen. Nog een leuk weetje: wist je dat IKEA een conceptstore heeft in Delft? Deze winkel ziet er uit als een normale IKEA, alleen is hier de consument onderdeel van een experiment. De bewegingen en acties worden namelijk nauwlettend in de gaten gehouden.

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IKEA: the customer journey is central IKEA also sees the importance of neuromarketing. They use this, among other things, to chart the customer journey. They do this by letting customers walk through the store with a headset. As a result, what customers look at and how they move is registered. Another nice fact: did you know that IKEA has a concept store in Delft? This store looks like a normal IKEA, but here the consumer is part of an experiment. The movements and actions are closely monitored

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1. When fee is better than free

Is free always the best option? Not in every circumstance, research shows.

Charging a symbolic price for an upgrade might be more effective than to give it away for free! We are talking about the 'Fee-effect'. A symbolic fee will increase more appreciation compared to a free offer. Because when you can get it for free, there must be something wrong with it.

Let's look at an example and see what works better for you.

1. With a Nespresso machine, receive 10freecoffee pads!

2. With a Nespresso machine, receive 10 coffee pads for only€1!

According to science, the second option will result in more customer satisfaction and can generate you more sales. So, the next time you tend to give away promotions in order to generate more sales, think twice.

Mao, W. (2015). Sometimes "Fee" Is Better Than "Free": Token Promotional Pricing and Consumer Reactions to Price Promotion Offering Product Upgrade. Journal of Retailing, 92 (2), 173-184.

2.The new Neuromarketing: Nanomarketing

People are horrible at predicting what they will do or how they will feel. That is why researchers want to learn as much as they can about what happens when we buy products, watch advertisements and interact with brands.

The best way to know what's really going on in people's mind is looking at it directly. We are talking about Neuromarketing research.

You probably heard a lot about this topic already, but there are a few limitations working with the typical neuromarketing techniques. The tools are relatively complex, expensive and the experiments need to be conducted in laboratories.

That is why nanomarketing is introduced. Nanomarketing creates the possibility to integrate neuromarketing tools in small, non-intrusive and wireless devices. An example is the EEG headset which is portable and easy to use. These developments lead to a couple benefits.

Experimentation will become less expensive

Much more data can be collected

Devices are portable

Devices can be used in real-life

Devices are more comfortable for subjects

Nanomarketing studies could revolutionize our understanding of consumer behaviour!

Mileti, A., Guido, G. & Prete, M. I. (2016). Nanomarketing: A New Frontier for Neuromarketing. Psychology and Marketing, 33 (8), p. 664-674.

3.Is the product next to you, losing you sales?

As an advertiser or retailer, you know emotion is a very popular marketing tool. People follow their emotions when making decisions. Which means that emotions influence evaluations of your advertisement, brands or products. It has now been shown that emotional stimuli not only influence the brands they are actually linked to, but these contagion effects can actually extend to brands presented nearby.

So as an advertiser or retailer, think about emotions evoked by the TV-show your advertisement is connected to or about the products you place close to each other in your store. Anything presented near your advertisements or product can potentially impact the evaluation of your brand. Try to gain as much control over the placement as you can and use this knowledge to your advantage.

Hasford J.,Hardesty, D.M. & Kidwell, B. (2015). More Than a Feeling: Emotional Contagion Effects in Persuasive Communication. Journal of Marketing Research, 52 (6), pp. 836-847.

4. Are animated logos more effective?

Company logos like Coca Cola, Pepsi and Shell are starting to look more and more alike. Does this open up the opportunity for your company to be the "first mover" (no pun intended) and use animated logos again?

As a result of a recent study we know that an animated logo increases conceptual fluency and even makes customers favour your brand over another one.

But keep in one thing in mind: your brand personality should match the logo's animation. If you have a static brand or you are in static business let it match and use a static logo. An animated logo for an insurance company may backfire.

Brasel, S.A.& Hagtvedt, H.J. (2016). Living Brands: consumer responses to animated brand logos. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44 (5), pp 639-653.

5. How to use color to make your product look bigger

Color is one of the most important visual cues we have. It conveys a lot of important information about the world around us. Some of this information has interesting implications for issues involving design and marketing.

In particular, the saturation value of color (the liveliness) has recently found to have interesting illusory effects on object perception. The color saturation increases the apparent size of an object and the amount of attention towards it.

These findings hold highly interesting marketing applications.

Do you want a call to action on your website? Use a highly saturated color for this region. Do you want your product to appear larger than it actually is? For instance, the amount of food you are serving in your restaurant. Then you might want to serve your food on a plate with a highly saturated color.

Hagtvedt, H., & Brasel, S. A. (2017). Color Saturation Increases Perceived Product Size. Journal of Consumer Research.

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The 5 Best Neuromarketing Insights Of 2017

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Don't have the time to search through hundreds of neuromarketing research articles? Don't worry, we got it! We've delved into all the articles of this year, and came up with the most read and most interesting ones. Get ready, because these are The 5 best Neuromarketing insights of 2017!

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Neuromarketing: The new science of consumer decisions  | Terry Wu | TEDxBlaine

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Neuromarketing: The new science of consumer decisions  | Terry Wu | TEDxBlaine

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Neuromarketing: Inside the Mind of the Consumer

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Is There a Buy Button Inside the Brain: Patrick Renvoise at TEDxBend

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Is There a Buy Button Inside the Brain: Patrick Renvoise at TEDxBend

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Is There a Buy Button Inside the Brain: Patrick Renvoise at TEDxBend

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https://hbr.org/2019/01/neuromarketing-what-you-need-to-know

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Neuromarketing: The new science of consumer decisions | Terry Wu | TEDxBlaine

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Neuromarketing: The new science of consumer decisions  | Terry Wu | TEDxBlaine

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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2008.00114.x?casa_token=skSqcNlHFtMAAAAA%3Ay7xF4y3bfYWxVFWGGD-46ky0_Qx2cXg2cMhoH1pCh67xguTXSapk7K_-Rcoy1EYY7KwqcVCGTzH4AA

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Frito-Lay has used neuromarketing in both their TVCs and package designs. A few years back prior to a product launch in the potato chips segment, they did some product design testings and the result yielded some crucial findings. They discovered that shiny bags with pictures of chips triggered negative responses compared to bags with a matte design. In conjunction with in-depth interviews, these findings eventually resulted in changes regarding to color, typing, imaging etc. This became the end of shiny Frito-Lay bags in store shelves.

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In addition, because each flavor has its own design, consumers may want to buy more than one flavor to experience all the smiles. And when the chips are gone, they will be hard pressed to find another potato chip brand experience to equal what Lay’s offers. Remember, you can’t eat just one.

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Industry Share of Voice - past 2 weeks

About Lay's TV Commercial, 'Smile for Me'

Lay's puts smiles on people's faces with its fun, trompe l'oeil bags that feature printed grins. Not only will you get a kick out of seeing your own smile on your favorite bag of Lay's, but the company promises to donate part of its proceeds to Operation Smile.

"Get a Smile. Give a Smile."

Korbin Miles Roscoe Brandon ... Guy in white shirt looking at woman's cell phone ... Man with red hair and a polka-dotted shirt holding a green chip bag,

More Lay's Commercials

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Lay's puts smiles on people's faces with its fun, trompe l'oeil bags that feature printed grins. Not only will you get a kick out of seeing your own smile on your favorite bag of Lay's, but the company promises to donate part of its proceeds to Operation Smile.

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Through a no-nonsense, sometimes whimsical portrayal, the spokesman here is trying to make the consumer feel silly for using anything other than Trivago. This campaign indirectly challenges the intellect.

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Charlot van Geest

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Consumatics | Neuromarketing in hospitality

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Get the knowledge that corporates & chains use to influence the behaviour of their guests to increase the satisfation and average spend!

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INFLUENCE OF PRICE AND QUALITY TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: NEUROMARKETING APPROACH

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INFLUENCE OF PRICE AND QUALITY TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: NEUROMARKETING APPROACH

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Charlot van Geest

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How to influence customer behaviour in the future

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How to influence customer behaviour in the future

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The field of neuromarketing, sometimes known as consumer neuroscience, studies the brain to predict and potentially even manipulate consumer behavior and decision making. Over the past five years several groundbreaking studies have demonstrated its potential to create value for marketers. But those…

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With the possibility of finding out how your guest feels, a whole new world opens for a hotel to deliver the best experience and create delight

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Whether for business or for pleasure, when you are in another city or a country, practically, you need a safe place to sleep, rest, shower, change and keep your stuff. For that, you need hotels.

They say the home is where the heart is. The heart, is about feeling. The home, is where the heart is, in my view, because the heart wants to be at home, because at home, the heart feels good, or rather, at home, the heart feels best. And that is because at home, you get everything the way you want it, the way it all best suits you and your innate nature. What if hotels could give you that? With Neuromarketing, they can.
It is about the experience
The key differentiation factor for hotels, is the experience taken away by each guest. That determines repeat business in the future. All textbooks in the trash, and you must forgive me for this taboo statement, but really, the best source of any revenue in many industries including Hospitality, is a customer coming back to you. And if a customer comes back to you, chances are, that same customer is likely to encourage others to come to you. And that all results from or is contingent upon, experience. And there is no better marketing for hotels, than experience itself, while the audience is captive at your disposal, on your premises.

At the Hotel Technology Conference 2016 Singapore, my opening Keynote revolved around the future of hotels being the evolution of experience. Experience, that hotels can provide to their guests in the future, with the help of new or emerging technologies that would make possible, that which has not been possible in the past.

In the past, hotels could not specifically identify how each individual feels, let alone experiences something. There hadn't been the means available to hotels, to determine definitively, the experience taken away by each guest.
Thank Technology for Neuromarketing!
With Neuromarketing made possible thanks to technology such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Electroencephalography, Biometrics, Facial Coding, Eye Tracking and Steady State Topography, Hoteliers can determine or derive how each guest is thinking at the unconscious level, subconscious level as well as even the conscious level, objectively, by means of what the physiology is telling the technology. Therein, it is possible to identify triggers of emotion or indicators of emotional states, to define, feelings.

Allow me here, to let you in on a secret, in case it isn't already known to you; our experience is determined by emotion or feelings more than purely intellectual or logical deduction, in general.

Hotels have the opportunity, a unique one, to to address emotion and feelings at a greater level than do businesses in other industries. And hotels can do this quite very directly.
The Little Things Matter
The colour of the flowers in the corner of the room to reflect or address a certain mood at the end of the day. The music we hear sitting in a lobby area. The scent in the lift. The right thing someone says to us when we are fatigued or upset. Believe it or not, it is not the great deal of an architectural wonder we see of the whole building or the shape of the swimming pool we see outside of a window, but a whole host of little things that affect our feelings and emotions, which then shape our overall experience. Here is another secret; a good experience is one where we the feeling is of happiness or contentment.

With truly personalised information available on each guest, Hoteliers can then execute the necessary measures to cater to individual mood and sentiment. And with the help of IoT and AI enabled smart systems, it isn't exactly a tall order as it may sound.
In the End
It really is about marrying the various different technologies, to attain optimum benefits from their synergies. The feasibility is already in existence. The next step, is the one of embracing.

Here is a cue. Let the technology gather the information or data you need. Then, automate the response. You manage the process of marketing yourself to the guests that come to you, by giving them an experience, that they need, truly and deeply. And your results? Wonders.
Harish Shah is Singapore's first local born Professional and a Management Strategy Consultant. He runs Stratserv Consultancy. His areas of consulting include Strategic Foresight, Systems Thinking and Organisational Future Proofing. He was the Opening Keynote Speaker at both the Hotel Management Summit Singapore 2015 and the Hotel Technology Conference 2016 Singapore.

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What is this about? Whether for business or for pleasure, when you are in another city or a country, practically, you need a safe place to sleep, rest, shower, change and keep your stuff. For that, you need hotels.

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Terry Wu on the science of consumer decisions

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Terry Wu on the science of consumer decisions

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the most subtle changes can influence consumer decisions. So are we really in full control when we make  decisions.

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Neuromarketing: The new science of consumer decisions  | Terry Wu | TEDxBlaine

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9 neuromarketing tricks for your restaurant's menu

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9 neuromarketing tricks for your restaurant's menu

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Have you ever asked yourself why your customers decide on one dish over another when they see your menu? Although there are several influencing factors, one of the biggest ones is the way in which a dish is presented on the menu. This is where neuromarketing comes in, an effective tool in restaurant marketing that enables us to direct customers' attention towards the products that we are most interested in having them try so that their experience is improved and we guarantee our sales.

It is about a technique that enables us to understand the mental, emotional and memory processes that are happening at the time of purchase for the customers, with the objective of guiding their buying decisions towards more satisfactory experiences, and also increasing the profits of the business.

This time we are giving you some of the best neuromarketing tricks applied to one of restaurants' key tools: the menu. Try them all!

The weight of the menu

The weight of the menu counts! If the customer has a menu of a certain weight in their hands, they will have the feeling of being in a more exclusive establishment than if their menu was a simple sheet of paper. But be careful; it should not be a heavy menu either or one that is difficult to handle, but it should be stiff enough to hold itself up when in your hands.

The font type

Choosing a good font for our menu is also important. On one hand, it should be a font that is completely legible, since it is pointless to use a very elaborate or creative font if it cannot be read. On the other hand, it should be a font that instils security and confidence. Using Comic Sans could give a negative impression and come across as too informal, for example. For sweeter dishes, rounded fonts work better, while angular fonts work better for savoury or tart dishes. And if you want to draw attention to some text, cursive fonts achieve this effect.

The names of the dishes

Another characteristic of a tempting menu is that its dishes have attractive and descriptive names. Reading "Mixed salad" does not convey the same message as "Bowl of garden tomatoes, tender asparagus and flowers", just like "Pasta carbonara" is not on the same level as "Creamy pasta with bacon and mushrooms" and "hamburger with cheese" is nowhere near "hamburger with gruyere cheese and caramelised onions". We can also be more creative and go a step further with names like "Viva México" for a recipe from that country or "Molten chocolate dream" for a chocolate fondant.

The descriptions

In line with the previous point, descriptions can also make customers salivate when they read them and that is the idea! Using words that stimulate the senses, like creamy, aromatic, colourful, crunchy, au jus, will help customers to decide on these products, as well as using shorter words whose sounds will be stimulating. It also works to write as much detail as possible about the dishes, so that the customer imagines them and feels tempted to try them. Even describing the mini history of the dishes could go down really well (for example, "this dish emerged from ...) since the emotional aspect will come into play, increasing interest in the dish.

The aesthetic

If the dishes we are interested in selling not only have original names and succulent descriptions but are also accompanied by good pictures, the effect will be excellent, since it has been shown in neuromarketing that customers prefer pictures. And if the entire menu also has a balanced aesthetic that is in line with the brand's graphics, voilà!

The colours

In restaurant marketing, colours are vital. They have different psychological effects, since the brain associates them with different sensations, which is why it is very important to know how to use them in accordance with our objectives. If we want to sell a dish as being fresh and healthy, green could be the right colour for presenting it in terms of text, icons, backgrounds, etc. If we want to quickly spark the customer's hunger, orange is the best colour. The opposite is true of blue, which is an appetite suppressant.

The origin of the products

Another trick that helps to give dishes a more exclusive air and make them sell better is to include the origin of the ingredients, since the customer will have more information about them and will take them to be of better quality. This trick is ideal for using on the menus of organic restaurants, for instance, where the origin of the products is a fundamental piece of information for the customer.

The prices

An error that is usually present in the menus of many restaurants is having the prices of the dishes aligned in a column. This leads the customer to do a quick scan to detect the lowest prices and decide on those dishes. It is a mechanism in our brain that leads us to believe that if we spend less, we are safer. It is therefore better to have the prices out of alignment and in whole numbers without decimals, so that the customer can read them faster. There is also the well-known trick of lowering the price by a cent so that it appears cheaper.

The placement

If the customer quickly finds the dishes he or she always asks for on the menu, he or she will have extra time to explore the rest of the menu and find new products. It is strategic, therefore, to make the most-requested dishes highly visible and to place the other dishes that you would also like to sell near these dishes. Let's say that this way we can cause the customer to be attracted by new flavours and change their usual buying decision. It is also interesting to take cross-selling into account when placing dishes on the menu.

Another article that could help you to determine the most profitable dishes for your menu and place them correctly is: How to increase sales with menu engineering;

There are restaurants that study their new menus for months, testing them with tricks like these until reaching the perfect menu for their objectives. With TheFork Manager, our management software, you can record your customers' preferences over a period of time and later use this information to test your menus. Click here if you do not have this tool yet and would like to try it.

Is all of this effort on restaurant marketing actions worth it? Absolutely! Especially when we realise that a restaurant is one of the businesses where we most have to take into account the emotions and consumer patterns of the customers.

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9 neuromarketing tricks for your restaurant's menu | TheFork Manager

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Have you ever asked yourself why your customers decide on one dish over another when they see your menu? Although there are several influencing factors, one of the biggest ones is the way in which a dish is presented on the menu.

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Neuromarketing: The new science of customer decisions

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Neuromarketing: The new science of consumer decisions  | Terry Wu | TEDxBlaine

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Neuromarketing, het is een breed uitgemeten onderwerp binnen marketing, maar ook daarbuiten. Binnen marketing staat de gigantische potentie van 'neuromarketing' centraal, het daadwerkelijk weten wat de klant wil door toepassing van deze nieuwe onderzoeksmethode. De maatschappelijke aandacht vestigt zich op de ethische problemen: wat gebeurt er als commerciële bedrijven de buy-button in ons brein vinden?

In de dit artikel verkennen we de (on)mogelijkheden van 'neuromarketing'. Is de toekomst zo glansrijk als hij door veel marketeers wordt gezien? Of zijn er beperkingen die de glans van neuromarketing enigszins doen verslappen? Allereerst komen enkele onderzoeksvoorbeelden aan bod. Vervolgens verleggen we de focus naar een definiëring van neuromarketing en de waarde die deze methodiek toevoegt aan marketing.

Neuromarketing toegepast

Het aantal onderzoeken waarbij neuromarketing wordt toegepast groeit gestaag, we trachten daarom ook niet een compleet overzicht te geven. Wel lichten we er enkele prikkelende onderzoeken uit, ter informatie én inspiratie, om na deze voorbeelden een definiëring te bereiken.

Merkbelangen: Coca Cola of Pepsi Cola?

Vrijwel het enige verschil tussen Coca Cola en Pepsi Cola is de naam, het merk. En dat juist dit merk van grote invloed is op de activiteit van onze beloningsgebieden (en daarmee op onze voorkeuren), bewijst het onderzoek van McClure, Tomlin, Cypert, Montage & Montague (2004).

Coca Cola en Pepsi Cola zijn vrijwel gelijk in samenstelling, het belangrijkste verschil tussen deze twee dranken betreft vooral het merk. We weten dat tijdens een blinde test de voorkeuren van respondenten ongeveer gelijk verdeeld zijn, zowel qua opgegeven reactie (traditioneel onderzoek) als de reactie die in de hersenen wordt gemeten.

Wat gebeurt er nu als mensen wel weten welke drank ze drinken? Wanneer respondenten weten dat zij Pepsi Cola drinken, blijft hun voorkeur, zowel op papier als in hun hersenen, onveranderd. De wetenschap van het drinken van Coca Cola roept echter een totaal andere reactie op. We constateren een sterke voorkeur en dankzij neuromarketing zien we de activatie van het beloningsgebied (en vele andere gebieden) in de hersenen. Merkkennis zorgt voor een daadwerkelijk verschillende reactie, zowel bewust als onbewust, op twee vergelijkbare producten!

Onbewuste reactie op visuele stimuli

Visuele stimuli spelen een grote rol in ons keuzeproces, van advertentiecampagnes tot de inrichting van een winkel (Uitzending Labyrint "De gedachtenlezers"). Maar worden wij nu, bewust of onbewust, beïnvloed door deze visuele stimuli? En hoe subtiel verloopt deze beïnvloeding?

Allereerst twee foto's om uw eigen reactie te testen. Welke reclamefoto activeert het beloningscentrum in ons hersenen het sterkst? En waarom? Waardoor worden wij beïnvloed, hebben we dit zelf in de gaten?

De tweede foto zorgt voor de grootste positieve activatie in onze hersenen, gebaseerd op twee subtiele redenen (Uitzending Labyrint "De gedachtenlezers"). Allereerst is de lepel in de soep van belang, deze zorgt voor een extra sterke activatie. Een tweede trigger is de damp die van de hete soep komt. Hier is sprake van onbewuste beïnvloeding door subtiele stimuliverandering.

Hoe subtiel de verschillen zijn en hoe deze subtiele verschillen tot onbewuste beïnvloeding leiden, zien we ook in de keuze voor auto's (Uitzending Labyrint "De gedachtenlezers"). Wanneer auto's worden uitgekozen middels een website met een groene achtergrond, ligt onze focus op de prijs van deze auto. Prijs is in dat geval grotendeels bepalend voor onze keuze voor een auto. Veranderen we deze achtergrond in rood, dan zijn veiligheidsaspecten van groot belang en verschuift het belang van prijs naar de achtergrond.

En dit zijn slechts enkele van de voorbeelden van de resultaten van neuromarketing... Deze voorbeelden leiden tot een eerste beeldvorming rond neuromarketing, maar wat is neuromarketing nu echt? En waar, binnen het spectrum van alle bekende marketingstrategieën en -technieken, kunnen we het plaatsen?

Wat is neuromarketing?

Zoals in de inleiding al aangegeven, is neuromarketing een veelgebruikte term, zowel binnen als buiten marketing. Maar is helder wat neuromarketing precies is? Is het een techniek die wordt gebruikt om in onze hersenen te kijken en ons meer te laten kopen? En hoe werkt neuromarketing eigenlijk?

Om de term neuromarketing te analyseren en definiëren, is het van belang eerst vast te stellen wat marketing is. Ook deze definities lopen sterk uiteen. De officiële definitie gehanteerd door de American Marketing Association is als volgt: "Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large". Philip Kotler omschrijft marketing als: "Het sociale proces en managementproces door middel waarvan individuen en groepen datgene verkrijgen wat ze nodig hebben en willen. Dit alles door het maken en ruilen van producten en waarde met anderen".

Maar natuurlijk staat in dit artikel neuromarketing centraal. De definitie die we hanteren is afkomstig van Smidts (2002): "The objective of neuromarketing is to improve our understanding of how customers react to marketing stimuli by measuring brain processes directly, and by using these measures to develop more effective marketing stimuli."

Dit leidt tot de vraag of de term "neuromarketing" niet misleidend is. Neuromarketing is met name een onderzoeksmethode, een meetmethode om opnieuw of dieper inzicht te verkrijgen in consumentengedrag. Het is daarmee in zichzelf geen vorm van marketing die leidt tot intensivering of verbetering van het ruilproces. Allereerst leidt dit tot de conclusie dat de term neuromarketing hiermee enigszins misleidend is. Ten tweede leidt dit tot een vraag: Wat is neuromarketing dan wel?

Neuromarketing is een onderzoeksmethode, die gebruikt wordt om dieper inzicht te verkrijgen in consumentengedrag en -wensen. Het gaat hierbij om het gedrag dat in onze hersenen zichtbaar is, een primaire reactie. Deze activatie van verschillende hersengebieden wordt bij neuromarketing gemeten. Het gaat dus niet om een (achteraf) gerationaliseerde beslissing, keuze of wens. De primaire reactie die we in onze hersenen meten komt voort uit ons on-bewuste. We zien het niet, we zijn ons er niet van bewust, maar het stuurt ons gedrag. Het gedrag dat we rationaliseren zodra we met een aankoop de winkel uit lopen, maar ook voor we een aankoop doen of tijdens het proces. Het gedrag dat ons vertelt dat Coca Cola toch écht veel lekkerder is dan Pepsi Cola. Of niet. In ieder geval kunnen we concluderen dat ons onbewuste een veel grotere rol speelt dan wij denken (Dijksterhuis, 2007).

Nu we hebben vastgesteld dat ons onbewuste van doorslaggevend belang is voor ons gedrag, zien we ook de gevolgen voor traditioneel onderzoek: zijn wij in staat onze keuzes uit te drukken in woorden? Weten wij überhaupt waarom wij een keuze gemaakt hebben of, nog moeilijker, waar wij in de toekomst een keuze op baseren? Dit voordeel biedt neuromarketing ons: het stelt ons in staat te zien welke hersengebieden worden geactiveerd, we kennen de functies van de hersengebieden, dus we kunnen een primaire reactie meten. Natuurlijk heeft traditioneel marktonderzoek zijn sporen al ruim verdiend, terwijl neuromarketing nog in de kinderschoenen staat. Van een in potentie zeer waardevolle toevoeging aan marktonderzoek kunnen we echter wél spreken.

Zoals zojuist geconcludeerd, staat neuromarketing ten opzichte van traditioneel marktonderzoek nog in de kinderschoenen. Neuromarketing voert onderzoeken uit naar velerlei vormen van consumentengedrag. De onderwerpen van studies variëren: van pricing tot product memory en van merkvoorkeur tot de keuze voor en de aankoop van een product (Reimann, Schilke, Weber, Neuhaus en Zaichkowsky, 2011). Hiermee bedekken neuromarketingonderzoeken steeds meer belangrijke marketingaspecten, die een rol spelen in het beslissingsproces. Om de outputs van dit beslissingsproces in kaart te brengen, gebruiken we een doorsnede van het Howard-Sheth Model. De outputs zijn hieronder weergegeven.

Het Buyer Behavior Model van Howard-Sheth is afkomstig uit 1969 en is een van de belangrijkste marketingmodellen om onder andere het beslisgedrag van consumenten in te kaderen. Wanneer we de huidige neuromarketingonderzoeken in dit model plaatsen, valt op dat vrijwel alle pijlers langzaam worden ingevuld met deze onderzoeken. Echter, vooral binnen purchase is het aantal neuromarketingonderzoeken beperkt, de onderzoeken richten zich vooralsnog voornamelijk op de reactie die een afweging tussen de aankoop en de bijbehorende kosten veroorzaakt. Het gelimiteerde aantal purchase-onderzoeken wordt mede veroorzaakt door technische beperkingen. De meetapparatuur die gedurende deze onderzoeken wordt gebruikt, is nog niet dermate mobiel dat de hersenactiviteit van deelnemers tijdens een werkelijk aankoopproces in kaart kan worden gebracht.

Voor een volledig overzicht van onderzoeksgebieden binnen neuromarketing, verwijzen wij u graag naar de metastudie van Reimann et al. (2011).

De huidige neuromarketingonderzoeken concentreren zich vooral op al bekende marketingconstructen. De vraag is daarmee of neuromarketing meer is dan een aanvulling op traditionele marktonderzoeken naar consumentengedrag, of dat neuromarketing ook een op zichzelf staand vakgebied is dat nieuwe onderzoeksgebieden gaat verkennen. Tot op heden ligt de focus van neuromarketing met name op verificatie; met een nieuwe techniek worden de aloude, bekende marketingconstructen uit het beslissingsmodel opnieuw onderzocht. Door middel van deze verificatie breiden we onze inzichten in consumentengedrag uit. Echter, vooral wanneer neuromarketing los komt te staan van verificatie en zich uitbreidt om nieuwe aspecten van marketing te ontdekken en verkennen, leidt dit tot dieper inzicht in de klant. Op termijn stelt dit ons in staat om de klant beter te bedienen, door producten en diensten aan te bieden die de klant écht wil, zelfs als die klant daar zelf nog niet van op de hoogte is wegens het onbewuste niveau waarop deze keuzeprocessen zich afspelen. Voor het zover is, zijn er nog wel technologische, maar vooral wetenschappelijke stappen voorwaarts vereist. De onderzoekstechniek kent namelijk ondanks de vele voordelen, ook nog enkele nadelen.

De voor- en nadelen van neuromarketing

Zoals iedere onderzoeksmethode, kent ook neuromarketing voor- en nadelen. Een deel van de nadelen komt voort uit de techniek en hoever deze gevorderd is. Door de hoge kosten van neuromarketing, is het aantal proefpersonen dat deelneemt aan een onderzoek vaak gelimiteerd. Daarnaast moet de stimulus meerdere keren worden herhaald voor het verkrijgen van een eenduidig beeld. Hierdoor wordt de complexiteit van het onderzoek beperkt. Deze technologische beperkingen zijn echter niet de belangrijkste beperkingen. Er rijzen namelijk enkele fundamentele vragen.

De eerste fundamentele vraag wordt veroorzaakt door het analyseren van de resultaten van onderzoeken die door middel van neuromarketing zijn uitgevoerd. De resultaten van deze onderzoeken liggen, in tegenstelling tot de resultaten verkregen via traditionele onderzoeksmethodes, zeer sterk op één lijn. Een groot voordeel, zo lijkt het. Of is het een teken dat deze techniek of, meer waarschijnlijk, onze kennis van de hersenen op dit moment nog tekort schiet? Mogelijk betekent dit gebrek aan discussie over resultaten dat we niet goed in staat zijn kleine variaties te meten, in dat geval een zeer essentiële beperking van het onderzoek.

Ook de tweede belangrijke vraag richt zich op de beschikbare kennis over onze hersenen. In neuromarketing wijzen we een reactie toe aan een gebied: een positieve reactie speelt zich bijvoorbeeld af in het beloningsgebied, een negatieve reactie in een ander gebied. En dan zijn er nog alle tussenliggende varianten. We kunnen ons echter afvragen of wij genoeg van onze eigen hersenen weten. Zelfs medici staan nog vaak versteld van de (on)mogelijkheden van ons brein: hersengebieden die, bij beschadiging, elkaars taken overnemen. Zijn de resultaten verkregen door neuromarketing op dit moment al wel betrouwbaar, geven ze daadwerkelijk inzicht, of lichten ze slechts een tipje van de sluier op en valt er nog veel meer te ontdekken?

Naast deze belangrijke nadelen heerst er een angst voor neuromarketing. Is er daadwerkelijk een buy-button in onze hersenen, en hoe groot zijn de gevolgen als deze buy-button wordt gevonden?

Deze nadelen wegen echter niet op tegen de voordelen. Het verkrijgen van inzicht in de processen die zich in onze hersenen afspelen, ongeacht of dit nu richtinggevend of doorslaggevend is, is van groot belang. De grootste voordelen:

1. Neuromarketing stelt ons in staat om psychologische processen die zich in de hersenen afspelen te interpreteren op het moment dat zij zich daar afspelen. Dit houdt in dat we de werkelijke reactie zien, zonder respondenten te vragen terug te denken aan een keuze en hun bijbehorende gevoelens terug op te roepen.

2. Neuromarketing stelt ons in staat om processen en condities te meten die onbewust plaats vinden.

3. Neuromarketing stelt ons in staat om constructen die hetzelfde lijken, maar niet dezelfde reactie oproepen in onze hersenen, te lokaliseren en te identificeren. Hierdoor ontstaat onderscheid en subtiliteit, terwijl de constructen met traditioneel marktonderzoek gelijkwaardig leken.

4. Neuromarketing stelt ons in staat om tegelijkertijd de activatie van twee tegengestelde condities en processen te meten.

Kortom, neuromarketing zorgt ervoor dat we een dieper inzicht verkrijgen in zowel de cognitieve als emotionele processen en reacties die zich in onze hersenen afspelen, waardoor we onze kennis van consumentengedrag en de manier waarop dit is te beïnvloeden, kunnen verdiepen. Vooral door de grote belangen van het onbewuste tijdens ons keuzeproces, lijkt neuromarketing een grote aanvullende waarde op traditioneel marktonderzoek te hebben.

De buy-button: feit of fabel?

Nu we weten wat neuromarketing is, wat de doelen van de onderzoeken zijn en zowel de voordelen als beperkingen van het onderzoek kennen, kunnen we concluderen of de angst voor het vinden van de buy-button in onze hersenen terecht is. Hoewel het waar is dat onze hersenen besluiten nemen voordat wij ons hiervan bewust zijn en wij deze beslissingen achteraf rationaliseren, is het niet zo dat er een buy-button in onze hersenen aanwezig is, die simpelweg aan of uit kan worden gezet door de juiste reclame toe te passen. Neuromarketing geeft een dieper inzicht in de processen die zich in de hersenen afspelen bij het ervaren van een stimulus. Het kan (mede) het succes van een campagne voorspellen, van een productverpakking, etcetera. Kortom, we weten hoe mensen een stimulus ervaren en wat hun fysieke reactie is. Desondanks is de angst voor een buy-button onterecht: we kunnen meten of stimuli gewenst gedrag oproepen... Soortgelijk aan goed traditioneel marktonderzoek. Na grote technologische sprongen en uitgebreid onderzoek zal neuromarketing verfijnen, maar een buy-button activeren en ons beïnvloeden is voorlopig science-fiction.

Neuromarketing: een glansrijke toekomst?

Tijd op een tipje van de sluier voor de toekomst op te lichten. Een glansrijke toekomst naar ons idee, neuromarketing is op dit moment al een waardevolle toevoeging aan de wetenschap, die waarschijnlijk alleen maar zal uitbreiden. Nu al biedt neuromarketing ons dieper inzicht in beslissingsstructuren die zich, onbewust, in onze hersenen afspelen.

De waarde van neuromarketing zal zich nog meer bewijzen wanneer er technologische vooruitgang wordt geboekt, waarmee koopprocessen geheel in kaart kunnen worden gebracht, in een natuurlijke, minder gecontroleerde omgeving.

Tot die tijd is neuromarketing een onderzoeksmethodiek die in ontwikkeling is en niet voor niets: het biedt nieuwe mogelijkheden om onderzoeken te verifiëren en later ook uit te breiden. Een dieper én waardevoller inzicht in beslissingsprocessen.

Wilt u meer weten over neuromarketing, dan kunt u contact met ons opnemen via 010 - 452 86 02.
Bronnen en interessante literatuur

American Marketing Association, definition marketing, approved 2007.

Dijksterhuis, A.J. (2007). Het slimme onbewuste. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Bakker.

Eberhardt, T., Jojcik, T., Linzmajer, M., Hubert, M., Kenning, P. (2010). The sweet side of sugar - the influence of raised insulin levels on price fairness and willingness to pay. In M.C. Campbell, J., Inman, & R.

Pieters (Eds.). Advances in consumer research, 37. Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research

Howard, J.A., Sheth, J.N. (1969). A Theory of Buyer Behavior. Comprehensive Models of Consumer Behavior, 5, 467-487.

Hubert, M. (2010). Does neuroeconomics give new impetus to economic and consumer research? Journal of Economic Psychology, 31(5), 812-817.

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (1996). Principles of Marketing. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

McClure, S.M., Li, J., Tomlin, D., Cypert, K.S., Montague, L.M., & Montague, P.R. (2004). Neural Correlates of Behavioral Preference for Culturally Familiar Drinks. Neuron, 44(2), 379-387.

Morin, C. (2011). Neuromarketing: The New Science of Consumer Behavior. Society, 48(2), 131-135.

Plassmann, H., O'Doherty, J., Shiv, B., & Rangel, A. (2008). Marketing actions can modulate neural representations of experienced pleasantness. PNAS, 105(3), 1050-1054.

Reimann, M., Schilke, O., Weber, B., Neuhaus, C., & Zaichkowsky, J. (2011). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Consumer Research: A Review and Application. Psychology & Marketing, 28(6), 608-637.

Smidts (2002). Kijken in het brein. Over de mogelijkheden van neuromarketing.

Stallen, M., Smidts, A., Rijpkema, M., Smit, G., Klucharev, V., & Fernández, G. (2010). Journal of Economic Psychology, 31(5), 802-811.

Uitzending Labyrint "De gedachtenlezers".

Bijlage - Neuromarketing technieken

Neuromarketing is een onderzoekstechniek die in kaart probeert te brengen hoe we stimuli verwerken en hoe we beslissingen nemen. Er zijn verschillende technieken geschikt voor het uitvoeren van dit onderzoek, ieder met hun eigen voor- en nadelen. Hierna geven we een kort overzicht van deze technieken, waaronder de meest gebruikte fMRI methode.
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Wanneer mensen in aanraking komen met een stimulus geven neuronen in onze hersenen electroden af. Deze elektromagnetische activiteit wordt door middel van een EEG zichtbaar in de vorm van brainwaves. Een voordeel van gebruik van een EEG is dat deze onderzoeksmethode relatief goedkoop is. Echter, de locatie van activiteit is moeilijker te bepalen. Het is daarom minder goed bruikbaar voor het begrijpen en voorspellen van de effecten van advertenties.
Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Een MEG meet, net als een EEG, elektromagnetische activiteit. Het belangrijkste voordeel van een MEG ten opzichte van een EEG is dat de locatie in de hersenen nauwgezetter kan worden bepaald en dat de reacties bijna real-time te meten zijn. Deze techniek is minder geschikt voor het ontdekken van activiteit aan de oppervlakte van de hersenen. De methode is daardoor niet ideaal voor marketing research studies naar cognitieve functies en emoties.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
De fMRI methode is de meest gebruikte methode voor neuromarketing. Bij deze onderzoeken wordt gebruik gemaakt van een MRI scanner, waarbij verandering in de doorbloeding van de hersenen wordt gemeten. De locatie is met grote precisie te achterhalen, tot zelfs tien keer beter dan bij EEG. Daarnaast is de beschikbaarheid van MRI scanners veel groter dan bijvoorbeeld de beschikbaarheid van MEG apparatuur. Ook deze methode kent echter een belangrijk nadeel: er zit een paar seconden vertraging tussen het moment dat mensen in aanraking komen met een stimulus en het moment dat hun bloedtoevoer hierdoor verandert. Deze vertraging is nog niet te standaardiseren, wel is deze te ondervangen door het doen van vele proef-metingen.

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Neuromarketing: een glansrijke toekomst? - ICSB

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Neuromarketing, het is een breed uitgemeten onderwerp binnen marketing, maar ook daarbuiten. Binnen marketing staat de gigantische potentie van 'neuromarketing' centraal, het daadwerkelijk weten wat de klant wil door toepassing van deze nieuwe onderzoeksmethode. De maatschappelijke aandacht vestigt zich op de ethische problemen: wat gebeurt er als commerciële bedrijven de buy-button in ons brein vinden?

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Neuromarketing: Hacking Into Consumers' Minds

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Neuromarketing: Hacking Into Consumers' Minds

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It’s All In Your Head: A Look At Neuromarketing

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It’s All In Your Head: A Look At Neuromarketing

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It's All In Your Head: A Look At Neuromarketing

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As consumers, we don't often realize it but we are being marketed to in some very subtle, psychological ways on a daily basis. Some companies pay good money to study what does and doesn't persuade our spending habits.

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By neuromarketing testing tools we can measure unconscious reactions that people experience during their visit to a store, either while they are consuming products or just looking at products on the shelves.
BrainSigns' methods, knowledge and testing experience, underly the innovative tests for Customer Experience, focusing on the effect of spaces and products on consumer perception that highly affect the purchase decision process. This implies investigating the instinctive physiological reactions of consumers moving in a real context, during their experience.

Measuring physiological reactions with these innovative indicators is extremely performant as advanced knowledge in neuroscience has demonstrated that instinctive unconscious processes are key drivers in the motivation of human behavior but are difficult to reveal in verbal interviews as most of them are unconscious.

BrainSigns' expertise in this field has been developed in some of the more well known Museums thanks to many scientific articles in the neuro-aesthetic field and with pilots studies conducted with the use of neuroscientific tools and techniques and realized on behalf of private companies related to the analysis of the consumer shopping experience and to the analysis of consumer interaction with product/packaging.

How We Work

Technologies involved are the following:

People in the target area are equipped with sensors and monitored during a shopping experience along a defined or a free path. During the experimental task generally some positions are pre-defined whilst others totally left free. At the end of the shopping/space exploration a psychological expert has a final interview with the testee immediately or later, as required by the study.

Better knowledge of such perceptions provides interesting insights in order to better refine products and packaging, to improve the cordiality perceived in retail expositions, to optimize product related elements(packages, shapes, colors, materials, position). It is also possible to study space perceptions, in terms of light effects, colors, or furniture position, to improve ergonomics and positive emotions perceived during the shopping experience.

What you will get:

Discover if the change of product position affects consumer interest

Understand which packages elicit positive emotions

Discover if new products draw higher attention of the previous ones

Discover which product elements generate confusion or are negatively perceived

Discover which In-store ad draws higher visual attention

Understand how to improve store layout and design to increse sales

Find out how to attract, engage, and motivate the customer towards making a purchase

Understand how specific atmospheric elements affect consumer experience (lighting, music, scent, colour)

Questions that could be answered:

Where is the customer attention mainly focussed during a retail visit?

Which elements or situation in a retail exposition may elicit positive/negative emotions?

Where or when does the customer perceived confusion?

May some change in the product or in its packaging elicit additional positive emotions?

Measuring instinctive reaction in real context by the use of neuroscientific tools and techniques represents an innovative way for creating a successful marketing strategy and improving product selling effectiveness.

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By neuromarketing testing tools we can measure unconscious reactions that people experience during their visit to a store, either while they are consuming products or just looking at products on the shelves. BrainSigns' methods, knowledge and testing experience, underly the innovative tests for Customer Experience, focusing on the effect of spaces and products on consumer perception that highly affect the purchase decision process.

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On June 19, 2016 the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The franchise, founded in 1970, had never won an NBA championship.

A few weeks after the Cavs' victory, Nike released a spot called "Worth the Wait".

As of this article being published, the video on YouTube has over 5.6 million views.

Every time I watch this video, my throat tightens and I tear up a little. I'm not from Ohio (in fact, I'm from a notorious rival state), the Cavs are not my team, I'm not even a huge basketball fan. But this ad makes me feel. It taps into something deeply human, feelings of community and triumph.

Nike is incredible at this. From their 2012 " Find Your Greatness" campaign to their 2014 ad for the World Cup " Winner Stays " (which has more than 40 million views on YouTube), Nike knows how to elicit emotion.

And it's clear they spend big bucks to do it. Why?

Because Nike knows that we - consumers, people, humans - don't buy products or services...we buy feelings.

Comfort. Acceptance. Power. Freedom. Control. Love. We are all longing to find satisfaction for our intangible desires. If you can provide a payoff for your prospects' unspoken needs, you will find yourself handsomely rewarded.

The old brain, the middle brain and the new brain

If you're a marketer, chances are you've heard about the 'old', 'middle' and 'new' brains in relation to how we make (buying) decisions. The 3 brains refer to the structure of the brain in relation to its evolutionary history. Here's a brief overview.

In the 1940's, Paul MacLean popularized the triune brain theory, where he categorized the brain into 3 parts: Reptilian (old, sensory), Limbic (middle, emotional) and Neocortex (new, rational).

1. The reptilian brain evolved first and controls the body's core functions from heart rate to breathing to balance. It's called the reptilian brain because it includes the brainstem and cerebellum (the main structures found in a reptile's brain).

2. The limbic brain came next and includes the hippocampus, the amygdala and the hypothalamus. This is the part of your brain that records memories of behaviors that produced pleasant or unpleasant experiences: it's responsible for your emotions and value judgements.

3. The last to evolve, the neocortex is credited with the development of human language, abstract thought, imagination and consciousness. It includes the two large cerebral hemispheres and has almost infinite learning abilities.

So, which of the 3 brains buys?

In classic economic theory, consumers are rational economic actors who make choices after considering all relevant information, using the new brain. While this may well hold true for large purchases, like insurance or a house, recent research has pointed to the power of our older brains in everyday purchase decisions (like buying that pair of Nikes).

Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux explained "...the wiring of the brain at this point in our evolutionary history is such that connections from the emotional systems to the cognitive systems are stronger than connections from the cognitive systems to the emotional systems."

LeDoux is suggesting that our brain waves flow from old brain to new brain, meaning our decision-making processes are much less rational than we'd all like to believe.

Moreover, feelings happen before thought and they happen far faster.

We have gut reactions in three seconds or less. In fact, emotions process sensory input in only one-fifth the time our conscious, cognitive brain takes to assimilate that same input. Quick emotional processing also happens with cascading impact. Our emotional reaction to a stimulus resounds more loudly in our brain than does our rational response, triggering the action to follow.

Emotions are powerful.

Neuroscience + Marketing

In recent years, the science dubbed neuromarketing has begun to emerge; it " bridges the study of consumer behavior with neuroscience". The first piece of neuromarketing research was published in Neuron in 2004 by Read Montagne, Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Montague studied a group of people as they drank either a Pepsi or Coca Cola while their brains were scanned with an fMRI machine. The results suggested that a strong brand (like Coca Cola) could "own" a piece of a person's frontal cortex.

This foray into the brain has opened new doors for marketers. In his essay " Neuromarketing: The New Science of Consumer Behavior ", Christophe Morin describes the model behind this new science:

The brain is responsible for all consumer behaviors...we only use about 20% of our brains consciously. Worse, we do not control the bulk of our attention since we are too busy scanning the environment for potential threats. Because nothing matters more than survival, we are in fact largely controlled by the ancient part of our brain know as the R-complex or the reptilian brain.

Morin goes on to quote neuroscientist Antonio Damasio who said, "We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think." We are proud of our thinking abilities, but the fact of the matter is, our brains have relied on instinct for millions of years.
Research would suggest that we can optimize our marketing messaging by speaking to consumers' reptilian brains.
ConversionXL published a great post on " 6 neuromarketing stimuli that speak to the old brain " including:

The old brain's self-centered nature

The old brain's sensitivity to clear contrast

The old brain's love of the familiar

The old brain's responsiveness to openings and finales

The old brain's affinity for visuals

The old brain's responsiveness to emotional persuasion

And we're back to emotions. To that Nike ad that makes me cry. And then really want some Nikes.

Note: Neuromarketing is not without its critics who voice ethical concerns akin to those that arose in the days of subliminal messaging. There are concerns that this research could lead to manipulation of consumers. It's up to the marketing community to use this know-how to benefit the consumer first. With great knowledge, comes great responsibility.

System 1 and System 2

Dual-process theory is another cognitive theory about how we make decisions; it originated in the 1970's and 1980's and has been developed in more recent years.

The "dual" refers to the 2 cognitive systems we use everyday. In 1999, Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of Toronto, Keith E. Stanovich dubbed the two systems (rather generically) in order to label the 2 different sets of properties. The terminology stuck.

This table showcases clusters of attributes frequently associated with the dual-process theory of higher cognition.

Characteristics to note within the intuitive process are fast, nonconscious, automatic, and experience-based decision making. In other words, our intuitive cognitive system is easier, requiring less focus and energy.

It follows that, if you can tap into your customers' natural affinity for old brain, system 1 decision making, you'll most likely see an uptick in conversions.

The level of dominance of each process at a particular time is the key determinant of purchasing decisions. Visitors are more likely to add a product to their cart when the emotional process takes control as they are directed by 'how it feels' and not 'is it worth it.'...Advertising is above all a way to groom the emotional state.

What users want, what they really, really want

It happens often: during our Explore phase, a client's users will tell us (via surveys and other forms of qualitative feedback) that they want more information to...well...inform their purchase. Users often vocalize a desire for more description, more specs, presumably so that they can make a rational, thoughtful decision.

We also often have clients who come to us, assuming that their users need more information to make a purchase decision, particularly if their product is technically complex. And yet, time and time again, we test more information against a Control and more information looses.

Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what's left.

Of course, you must take this suggestion with a grain of salt. Your users may, in fact, respond to more information versus less (we've seen that too!) but given all of the research that points toward "we buy feelings and rationalize our decisions later" it's certainly worth testing more concise product descriptions, information hidden behind tabs, etc.

We can't all be Nike, and Nike's tactics certainly wouldn't work for all of us. But when you're considering your customers' decision-making, be sure to take into account how you can up the feels.

In his book, You Should Test That!, Chris Goward discusses the "Intangible Benefits" of your Value Proposition. This is where the feelings associated with your brand sit. The question is, how can you highlight these intangibles?

Test video case studies and testimonials against written ones (visuals appeal to the old brain). Test copy that emphasizes your credibility and trustworthiness (alleviate consumer anxiety), test copy that emphasizes social proof (tap into consumer FOMO and yearning for community). Make your users feel: happy, sad, afraid, connected, angry.

Because we don't buy things. We buy feelings.
How do you make your users feel? How do you emphasize the intangible benefits of your offering? Let us know in the comments!

Get your guide now

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I feel, therefore I buy: How your users make buying decisions - WiderFunnel Blog

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On June 19, 2016 the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The franchise, founded in 1970, had never won an NBA championship. A few weeks after the Cavs' victory, Nike released a spot called "Worth the Wait".

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One of the most mind-wrecking issues entrepreneurs battle with on a daily basis is how to grow and expand the productivity and profitability of their business beyond its current status. There are endless possibilities, and today, I specifically cover how neuromarketing will help your business grow even in a harsh and competitive environment.

Every entrepreneur knows that for any growth to be a possibility, you have to maintain customer appeal, attract new clients, and ensure consumer satisfaction.

Neuromarketing Is Quickly Becoming a Widely Practiced Business Trend

Neuromarketing is specifically designed to target customer attraction, appeal, satisfaction, and retention. According to renowned psychologist Robert Ornstein, neuromarketing appeals to the part of the brain he refers to as "the old brain."

Neuromarketing sounds like a trendy concept, but what exactly is it?

According to an article on Entrepreneur, neuromarketing is a relatively new field of marketing that makes use of medical technology to accurately measure how the brain responds to marketing stimuli. It is based on the idea that the unconscious mind drives consumer responses.

What Ornstein refers to as "old brain" is actually the brain stem and other brain structures that are responsible for a person's survival. This is the section of the brain entrepreneurs must appeal to because it plays a crucial role in assessing situations.

The "old brain" determines what captures a person's attention. If you want to ensure customer attraction and customer retention, the concept of neuromarketing will come in handy. It will substantially aid business growth because it taps into the pleasure center of the brain.

According to Forbes, neuromarketing is not a pseudoscience. Indeed, a number of research papers have ascertained that it is a practical. Moreover, it is a viable solution that can be used as a business growth tool.

Are you looking to grow your business? Here is how you can harness the power of neuromarketing to ensure the steady growth of your business. With this exciting new technique, you can study a person's brain activity to determine how they respond to different marketing stimuli.

How the Power of Neuromarketing Will Assist in Business Growth

Neuromarketing techniques use emotions to trigger a positive response from customers.
To catch the interest of a customer and retain the attention, you have to constantly appeal to the emotions.
When you trigger the emotions of a consumer positively, your brand instantly becomes memorable, and you are likely to win their loyalty. So how do you take advantage of this? Simple! Structure all your ad campaigns in a way that tells a story which evokes emotions.

A company that effectively employed this technique is eBay. An up-and-coming neuromarketing firm, NeuroFocus, developed a massively successful brand identity for eBay based on tests done on consumers that measured their emotional responses.

According to Dr. Ken Blanchard, the bestselling author of Legendary Service: The Key is to Care, Neuromarketing substantially helps in customer satisfaction by helping to ascertain which customer service techniques are satisfactory to clients.

Neuromarketing techniques can help ascertain the emotional responses that potential consumers will have on the brand depending on the brand's personal behavior towards customers. How a customer is treated plays a big role in determining whether a person becomes a loyal customer.

By ascertaining which customer service techniques elicit positive responses from customers using neuromarketing tools, the human resource department can successfully develop effective employee practices that will appeal to new customers and ensure the continued satisfaction of existing customers.

According to Dr. Ken Blanchard, medical tests, such as EEG and fMRI are effective in helping shed light on how brand influences the decision to buy. This means you can design a customer service system that has already been proven viable to ensure that any potential buyer turns into a loyal customer.

Neuromarketing can also help in search engine optimization by creating a strong online presence.

In a new study done by One to One Interactive's OTO Insights, search results that included texts, videos, and images were more emotionally engaging and memorable to customers.

According to Roger Dooley; a neuromarketing expert who contributes regularly to Forbes, the inclusion of videos and images to texts significantly boosts moral engagement during interaction with a SERP. This study proves that most Internet users get instant gratification from landing pages that have many images and videos.

The findings in this study can help a business improve its SEO strategy by ensuring the creation of pages that capture interest and have a lasting impact on consumers.

Most visionary corporations spend millions to find out what consumers want or need in order to avoid wasting money on an ineffective advertising campaign. For example, after brain wave research conducted by experts, PayPal was convinced that its target market values speed more than safety and security. PayPal, therefore, persuades more online shoppers to depend on their services by specifically pitching it as fast.

This marketing campaign worked out for PayPal because CEO Dan Schulman issued a press release saying they are close to achieving their vision, which is, "becoming a reliable everyday financial service for people around the globe."

Bottom Line

Neuromarketing has become a reliable and effective alternative to other growth-hacking techniques. The neuromarketing bandwagon is growing bigger every day. Opinions expressed here by Contributors are their own.

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How to Use the Power of Neuromarketing to Grow Your Business

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One of the most mind-wrecking issues entrepreneurs battle with on a daily basis is how to grow and expand the productivity and profitability of their business beyond its current status. There are endless possibilities, and today, I specifically cover how neuromarketing will help your business grow even in a harsh and competitive environment.

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As a business owner, a massive chunk of what you wish your brand to accomplish relies on neurosciences, on psychology even on anthropology! The success of your brand depends directly on how you inspire people to perceive your brand. So then, what is it that dictates perception? In a nutshell, our brains. Different parts of our brains have different functions (intelligence, memory, emotions, etc) and appealing more strongly to any of these can help brands win more customers, retain existing ones and become CX champs!

I can't speak for anyone else, but one of the most fascinating fields of study, for me, is Neuromarketing.

This is a rather new branch of study which draws a connection between the human brain and a brand's marketing. The perception that your brand creates, the emotion it evokes in the customer is all dependent on how their brain dictates all that to occur. While there is, of course, a lot of technicalities that go into the research, the implementation of the findings of the research and such, we will focus primarily on how to extrapolate learnings from the field to customer experience.

In terms of Net Promoter Score alone, no individual is inherently a promoter, a detractor nor passive. Something about the experience you offered them has prompted them to assume that particular role on the NPS® scale. If you can identify what that one aspect is where you lag, you can be guaranteed to win them back as a loyalist!

Since Customer Experience is NOT something you can be complacent about, we've put together a few hacks that could guarantee you success given that they are rooted in the field of neurosciences!

More than 90% of all purchasing decisions are made subconsciously.

I can't help but marvel at the power of the subconscious mind each time I read something as startling! What this means otherwise is that out of every 10 purchasing decisions that the average consumer takes, more than 9 are driven subconsciously! If you can identify the unexpressed need that the customer holds within himself before investing in your product or services, you would be making the job that much more easy for him because he subconsciously recognizes the benefits that you bring to him!

Most purchasing decisions happen in less than 2.5 seconds.

And it's all happening in the background. A customer may spend hours walking up and down the aisles of a clothing store, but the decision to buy something happens in less than the amount of time it takes to swipe your credit card to pay for that purchase! Make sure you compromise on nothing because your customers subconscious is at work even before your staff can find out what he/she is looking for! Right from display of products to having the friendliest staff around, you have to be on top of things to encourage that customer of yours to perceive his experience with you as a deeply rewarding one.

The more time you spend in a store, the more you buy.

Here is a stat that might put things in perspective for you as a business owner: The amount of money an average consumer spends after 30-40 minutes at a store is $72.00, but if he/she spends 3 hours or more at the store, the average amount he/she spends is $200. Design your customers' experience at your store/online portal such that they are engaged. Appeal to their needs, intelligences and senses strong enough that they feel drawn to staying put! This calls for a little bit of research on your part, but it is a great hack to exploit!

"The higher the interception rate, the higher the chance of purchase."

This is true to brands across all industries. Restaurants, retail brands, auto dealerships, what have you! According to a research on shopping habits undertaken by Paco Underhill (author of 'Science of shopping"), the chances of purchase are directly proportional to the rate of interception or the contact that customers have with your employees.

Don't mistake this to mean that the more sales people you have, the higher the sales you'll make. This can be as irksome as having nobody to assist the shopper. This is more to do with the quality of interaction they have with your staff than the number of times they get asked if they need any help. Make sure none of your customers go unattended during their experience with your brand as this will increase the chances of them doing business with your brand.

Most brand communications relay on visual and aural faculties. However, studies prove that olfactory marketing is where much of the treasure lies! Neuromarketing studies show that 75% of emotions are triggered by smell. Smell is linked to pleasure and well being, emotion and memory. Another study carried out at the Rockefeller University shows that in the short term we remember just 1% of what we touch, 2% of what we hear, 5% of what we see, 15% of what we taste and 35% of what we smell.

Remember Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) from Legally Blonde? Not only was the resume pink - making it stand out from the norm - it was also scented - because "it gives it a little something extra!"

If you've ever cared enough to know why most spas smell a certain way, or why most supermarkets place their bakery section right at the entrance, you'll know that they are attracting your olfactory senses! There are a plenty of brands out there that design custom-made fragrances for businesses keeping in mind their target audience, their product/service and the effect they wish to have on their customers. It might sound fancy, but they know exactly what they are doing and so should you. Olfactory motivation is something you, your employees, your customers and your brand can really benefit from.

While hacks can surely help you with quick-fixes, they only take you that far in recreating your brand image and designing the ultimate experience for your customers. In contrast, complete CEM platform, like CloudCherry, can take you all the way in becoming the Customer Experience Champion. Whether you are a restaurant, a salon, an airline, an auto retailer or even telecom giant- we have just the solution for you to delight your customers.

This post was originally posted on www.getcloudcherry.com

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5 Customer Experience hacks approved by Neuromarketing

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As a business owner, a massive chunk of what you wish your brand to accomplish relies on neurosciences, on psychology even on anthropology! The success of your brand depends directly on how you inspire people to perceive your brand. So then, what is it that dictates perception? In a nutshell, our brains.

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Milos R. Popovic PhD, PEng
Corresponding Author

Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada

Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Address correspondence to: Milos R. Popovic, PhD, PEng, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Rosebrugh Building, 164 College Street, Room 407, Toronto, ON M5S 3G9, Canada. Email:
milos.popovic@utoronto.ca Search for more papers by this author
First published:

For more information on author guidelines, an explanation of our peer review process, and conflict of interest informed consent policies, please go to http://www.wiley.com/bw/submit.asp?ref=1094‐7159&site=1

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Get access to the full version of this article. View access options below.

Background and Objective

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common condition for which available pharmaceutical treatments are not always effective and can have side‐effects. Therefore, alternative and/or complementary MDD treatments are needed. Research on facial expressions has shown that facial movements can induce the corresponding emotions, particularly when specific attention is paid to voluntarily activating muscles that are typically only activated involuntarily while expressing emotions. We hypothesized that functional electrical stimulation (FES) applied to facial muscles may enhance this effect due to its ability to modulate central nervous system plasticity. Thus, applying FES to the facial muscles associated with smiling (including the "Duchenne marker") may increase the activity of subcortical nuclei related to positive emotions and counteract symptoms of depression.

Methods

Twelve able‐bodied subjects received FES and were compared with a group of 12 control subjects. Both groups underwent the same experimental procedures involving a cognitive task, and a deception was used such that subjects were unaware that the objective was to modulate mood. Assessments with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Expanded Form (PANAS‐X) were administered before and after the experiment.

Results

No significant between‐group differences were found in the change scores for our primary outcomes, the PANAS‐X item "happy," and aggregate scores "Joviality" and "Positive Affect." Significant differences were, however, detected for secondary outcomes "determined," "daring," "scared," and "concentrating."

Conclusions

These results suggest that modulating emotion using FES may be possible, but is difficult to target accurately. Further work is warranted to explore FES applications to MDD.

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Neuromodulation of Emotion Using Functional Electrical Stimulation Applied to Facial Muscles

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Milos R. Popovic PhD, PEng Corresponding Author Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Address correspondence to: Milos R. Popovic, PhD, PEng, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Rosebrugh Building, 164 College Street, Room 407, Toronto, ON M5S 3G9, Canada.

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How neuromarketing can help hotels create "home away from home" experiences that will eventually lead to repeated visits/customer loyalty.

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Whether for business or for pleasure, when you are in another city or a country, practically, you need a safe place to sleep, rest, shower, change and keep your stuff. For that, you need hotels.

They say the home is where the heart is. The heart, is about feeling. The home, is where the heart is, in my view, because the heart wants to be at home, because at home, the heart feels good, or rather, at home, the heart feels best. And that is because at home, you get everything the way you want it, the way it all best suits you and your innate nature. What if hotels could give you that? With Neuromarketing, they can.
It is about the experience
The key differentiation factor for hotels, is the experience taken away by each guest. That determines repeat business in the future. All textbooks in the trash, and you must forgive me for this taboo statement, but really, the best source of any revenue in many industries including Hospitality, is a customer coming back to you. And if a customer comes back to you, chances are, that same customer is likely to encourage others to come to you. And that all results from or is contingent upon, experience. And there is no better marketing for hotels, than experience itself, while the audience is captive at your disposal, on your premises.

At the Hotel Technology Conference 2016 Singapore, my opening Keynote revolved around the future of hotels being the evolution of experience. Experience, that hotels can provide to their guests in the future, with the help of new or emerging technologies that would make possible, that which has not been possible in the past.

In the past, hotels could not specifically identify how each individual feels, let alone experiences something. There hadn't been the means available to hotels, to determine definitively, the experience taken away by each guest.
Thank Technology for Neuromarketing!
With Neuromarketing made possible thanks to technology such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Electroencephalography, Biometrics, Facial Coding, Eye Tracking and Steady State Topography, Hoteliers can determine or derive how each guest is thinking at the unconscious level, subconscious level as well as even the conscious level, objectively, by means of what the physiology is telling the technology. Therein, it is possible to identify triggers of emotion or indicators of emotional states, to define, feelings.

Allow me here, to let you in on a secret, in case it isn't already known to you; our experience is determined by emotion or feelings more than purely intellectual or logical deduction, in general.

Hotels have the opportunity, a unique one, to to address emotion and feelings at a greater level than do businesses in other industries. And hotels can do this quite very directly.
The Little Things Matter
The colour of the flowers in the corner of the room to reflect or address a certain mood at the end of the day. The music we hear sitting in a lobby area. The scent in the lift. The right thing someone says to us when we are fatigued or upset. Believe it or not, it is not the great deal of an architectural wonder we see of the whole building or the shape of the swimming pool we see outside of a window, but a whole host of little things that affect our feelings and emotions, which then shape our overall experience. Here is another secret; a good experience is one where we the feeling is of happiness or contentment.

With truly personalised information available on each guest, Hoteliers can then execute the necessary measures to cater to individual mood and sentiment. And with the help of IoT and AI enabled smart systems, it isn't exactly a tall order as it may sound.
In the End
It really is about marrying the various different technologies, to attain optimum benefits from their synergies. The feasibility is already in existence. The next step, is the one of embracing.

Here is a cue. Let the technology gather the information or data you need. Then, automate the response. You manage the process of marketing yourself to the guests that come to you, by giving them an experience, that they need, truly and deeply. And your results? Wonders.
Harish Shah is Singapore's first local born Professional and a Management Strategy Consultant. He runs Stratserv Consultancy. His areas of consulting include Strategic Foresight, Systems Thinking and Organisational Future Proofing. He was the Opening Keynote Speaker at both the Hotel Management Summit Singapore 2015 and the Hotel Technology Conference 2016 Singapore.

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What is this about? Whether for business or for pleasure, when you are in another city or a country, practically, you need a safe place to sleep, rest, shower, change and keep your stuff. For that, you need hotels.

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Neuromarketing aspect of tourism pricing psychology

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Neuromarketing aspect of tourism pricing psychology

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How the intangibility of services makes pricing a very complicated aspect of the tourism industry, which can be improved by neuromarketing.

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Dr. Hakan Boz is Assistant Professor at Usak University's School of Applied Sciences, Turkey. Prior to joining the academia, he held various positions in the tourism and hospitality sector. His research focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of consumer and employee behaviors in tourism and hospitality by using psychophysiological and neuromarketing tools.

Dr. Aytuğ Arslan is an Assistant Professor of Tourism Guidance within the Tourism Faculty at İzmir Kâtip Çelebi University, Turkey. His teaching interests largely focus on cultural tourism with a specific interest in heritage interpretation and sustainable management. His research interests include destination management, tourism promotion and economic aspects of tourism.

Dr. Erdoğan Koc is a Professor of Marketing at Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University, Turkey. He is the chair and head of the Department of Business Administration. He serves on the editorial boards of a number of journals. His research primarily focuses on the human behavior element (both as consumer and employee) in tourism and hospitality particularly by using psychophysiological and neuromarketing tools.

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Neuromarketing aspect of tourısm pricing psychology

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Dr. Hakan Boz is Assistant Professor at Usak University's School of Applied Sciences, Turkey. Prior to joining the academia, he held various positions in the tourism and hospitality sector. His research focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of consumer and employee behaviors in tourism and hospitality by using psychophysiological and neuromarketing tools.

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Colour Is Key
Setting The Right Price

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Neuromarketing and the Case of Why Coca-Cola Outsells Pepsi.

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Neuromarketing and the Case of Why Coca-Cola Outsells Pepsi.

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How neuromarketing and the science of influence will change marketing.

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How neuromarketing and the science of influence will change marketing.

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Recent reports from Google expose the current state of internet advertising- 56% of digital ads are not seen by humans, and only 50% of ads are viewable. Other reports have detailed bot fraud and URL masking, which no one anticipated ten years ago. Today's 56% of digital ads not being seen isn't any better than the 1880's ad market when John Wanamaker lamented that 50% of every dollar spent on advertising is wasted.

New digital advertising platforms and programmatic software have done little to address the issue of ad waste, also known as ROI-or lack thereof. However, new research on Neuromarketing just published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience may lead to a whole new way of understanding and influencing consumer behaviors through the science of influence as a promotion variable. The breakthrough research was conducted by the Applied Neuromarketing Consortium, a group of interdisciplinary professors from Northwestern's Medill and Kellogg Schools along with the Feinberg School of Medicine, in addition to doctors from Massachusetts General, Aston Business School UK and Drexel University.

Neuromarketing and brain scans have come of age and the new findings now offer scientific evidence about an integrated science of influence, which marketers can use to develop new marketing models that utilize influence based on how stimuli of the human mind relate to perception, memory and decision making. There is now considerable justification to use influence as a marketing, media and promotion variable. In other words-how the science of influence can replace old communication theory and get beyond a focus on what you did to how the market and consumers respond.
"There is now considerable justification to use influence as a marketing, media and promotion variable."
I recently asked one of the authors of the study, Dr. Martin Block of the Medill School, how this new and ongoing work may impact marketers struggling to make sense of today's new marketplace. Here are some of his comments:

Gary Drenik: How can Neuromarketing and the science of influence be used by marketers?

Dr. Martin Block: Marketing management has been plagued with two problems: having data that can relate controllable marketing (especially communication related) variables to real outcome variables (sales or other returns) and finding marketing variables that are consistent across variable options. For decades there was talk of single source data which would make it easy to relate variables to outcomes, but it never happened. The current availability of real consumer transaction data may have derailed the single source idea. Fusing transaction data, along with social data and syndicated data is being substituted for single source.

However, the various syndicated data have many different measures, different consumption or usage measures, and in some cases almost nothing beyond overall spending as is typically found in store activity. However, influence is a consistent measure across all marketing inputs and over the years Prosper Insights & Analytics has attempted to provide a consistent measure across the marketing inputs by way of its media influence to purchase data.

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How Neuromarketing And The Science of Influence Will Change Marketing

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Recent reports from Google expose the current state of internet advertising-56% of digital ads are not seen by humans, and only 50% of ads are viewable. Other reports have detailed bot fraud and URL masking, which no one anticipated ten years ago. Today's 56% of digital ads not being seen [...]

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3 Ways to Use Psychology in Your Social Media Marketing

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3 Ways to Use Psychology in Your Social Media Marketing

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Looking for ways to connect with fans on a deeper level?

Have you thought about using psychology in your marketing?

Implementing basic psychological marketing principles in your social media activities can help you attract, engage, and form emotional bonds with your target audience.

In this article, you'll discover three ways to use psychology in your social media marketing.

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#1: Give Gifts to Encourage Responses

If you give people something they find valuable, they'll typically feel indebted to you. To incorporate this neuromarketing tactic in your social media marketing, you can offer a small gift like a discount, free trial, or free resource guide to your fans. Whatever you decide to offer, the goal is to answer the question: "What's in it for me?"

On their Facebook page, Spanish soccer club Real Madrid recently offered free shorts with the purchase of a kid's shirt from the team's official store. In just an hour, the post received over 16,000 reactions and 63 shares.

Although Real Madrid's massive Facebook following played a role in the success of their offer, this tactic can help drive engagement for businesses of all sizes. If you don't have the luxury of spending money on giveaways, you can drive engagement using free gifts.

Anytime Fitness offered their Facebook followers a free downloadable calendar to plan their activity in and out of the gym and track progress toward their fitness goals.

To use the reciprocity tactic on your social channels, take a closer look at your audience to better understand what they like and expect. Figure out what compels them to engage and come up with an offer that they're likely to share with friends.

Offer something that's valuable to your audience while ensuring that they give you something in return. For example, give a 5% discount or a free trial of your product to anyone who shares and comments on your post. Or host a giveaway contest in which followers with the most shares and social media engagement receive a free product.

In the tweet below, users are offered a free design course in exchange for being a beta tester and providing feedback on the course. Users can reciprocate by clicking on the link to apply. They might also want to share the good news with their Twitter followers, which is a form of engagement.

The idea behind the reciprocity tactic is to compel the action of engaging with your brand by making people feel obligated to you. While you can't offer a giveaway every day, you can always post useful, shareworthy information related to your business. For example, if you're in the fitness industry, share articles and tips about exercise and healthy eating.

#2: Use Emotional Triggers to Create Authentic Connections

Connecting with your audience is one of the most basic ways to increase your social media engagement. This neuromarketing tactic makes use of the emotional reaction that's triggered when people feel connected to you. When people feel close to you and can relate to you, there's a great chance they'll engage with your company.

To form an emotional connection, you need to start interacting with followers in a meaningful way.

Laughter is one of the most effective tools for forming a strong emotional bond with people. Like Chipotle does here, you can use wit and humor to connect with your Twitter followers. The Mexican grill has a deep understanding of their target audience and the kind of humor they'll likely appreciate. This helps them avoid using humor that their followers might find offensive or lame.

Chipotle also posts humorous replies to tweets from their fans. Your tweets can show enthusiasm toward your products with the right mix of humor. This works well for driving social media engagement.

Here's how you can pull off this neuromarketing tactic to connect with your fans:

Study your audience to see what kind of humor they like. Remember that not everyone appreciates sarcasm or satire. You want to joke with your fans on social media without insulting them. Replay your post multiple times to ensure that it can't be perceived as offensive. If you can, run it by your team to get their opinion on the reply.

Even when you're sharing an important fact about your company, try to communicate it in a lighthearted or humorous way. In this tweet, Taco Bell highlights their $1 breakfast menu with an amusing survey question.

Brainstorm topics that your fans can relate to. Analyze your past posts and see which ones received the most engagement from your followers. If there's a topic or cause your fans are talking about, come up with more posts related to that topic.

Strand Book Store typically receives high engagement from Instagram posts that tap into their fans' love of perusing the shelves of a bookstore.

Rather than simply sharing or retweeting a post where fans have mentioned you, take the time to react and join the conversation. For example, if fans show you how they've used your product, think of a short line or two and respond to fans. They'll appreciate that you've noticed them and taken the time to respond.

You can also connect with your audience by targeting other emotional responses, such as compassion or empathy. Perhaps you could share a touching story with your audience or highlight some volunteer work your company is doing. Whatever you do, focus on establishing a face and personality for your business.

#3: Partner With Trusted Authorities to Build Credibility

Trust is an important factor in influencing conversions and engagement. So what should you do if you're taking the first steps in building trust with your audience? Start by associating with people or brands that your target audience already trusts. Build relationships with authority figures or influencers who can give your brand credibility.

Cosmetics brand Smashbox has partnered with prominent people in the beauty industry, including beauty vloggers, hair stylists, and makeup artists. These influencers promote their products by engaging a niche audience via social media. YouTube beauty vlogger Casey Holmes posted an image of herself wearing their foundation on her Instagram account. The post received over 29,000 likes and more than 500 comments.

Smashbox's regram received over 13,000 likes and drove social media engagement to the company's Instagram account. Notice how the company mentioned that the vlogger's skin always looks amazing thanks to their product. That's a subtle product promotion technique you can use, too.

This neuromarketing tactic is effective because people respond better to those they admire. Here's how you can start partnering with influencers:

Identify what kind of influencers your target audience idolizes. An authority figure for one industry may not be very influential in another. A Variety survey found that YouTube stars dominated the top five on the list of most influential people for Americans between the ages of 13 and 18. However, if your target audience mostly consists of moms, you may want to reach out to popular mommy bloggers.

Airline Cathay Pacific partnered with travel blogger Jessica Stein for their Life Well Travelled campaign. Jessica shared every aspect of her travel experience from the airport to the flight, and at various destinations.

Once you've identified the authority figures your audience will best respond to, look for prospective influencers in your industry. You can use tools like Traackr, BuzzSumo, and Ninja Outreach for this.

Compile a list of potential influencers and then study the number of likes, comments, shares, and retweets they get for their posts. You want to find out which influencers drive the most social media engagement with their audience. Also look at how actively they engage with their followers.

Next, reach out to the influencers you want to work with and deliver your best value proposition. Let them know what benefits they'll reap if they decide to partner with you and promote your company. Work with influencers to establish an actionable strategy that sparks social media engagement on your pages. For example, maybe they can talk about your company in their next tweet or Instagram post, or write a product review on their blog and share it on their social media account.

Working with authority figures helps build credibility for your company and products, which ultimately leads to trust and engagement.
Conclusion
These neuromarketing tactics not only can increase social media engagement, but can also improve other aspects of your business performance. For instance, giving free gifts for every purchase helps boosts your conversions. Making an emotional connection with your audience and interacting with them regularly can help you build a loyal social following.

In good time, all of these neuromarketing strategies can encourage brand loyalty among your followers and existing customers.

What do you think? Have you tried these neuromarketing tactics to encourage engagement on your social channels? What techniques have worked well for your business? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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3 Ways to Use Psychology in Your Social Media Marketing

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Looking for ways to connect with fans on a deeper level? Have you thought about using psychology in your marketing? Implementing basic psychological marketing principles in your social media activities can help you attract, engage, and form emotional bonds with your target audience.

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Food Ads: How Brains Respond

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In Why some just cannot resist food, the BBC reports on research showing that individuals respond differently to food images.

Scientists have discovered why some people just can't resist food. They used scans to show the reward centres in some people's brains are particularly sensitive to food advertising and product packaging.

The story is also covered by The Guardian in Craving for food lights up the brain:

The study identifies how this relationship operates in the brain. It shows that individuals with higher reward sensitivity show increased activity in five key areas of the brain implicated in motivation or reward, and that this increase happens when they simply look at pictures of appetising food. The scientists, led by John Beaver, used brain scanning technology known as functional magnetic resonance imaging to analyse the brain activity of 12 men and women...

The study found that, shown pictures of the appetising food, individuals with higher reward sensitivity had up to twice the level of activity in the five areas of the brain implicated with reward - known as the neural network - compared with those with lower reward sensitivity.

The reward system is important in decision making as the brain evaluates the "value" of different options. The work shows, not suprisingly, that some individuals respond much more strongly to appealing foods.

Advertisers use "food stylists" to prepare food items for photographers (who are themselves often specialists in creating food images). Common sense tells us that more appetizing images will sell more product. With this new research, though, we have a better understanding of the mechanism for improving sales. Creating the most appealing possible image will cause the maximum response in those parts of the brain associated with motivation and reward. Although the study didn't prove that there is a link between brain activation levels and actual consumption, it seems likely that the individuals with the highest levels of reward center activation would be the most likely to engage in behaviors like purchasing and consuming the items that produced that brain activity.

From a neuromarketing standpoint, perhaps the more interesting part of the finding is that some individuals are NOT greatly affected by images of appealing, tasty food. To reach those individuals, marketers may need to add other elements to their campaign - nutrition benefits, non-food images like happy families enjoying the product, etc. From a neuroeconomics standpoint, the value circuitry of these individuals may need some other kind of activation to cause a purchase decision. Still, one can surmise that the highest-volume consumers are quite likely the ones who ARE most affected by food images... so don't fire your food stylist, and keep those yummy images coming!

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Food Ads: How Brains Respond - Neuromarketing

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Scientists now have a better understanding of why some people develop extreme food cravings. Brain scans show that some individuals have a much stronger response to images of food, making them more likely to abandon diets and engage in binge eating.

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How Retailers Manipulate Sight, Smell, and Sound to Trigger Purchase Behavior in Consumers

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How Retailers Manipulate Sight, Smell, and Sound to Trigger Purchase Behavior in Consumers

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Retail Marketing Blog - Retail News, Trends, Store Tips, and More by Shopify

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When it comes to creating a high-converting physical retail store or pop-up shop, there's a lot that small businesses can learn from the big-name retail brands. Not only is every aspect of the consumer experience mapped out and created with a great deal of thought and attention, much of it is rigorously researched, tested, and optimized.

Understandably, as a local boutique you can't just cough up the money to hire a multi-disciplinary team of sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and other consultants to help you create an unforgettable branded experience that maximizes sales. But, that's not to say that you can't take a few pages from their book and put their research to work in your own retail store.

In this post, I'll be covering the science behind how popular teen brand Abercrombie and Fitch intentionally designs its retail stores from a multi-sensory point-of-view with one goal in mind: to get consumers to buy their products.

By the end of it, you'll have a good idea of how you can take what you learned about sight, smell, and sound and put it use for your own brand when you're putting together your visual merchandising strategy, window displays, store layout, or even signage.

Here we go.

The Science Behind "Scent Marketing"

As consumers, we hardly think twice about what a store smells like or the way it makes us feel, think or do. Typically, it's intentionally so subtle that it triggers a reaction without being overbearing.

Research by Nobel Peace Prize winners Richard Axel and Linda Buck reveal that our sense of smell is widely considered by scholars to be our "most emotional" sense. The reason being that rather than analyze the information we receive from a particular scent, we immediately get a feeling when we smell something. A fun fact you can quote to others is that human beings can remember about 10,000 distinct odours that can trigger important memories that can take us all the way back to our childhood.

Here's how researchers break down our olfactory system:

Coming back to using the science of smell to influence behaviour, in one study conducted by consumer psychologist and academic Eric Spangenberg, him and his colleagues found that in a local clothing store, when "feminine scents" like vanilla were used, sales of women's clothes doubled. They found a similar result with men's clothing when scents like "rose maroc" were used.

Spangenberg added, "Men don't like to stick around when it smells feminine, and women don't linger in a store if it smells masculine."

Though there's different ways scent is incorporated into retailer's marketing efforts, the kind I'm referring to are the ambient scents in a retail environment, which have also been studied and proved to affect people's purchasing habits and determining whether they will return to a store or not. There are actually entire consultancy firms, like ScentAir, who specialize in nothing other than helping brands from a number of industries leverage scent marketing to their advantage.

So how does a brand like Abercrombie & Fitch take advantage of this?

Coincidentally, it has its own line of men's fragrances called "Fierce" which is sprayed in-stores in healthy doses to give off what the company describes as a "lifestyle...packed with confidence and a bold, masculine attitude."

Now, A&F knows who it wants in its stores and wants to produce an image of a teenager who is "classic, good-looking and cool." By associating its fragrance with its stores it creates a perpetual self-fulfilling prophesy for its male clientele who by wanting to smell like A&F will be like the models and sales staff in the store. The company describes fragrances for men like so, "clean scent of fresh citrus will grab her attention and warm musk will keep her interested."

The Science Behind Marketing Beautiful People

Though A&F has come under a lot of heat for its hiring practices and usage of suggestive images in its ads, there's more at work behind the scenes to explain the company's preference for chiselled abs which I'll tackle here.

Despite the prevalence of ideals like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," scientists have found that people find symmetry and averageness of features attractive in faces and that babies presented with pictures of different faces will gaze longest at those consistently rated as most attractive by panels of adults.

But how does this help A&F increase sales?

The answer lies in what psychologists refers to as the "halo effect," and psychologist Robert Cialdini explains it simply in his book Influence when he writes, "We automatically assign to good-looking individuals such favorable traits as talent, kindness, and intelligence." Couple that with the fact that we tend to comply more with those we like (and we like beautiful people) and the fact that we associate people with the products they sell, and it becomes apparent all of a sudden why A&F makes it such a point to have those models on display everywhere they possibly can.

But we tend to dismiss the effect of the beautiful people in the ads or those selling to us on our purchase decisions, as noted by Cialdini who writes, "In one study, men who saw a new-car ad that included a seductive young woman model rated the car as faster, more appealing, more expensive-looking, and better designed than did men who viewed the same ad without the model. Yet when asked later, the men refused to believe that the presence of the young woman had influenced their judgments."

The other neurological effect at play is the existence of something called mirror neurons in our brains. Our mirror neurons trigger the same responses and sensations when looking at something as if we're actually doing that thing ourselves. For example, the diagram below shows how the monkey exhibits the same brain activity when doing something as when watching the women do the exact same action.

Studies looking at the effect of porn on human brains have found that even when looking at still pictures of naked people, our mirror neurons are triggered into action and the brain pretends as if it were actually having sex and not just looking at pictures in a science lab.

So what happens when you're in a A&F store and are constantly looking at stimuli that's attractive to look at and making you aroused without you knowing it? Chances are A&F has found that pleasurable feeling they induce in customers makes them want to purchase the products they see on the models. And truthfully, it's not just A&F, it's all of advertising since, well the beginning of advertising.

What's Up With the Loud Club Music?

As a consumer, we don't typically think twice about the background music we hear when we walk into a retail store or into a restaurant for that matter. Typically, we'll sing along if it's a song we know, a top 40 hit, or just not care if we don't know it at all. But behind the scenes of your mind, music is working its magic and being used to slow you down, speed you up, and get you to spend more money.

Music is now known to help us self-regulate our emotions, affect our moods and for its ability to effect us physically by increasing or reducing our heart rate and even being able to increase physiological arousal.

One study looking at the effect of music tempo on consumer behaviour in a restaurant found that when restaurants play slow music, customers spend a significantly more time in the restaurant than if they place fast music. Interestingly enough, they found customers also spent more in the restaurant when slower music was playing in the background as well.

Another interesting study looking at the effect of music on wine purchases in a UK store found that on days the researchers played stereotypically French music, sales of French wines far outsold German wines and days they played German music, sales of German wine far surpassed the French wine.

But then why does A&F play loud club music throughout its store? According to a NY Times article, retailers and restaurant owners believe that younger people can withstand loud music longer, while older ones may run from it, enabling establishments to maintain a more youthful clientele and a "fresher" image.

In a Psychology Today article, Emily Anthes writes "Shoppers make more impulsive purchases when they're overstimulated. Loud volume leads to sensory overload, which weakens self-control."

She also quotes Kathleen Vohs, an associate professor at the University of Minnisota, who said, "Overload makes people move into a less deliberate mode of decision making. People might be more likely to be lured by brand names, fooled by discounts on items that they might not really want, and susceptible to other influences."

Putting the two together, a few things become apparent. One that A&F doesn't want its target market shopping with its parents who'll happily wait outside for them to finish shopping and avoid the loud music (or put on a head torch and keep at it) and secondly it wants to trigger impulsive purchase behaviour by creating an environment that overstimulates the brain.

To get a taste of A&F's playlist, check out this video:

Final Thoughts

As a retailer, by now, you're thinking this is all fine and dandy, but I'm not A&F, how do I make use of all this scientific research? To help you with this question, here's a list of key questions to ask yourself:

What does your store currently smell like? Is there a particular "branded scent" you want to go for? If so, what emotions and memories do you want to evoke?

Does your product or marketing imagery portray an ideal your target customers want to aspire to? If not, how can you change them to reflect your brand's ideals?

What kind of music do you currently play in store? Are you targeting a more youthful or mature customer segment and how does that reflect in your playlist?

Hopefully, by answering those questions, you'll have enough insights to get started. If there are other fascinating retail-specific consumer research you found particularly interesting or helpful, be sure to let us know in the comments below.

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How Retailers Manipulate Sight, Smell, and Sound to Trigger Purchase Behavior in Consumers

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When it comes to creating a high-converting physical retail store or pop-up shop, there's a lot that small businesses can learn from the big-name retail brands. Not only is every aspect of the consumer experience mapped out and created with a great deal of thought and attention, much of it is rigorously researched, tested, and optimized.

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7 psychological triggers that win sales and influence customers.

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7 psychological triggers that win sales and influence customers.

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By Lisa.

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Shopify's Ecommerce Blog - Ecommerce News, Online Store Tips & More

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Whenever anyone asks me what marketing books I recommend that will help them sell more and learn about the psychology of selling, the first one I point them to is Influence by Robert Cialdini, published in 1984. Then I recommend reading his book Pre-Suasion, published in 2016.

A professor of the psychology of selling and marketing, Cialdini lays out seven ways you can get people to say yes to what you're asking. Anyone who sells things for a living, online or offline, should know and live these seven principles in sales psychology.

Psychology of selling: Cialdini's seven principles

Let's take a look at how you can harness the power behind the psychology of selling and build some of these psychological triggers into your online store.

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1. Reciprocity

The principle of reciprocity in sales psychology means that when someone gives us something, we feel compelled to give something back in return. Have you ever gone to Costco and ended up with an unplanned sausage purchase because you felt an obligation to buy after you tried a free sample? That was the principle of reciprocity in action.

Of course, online retailers can't personally visit the house of each person who interacts with them to shove a sample in their hand. So how can you make reciprocity work for you?

Free gift with purchase

You might not be able to offer something in advance, but you can definitely offer something alongside. This tactic is a favorite of cosmetic and beauty products, demonstrated below by Ulta Beauty.

Even if you don't advertise the gift in advance, slipping samples of other products into your shipped product is a sales psychology technique that can encourage repeat purchases.

The gift of content

Content is an effective way for online retailers to provide value to potential customers. It's a different way of providing a gift to your customers. For example, skincare brand Murad taps into the psychology of shopping by providing users with a fun quiz to reach recommendations for the face cleanser that matches their skin type and preferences.

True & Co, an online lingerie retailer, taps into the psychology of buying by helping women figure out the right size and style of bra for them.

Whether it's a guide for how to make the perfect vinaigrette or an exclusive author interview, use content as an ethical bribe that makes people feel grateful towards your business.

Surprise and delight

While advertising free gifts pre-purchase is a great way to drive first-time purchases and tap into the psychology of shopping, you can take a more subliminal approach to using free gifts to drive online sales. A surprise and delight approach to this tactic in the psychology of selling means that you don't tell customers ahead of time about what they're getting for free. Instead, they'll find out when they receive the product that you've thrown in an extra freebie.

Another cosmetics and skincare brand, LUSH, uses this approach frequently. They'll toss in a free related product. Not only does this help drive repeat purchases and word of mouth, but it also introduces customers to new products that they otherwise may not have discovered.

2. Commitment and consistency

As it relates to the psychology of selling, the principle of commitment and consistency says that people will go to great lengths to appear consistent in their words and actions, even to the extent of doing things that are basically irrational.

That's why if you're trying to make a change in your life (losing weight, for example) it can be very helpful to share your goal. Once you've committed publicly, you'll have much more incentive to keep up your end of the bargain.

As a retailer, if you can understand the psychology of buying and get customers to make a small commitment to your brand-like signing up for your email newsletter, they're more likely to eventually purchase from you. And if you can actually get products in their hand, even if there's no official commitment to buy them, your chances increase even more.

This is the principle behind Warby Parker's Home Try-On Program.

Warby Parker knows that with a product that sits in your line of vision all day (literally), look and fit are important. They also know that if they can get a set of frames in your hands, they're a majority of the way toward making a sale, that's the power of understanding the psychology of shopping.

So they make it as frictionless as possible: Order the samples, get the box, order the frames you want, and send the box back for free. They say there's no commitment, but they're wise students of Cialdini. They know the customer feels the commitment the minute they open the box.

Make it easy to commit with easy returns

You can apply the commitment and consistency principle to your returns policy, too. In one study conducted by Narvar, nearly three-quarters of consumers said they'd would be more likely to buy from a company that has a "no questions asked" returns policy.

Zappos' and REI are two brands with famously easy return policies that are great examples of this. There's less friction for the customer to buy because they know that if they don't like it, they can easily return it. But once they have the product in their hands, will they really return it? Maybe not. They're already committed.

3. Liking

The principle of liking as it pertains to the psychology of buying says we're more likely to say yes to a request if we feel a connection to the person making it. That's why the associate handing out sausage samples at Costco usually has a smile.

It's also why brands hire celebrities to endorse their products: so that people will transfer their love of Roger Federer to the watches he's endorsing. Online sunglass brand Prive Revaux uses this as a main principle in their business. They partner with celebrities to create lines for their brand. Fans of the celebs become fans of the sunglasses. There are lots of ways to make this principle work for your store:

Tell your story

If there's one place that branding is essential for the psychology of selling, it's in triggering the principle of liking.

Every element of your store (colors, fonts, photo styles, copy, etc.) contributes to your brand identity. Your goal is to create a personality that's cohesive and that your target customer will like. This might be brisk and efficient if you're selling into a business market, warm and playful if you're selling children's products, or 'earth-mothery' if you're selling natural products.

Many stores will include something like an About Us page that is basically brand personality distilled. Here's an example from Hiut Denim Co:

And one from jewelry designer Elva Fields:

This is a great way to sum up your story and to get people to like you.

Use relatable models

If you're selling clothing, jewelry or accessories, one quick way to create a connection to your customer is to show your stuff on people they'll identify with and like. This doesn't mean you need to book supermodels; it's best if they look like your customers. This might mean funky and cool, like Shop Fiercely:

Casual and athletic, like Title Nine:

Or bright and preppy, like Southern Marsh:

Include social links on product pages

People are more likely to purchase something if it's recommended to them by someone they know and trust. Make sure your product pages have links to Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest so your customers can easily tell their friends about the great product they found on your site.

Sustainable goods brand United By Blue is doing it right:

And so is Fab:

Display what others are interested in

Have you ever mentally saluted someone's taste who was wearing the same shoes or shirt as you? You probably felt a quick connection with that person based solely on that one commonality.

Stores can play off that idea by presenting products that are similar to what the person is browsing. Amazon is famous for this approach. They have two ways in which they show which other products are popular among shoppers.

They display which other products customers frequently purchased in the same transaction.

And they also share which other products customers researched during their buying process.

You can take a similar approach on your own online store with an app like Also Bought or Frequently Bought Together.

4. Authority

In researching the psychology of selling, you may have heard of the famous Halo effect. Essentially, it's like the adage, "you are the company you keep." When your brand evokes something familiar, such as a celebrity, industry expert or even a memory, people will believe that your brand possesses similar qualities to said familiar entity. They've established expertise in the space, and you can reap the benefits by associating your brand with authoritative figures, thus inheriting your own sense of authority.

People appear hard-wired to respond to authority (or the appearance of authority). How can you use this to sell?

Expert creation

Is your product hand-crafted by trained artisans? Tell the world all about them like DODOcase.

Books are another great example of this. Are you more likely to buy a run-of-the-mill book about how to cook French food or one by Jacques Pepin? Cookbook Village knows that big names sell books, and they have a whole section for cookbooks authored and autographed by big-name chefs.

Expert curation

These days, the range of products available to a shopper are so vast it's hard to wade through them all. And that's why "curation" continues to be an industry buzzword.

Do you have a chief stylist? Create a page with their top picks for the season. Selling fitness products? Have a personal trainer give their favorite picks. Even a little authority is enough; Kepler's Books provides recommendations from each of their staff members.

Expert endorsement

You don't need to have an expert on staff to establish authority for your store and products. A stamp of approval from an expert in your industry could provide just the authority you need to instill customer confidence and persuade browsers to buy.

Remember when Oprah endorsed Weight Watchers and shared her success story? She was convincing because she had first-hand experience with the products and the results. Weight Watchers even created a dedicated page on their website to share her story and expertise, which helped to establish their authority on the topic.

5. Social proof

Social proof is connected to the principle of liking: Because we're social creatures, we tend to bias toward things other people already like, whether we know them or not. Anything that shows the popularity of your site and your products can be a psychological trigger. According to Nielsen, 83% of consumers trust product recommendations from their friends and family, which is way more credible than anything you can say about yourself.

One approach to using social proof is to provide a "Best Sellers" or "Most Popular" page, as demonstrated by Maple Holistics below. By highlighting that this shampoo is a top seller, Maple Holistics has given it a sheen of desirability.

And of course, ratings and reviews, a la Amazon and countless other retailers, are another useful way to show social proof.

Using social media for social proof

Social proof psychology can also happen off your website, such as on social media. Influencer marketing has become commonplace in ecommerce. Those online comments about your brand and products could generate interest and, in turn, sales. In studying the motivations and psychology of buying, Nielsen also found that two-thirds of consumers trust others' opinions that are posted online.

Hello Fresh is one brand that uses influencers to establish social proof for their product. Search Instagram, and you'll quickly see a long list of celebrities and influencers who endorse the brand.

6. Scarcity

Cialdini's final principle is the principle of scarcity, which states that people are motivated by the thought that they might miss out on an opportunity. Call it the Eternal Teenager Principle: If someone tells you that you can't have it, you may want it even more.

Announcing scarcity only gets you half of the way there, however. You need to give your audience enough information to act on the opportunity. A simple "we only have 10 left!" message and no obvious path to purchase the product would do a disservice to your message and cause needless frustration.

Deadlines for sales

The example below from Style Hunter shows a countdown for how long the product will be available at the discounted price.

Impending out-of-stock announcements

Items about to be metaphorically taken off the shelves have an element of scarcity built in. As the ModMom example below showcases, if a product is a sample sale or being discontinued, it may be worth highlighting that fact so interested customers don't miss out.

Seasonal or limited products

Every March when my friend gets her green Shamrock Shake from McDonald's, she crows with happiness all over social media. She wouldn't be nearly as excited if she could walk in and get it any time-the knowledge that supply is limited motivates her and creates a thrill around exclusivity.

That's exactly how I feel about my Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, and they know other customers feel the same way.

7. Unity

This seventh principle behind the psychology of selling is from Cialdini's Pre-Suasion.

The principle of unity is based on the idea of shared identities. Your brand and your customers may have shared ideas or values, but unity takes it a step further with identities, or groups. Identities are based upon those commonalities.

Let's take a scenario: You might be a brand that sells outdoor gear to customers who love spending time outside. When you apply the unity principle, you're identifying with groups of outdoors lovers. Patagonia is a prime example of a brand that has done this. They've self-identified not only as lovers of the outdoors, but as activists who are fighting to preserve the outdoors. This has encouraged groups of customers who share that identify to have fierce loyalty to the brand.

Don't be afraid of labels

When applying the unity sales technique to your online store, it's okay to use labels. In fact, it's encouraged. Labels enforce these shared identities. You're not a "Justin Bieber fan," you're a "Belieber." There's a reason his fans are so fiercely loyal; and they share that identity with each other to create an entire community of passionate Beliebers.

Ecommerce brands can take a similar approach. If your customers have created a label on their own, embrace it. If they haven't, look for opportunities to do so. The label can revolve around your brand or around a shared value.

Don't be afraid of enemies

Sharing enemies can be an effective sales psychology technique and quick way to build unity with your customers. The age-old battle between Apple and Microsoft is a prime example of this. The advertising war between the two major brands have fueled the rivalry, not only between the companies themselves but also among their customers. Mac and iPhone users are fiercely loyal to the brand and will quickly denounce all things Microsoft, and the same rings true the other way around.

But your nemesis doesn't have to be serious. Chubbies Shorts, for example, has waged war on pants and business attire. Their customers have found unity with the brand thanks to their shared dislike of conforming pants wear. They've created tongue-in-cheek marketing campaigns that have established that unity with their customers.

Don't be afraid to take a stand

Increasingly, consumers are rewarding brands that take a stand politically, socially or environmentally with their wallets. One Sprout Social survey found that two-thirds of consumers actually want brands to publicly announce their stance on important issues.

Looking back at Patagonia again, the brand was certainly not shy to speak out against the American government when public land from the Bears Ears National Monument was taken away. They even published a blog post on their website dedicated to the movement.

While this move may have turned off a lot of potential customers, it strengthened the connection with the customers who have the shared identity of environmental activists. And those customers are likely more aligned to their target anyway.

But what about pricing?

You may be wondering where the extremely common retail tactics of sales and discounts fall under these seven principles. Is Cialdini saying that price doesn't impact people's purchasing behavior and isn't a viable sales psychology technique?

Not so. In fact, Cialdini mentions a couple of pricing experiments in the beginning of his book. But think of it this way: The price of your product represents the size of a risk someone is going to take on. In other words, people will be a lot more choosy over a $10,000 product than one that is $1.

Risk removal

The seven principles of influence represent additional non-obvious ways to impact perceived risk. For example, by using appeals to authority, you're decreasing the risk of a 'yes.' Someone who says yes (to your appeal to buy a product) can always point to the authority you've demonstrated to rationalize their purchase. With scarcity, there is an inherent increase in the risk of a 'no.' Someone who declines an offer now might miss out down the line.

So given a price you've settled on for your products, using the principles of influence can decrease the risk of 'yes' (liking, social proof, authority, unity) or increase the risk of 'no' (scarcity, consistency, reciprocity).

Sprinkle these sales psychology techniques throughout your site and watch your sales go up!

Ready to apply the psychology of selling?

Start your free 14-day trial of Shopify-no credit card required!
About the author: Beth Morgan is the COO of Twine Data and former VP of Operations at Red Bricks Media. She has been working in and around startups for over 20 years.

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7 Psychological Triggers that Win Sales and Influence Customers

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Whenever anyone asks me what marketing books I recommend that will help them sell more and learn about the psychology of selling, the first one I point them to is Influence by Robert Cialdini, published in 1984. Then I recommend reading his book Pre-Suasion, published in 2016.

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Your brain on ads and the subconscious response of Millennials

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Your brain on ads and the subconscious response of Millennials

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Your brain on ads and the subconscious response of Millennials

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How a product’s distinctiveness entices consumers to buy.

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How a product’s distinctiveness entices consumers to buy.

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By Lisa.

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"I must be myself...I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, that I will do strongly before the sun and moon whatever in[ward]ly rejoices me, and the heart appoints." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Consider this interesting conundrum faced by a restaurant owner with her menu. This restaurant is an established neighborhood brasserie located in an urban area and targets neighborhood diners. It has been in business for over a decade and has a regular, loyal clientele. Despite these positives, the owner has a problem.

A majority of its patrons order from the restaurant's nightly specials menu. On it, the chef has listed a roast chicken entrée priced at $18 and a ribeye steak for $25. Even with its significantly lower price, the restaurant makes far more profit from selling each plate of roast chicken than it does from selling the ribeye steak. That's because ingredient- wise, chicken costs much less than a good quality ribeye. In fact, when customers order a ribeye steak, the restaurant barely breaks even.

Unfortunately, night after night, patrons overwhelmingly prefer the ribeye steak. It is by far the most popular item ordered from the nightly specials menu. Even worse, hardly anyone orders the profitable roast chicken entrée. The owner wants to sell fewer ribeye steaks and more roast chickens.

How would you help the restaurant owner to solve this problem?

I am sure there are many solutions. For example, the owner could increase the ribeye steak's price, or lower the roast chicken's price. However, the answer I want to write about in this blog post concerns an interesting psychological phenomenon discovered by behavioral economists. It is called the 'substitution effect or ' similarity hypothesis.' First, let me explain what the owner should do based on the similarity hypothesis, and then we will look at why it will work.

To get more people to order the roast chicken, the owner should add a second steak entrée to the nightly special menu, say a New York Strip steak for $28. At the first glance, this sounds implausible. Why on earth would the restaurant want to add another new item to its menu that is similar to the unprofitable steak dish, and which is also likely to make little money? After all, New York strip is just as expensive an ingredient as the ribeye.

According to the similarity hypothesis, however, putting two steak entrees on the menu alongside a single chicken entrée will skew the customers' preference towards chicken. The chicken will be the option which appears unique and dissimilar to the other two. The owner could even put all three nightly specials next to each other in a box on the menu to highlight the chicken's distinctiveness. It could look something like this.

The psychology behind this effect is a basic phenomenon that applies to every one of us. We are attracted to distinctive things. Whether we buy them, own them, or order them in restaurants, we want to be associated with unique things to validate our uniqueness as individuals. We desire to feel special and different from others. Psychologists Howard Fromkin and C. R. Synder pointed out this common inclination back in 1960, suggesting that our desire for uniqueness is a " prevalent determinant of behavior." In fact, much of marketing activity revolves around satisfying consumers' need for uniqueness, and the restaurant owner should make use of this fact.

There are countless examples of how the need for uniqueness influences our behavior. I'll give just one example here. Say you go to a restaurant in a group. Research has shown that if other people in the group order your preferred food item before you, you will be less likely to order it even if it is something you order every time. Instead, you'll be likely to order something different, even if you don't like the other item as much. In other words, you are likely to prefer variety for the sake of being distinct from others in your group.

The restaurant owner's conundrum and the solution to it based on the similarity hypothesis provide an example of how our basic motives can influence our behavior in ways that defy common sense. In our quest to be different, we behave in predictable ways.

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How a Product's Distinctiveness Entices Consumers to Buy

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"I must be myself...I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, that I will do strongly before the sun and moon whatever in[ward]ly rejoices me, and the heart appoints." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance Consider this interesting conundrum faced by a restaurant owner with her menu.

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NeuroAdvertising analysis of Mercedes TV ad - The Neuromarketing Labs

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4 Neuromarketing strategies for highest content impact

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4 Neuromarketing strategies for highest content impact

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-Incorporate a human component

-Leverage the scarcity effect

-Press the pain buttoms

-Work with colors to provoke emotions.

By Lisa.

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Marketers have long moved on from years of splurging on bus stop bench advertising and expensive events sponsorship deals to simply promote their brand. Nowadays, the marketing norm is to spend as little as possible while still achieving impressive results. With this incredibly challenging situation in their hands, what should marketers do? The answer lies in one word: Neuromarketing.

In utilizing creative neuromarketing hacks and incorporating these techniques into your campaign, you are bound to come up with remarkably effective ways of spending your marketing dollars. Basically, the goal of this strategy is to figure out how your target audience's brain works and determine the triggers that would result in more leads and conversions as well as boost sales.
What is Neuromarketing?
Neuromarketing is the result of combining marketing efforts and neuroscience concepts. This strategy involves the use of technology, such as brain imaging and brain scanning. Through the observation of brain activity, neuromarketers determine the responses of their subjects on particular marketing elements like packaging and advertising.

This technique is such a hit among marketers because it gets rid of the guess-work involved in the creation and development of successful marketing campaigns. In a nutshell, neuromarketing helps in stimulating the parts of the brain that would prompt people to subconsciously gravitate towards your services or products. While neuromarketing began around the 1990s, this strategy has attracted a lot of attention recently and is perceived as a key tool for marketing success in the years to follow. Below are some neuromarketing hacks that every marketer might want to consider for more effective campaigns.
Incorporate a Human Component
Taking the place of outdated brand messaging is authentic branding, which is a popular neuromarketing hack. By adding a "human" factor in your branding, you set apart your message among the millions of corporate-sounding companies out today. Adding a face (or even several faces) to your company name makes it more relatable and authentic to customers.

Incorporating a "human" touch in your marketing strategies makes your brand more reachable and accessible to your consumers. It establishes a connection with your target audience - one that no logo or any other image could match. Simply put, featuring faces of people in your content inspires trust among your customers.
Leverage the "Scarcity Effect"
Human beings are interesting creatures. Generally, we have the tendency to want something more when we know that there is less supply of it. The more "limited" the product or service, the more tantalizing it becomes. This curious phenomenon is called the "scarcity effect" - and it's a widely used neuromarketing hack as well.

Marketing efforts that leverage the scarcity effect aim to turn an ordinary shopping experience into a thrilling and stimulating one simply by appealing to the primal desire of human beings to covet items they deem as limited. The power of this neuromarketing technique lies in the ability of the marketers to turn any common product or service into a "must-have" commodity.

The scarcity effect does not end in the shopping experience as well. Even after the customers purchase the product or avail of the service, the thought of having a "rare" commodity would make them value it even more. That is, these items would always have a "special" place in your consumers' minds.

A lot of huge companies have been successfully employing this neuromarketing technique. For example, Amazon has mastered the art of the "limited time offer." Customers of Jeff Bezos' company have been observed to actively shop more when they see the countdown timer on the page.

Other companies apply the scarcity effect by indicating that specific items are soon to be sold out. They write prompts like "Only two left in stock!" Meanwhile, some companies turn the products or services into must-have by attaching labels like "Exclusive" and "Collectable."
Press the Pain Buttons
One of the most eye-opening discoveries in neuromarketing is the idea that consumers respond more to pain than pleasure. This is because convention dictates that marketers must always highlight the benefits and features of availing a service or buying a product. However, neuromarketing reveals that customers pay more attention to things that might hurt them over those that would bring them delight when it comes to purchasing decisions.

In fact, experts in neuromarketing disclose that the response of the brain when it comes to avoiding pain is three times stronger than its reaction to seeking pleasure. This means that marketers should focus more on showing how their product or service could alleviate pain instead of sharing the pleasures their target audience can get from these commodities.
Work with Colors to Provoke Emotion
Using color has a transformative effect on the brains of your customers. This is why using colors is a great way to direct the audience to feel what you want your product or service to convey. The key point to unlock in this neuromarketing hack is to determine what specific emotion or vibe you want to achieve. Based on this, you can easily incorporate the best color to use in the content.

Every color communicates a certain emotion to your target customers. For instance, purple is generally perceived as unique and edgy. Red is bold, exciting, and adventurous; while blue typically associated with cleanliness, honesty, and sincerity. Freshness and being organic are usually thought of when customers see green. Meanwhile, yellow or orange depicts hope and optimism.

The design aspects of your brand would benefit greatly if you fully comprehend and appreciate how to incorporate colors into your messaging. Knowing the emotion it would elicit from your customers would go a long way especially in terms of motivating them to avail of your services or purchase your products.
The Takeaway
Neuromarketing is a powerful tool specifically when it comes to establishing trust, connecting with your customers, and even boosting your sales. Successfully branding or packaging your company could not only convert visitors into leads, it could also earn you lifelong consumers loyal to your name. However, more and more neuromarketing techniques are being discovered every day.

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4 Neuromarketing Strategies for Highest Content Impact

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Marketers have long moved on from years of splurging on bus stop bench advertising and expensive events sponsorship deals to simply promote their brand. Nowadays, the marketing norm is to spend as little as possible while still achieving impressive results. With this incredibly challenging situation in their hands, what should marketers do?

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Improve Hospitality by influencing conscious and subconscious behavior

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Improve Hospitality by influencing conscious and subconscious behavior

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NMSBA - Improve Hospitality by Influencing Conscious and Subconscious Behavior

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Improve Hospitality by Influencing Conscious and Subconscious Behavior

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One of the most mind-wrecking issues entrepreneurs battle with on a daily basis is how to grow and expand the productivity and profitability of their business beyond its current status. There are endless possibilities, and today, I specifically cover how neuromarketing will help your business grow even in a harsh and competitive environment.

Every entrepreneur knows that for any growth to be a possibility, you have to maintain customer appeal, attract new clients, and ensure consumer satisfaction.

Neuromarketing Is Quickly Becoming a Widely Practiced Business Trend

Neuromarketing is specifically designed to target customer attraction, appeal, satisfaction, and retention. According to renowned psychologist Robert Ornstein, neuromarketing appeals to the part of the brain he refers to as "the old brain."

Neuromarketing sounds like a trendy concept, but what exactly is it?

According to an article on Entrepreneur, neuromarketing is a relatively new field of marketing that makes use of medical technology to accurately measure how the brain responds to marketing stimuli. It is based on the idea that the unconscious mind drives consumer responses.

What Ornstein refers to as "old brain" is actually the brain stem and other brain structures that are responsible for a person's survival. This is the section of the brain entrepreneurs must appeal to because it plays a crucial role in assessing situations.

The "old brain" determines what captures a person's attention. If you want to ensure customer attraction and customer retention, the concept of neuromarketing will come in handy. It will substantially aid business growth because it taps into the pleasure center of the brain.

According to Forbes, neuromarketing is not a pseudoscience. Indeed, a number of research papers have ascertained that it is a practical. Moreover, it is a viable solution that can be used as a business growth tool.

Are you looking to grow your business? Here is how you can harness the power of neuromarketing to ensure the steady growth of your business. With this exciting new technique, you can study a person's brain activity to determine how they respond to different marketing stimuli.

How the Power of Neuromarketing Will Assist in Business Growth

Neuromarketing techniques use emotions to trigger a positive response from customers.
To catch the interest of a customer and retain the attention, you have to constantly appeal to the emotions.
When you trigger the emotions of a consumer positively, your brand instantly becomes memorable, and you are likely to win their loyalty. So how do you take advantage of this? Simple! Structure all your ad campaigns in a way that tells a story which evokes emotions.

A company that effectively employed this technique is eBay. An up-and-coming neuromarketing firm, NeuroFocus, developed a massively successful brand identity for eBay based on tests done on consumers that measured their emotional responses.

According to Dr. Ken Blanchard, the bestselling author of Legendary Service: The Key is to Care, Neuromarketing substantially helps in customer satisfaction by helping to ascertain which customer service techniques are satisfactory to clients.

Neuromarketing techniques can help ascertain the emotional responses that potential consumers will have on the brand depending on the brand's personal behavior towards customers. How a customer is treated plays a big role in determining whether a person becomes a loyal customer.

By ascertaining which customer service techniques elicit positive responses from customers using neuromarketing tools, the human resource department can successfully develop effective employee practices that will appeal to new customers and ensure the continued satisfaction of existing customers.

According to Dr. Ken Blanchard, medical tests, such as EEG and fMRI are effective in helping shed light on how brand influences the decision to buy. This means you can design a customer service system that has already been proven viable to ensure that any potential buyer turns into a loyal customer.

Neuromarketing can also help in search engine optimization by creating a strong online presence.

In a new study done by One to One Interactive's OTO Insights, search results that included texts, videos, and images were more emotionally engaging and memorable to customers.

According to Roger Dooley; a neuromarketing expert who contributes regularly to Forbes, the inclusion of videos and images to texts significantly boosts moral engagement during interaction with a SERP. This study proves that most Internet users get instant gratification from landing pages that have many images and videos.

The findings in this study can help a business improve its SEO strategy by ensuring the creation of pages that capture interest and have a lasting impact on consumers.

Most visionary corporations spend millions to find out what consumers want or need in order to avoid wasting money on an ineffective advertising campaign. For example, after brain wave research conducted by experts, PayPal was convinced that its target market values speed more than safety and security. PayPal, therefore, persuades more online shoppers to depend on their services by specifically pitching it as fast.

This marketing campaign worked out for PayPal because CEO Dan Schulman issued a press release saying they are close to achieving their vision, which is, "becoming a reliable everyday financial service for people around the globe."

Bottom Line

Neuromarketing has become a reliable and effective alternative to other growth-hacking techniques. The neuromarketing bandwagon is growing bigger every day. Opinions expressed here by Contributors are their own.

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How to Use the Power of Neuromarketing to Grow Your Business

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One of the most mind-wrecking issues entrepreneurs battle with on a daily basis is how to grow and expand the productivity and profitability of their business beyond its current status. There are endless possibilities, and today, I specifically cover how neuromarketing will help your business grow even in a harsh and competitive environment.

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15 Powerful Examples of Neuromarketing in Action

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15 Powerful Examples of Neuromarketing in Action

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https://imotions.com/blog/neuromarketing-examples/

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The Potato Chips Bag that Shines, Doesn’t Sell

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The Potato Chips Bag that Shines, Doesn’t Sell

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http://www.digitalmktggeek.com/a-brief-introduction-to-neuromarketing/

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Neuromarketing can be defined as a field, employing neuroscientific methods to investigate and understand human behaviour concerning markets and marketing exchanges, according to its common description in scientific literature. The reason for the researchers to adopt these methods, instead of directly asking people about their choices is that individuals cannot or will not express their preferences in many cases. Thus, they prefer using brain imaging tools which are based on collecting hemodynamic or electromagnetic signals resulting from the brain activity during a task for marketing objectives (Vecchiato et al., 2011).

In fact, it is possible for neuroimagining tools to access the information in consumers' brains, while they are making choices and/or watching a commercial. Accordingly, this information can contribute to the relevant product's promotion. Looking from the marketing researchers' perspective, these imaging tools help achieving an efficient trade-off between costs and benefits of the research (Vecchiato et al., 2011).

Functional Magnetic Resonance Image (fMRI) considered as one of the most popular brain imaging tools which produces a sequence of images that are "static" (i.e. showing the brain activity occurred within an interval of almost ten seconds) by measuring the blood flow in the brain. Although they are static, these images have higher spatial resolution than any other neuroimaging methods. As the tools of the most popular imaging method in the field of neuromarketing, fMRI scanners have helped some scientific studies which showed that drinking some popular drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi activates particular areas in the brain (McClure et al., 2004).

Samuel McClure and his fellows have decided to study on Coca-Cola (Coke) and Pepsi, because consumers were having strong preferences over one another, although their formulas are almost the same. With this, came the question of how cultural messages affect our opinions enough to change behavioural preferences about something as simple as a sugary drink.

Researchers have served the participants Coke and Pepsi (1) anonymously and (2) revealing their brands in both behavioural tasting tests and during fMRI scans. McClure and his co-workers have noted that a constant neural response is observed in the subjects' ventromedial preforntal cortex when the drinks are served anonymously; and that when participants knew what they were drinking, it hugely affected their brain activity, as well as their behavioural preferences.

Brain scans reveal that the choice of Coke or Pepsi does not solely depend on their taste but also their labels, since this information activates cerebral areas related to cultural influences. Therefore, the researchers believe that they have proved neurologically, how brands influence behavioural preferences when they have cultural reflections.

The reason for this, according to the researchers, is that "there are visual images and marketing messages that have insinuated themselves into the nervous systems of humans that consume the drinks" (McClure et al., 2004).

Thanks to its design, the study allowed the researchers to see clearly which cerebral areas are activated when the brand information is available, and when it is not. They have also witnessed that while knowing that the drink is Pepsi does not change anything, the case with Coke is different. When participants are told that the brand is Coca-Cola that dramatically affected their preference and also activated their "dorsolateral prefrontal cortex" and hippocampus, both of which are known to change the individual's behaviours depending on emotions. This led the researchers to think that hippocapus might be responsible for recalling that cultural influences affecting preferences (McClure et al., 2004).

They also believe that the results of the study implies that there are two interacting brain systems in the prefrontal cortex; one for taste and one for recalling cultural influence, and this interaction is what determines the individual's preferences.

As a result, it is clear that neuromarketing analysis help marketing experts to improve their knowledge about the customers and their behavioural attitudes and improve the overall marketing performances of their companies in several ways through the information obtained from these studies.
Sources:
McClure, S.M., Li, J., Tomlin, D., Cypert, K.S., Montague, L.M., & Montague, P.R. (2004). Neural correlates of behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks. Neuron, 44, 379-387.

Vecchiato, G., et al. (2011). On the use of EEG or MEG brain imaging tools in neuromarketing research. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 1-12.

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Neuromarketing can be defined as a field, employing neuroscientific methods to investigate and understand human behaviour concerning markets and marketing exchanges, according to its common description in scientific literature.

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There's an intuitiveness to digital marketing that if your campaigns aren't geared toward each platform uniquely, your advertising and social spends may miss your proposed target audience. Why?

Whether we, as consumers, like it or not, Facebook, Google and other social channels and search engines respond to our behaviors online. It's the way we receive direct and indirect promotional messaging based on our interests.

Yes, "big brother" is watching our every move. But, there's another way that marketers can learn about consumer interests and it has everything to do with how we think, feel and react - subconsciously. If you're thinking, "This sounds complicated," it is - yet, it isn't.

The term is called neuromarketing. In short, neuromarketing is based on the head games we play with ourselves, unknowingly.
NEUROMARKETING = 1 PART BRAIN + 1 PART EMOTION + 1 PART RESPONSIVENESS
Chances are you've already seen examples of neuromarketing in your day-to-day but weren't aware of it. That's the beauty of it - when neuromarketing is executed correctly.

Playing off the way humans react to stimuli (products/services messaging), neuromarketing provides mechanisms to measure:

What we respond to,

When we respond,

Why we respond, and

How to tailor branding and sales initiatives to increase conversion rates.

I've found some great examples of successful neuromarketing campaigns to share, but before that, let's dive a little deeper into the way market researchers use technology in neuroscience to get a better understanding of what drives human behavior in the sales funnel.

The Before and After of Neuromarketing

One of the more challenging aspects of predicting how your target audience is going to react to your brand or promotional messaging is that you can't predict it. People are fickle. Emotional. Transient. Impulsive.

There is no magic trick or special sauce (except for McDonald's') that will draw prospects and existing customers to your business. However, neuromarketing can test the waters, so to speak, and provide a consensus of what to expect.

Focus Groups Represent Consciousness

Many marketing agencies will set up focus groups to gauge consumer interest and opinions before a hard launch of a new product or update to a brand. What neuromarketers can do to enhance a focus group session is to bring the science of the subconscious to meet head on with consciousness. This is where it gets interesting - in fact, humorous.

How Often Do We Mean What We Say and Say What We Mean?

Ask your friend if they like Sriracha sauce and you'll get a roll of the eyes with a screeching, "Well duh, who doesn't?" Then you ask if she wants to head to Burger King for a Sriracha-infused fish sandwich and the response is, "GROSS!"

Maybe she doesn't like fish? Perhaps she has an aversion to anything Burger King. But she said she liked Sriracha sauce.

This is part of the challenge in neuromarketing: the many variables of human nature that make what we say not always an accurate assessment of what we mean or how we feel.

The Nitty Gritty of Neuromarketing

Researchers will monitor how a person sees an online ad, for example, by using an fMRI scan that will provide details of brain activity. In addition, this is a great way to A/B test a promotional message for a marketing campaign.

The "A" ad might show the same copy with a different design or image than the "B" ad. The viewers' brain activity can give an indication of their subconscious response to each.

EEG images are also used to show how a person emotionally responds to a product or service, depicted on the web, print or broadcast. For online-specific campaigns, neuromarketers track where a person's eyes move about a webpage, usually going to the most prominent areas of the ad first.

Once noted, marketers can then use the information when choosing color palates for their brand. This also indicates where the primary messages should be placed (layout-wise) for maximum traction, increasing the click-through rate.

There are numerous ways that neuromarketing has come to light and can assist in the go-to-market, prelaunch process. Now, let's put some sizzle to the science.

Neuromarketing Puts the Snap, Crackle and Pop Back in your Advertising

Perhaps the golden ticket in an advertiser's ability to successfully tap into the mind of a consumer is by making the experience memorable. The most powerful part of the prior sentence is the word experience.

If you can create an experience for the user, it will be more memorable, will evoke emotion, decrease bounce rates, increase time spent viewing, build more relationships and convert more sales - even if you've only got their attention for three to five seconds. How?

Poke their curiosity.

Challenge their intellect.

Ask their participation.

Reach their comfort zone.

Not every marketing campaign will hit all four goals noted in this list, but it's something to keep in mind when considering how neuromarketing can go to work for your business.

5 Examples of Neuromarketing by Household Brands

Neuromarketing invokes the subconscious, allowing advertisers to sway behavior based on emotion without thought...stirring the deeper recesses of our brains. Through neuromarketing, marketers hope to engage our internal chemistry, and that may not come with specific reasoning, but more from responsiveness based on memory or deep-rooted cognition from another time that provides appeal in the present moment.

Apple

While many businesses will pull out all the stops to try to win your attention and, ultimately, loyalty, some companies have a distinct brand presence - so much so, that there is no other brand like them. Their brand is their calling card. Apple defines this strength.

Neuromarketing in this instance showcases the power of simplicity because Apple's positioning is always about its singularity. In a sea of competitors, Apple is always at the forefront of the industry wave.

When introducing the iPhone, Apple used imagination and how consumers feel separate yet connected by their mobile device, allowing them to enter and exist in their own world - just by turning them on. Apple pokes at the viewer's curiosity.

Trivago

The online travel booking company Trivago uses the anchoring or comparison approach in its market positioning. Trivago's brand ambassador presents a specific destination and then lists options for hotels and other accommodations that the consumer may not readily find if they use another booking company.

Through a no-nonsense, sometimes whimsical portrayal, the spokesman here is trying to make the consumer feel silly for using anything other than Trivago. This campaign indirectly challenges the intellect.

M&M's

Other examples of neuromarketing focus on the brain's reward center, the same area of the mind that responds to all things pleasurable: sugar, alcohol, drugs and sex. Yes, these are substances that have addictions associated with them. But there's a reason for that.

Human beings respond to people, places and things that excite the senses, sending messages to the brain that spur desire, anticipation, expectation and reward. Once experienced, the body will then respond in the same way to sight, sound, scent and touch that relates to the first experience. M&M's draws from this aspect of neuromarketing.

For the last several years, milk chocolate and peanut M&M's have been depicted as human-size products. Oh, what would it be like to have a 66-inch M&M to nosh on? Fantastic!

Lay's

This next neuromarketing example is my favorite of 2018 so far: the Lay's Potato Chip "Operation Smile" bags campaign. I think this one is brilliant! A product packaging rebrand that brings experiential marketing to a multi-layered level. Each potato chip flavor has its own redesign, with the very top of the bag portraying a different smile. After all, smiling is contagious.

The consumer can then take the bag, hold the top of it in front of their own mouth and convey a smile. Just the act of doing it makes the consumer smile, laugh and invite them to share it with their friends or family.

In addition, because each flavor has its own design, consumers may want to buy more than one flavor to experience all the smiles. And when the chips are gone, they will be hard pressed to find another potato chip brand experience to equal what Lay's offers. Remember, you can't eat just one.

Clever Turns of Phrases

For targeted audiences by age or geographic area, a marketer might want to tease their memory by tugging at something familiar but with a twist. Known as hippocampus headlines, these clever phrases of copy often use an American adage and change just a word or two near the end.

This draws the audience to what they know, holds their attention and then keeps them considering the message because of the shift. I don't know of a campaign that uses the following phrase, but it would be ideal for a water-flavoring product:
You can lead a horse to water but you CAN make him drink.
Now You Need a Neuromarketing Marketing Strategy to Understand How Your Customer Ticks
See Our 4-Step Inbound Marketing Approach

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Examples of Neuromarketing Done Well to Help Your Marketing Strategy

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There's an intuitiveness to digital marketing that if your campaigns aren't geared toward each platform uniquely, your advertising and social spends may miss your proposed target audience. Why? Whether we, as consumers, like it or not, Facebook, Google and other social channels and search engines respond to our behaviors online.

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3 Ways to Use Psychology in Your Social Media Marketing

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3 Ways to Use Psychology in Your Social Media Marketing

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Social Media Marketing is a must for companies these days. How can neuromarketing be implemented in your strategy? Find out below!
- Demi

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Looking for ways to connect with fans on a deeper level?

Have you thought about using psychology in your marketing?

Implementing basic psychological marketing principles in your social media activities can help you attract, engage, and form emotional bonds with your target audience.

In this article, you'll discover three ways to use psychology in your social media marketing.

Listen to this article:

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#1: Give Gifts to Encourage Responses

If you give people something they find valuable, they'll typically feel indebted to you. To incorporate this neuromarketing tactic in your social media marketing, you can offer a small gift like a discount, free trial, or free resource guide to your fans. Whatever you decide to offer, the goal is to answer the question: "What's in it for me?"

On their Facebook page, Spanish soccer club Real Madrid recently offered free shorts with the purchase of a kid's shirt from the team's official store. In just an hour, the post received over 16,000 reactions and 63 shares.

Although Real Madrid's massive Facebook following played a role in the success of their offer, this tactic can help drive engagement for businesses of all sizes. If you don't have the luxury of spending money on giveaways, you can drive engagement using free gifts.

Anytime Fitness offered their Facebook followers a free downloadable calendar to plan their activity in and out of the gym and track progress toward their fitness goals.

To use the reciprocity tactic on your social channels, take a closer look at your audience to better understand what they like and expect. Figure out what compels them to engage and come up with an offer that they're likely to share with friends.

Offer something that's valuable to your audience while ensuring that they give you something in return. For example, give a 5% discount or a free trial of your product to anyone who shares and comments on your post. Or host a giveaway contest in which followers with the most shares and social media engagement receive a free product.

In the tweet below, users are offered a free design course in exchange for being a beta tester and providing feedback on the course. Users can reciprocate by clicking on the link to apply. They might also want to share the good news with their Twitter followers, which is a form of engagement.

The idea behind the reciprocity tactic is to compel the action of engaging with your brand by making people feel obligated to you. While you can't offer a giveaway every day, you can always post useful, shareworthy information related to your business. For example, if you're in the fitness industry, share articles and tips about exercise and healthy eating.

#2: Use Emotional Triggers to Create Authentic Connections

Connecting with your audience is one of the most basic ways to increase your social media engagement. This neuromarketing tactic makes use of the emotional reaction that's triggered when people feel connected to you. When people feel close to you and can relate to you, there's a great chance they'll engage with your company.

To form an emotional connection, you need to start interacting with followers in a meaningful way.

Laughter is one of the most effective tools for forming a strong emotional bond with people. Like Chipotle does here, you can use wit and humor to connect with your Twitter followers. The Mexican grill has a deep understanding of their target audience and the kind of humor they'll likely appreciate. This helps them avoid using humor that their followers might find offensive or lame.

Chipotle also posts humorous replies to tweets from their fans. Your tweets can show enthusiasm toward your products with the right mix of humor. This works well for driving social media engagement.

Here's how you can pull off this neuromarketing tactic to connect with your fans:

Study your audience to see what kind of humor they like. Remember that not everyone appreciates sarcasm or satire. You want to joke with your fans on social media without insulting them. Replay your post multiple times to ensure that it can't be perceived as offensive. If you can, run it by your team to get their opinion on the reply.

Even when you're sharing an important fact about your company, try to communicate it in a lighthearted or humorous way. In this tweet, Taco Bell highlights their $1 breakfast menu with an amusing survey question.

Brainstorm topics that your fans can relate to. Analyze your past posts and see which ones received the most engagement from your followers. If there's a topic or cause your fans are talking about, come up with more posts related to that topic.

Strand Book Store typically receives high engagement from Instagram posts that tap into their fans' love of perusing the shelves of a bookstore.

Rather than simply sharing or retweeting a post where fans have mentioned you, take the time to react and join the conversation. For example, if fans show you how they've used your product, think of a short line or two and respond to fans. They'll appreciate that you've noticed them and taken the time to respond.

You can also connect with your audience by targeting other emotional responses, such as compassion or empathy. Perhaps you could share a touching story with your audience or highlight some volunteer work your company is doing. Whatever you do, focus on establishing a face and personality for your business.

#3: Partner With Trusted Authorities to Build Credibility

Trust is an important factor in influencing conversions and engagement. So what should you do if you're taking the first steps in building trust with your audience? Start by associating with people or brands that your target audience already trusts. Build relationships with authority figures or influencers who can give your brand credibility.

Cosmetics brand Smashbox has partnered with prominent people in the beauty industry, including beauty vloggers, hair stylists, and makeup artists. These influencers promote their products by engaging a niche audience via social media. YouTube beauty vlogger Casey Holmes posted an image of herself wearing their foundation on her Instagram account. The post received over 29,000 likes and more than 500 comments.

Smashbox's regram received over 13,000 likes and drove social media engagement to the company's Instagram account. Notice how the company mentioned that the vlogger's skin always looks amazing thanks to their product. That's a subtle product promotion technique you can use, too.

This neuromarketing tactic is effective because people respond better to those they admire. Here's how you can start partnering with influencers:

Identify what kind of influencers your target audience idolizes. An authority figure for one industry may not be very influential in another. A Variety survey found that YouTube stars dominated the top five on the list of most influential people for Americans between the ages of 13 and 18. However, if your target audience mostly consists of moms, you may want to reach out to popular mommy bloggers.

Airline Cathay Pacific partnered with travel blogger Jessica Stein for their Life Well Travelled campaign. Jessica shared every aspect of her travel experience from the airport to the flight, and at various destinations.

Once you've identified the authority figures your audience will best respond to, look for prospective influencers in your industry. You can use tools like Traackr, BuzzSumo, and Ninja Outreach for this.

Compile a list of potential influencers and then study the number of likes, comments, shares, and retweets they get for their posts. You want to find out which influencers drive the most social media engagement with their audience. Also look at how actively they engage with their followers.

Next, reach out to the influencers you want to work with and deliver your best value proposition. Let them know what benefits they'll reap if they decide to partner with you and promote your company. Work with influencers to establish an actionable strategy that sparks social media engagement on your pages. For example, maybe they can talk about your company in their next tweet or Instagram post, or write a product review on their blog and share it on their social media account.

Working with authority figures helps build credibility for your company and products, which ultimately leads to trust and engagement.
Conclusion
These neuromarketing tactics not only can increase social media engagement, but can also improve other aspects of your business performance. For instance, giving free gifts for every purchase helps boosts your conversions. Making an emotional connection with your audience and interacting with them regularly can help you build a loyal social following.

In good time, all of these neuromarketing strategies can encourage brand loyalty among your followers and existing customers.

What do you think? Have you tried these neuromarketing tactics to encourage engagement on your social channels? What techniques have worked well for your business? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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3 Ways to Use Psychology in Your Social Media Marketing

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Looking for ways to connect with fans on a deeper level? Have you thought about using psychology in your marketing? Implementing basic psychological marketing principles in your social media activities can help you attract, engage, and form emotional bonds with your target audience.

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How to use Neuromarketing for Facebook Engagement

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How to use Neuromarketing for Facebook Engagement

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In what way can neuromarketing help Facebook marketeers? Well, it supports the need of consumer profiling while providing them the benefit of understanding what the audience motive is.
- Demi

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If you don't have a strategy in place for influencing the behavior of your target audience, you're really missing out. Luckily, neuromarketing has you covered.

Today's post goes beyond the tactics we've previously discussed to engage Facebook audiences. The mistake you want to avoid is limiting your strategy to already discussed tactics -because there is a new concept out there, and understanding it can skyrocket your fan engagement levels.

What Is Neuromarketing?

Neuromarketing for Facebook is a new strategy of acquiring customer intelligence. The aim is to enable marketers to understand consumer behavior and predict their purchase decisions as much as possible. The concept is used to measure the psychological state of consumers to learn why they make certain decisions and what part of the brain tells them to make those decisions.

Can you really hack into the minds of your target audience and influence their decisions? Neuromarketing says it's possible by understanding what works and what doesn't when convincing people to do business with you. Before, marketers used to think that buying decisions are inspired by logic and rationality; today they realize that emotions can override rational behavior. According to research, neuroscience has revealed new information about emotional responses through the measurement of brain activity when people evaluate advertisements or products.

University of California's neuroscientists scanned the brains of people watching Super Bowl commercials in 2007. A fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine was used to measure neural activity in the areas that trigger language, emotion and everything else. Advertisers paid up to $85,000 to trigger positive responses, but many of them provoked fear and anxiety, with Doritos being the only exception.

For instance, the ad from Nationwide Insurance featuring the failed rapper Kevin Federline working in a fast food restaurant led to feelings of insecurity, which was opposite of what the company wanted to achieve.

It has been long since neuroscience met marketing. Neuromarketing took birth and now marketers use a variety of techniques and tools to measure customer behavior and responses. These include simple methods such as emotional experiments (seeing how product design modifications affect a consumer's emotions), analyzing their expressions, and eye tracking, as well as complex methods such as biometrics (body signals), neurometrics (EEG), and fMRI.

Using Neuromarketing for Facebook Engagement

So in what ways neuromarketing helps Facebook marketers? Well, it supports the need of consumer profiling while providing them the benefit of understanding what the audience motive is. Below are some neuromarketing tips that you can apply to your campaign:

1. Use the Right Colors

Did you know that colors make a huge difference in how people perceive your marketing message? Gregory Ciotti's blog post explained how colors influence the brain. Facebook itself uses the color blue, which implies communication, trustworthiness, safety and reliability. These are the qualities users perceive of social media businesses that use the blue color.

In a peer reviewed journal post, it was determined that consumers take 90 seconds to form opinions about products, and around 62-90 percent of this interaction is determined by the color of the item alone.

So whether you post something visual or create a Facebook ad, remember to use the right mix of colors and the ones that support your brand's personality. For example, pink would work well if you're targeting single female audience, as it represents romance and love.

Even though Nike has different colors in its branding, it doesn't shy away from using pink when there's a need. Females are likely to engage with this color more than other colors.

The shoe has a pink foil color, and the Facebook post was geared towards the female audience.

2. Aim to Reduce Pain

Specialists in the field of neuromarketing say that the response given by the brain when it comes to pain avoidance is three times stronger than the response given when it seeks pleasure. The traditional route is to focus on the pleasures provided by your product (cost-saving, features, etc.); why not focus more on the way it will help consumers avoid pain?

Consumer emotions gear more towards pain avoidance rather than thrills. Pain points can be unconscious or conscious depending on the situation. If your message doesn't address the customer's pain and has negative to zero effect on the medial prefrontal cortex region of the brain (responsible for decision making), then you need to remove unnecessary purchase points.

To find out what types of pain your target audience is facing, you should:

Make personalized phone calls

Host Facebook surveys

Study comments and mentions

These few tips will allow you to discover pain points, which you could try addressing with your product/service.

Trello does well with its Facebook posts to address the main pain point of its audience.

The recent blog post shows that the company wants to help users avoid the pain of unorganized team work.

3. Don't Miss out on Anchoring

Anchoring refers to the first piece of information received by consumers and how they use it as an anchor for making decisions. All decisions are made according to the anchor, regardless of these decisions making sense or not. Consumers will compare subsequent products/services against the anchor.

Fluctuating gasoline rates could be used as an example to understand anchoring. When the first time you'll see $5 as the price, your brain will experience pain, as the anchor could be $3 or $4 - the price registered in your brain, the price you're familiar with, and the price you're fond of. Now consider the bargain the brain would perceive if the price dropped to $2.

What you can do is suggest an anchor to consumers rather than allowing them to find their own anchors. Samsung's Facebook page shows that it uses its Galaxy phone's latest model as the anchor.

The Galaxy S6 is the anchor these days. All other products will be compared against this anchor. People may be inclined towards lower-priced models as the OS and some features would be similar to the latest flagship.

4. Harness the Power of Reciprocity

Reciprocity could work well to make your target audiences' brains feel indebted towards your brand. In comparing the rewards vs reciprocity approach in an experiment conducted on a website, it was found that twice as many people gave their information when information was provided to them first, instead of the other way around.

The approach may seem counterintuitive at first, but Susan Weinschenk revealed in her book titled ' Neuro Web Design ' that call-to-actions should be placed immediately after good content. That is because the psychological principle of reciprocity claims that when marketers provide something to their target audience without expecting anything in return, people are more likely to return the favor by engaging, making donations, buying products, etc.

As a result, you can use this tactic to spur Facebook audiences to engagement. For instance, Mint, powered by Intuit, provides free information to its Facebook audiences.

This give out of information results in a positive experience, which motivates people to sign up for a paid account.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading what neuromarketing is and how it can be applied to your marketing efforts. This approach will enable you to scrutinize the mind of your audiences, which is the key to influencing their behavior.

Now it's your turn. Have you used any of the above tactics to improve engagement? Feel free to leave comments.

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How To Use Neuromarketing for Facebook Engagement

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If you don't have a strategy in place for influencing the behavior of your target audience, you're really missing out. Luckily, neuromarketing has you covered. Today's post goes beyond the tactics we've previously discussed to engage Facebook audiences.

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively. The following articles outlines 15 fascinating examples of neuromarketing in action.

1. The Importance of Eye Gaze

It is old news that ads that include people are much more effective than those that do not. In particular, images and videos that include babies tend to attract longer and more focused attention from potential customers. Advertisers have long attempted to boost sales for baby products using close ups of adorable baby faces - with the help of eye tracking technology they have identified that this alone is not enough.

Researchers discovered that when the infant looks face on, viewers will be far more focused on the baby's face to the detriment of focusing on the ad content. However, if the infant is directing its gaze at the product or text then the viewer will in fact focus on the advertising content.

Takeaway: As a result of such findings advertisers have now taken on board that although baby faces are popular among consumers, they also make sure that the baby is looking at what they want the consumer to buy. Read more about the study here.

2. Using Effective Packaging

We all know the feeling of being drawn to particularly striking or attractive packaging. Advertisers have always known that it's not always what's inside that counts, but neuroimaging has managed to take this to a whole new level. Brands such as Campbell's and Frito-Lay have used neuroimaging to reimagine their packaging. In studies, customers were shown packaging with their responses recorded as positive, negative or neutral. In addition, they were interviewed extensively in relation to color, text and imagery.

This research revealed that customers had a negative response to shiny packaging, but didn't show a negative response to packaging when it was matte. Frito-Lay then went on to scrap the shiny packaging, and move on with the new, matte look.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques are being employed extensively to redesign packaging and presentation. To read more about the study above (and some other interesting studies) check out this link.

3. Color is Key

When selecting colors, bear in mind that you may be influencing how potential customers feel. Colors can evoke a wide range of emotions, with studies consistently showing a link between certain colors and certain emotions.

Utilizing a color effectively can be a powerful marketing tool. One of the most infamous examples is Coca Cola's ubiquitous use of the color red, but there are many more companies who have also used color to great effect. Neuromarketing experts specializing in color and advertising have divided colors into subgroups as a guide to how they may be used effectively. Cool blues, for example, are the go-to color if you wish to attract professionals.

Takeaway: Make sure to familiarize yourself with how color may be used to influence purchasing behavior.

4. Ad Efficiency

For many years brain imaging was purely the reserve of the academic or the scientific. Neuromarketing however, has tapped into the incredible potential of fMRI imaging to grant us insights into human behavior and consumer habits.

One example of how neuromarketing has made use of fMRI is to compare advertising campaigns before releasing them to the general public. In one particular study, three different ads for the National Cancer Institute's telephone hotline were viewed by participants. The ad campaign that elicited the highest amount of brain activity in a particular region, led to significantly higher calls to the hotline. This novel approach is a new avenue for identifying ad campaigns that will genuinely engage the public.

Takeaway: fMRI has incredible potential for enhancing marketing strategies, increasing engagement and action.

5. Decision Paralysis

Sometimes, consumer behavior research goes against what we may have previously believed. A study by Columbia University revealed that too many choices may actually be a deterrent for potential customers. Using different types of setups, they found that displays containing a wide array of options were less likely to get customers to stop.

Takeaway: Less is more and sometimes customers can be overwhelmed by too many choices. Interested in learning more about decision paralysis and what to do about it? Take a look at this great article.

6. Evaluating Satisfaction

Emotion Response Analysis (ERA) uses EEG imaging to identify the emotional response an individual has to a product, advertisement etc.

Our level of engagement or emotional arousal in relation to a product is invaluable to the advertiser. If, for example, the consumer experiences high levels of frustration in response to your product then there is evidently an issue with usability you may wish to address. EEG may be used to evaluate consumer satisfaction. In one study EEG was used to evaluate satisfaction with a dermatological treatment. They found that customer satisfaction correlated with activation in the neural circuits involved in evaluating facial beauty.

Takeaway: Like fMRI, EEG can shed light on the most effective ways of advertising (amongst other uses). If you're interested in how EEG can be used in conjunction with iMotions software then check out this link.

7. Loss Aversion

One interesting finding utilized by neuromarketing is that people really don't want to lose out. People are just as worried about what they might lose as what they might gain. For this reason "buy before it's gone" strategies are highly effective.

When the alternative option is posed as a loss, consumers are much more likely to buy. For this reason, a concept called "framing" is highly important in neuromarketing. This technique is how advertisers present decisions to consumers in a way that makes them more likely to splash the cash.

Takeaway: Consumers hate to feel they are missing out on a bargain, so make sure to emphasize if they are set to lose out.

8. Anchoring

The first piece of information your customer receives is highly important. It can be the basis for any subsequent decision making and set the tone for their purchasing behavior. Neuroscientists have discovered a flaw in the workings of the mind, and how it reaches decisions. As individuals, we are rarely able to evaluate the value of something based on its intrinsic worth, but instead compare it with the surrounding options.

A valuable application of neuromarketing therefore, is to take advantage of this "anchoring effect". If for example, you are looking at two hotel rooms which are priced similarly but one offers a free coffee in the morning, you are much more likely to go with the free coffee. You will more than likely not explore the quality of the rooms offered or any detailed features.

Advertisers often take advantage of this when comparing bundle packages or deals against each other. In this way, we may often find ourselves signing up to contracts or a year- long commitment.

Takeaway: Anchoring can help you swing the deal the right way. This interesting piece highlights how anchoring methods can work for businesses.

9. The Need for Speed

Neuromarketing is useful for detecting customer trends. Whilst companies often seek to portray a sense of safety and security, speed and efficiency may be what customers are after. PayPal discovered this by conducting a study which found that the promise of convenience activated the brain more than security. They used this information to convert more shoppers to their online payment service by emphasizing their speedy payment system.

Takeaway: Whilst it may seem like emphasizing the safety and security of a product will win customers over, you may instead want to get the message across that your product is fast and efficient.

10. Revealing Hidden Responses

When testing a new advertisement, Cheetos used focus groups and EEG to evaluate consumer response.

In this particular ad, a woman played a prank on her friend by filling her white load of laundry with orange Cheetos. Focus Groups reported a dislike for the ad, however when an EEG study was ran with the same participants it revealed that they really liked it. Participants in the focus group were afraid to voice the fact they found the ad humorous in case other members thought they were unkind. In this manner, neuromarketing can reveal hidden thoughts and preferences.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques can reveal hidden responses. To read about another interesting technique capable of illuminating our thought processes check out the IAT.

11. Reward and Punishment

Even video game design has started to use psychological principles in the product design process, specifically using reward and punishment in order to make engaging games, and to keep people playing them. By increasing the reward presented by the game, the action may also increase the levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) within the brain. This neurotransmitter is associated with pleasure and positive associations, which can increase the attachment to keep playing.

Game designers are now even hiring psychologists to help with game design, building psychological principles directly into the game mechanics.

Takeaway: Create a pleasurable experience for consumers to keep them attached, and coming back, to the product.

12. Prototype Testing

Whilst advertisements are obviously vital to influencing consumer behavior, the design of products themselves can also be instrumental.

In a famous neuromarketing case, Hyundai used EEG to test their prototypes. They measured brain activity in response to different design features, and explored which kind of stimulation was most likely to result in buying.

The findings of this study led Hyundai to change the exterior design of the cars themselves.

Takeaway: The growth of neuromarketing has the capability to transform the world we live in.

13. Setting the Right Price

How to price products in a way that tempts consumers is a long-running and contentious question. We are all aware that pricing something at $9.99 instead of $10 is an advertising tactic, but does it work?

An array of new findings are shedding light on this age-old question. One fascinating new piece of information being used by neuromarketers, is that rounded figures are more likely to work alongside emotional decision making, whilst more complex figures work better when the logical brain is engaged. This is because complex numbers make the brain work harder, perhaps convincing it that the complexly priced product is the more logical decision.

Takeaway: Take the neuromarketing approach to setting your price.

14. Website Layout

Neuromarketing techniques are also being employed to inform how websites are designed.

From color schemes, layouts, font size and beyond, neuromarketers are delving into our website preferences. There are now some firm rules of thumb when it comes to creating websites. For example, using certifications, testimonials and social widgets are sure to draw customers in more than those that don't.

Another interesting finding is that newer, horizontal style website layouts are less effective than traditionally vertical. This is because reading webpages from the top down engages the brain, and makes viewers more likely to keep on scrolling.

Takeaway: Use science to inform your website design. For 15 additional ways to engage web traffic take a look at this link.

15. Memorable Headlines

Headlines are one of the first things the viewer sees so obviously they need to stand out and be noticed.

As a result they have been heavily researched, with a new neuromarketing technique called "Hippocampal Headlines" being coined. What does this mean? Researchers at University College London found that when a familiar phrase is slightly altered, our hippocampus is activated, and our attention is piqued. Many bloggers have used the example of Patron and their marketing slogan "Practice makes Patron" as an example of this.

Takeaway: If you surprise the brain your advertising campaign will be much more effective.

We hope you have enjoyed these examples. If you want to learn more about neuromarketing, and to see how iMotions can elevate your neuromarketing research, please feel free to get in touch or download our guide below to see how eye tracking can help you uncover valuable insights.

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15 Powerful Examples of Neuromarketing in Action

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively.

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Research shows that people and especially our brains are strongly attracted towards freedom. Freedom of choice makes the superior alternative seem even better, but it also prompts the brain to repeat that choice. Both these effects greatly benefit marketing goals.

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Neuromarketing Principle:

People add value to having a choice, even when they would never pick any of the extra alternatives.

Adding an alternative to formerly single-option choice environments will benefit your sales and customer satisfaction

Imagine you're spending the night in your nearby cinema, viewing Hollywood latest blockbuster. What determines how much you'll enjoy the movie?

You might think about factors such the film's beautiful cinematography, the popcorn's crisp bite or even the usherette's cute smile. Surprisingly, brain scientists from Princeton University have now unearthed a much more subtle influence on our experience of pleasure: the freedom of choice you had prior to attending the movie. The pleasure generated from choosing between options - let's say a romantic comedy and a sci-fi epic - spills over to the subsequent experience. This is called the Choice Premium Effect.

But wait. What's new about that? It's no secret that social scientists have outlined the power of choice for a long time already (notwithstanding that an abundance of options bears a negative effect on the likelihood of actually making a choice).

Yet, this brain study adds something very interesting. Not only does it illuminate which brain mechanisms underlie these positive feelings, tagging along some golden insights for marketing practice - it also provides clear guidance for when it's wise to provide your customer with options and when it's not. That's the kind of science we like.

Why Our Brains Love to Choose

Let's turn back to the cinema example. If you are a sci-fi nut, you would pick the larger-than-life Jurassic World over Magic Mike XXL 100% of the time. As such, having the option of choosing the latter shouldn't matter. You wouldn't watch it anyway. But that's not what these researchers found...

Our brains are strongly attracted towards freedom. So much so that even seemingly irrelevant alternatives positively color the ultimate experience. In other words: the alternative of watching a bad movie makes the good movie you're actually attending even better. Choosing between wine and beer makes the drink of choice taste better than any alternative would in isolation. The mere suggestion of freedom of choice shakes up a neural appetizer that enhances the subsequent experience.

Responsible for this interesting effect is a collective of ancient brain structures called the basal ganglia. This subcortical region is involved in emotional learning as well as approach and avoidance motivations. It's an area on which humans have little conscious control, making it highly interesting for marketers seeking to resonate with their target market on a deep unconscious level.

Neurons in the basal ganglia divide in a 'go' and 'no-go' pathway. When the brain experiences freedom of choice, the 'go' path is strengthened whereas the neurons in the no-go pathway take a break. As a result, this increases the likelihood you will make the same choice later on.

How to Sell More and Increase Customer Satisfaction

Freedom of choice not only makes the superior alternative seem even better, it also prompts the brain to repeat that choice in the future. Both these effects greatly benefit our marketing goals. Especially products that lend themselves for repeat purchase.

Naturally, our products and services are often embedded in a choice-laden context. Supermarkets, online stores and even our own brand portfolio contain multiple alternatives.

So, where are the new opportunities veiled? It lies in the finding that the choice premium effect is greatest when choosing a high-value option, even when it is compared with a clearly inferior one (effectively making the choice a no-brainer). As marketer's, it's our job to shape a choice environment that brings about the highest satisfaction. Premium products and brands are wise to compete on the store shelves with an inferior competitor, or create multiple versions of the same product themselves.

It could even work on seemingly small choices that we often neglect as marketers. Most online stores offer just one method of shipping. Want to raise customer satisfaction? Just add a second alternative carrier. It doesn't matter if it's ten times the price, even bogus options will do.

And the next time you hold a meeting, don't coin the classic 'coffee?' Spice up your choice mix with water - it's free, anyway.

Beware of Negative Choices

While the choice premium effect often enhances product experience, there's a clear exception: negative choices. When you have to choose between gulping a jar of Tabasco sauce or chewing a handful of madame Jeanette peppers, it actually makes the ultimate experience even more painful. It seems that freedom of choice amplifies the subsequent experience, be it negative or positive.

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How to Sell More and Increase Customer Satisfaction with The Choice Premium Effect

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Imagine you're spending the night in your nearby cinema, viewing Hollywood latest blockbuster. What determines how much you'll enjoy the movie? You might think about factors such the film's beautiful cinematography, the popcorn's crisp bite or even the usherette's cute smile.

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Understand Neuromarketing and Salesbrain under 3 minutes

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According to neuro marketing, a photo-related feature can increase the experience and Delight of a guest.

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Relevant topics Archive, Conversion

Neuromarketing Principle:

When the experience is right, add more fun to your occasion by taking a photograph

The shopping experience can be enhanced by introducing photo-related features, in example a photo booth

'Come on, let's take a selfieeeee!'

What do hipsters, tourists and that Instagram addicted friend we all know, have in common? They all seem to take pictures of almost anything, making them seem very uninterested their surroundings and, even worse, in you. Seem. Because recent research shows the exact opposite might be the case.

With 80 million Instagram and two billion Facebook photos posted daily (2015), we are living an extremely digital and frameable age. People are (increasingly) taking photos of almost any type of experience (I actually saw a photo of a baby who defecated all over herself in the backseat of a caron my friend's timeline today). From food, to friends, to fantastic holiday destinations; we want to capture moments to commemorate on a rainy day.

When the experience is right

In a recent study, Diehl, Zauberman and Barasch (2016) scientifically (3 field and 6 lab experiments including self-reports and eye-tracking) show that taking a photo actually makes that moment more fun.

Imagine you're out with your lover. Should you grab your phone to take that romantic albeit somewhat cliché photo of the two of you? By any means, do it. Taking that picture will direct greater visual attention to the most characteristic aspects of the event (you might even notice that she bought a new dress for the occasion), and actually increase the experienced joy (as compared to not taking a picture). It is the cognitive process (attention) that comes with capturing the moment that increases the bliss, not the mechanical click on a button or screen. The psychological principle behind taking photos and the greater enjoyment of an event lies in attention.

Add more fun, or misery, to your occasion

Be warned though, when taking the photo becomes overly intrusive. When you have to reposition the whole dinner table, you have to fix your hair - in other words, when taking the photo disturbs the nice time you were having - there is no beneficial joy from taking the photo. Also, when you take her out to stop the nagging ("We haven't done anything fun lately"), but you don't really enjoy spending time together anymore, bear in mind that taking photos amplifies engagement. So if you're having a horrible time, taking a photo will only point out that it is a horrible night. And that maybe, it's time to leave the birdie in the camera box.

Showtime!

Next time you're run over by a group of cellphones on sticks or huge cameras with matching tripods (e.g., people), don't be annoyed. Be happy. Think about the increased delight they're experiencing.As a marketer, think about the added value of a shopping experience. Add a photo booth or a photo stop, to let your customers enjoy and commemorate their positive experience in your shop. As online purchases are a common thing, one can think of a webcam-shot that can be taken after purchasing a new item. For example, when a customer bought a new shirt online (positive experience), let them take a webcam selfie that shows the customer in that shirt (and perhaps some funny attributes in the background to commemorate and enhance the positive experience).

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Why hipsters have more fun, and why taking so many pictures is part of it

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'Come on, let's take a selfieeeee!' What do hipsters, tourists and that Instagram addicted friend we all know, have in common? They all seem to take pictures of almost anything, making them seem very uninterested their surroundings and, even worse, in you. Seem. Because recent research shows the exact opposite might be the case.

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Five Clever Ways Companies Are Using Neuromarketing To Influence Customers

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Five Clever Ways Companies Are Using Neuromarketing To Influence Customers

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https://2stallions.com/five-neuromarketing-tips/

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What's the worst way to sell something? Sushi pricing, where the customer pays a separate price for each bite, might well rank at the top.

According to Carnegie Mellon University economics and psychology professor George Loewenstein (see The Pain of Buying and Brain Scans Predict Buying Behavior), selling products in a way that the consumer sees the price increase with every bit of consumption causes the most "pain". This isn't physical pain, of course, but rather activation of the brain areas associated with physical pain. In an interview with SmartMoney, Lowenstein noted,

[Consumers are] not weighing the current gratification vs. future gratifications. They experience an immediate pang of pain [when they think of how much they have to pay for something]. That perspective has a lot of implications. For example, it helps to explain why credit cards encourage people to spend; they anesthetize the pain. Paying with a credit card makes you feel like you're not really spending money when you buy something.

It also explains why AOL switched from pay-per-hour Internet service to pay-per-month. When they did that, they got a flood of subscribers. They were caught totally by surprise by the overwhelming consumer demand. Why do people love to prepay for things or pay a flat rate for things? Again, it mutes the pang of pain. The worst-case alternative is when you pay for sushi and you're paying per piece. Or watching the taxi meter; you know how much every inch of the way is costing you. [From Professor: Pain, Not Logic, Dictates Spending - SmartMoney.com]

Marketers have realized this for years, and have responded with offers designed to minimize the pain associated with buying their product. Examples include all-inclusive dinner prices and a fixed monthly price for streaming any number of movies or songs. In each case, the marketer offers a single, relatively attractive price that removes additional pain from the buying experience. Subscription services that renew automatically each month further reduce the pain of paying by not forcing the consumer to make a deliberate purchase decision.

Interestingly, it's possible that in many cases, the single price is actually higher than the amount the consumer would have spent on individual food items, movies, etc. Nevertheless, the all-inclusive number is likely to appeal to many consumers, particularly those that Lowenstein would identify as being most sensitive to the pain of paying.

Pay-per-bite sushi-style pricing 'hurts' your customer's brain - try all-inclusive prices! #Neuromarketing Click To Tweet

The message to marketers is clear: try to avoid multiple individual "pain points" in the buying process when possible. Obviously, some situations make individual purchases unavoidable - it's hard to visualize a grocery store that could offer fee-based shopping instead of item-by-item pricing. Other business situations, though, may permit some experimentation with a single price approach for multiple items usually purchased separately, a monthly or annual fee instead of individual transactions, etc.

A less "painful" approach to pricing may not only boost sales, but could increase profits too.

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Why Sushi Pricing is Painful, and How to Fix It - Neuromarketing

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What's the worst way to sell something? Sushi pricing, where the customer pays a separate price for each bite, might well rank at the top. According to Carnegie Mellon University economics and psychology professor George Loewenstein (see The Pain of Buying and Brain Scans Predict Buying Behavior), selling products in a way that the consumer sees the price increase with every bit of consumption causes the most "pain".

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Commercial full neuro marketing techniques

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Commercial full neuro marketing techniques

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Explains the way an analysis is done

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Usability testing for our clients | Neuromarketing insights by Braingineers ®

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Read more about some of our clients who use neuro usability testing and other neuromarketing insights to optimise online customer experience and conversion.

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The 5 best neuromarketing insights of 2017

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The 5 best neuromarketing insights of 2017

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1. When fee is better than free

Is free always the best option? Not in every circumstance, research shows.

Charging a symbolic price for an upgrade might be more effective than to give it away for free! We are talking about the 'Fee-effect'. A symbolic fee will increase more appreciation compared to a free offer. Because when you can get it for free, there must be something wrong with it.

Let's look at an example and see what works better for you.

1. With a Nespresso machine, receive 10freecoffee pads!

2. With a Nespresso machine, receive 10 coffee pads for only€1!

According to science, the second option will result in more customer satisfaction and can generate you more sales. So, the next time you tend to give away promotions in order to generate more sales, think twice.

Mao, W. (2015). Sometimes "Fee" Is Better Than "Free": Token Promotional Pricing and Consumer Reactions to Price Promotion Offering Product Upgrade. Journal of Retailing, 92 (2), 173-184.

2.The new Neuromarketing: Nanomarketing

People are horrible at predicting what they will do or how they will feel. That is why researchers want to learn as much as they can about what happens when we buy products, watch advertisements and interact with brands.

The best way to know what's really going on in people's mind is looking at it directly. We are talking about Neuromarketing research.

You probably heard a lot about this topic already, but there are a few limitations working with the typical neuromarketing techniques. The tools are relatively complex, expensive and the experiments need to be conducted in laboratories.

That is why nanomarketing is introduced. Nanomarketing creates the possibility to integrate neuromarketing tools in small, non-intrusive and wireless devices. An example is the EEG headset which is portable and easy to use. These developments lead to a couple benefits.

Experimentation will become less expensive

Much more data can be collected

Devices are portable

Devices can be used in real-life

Devices are more comfortable for subjects

Nanomarketing studies could revolutionize our understanding of consumer behaviour!

Mileti, A., Guido, G. & Prete, M. I. (2016). Nanomarketing: A New Frontier for Neuromarketing. Psychology and Marketing, 33 (8), p. 664-674.

3.Is the product next to you, losing you sales?

As an advertiser or retailer, you know emotion is a very popular marketing tool. People follow their emotions when making decisions. Which means that emotions influence evaluations of your advertisement, brands or products. It has now been shown that emotional stimuli not only influence the brands they are actually linked to, but these contagion effects can actually extend to brands presented nearby.

So as an advertiser or retailer, think about emotions evoked by the TV-show your advertisement is connected to or about the products you place close to each other in your store. Anything presented near your advertisements or product can potentially impact the evaluation of your brand. Try to gain as much control over the placement as you can and use this knowledge to your advantage.

Hasford J.,Hardesty, D.M. & Kidwell, B. (2015). More Than a Feeling: Emotional Contagion Effects in Persuasive Communication. Journal of Marketing Research, 52 (6), pp. 836-847.

4. Are animated logos more effective?

Company logos like Coca Cola, Pepsi and Shell are starting to look more and more alike. Does this open up the opportunity for your company to be the "first mover" (no pun intended) and use animated logos again?

As a result of a recent study we know that an animated logo increases conceptual fluency and even makes customers favour your brand over another one.

But keep in one thing in mind: your brand personality should match the logo's animation. If you have a static brand or you are in static business let it match and use a static logo. An animated logo for an insurance company may backfire.

Brasel, S.A.& Hagtvedt, H.J. (2016). Living Brands: consumer responses to animated brand logos. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44 (5), pp 639-653.

5. How to use color to make your product look bigger

Color is one of the most important visual cues we have. It conveys a lot of important information about the world around us. Some of this information has interesting implications for issues involving design and marketing.

In particular, the saturation value of color (the liveliness) has recently found to have interesting illusory effects on object perception. The color saturation increases the apparent size of an object and the amount of attention towards it.

These findings hold highly interesting marketing applications.

Do you want a call to action on your website? Use a highly saturated color for this region. Do you want your product to appear larger than it actually is? For instance, the amount of food you are serving in your restaurant. Then you might want to serve your food on a plate with a highly saturated color.

Hagtvedt, H., & Brasel, S. A. (2017). Color Saturation Increases Perceived Product Size. Journal of Consumer Research.

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The 5 Best Neuromarketing Insights Of 2017

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Don't have the time to search through hundreds of neuromarketing research articles? Don't worry, we got it! We've delved into all the articles of this year, and came up with the most read and most interesting ones. Get ready, because these are The 5 best Neuromarketing insights of 2017!

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Multiple examples of companies using Neuromarketing methods! :)

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Usability testing for our clients | Neuromarketing insights by Braingineers ®

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Read more about some of our clients who use neuro usability testing and other neuromarketing insights to optimise online customer experience and conversion.

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Emotional Contagion.

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Toxic bosses. Debbie Downers. Our language reflects the idea that some people have a real emotional effect on their fellow workers. Now, interesting research not only confirms this idea but adds to it in several important ways:
- It's not just a few people who infect others with their moods; everyone has a measurable impact on those around them, for better or worse.
- This effect is consistent over time.
- This effect is different than "emotional contagion," a short term effect caused by a temporary mood.

In The Way You Make Me Feel: Evidence for Individual Differences in Affective Presence, researchers Noah Eisenkraft and Hillary Anger Elfenbein describe their findings from studying 48 work groups. They found that a significant part of their subjects' moods were formed by the "trait affective presence" of others. This was particularly true for negative effects.

Emotional Contagion

In trying to identify the consistent, long-term effect people had on those around them, the researchers attempted to control for "emotional contagion." That is, if a person happens to be in a good or bad mood, that mood can be transferred to others. While not insignificant from a management standpoint, contagious emotions were not the target of the researchers, who were looking for effects largely independent of the mood of the moment.

Internal Moods

One piece of good news is that an individual's own emotional set point is also a powerful force. This characteristic, called the "trait affect," was particularly potent for positive emotions. Unfortunately, positive emotions were also less likely to be transmitted to others.

Who's The Worst?

If you want to keep a positive work environment, what kind of person should you avoid hiring? Eisenkraft and Elfenbein found that the most potent negative force were individuals with low agreeableness and greater extraversion.

What's a Manager To Do?

The concept of a persistent trait affective presence needs more research if it is to create actionable management strategies. One interesting finding from the study is that the effects individuals have on others may not be easily predictable from their own personality traits. Eventually, perhaps there will be tests that measure trait affective presence and even coaching strategies to help those with a negative impact on others.

For the moment, managers should be aware that in a dynamic work environment, each person affects those around them in some way. One category of problem individual that should be relatively easy for managers to identify is the "negative extrovert" - this type of individual can have a powerful negative effect on the rest of the group. And, while it may not be a sure-fire neuromanagement strategy, it can't hurt to hire happy people!
Image via Shutterstock

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Emotional Contagion and Beyond - Neuromarketing

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Toxic bosses. Debbie Downers. Our language reflects the idea that some people have a real emotional effect on their fellow workers. Now, interesting research not only confirms this idea but adds to it in several important ways: - It's not just a few people who infect others with their moods; everyone has a measurable impact [...]

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"Products, like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the market place." - David Ogilvy

What's in a brand name? Well, it turns out, a whole heck of a lot. Did you know that people rate the identical beverage as tastier when it's in a "Coke" can than in a "Pepsi" can? This and other juicy tidbits of information are revealed in the book Buyology, as well as marketing guru Martin Lindstrom's bestseller, Brandwashed.

Here are 10 great examples of how consumers get baffled by branding into parting with their hard-earned cash:
1. Fooled by Fresh Flowers
Have you ever noticed that upscale supermarkets such as Whole Foods place fresh flowers right next to their store entrances? This creates an image of "fresh from the farm" delectability that sets a tone for a consumer's shopping experience. Would the shopping experience start on such a good note if cans of Spam, dog food, toilet cleaner, and light bulbs were the first things you saw? Hmmmm...
2. Crazed by Counterfeit Crates
Notice those stacked cardboard boxes filled with fresh apples and oranges? If you look closer, it turns out that in Whole Foods, all those boxes are actually part of one giant box with partitions. This is deliberately done to create the image of workers having piled crates of freshly picked fruit on top of one another when in reality, according to Lindstrom, store-bought apples can be as much as 14 months old.
3. Baffled by Bananas
Surely, bananas are just bananas, right? Nope. Here's what Lindstrom wrote in a recent post for Fast Company:

"Dole and other banana growers have turned the creation of a banana into a science, in part to manipulate perceptions of freshness. In fact, they've issued a banana guide to greengrocers, illustrating the various color stages a banana can attain during its life cycle. Each color represents the sales potential for the banana in question. For example, sales records show that bananas with Pantone color 13-0858 (otherwise known as Vibrant Yellow) are less likely to sell than bananas with Pantone color 12-0752 (also called Buttercup), which is one grade warmer, visually, and seems to imply a riper, fresher fruit. Companies like Dole have analyzed the sales effects of all varieties of color and, as a result, plant their crops under conditions most ideal to creating the right "color."

4. Muddled by Missing Milk
As you search for the milk and eggs that most people need to make a quick stop for, have you ever noticed that they are at the back of the store? This is no accident. Having to walk down the aisles to get to your basics makes it more likely that you'll pick up some delectable but expensive impulse buy, placed precisely at eye level, along the way.
5. Exasperated by Expiration Dates
Speaking of milk and eggs, did you notice that milk has an expiration date, as do some bottled waters, soda, and even toothpaste? Some official government body must be looking after your interests by ensuring optimal freshness, right? Wrong. Actually, some of these products don't ever actually expire, or expire long after the date noted. If the milk in your fridge isn't rancid and it smells fresh, it's probably fine to drink. Stores often add these dates to push you to throw out such products and replace them more often, leading to more sales and predictable time periods for re-ordering.
6. Bedazzled by Bottled Waters
About bottled water: Did you know that not only is tap water perfectly safe to drink in most areas but that some bottled waters actually are tap water, maybe with filtering or some other ingredients to make them taste a bit better. Others are gathered from the same reservoirs that your tap water comes from. No protective regulation ensures that bottled water has to come from some melted arctic glacier, despite the blue labels and glacial pictures. And in some cases, bottled waters, such as Dasani, can actually be dehydrating, rather than thirst-quenching, due to their high salt content.
7. Oodles of Organics
How about those green products we pay extra for? A few years ago, brands such as Method hand soaps were making a killing, but now more mainstream brands have gotten wise and rolled out their own organic "green" versions. You may see some spurious advertising. The term "organic," for example, is sometimes used when it shouldn't be, such as the case of the farm with fat, happy chickens grazing the land-that bought the stuff they sold to the stores from the dark, overcrowded, coop down the road. Of course, not all organic products represent fraudulent advertising-if you care about how animals are treated, terms such as "grass-fed" or "free-range" can denote more humane practices.
8. Exasperated by Faux Environmentalists
Green washing and cleaning products may be better for the environment, but research shows that may of us buy these products not out of environmental concern but to keep up with the bicycling, composting, Prius owners next door. (I do live in Marin County...) There's status in showing how altruistic you are, especially if you pay a higher price to help the environment-a phenomenon known as competitive altruism. Some research shows when buying decisions are completely private, or the price is the same, people actually make less "green" choices. Bring on the social pressure!
9. Tracked by Techno-Geeks
Marketers are getting more surreptitious and Machiavellian all the time in the ways they collect data on unwitting consumers. Google has changed its privacy practices to make "opting in" to being tracked the default option, meaning that targeted ads can pop up over the words most likely to generate clicks. Supermarket discount cards also track your every purchase the better to target you in the future.
10. Nailed by Neuromarketers
The new-and hot-science of neuromarketing uses brain-scanning technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at which brain areas light up at different stages of the purchasing process. In one study, experimenters were able to predict consumers' buying choices seven seconds before consumers themselves knew what they were going to buy.

These examples should give new meaning to the phrase caveat emptor. The next time you're at the market, skirt the perimeter, look on the top shelves, bring a list, and don't get seduced by the pastoral green fields on the labels. And if you really want "fresh from the farm," visit your local farmers' market.
Melanie Greenberg is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Mill Valley, Marin County, CA. She is also a researcher, author, and national speaker with expertise in life stress, relationships, mind-body health, and effects of society and media on human behavior.
Bibliography

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10 Ways Your Supermarket Hijacks Your Brain

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What's in a name? A whole heck of a lot if it's a brand name, it turns out! Below are 10 great examples of how consumers get baffled by branding into parting with their hard-earned cash. Read this article to become a savvier, informed consumer!

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How the human brain expereinces your brand (brand examples)

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How the human brain expereinces your brand (brand examples)

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The best brands are built to last a lifetime. GE's existed for over 118 years, IBM recently celebrated it's 103rd birthday and even innovative Apple is steadily approaching 40.

But while the best brands are complex, multi-dimensional and designed for longevity, a brand's visual identity - its logo, colors, fonts and style guides - can be analyzed and understood by the human brain in less than half a second, according to researchers. Moreover, how our brains process branding and a business' visual identity carries important lessons for marketers, entrepreneurs and designers.

To summarize, this is how our brains see branding:

Step 1: Visual capture and transmission. As humans, we're incredibly visual. In fact, almost 50% of our brains are involved in visual processing [1]. When we see branding or a logo, our eyes send a signal along the fusiform gyrus, a part of the cerebrum, the largest area of the human brain. The fusiform gyrus plays several key roles in human visual processing and recognition, including facial recognition and differentiating familiar objects from one another, like the difference between a cat and a dog. Certain neurons in this part of the brain also appear to be involved in our high-level recognition of words, numbers and colors [2].
Branding takeaway: This part of the brain recognizes whether a logo and branding are new and unknown or something we've seen before. And brand familiarity matters. More than half (60%) of consumers around the world prefer to buy new products from a familiar brand than switch to a new brand, according to a 29,000 person Nielsen study [3]. Unknown brands can even activate parts of the brain associated with negative emotions (the insula or insulary cortex) when we first encounter them.
Step 2: Shape recognition. From there, the brand experience travels to the Primary Visual Cortex. Also known as "V1" or the "Striate cortex," this brain region is the first place where information from our eyes arrives in the cerebral cortex. One of the major functions the V1 performs is detecting edges, outlines and shapes in objects. Although subtle, brain research shows even a brand's shapes can subconsciously effect how we perceive it. Curves are typically more inviting, whereas sharp angles and edges can represent power but may also trigger aversion. Neuroscience research even shows our brains are predisposed to like certain fonts more than others.

Newer research from MIT also suggests the V1 is involved in basic sequential visual memory, the type that makes it easier for us to drive down familiar roads or understand where we need to be to catch a fast-moving ball in sports [4].
Branding takeaway Branding takeaway : This important but less well understood area of the brain breaks down and processes elements that include your brand's colors. It also may start to form associations between what's being seen and other memories, and is a key initial trigger point in determining whether a person wants to engage more with what they're seeing. : This section of the brain understands the shape and dimensions of your brand's visual identity. As any experienced designer knows, the use, emphasis and balance of different shapes creates different subconscious associations about what your brand represents. Branding takeaway: Research shows that consistent, positive interactions with a brand creates positive psychological reinforcement when it's encountered the next time. On the other hand, negative experiences can do just the opposite. Brands who deliver consistent, high-quality experiences across different touch-points like retail, social and customer service don't just win hearts - they actually win minds and change how we think. Branding takeaway: While some brand associations are quite obvious - Apple with smartphones and computers, Google with search, Nike with shoes - branding is processed throughout our brains across memory, emotions, reward centers, self-understanding, social relationships and even less direct associations. Ultimately, all of these identity elements and experiences come to represent your brand. As a marketer, designer or other steward of your brand, the more comprehensively you can understand the full spectrum of what your brand means for your audience, the more effectively you will be able to manage and position it. Most of all, as research shows, there's a difference between what people will tell you they think about their brand and how they subconsciously experience it.
Step 3. Visual mapping. As the primary visual cortex is understanding lines and edges, cells in secondary visual cortex, "V2," are interpreting colors and helping connect short-term visual experiences with longer-term memories. Research suggests V2 is particularly responsible for how we see color consistency, which explains why a red apple still looks red if we look at it outside, under a lamp or in different lightening conditions. Interestingly, research from Xerox and Loyola College points to the connection between color and memory: seeing a logo in color makes it 39% more memorable than seeing the same logo in black and white. Color also drives engagement: adding color to blog posts, product guides, print advertising and other brand collateral increases readership by 80% [5].

Step 4: Memory matching. After breaking down a brand's elements, our brains start to match the visual patterns it detects to previous experiences with similar patterns stored in memory. This includes associations like "I've shopped at that store at this place," or "this logo also reminds me of this other thing." For example, when researchers at ISMAI and the Technical University of Lisbon showed a group of people a mix of fictitious and real logos and used an MRI to monitor brain response, the real logos activated additional parts of the subjects' brains associated with memory and meaning, whereas the fictional logos did not. Some of these extra, activated areas of the brain were places that are responsible for a person's feelings of self-knowledge and autobiographical memory. In our own minds we link brands with different parts of our personal identity [6].

Over time, positive (rewarding) or negative (disappointing) experiences with a specific brand are layered into an overall brand identity profile in our minds. Different brands end up with different profiles, and in turn trigger different responses in our brains. In one study, people who saw sports (like Nike) and luxury (like Mercedes) brands triggered emotions and brain activity in different places than brands rated as value products (like Walmart) [7]. MRI scans of children's appetite and pleasure centers in their brains also show them light up in response to seeing branding from recognizable fast-food restaurants like McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Burger King, according to research by University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Kansas Medical Center [8]. "Therefore, it is possible to argue that the emotional, social, and cultural value of brand recognition are capable to activate deep reward circuits, even to a significantly greater extent than generic images," write researchers at the Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Pisa, Italy in a second study: "This observation further supports the hypothesis of strong emotional relationship between consumers' preferences and brands" [9].

One study co-written by Professor Gavan Fitzsimons of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University found that people who were shown Apple's logo scored 20-30% higher on a creativity test that those who were exposed to the IBM logo, presumably because they were mirroring the traits they associate with those logos [10]. In some cases, particularly strong brand associations even make us think differently.

Step 5: Enrichment. Finally, after our brains complete their initial memory association steps, we enrich our understanding of a brand by tagging other semantic attributes to what we're seeing. Examples of this include specific products, slogans, store locations, supplemental imagery and associations we're familiar with.

As a marketer, understanding these additional associations can lead to powerful insights. When Barry Herstein joined PayPal from American Express to become the brand's CMO in 2007, he started using neuromarketing research to identify what peoples' most positive association was about using PayPal. The research concluded that what PayPal's users valued most was that it was fast - using PayPal helped you buy things and transfer money faster than other available options, particularly at a time before Venmo, Square Cash and Apple Pay. When people thought of PayPal, they thought "fast" transaction, so Herstein launched a global rebranding effort to align the brand closer with a visual identity that communicated speed. When Herstein changed PayPal's visual and verbal identity across the company's email and web pages, click-through and email response rates to the brand's digital messaging increased 300-400%.

Overall, brands play many important roles in our lives. How we associate with different brands is one of the ways we socially define ourselves, while our favorite brands can make us happier just experiencing them. Strong brands also have the power to change behavior, trigger emotions and influence actions. For marketers, designers and other representatives of your brand, acknowledging that power and using it in ways that balance effectiveness with responsibly help ensure that - no matter how fast our minds process your brand's imagery - your brand itself is positioned to last with the prestige of companies like GE, IBM and Apple.

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How the Human Brain Experiences Your Brand

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The best brands are built to last a lifetime. GE's existed for over 118 years, IBM recently celebrated it's 103rd birthday and even innovative Apple is steadily approaching 40.

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four companes who use neuromarketing

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Neuromarketing applies established medical techniques to neuroscience to create next-gen advertising strategies. But, despite being one example of the interdisciplinary trend shaping Industry 4.0, using Neuromarketing also proves that we are still very much driven by instinct.

Your brain is motivated by emotion, loves sensory stimulation, and is selfish. It is always out for a reward.

These are well-known premises of human psychology for most advertisers, who have long understood the dialogue between instinct and stimuli in subconscious decision-making.

To better tailor content and products to target audiences, advertisers are building on what they already know about the brain by expanding the tools they use to quantifying human decision-making.

Neuromarketing as the Future of Growth Hacking

Just like the disruptive technologies that are driving it, Industry 4.0 is breaking down the barriers between disciplines, drawing inspiration from a variety of seemingly disconnected sources, and boiling down unrelated systems to universal principles.

Neuromarketing is perhaps the latest example of this interdisciplinary trend. It leverages how instincts play into our subconscious decision-making processes by translating this information into biometric data.

Neuromarketing is perhaps the latest example of this interdisciplinary trend. It leverages how instincts play into our subconscious decision-making processes by translating this information into biometric data. Click To Tweet

Using this market research and product development tool, advertisers can better assess cognitive decision-making based on measurements of brain activity, skin, eye stimuli, and blood flow.

Therefore, using Neuromarketing relies on a combination of what we already know about the brain and what we already use to measure what's happening inside the body.

Translating Subconscious Decision-making into Actionable Insights

One one hand, neuroscience provides the biochemical context for our decision-making processes while psychology helps account for the (very instinctual) motives.

On the other, modern medicine provides a way to translate the brain's response to advertising stimuli into biometric data.

For example, by measuring readings of certain simple, physiological reactions like skin responses and eye movement, advertisers have an indication of how users respond to their product and marketing strategies.

Furthermore, Neuromarketing makes use of familiar techniques like (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), (Electroencephalography) and(Steady State Topography). Traditionally used to diagnose and treat disease, these tools are now helping tailor marketing campaigns to consumer demand.

Who's Using Neuromarketing

Several companies representing a wide range of product offerings and industries are already taking advantage of Neuromarketing's interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach.

Here are four top brand names that have relied on Neuromarketing to conduct market research, run focus groups and designing marketing campaigns:

1. PepsiCo

Women were the focus for the Baked Lays product, and their biometric responses helped create the idea for single-serve packaging and corresponding ad campaign.

2. The Weather Channel

This source for all things meteorological was able to successfully gauge the emotional reactions that viewers had while watching promotional videos by measuring skin responses, monitoring eye tracking, and utilizing EEG technology.

3. Ebay

Using a strategy based in tests measuring brain activity and emotional responses, Neuromarketing industry leader NeuroFocus helped Ebay with its brand identity makeover.

4. Daimler

The bellwether automaker is known for quality inside and out, from cutting-edge engineering to its sleek, modern aesthetics. The industry giant made the decision to redesign its headlights to more closely resemble human largely based on Neuromarketing research. For example, fMRI results indicated an emotional reaction strongly tied to the reward center with regard to the more humanoid design.

Instinct in Industry 4.0

"Interdisciplinary" is a buzzword that is shaping the culture around Industry 4.0, and Neuromarketing is yet another example of this trend.

More than illustrating a trend, Neuromarketing shows that no matter how advanced the technology becomes and what new creative ways we find to use it, we are still (at least for the time being) driven by instinct.

Edgy Labs Readers, what do you think of advertisers using biometrics and emotions to get your business?

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Why These 4 Fortunate Companies are Using Neuromarketing

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Neuromarketing applies established medical techniques to neuroscience to create next-gen advertising strategies. But, despite being one example of the interdisciplinary trend shaping Industry 4.0, using Neuromarketing also proves that we are still very much driven by instinct. Your brain is motivated by emotion, loves sensory stimulation, and is selfish.

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Neuromarketing Example #1: Using sound and color to sell more products

Some neuromarketing techniques lead to immediate results. We start off with something psychologists and neuroscientists have known for years, which is that sound and color can have significant impact on the human brain. Moreover, sight and sound appear to be strongly intertwined.

Music with a powerful bass makes people subconsciously attend to dark objects, whereas music leaning more towards the high frequencies shifts attention to light objects. To illustrate this fact in the context of neuromarketing, this study done in a supermarket serves as a fine example.

Researchers collaborated with a large supermarket to see if the sale in bananas could be influenced by manipulating shelve lightness and audio frequencies. The color lightness was manipulated by creating both white and black shelves to stock the bananas on.

The audio was manipulated by mixing the same supermarket music with either prominent high- or low pitched frequencies. The results? You might say they were 'bananas'.

It turned out that the high pitched music made people buy almost twice as much bananas from the white shelf as opposed to the black shelf. The reverse effect was found with low frequency music and black shelfs.

Neuromarketing Example #2: The most persuasive way to frame scarcity in advertisements

Of course, neuromarketing is also being used to influence people through advertisements. Neuromarketing in advertisements generally relies on more psychological concepts to persuade consumers. Fine examples of this are advertisements showing a limited edition like a bottle of coke with special packaging.

Limited editions rely on the concept of scarcity. When things are scarce, people are more eager to buy them because they fear the item might sell out. It feels like a chance that we don't want to miss.

For many marketers, the power of scarcity is nothing new. It is a well-known principle borrowed from social psychology. But there's more to concepts like scarcity. A good neuromarketer understands the conditions in which these concepts are most effective.

Research has shown, for example, that the way scarcity cues are framed matter as well. People with a high need for uniqueness prefer to hear what they will miss when they don't buy the product, while people with low need for uniqueness need to hear what there is to gain from buying it.

Gain frames are sentences like: "get the new edition now", while loss frames are sentences like "be sure not to miss the new edition". As certain brands tend to serve consumers that are in general seeking conformity or uniqueness, it's good to match scarcity cues to the target audience.

Neuromarketing Example #3: Using subtle rewards to influence consumers online

Besides advertising, neuromarketing can be of great benefit in the online environment as well. All sorts of ecommerce shops have discovered that rewarding customers is a great way to keep them coming back. A lot of shops focus on delayed rewards, like a certain amount of points which each purchase that can be converted into shop credit at a later point.

While this a good strategy, the power of rewards can be used even more effectively when long term rewards are combined with short term rewards as well. Short term rewards help people stay on track during the time they need to reach long term goals.

But how do companies use this knowledge in their online web shops? It's often the subtler, and perhaps overlooked details that practice short-term rewards. Ever saw a company congratulating you with a checkmark or even exclaiming 'great choice' after putting an item in your basket? Or have you ever received a free gift if you order before tomorrow? If you did, you witnessed a small, but effective feat of neuromarketing first hand.

Neuromarketing Example #4: Creating an efficient product design process

Even the product and their packaging themselves can be designed using clever neuromarketing research.

While it can be useful to ask consumers what they like about a certain product, it is even better to measure it without asking them directly. And it works for all kind of products. For example, some researchers compared different packaging options for things like chocolate-chip cookies.

Using eye tracking and EEG data, marketers can locate design elements that don't work; like the ones people have trouble reading or that they simply don't get excited about.

And while an enjoyable chocolate-chip cookie packaging is surely important for all of us, some brands take it a step further. Companies like Volvo and Hyundai have used similar methods to figure out which elements of new car models spoke to consumers; sometimes even changing entire sections based on research results.

Neuromarketing Example #5: Creating a multi-sensory mismatch

It's also possible to integrate neuromarketing tactics within the overall brand strategy, in order to facilitate a brand's perceived identity. We have all come across products and packaging that makes material looks like something else. For example, a plastic cover that looks like metal or glass, or a paper bag that looks like it's made of linen.

A lot of successful brands engage consumers in multi-sensory stimulation. What that means is that they offer a brand experience on more than just visual aspects alone, like smell and taste. If two sensory cues don't match, it's considered a mismatch.

Although it doesn't sound like any consumer is going to like such a mismatch, it actually can work in favor of a brand when the brand wants to establish an exciting personality. A sensory mismatch comes as a surprise to most consumers and, depending on the brand, is seen as authentic to the existing nature of the product.

Neuromarketing Example #6: Predicting future successes with neuroscience

Last but not least is an example that illustrates the power of using modern day neuroscience tools to make predictions about consumer behavior. What if I told you neuromarketing can even be used to predict which movies are going to be big box office hits?

Two marketing researchers from Rotterdam made subjects view some trailers of movies while hooked onto an EEG headset. They later chose which of these movies they would like to see at home. They were also asked about their preference regarding the movies based on the movie trailers.

Both the EEG data and the self-report data predicted their individual movie choice equally well. The interesting fact here is that when looked at the box office results, only the EEG data of these subjects could actually predict the success of the movie.

Knowing this, it's hard to imagine the limits of neuromarketing in the future. As researchers learn more and more about the human psyche in the context of consumerism, more fascinating and inspiring examples of neuromarketing follow.
To make sure you don't miss the latest insights, trends and research in the field of neuromarketing, be sure to subscribe to New Neuromarketing.

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Six inspiring examples of neuromarketing done right

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With neuromarketing gaining increased popularity in recent years, the examples of companies using neuromarketing are quite diverse. Whether you're going for sensory marketing techniques or a choice architectural approach, the possibilities are endless - with a bit of creativity. To cast some light on the wide range of different applications for neuromarketing, we present six interesting examples in this article.

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Neuromarketing is a term that has been gaining a lot of traction in recent years. But somehow, the exact definition of neuromarketing seems unclear. For me, the best way to define neuromarketing is that it scientifically studies the brain to benefit marketing. For example, medical technologies like brain scanning and brain activity measurements are used to gauge a person's response to different marketing elements like packaging, videos, ads, billboards, etc.

Sounds like utter science fiction right? But here is some food for thought - large companies like Ford motors and Coca-Cola have been investing heavily on neuromarketing since the 1990s. Today, a lot of other companies have already followed suit. There are good reasons why you should start thinking about using the consumer brain when it comes to your marketing. Let's discuss the most notable ones.

Five clever ways companies are use Neuromarketing

Great packaging

Have you ever gone through an entire aisle of potato chips in the supermarket and had to choose one among the multitudes of bright collared packaging? It turns out, the brand you pick might be the work of your brain's preference.

Companies have figured out through Electroencephalogram (EEG) what elements consumer prefer on their packaging and subsequently, what they do not like. When Chips Ahoy decided to use neuromarketing in their packaging, they discovered that people had a negative emotional reaction to the "resealable" words on their packaging. This is because people found it a bit hard to read.

Surprisingly, the photo of the chocolate chip cookie on their packaging failed to garner great reactions amongst the test subjects. As a result, Chips Ahoy redesigned their packaging with a "resealable" tab that was more clear and a cookie visual that is more exciting (with flying chocolate chips).

Image by Neuro Science Marketing

Simply put, making sure that people will like your packaging is one great way to steal their hearts.

Limited Editions

Have you ever heard of the story about limited edition Nike sneakers causing mayhem among "sneakerheads" on opening day? Well, there is a reason for that and that has something to do about Neuromarketing.

The effect of consumers love for limited editions and limited-time offers are called marketing with scarcity. Marketers put limitations on a product like timed offers and dwindling supplies to pressure them into buying fast. Creating a sense of urgency for the customer has been a technique that has been used countless times and has proven to be so effective. Think midnight sales, limited edition items, and McDonald's McRib.

Image by Summit Evergreen

Think about this, a report by Experian has noted that emails with words of urgency have a 14% higher open rates and a whopping 59% higher transaction rates. Marketing scarcity rushes the consumer mind and is a great tool to turn up the sales.

Multisensory stimulations

Companies are taking their marketing efforts to another level nowadays. This includes giving their customers an experience that goes beyond sight and sound. As marketers keep learning more and more about how the consumer mind works, we are going to see a lot of marketing elements that utilize the other senses - smell and touch.

A good example is the video game, South Park: The Fractured but Whole. In order to promote the game, the developers invited journalists and bloggers to try their latest gadget, the Nosulus rift. This gadget is supposed to be an accompanying peripheral for their game that emits an ungodly odour for various scenes. This blends perfectly well with South Park's crass humour.

Suffice to say, the journalists love it and the story went viral. This just goes to show how various companies are turning their attention beyond visual marketing.

Striking Headlines

Headlines are one of the most important elements in advertising and its impact has not waned to this day. Oftentimes, headlines are what grabs the attention of people in an ad. So making sure that your headlines are attention grabbing and exciting is very important to surprise the human brain.

Here is a great tip: Try a technique called "Hippocampal Headlines." This means that you can use familiar everyday phrases and tweak them a bit. This type of headline activates the brain making your headline more eye-catching and memorable.

For example, Silver Patron tequila used the slogan "Practice Makes Patron" as a twist on the familiar phrase, "practice makes perfect."

Image by Neuro Science Marketing

Effective web layout

Neuromarketing in web layout aims to improve your visitor engagement and conversion rate. This is based on the cognitive preferences utilised within your website's content and design. Little things such as the font, colour schemes, and layout have an effect on the visitors.

You've probably recently encountered websites that utilises modern horizontal design. This is often done by designers to keep up with the current trends. However, neuromarketers found out that the traditional vertical design engaged visitors more than the newer horizontal design.

The study revealed that people are more inclined to explore websites that are designed vertically. Neuromarketers explained that the vertical design sends a signal to the reader's brain that there are more contents below, as opposed to the horizontal design. You can also read more about how you can optimise your website in our Design page.

Neuromarketing is here to stay

Neuromarketing is a relatively new player in the realm of business. However, the effects and results of neuromarketing have been impressive, to say the least. Marketers should be on the look-out for future neuromarketing trends such as eye-tracking and biometric engagement.

The consumer mind is still continuously evolving and companies have turned to science to keep up. There are still so many opportunities to explore and a lot of research to be conducted. With that, it definitely looks like that neuromarketing is here to stay and is definitely worth a look at.

* This article was first featured in The Singapore Marketer July-Sept 2017 issue.

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Five Clever Ways Companies Are Using Neuromarketing To Influence Customers

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Neuromarketing is a term that has been gaining a lot of traction in recent years. But somehow, the exact definition of neuromarketing seems unclear. For me, the best way to define neuromarketing is that it scientifically studies the brain to benefit marketing.

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According to Frito-Lay research, women snack only 14 percent of the time on salty foods. Women snack 25 percent of the time on sweet foods; the other 61 percent of snacking includes drinks, fruits and vegetables.

To figure out how to sell Frito's salty snacks to women, Juniper Park, a BBDO agency within the Omnicom Group, turned to pop neurology.

Neurology used for advertising purposes, called neuromarketing, has gained a following among some marketers. Many use it to test their ads, using research firms like NeuroFocus or the EmSense Corporation to show an ad to consumers and see the level of brain response.

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Juniper Park used neuromarketing in a slightly different way. Ms. Nykoliation began by researching how women's brains compared with men's, so the firm could adjust the marketing accordingly. Her research suggested that the communication center in women's brains was more developed, leading her to infer that women could process ads with more complexity and more pieces of information.

A memory and emotional center, the hippocampus, was proportionally larger in women, so Ms. Nykoliation concluded that women would look for characters they could empathize with.

And research Ms. Nykoliation read linked the anterior cingulate cortex, which processes decision-making and was larger in women, to feelings of guilt. (Experts differ on how directly functions or feelings are associated with various parts of the brain.) Ms. Nykoliation then asked NeuroFocus to review her assumptions and, as Juniper Park developed ads, to test the ads to verify that women liked them.

She was especially interested by the guilt factor. Frito-Lay and Juniper Park asked about 100 women to keep journals about their lives for about two weeks. According to their logs, the women felt guilty about quite a lot, whether it was snacking, not seeing their children enough, or not spending enough time with their husbands.

Though Frito-Lay had often tried advertising snacks as guilt-free, this led to the conclusion that "we're not going to alleviate her guilt," Ms. Nykoliation said. "This is something in her life. So the question for us was, how do we not trip her guilt?"

Part of the strategy was to follow the success of SunChips by toning down the packaging and showing off healthy ingredients in the snacks.

"She wants a reminder that she's eating something better for her," Mr. Jones said.

Baked Lay's will no longer be in a shiny yellow bag, but in a matte beige bag that displays pictures of the ingredients like spices or ranch dressing. Some of the new Frito-Lay packaging is in stores already.

Since just under half of Baked Lay's consumers are men - the single-serving sizes sell well at Subway - Frito-Lay did not want to make the packaging overly girly.

With Smartfood, though, it did. Since it acquired Smartfood in 1989, Frito-Lay has sold the white-powder-covered popcorn in black bags. It will continue to sell that version, though it will soon change the name to something like SmartCorn, Mr. Jones said.

Meanwhile, it is introducing a new line of sweet, lower-calorie popcorn for women under the Smartfood brand in flavors like cranberry-almond. These also come in beige bags, and the packages trumpet characteristics like fiber and calcium and show ingredients like wheat or almonds.

In 2010 and later, Frito-Lay may introduce other snacks, like trail mixes, under the Smartfood brand, Mr. Jones said.

*

At the grocery store, Frito-Lay will pull all of its women-friendly snacks together at the end of the aisle where possible, Mr. Jones said. Often, he said, the chip aisle is disorganized and unappealing to women.

SunChips, Flat Earth and the 100-calorie packs will also be part of these displays.

Aliza Freud, the chief executive of SheSpeaks, a women's market-research firm, said packaging made for women made sense.

"The obvious is what's insulting to women," she said, like a pink package or something highlighting calories. But an overall design meant to attract women, she said, was smart. "You want a package that when women are walking by it in the aisle of the supermarket, they take notice."

The accompanying advertising campaign, "Only in a Woman's World," has already begun running teaser spots. Frito-Lay will introduce television, print and online advertising in early March, and webisodes will begin running at AWomansWorld.com, a site that Frito-Lay and Juniper Park created, on Sunday.

The campaign features four cartoon women who are "fab, funny, fearlessly female," as the Web site puts it, who talk about exercising, eating and men - something of an animated "Sex and the City." In a print ad for Frito-Lay, two women are surveying a Baked Lay's bag. "These things are the best invention since the push-up bra," one woman says. The other, admiring her bra-enhanced chest, responds, "I wouldn't go that far."

"Some of this is the tape you play in your head," Ms. Nykoliation said. "Someone always goes, 'Listen to yourself.' "

In one of the webisodes, two of the women stand with a swimsuit saleswoman, who is reviewing a chart of what bikini works on women with different body types - a trope familiar to readers of women's magazine summer issues.

"Where's the one that takes a middle-aged mom with some unwanted bulges and a chest that's seen perkier days and makes her look like Cindy Crawford?" a character asks.

The saleswoman removes her glasses and says, dryly, "I'm not seeing that one."

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According to Frito-Lay research, women snack only 14 percent of the time on salty foods. Women snack 25 percent of the time on sweet foods; the other 61 percent of snacking includes drinks, fruits and vegetables. To figure out how to sell Frito's salty snacks to women, Juniper Park, a BBDO agency within the Omnicom Group, turned to pop neurology.

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Examples of Neuromarketing Done Well to Help Inspire Your Marketing Strategy

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Examples of Neuromarketing Done Well to Help Inspire Your Marketing Strategy

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https://www.eminentseo.com/blog/examples-of-neuromarketing-inspire-marketing-strategy/

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There's an intuitiveness to digital marketing that if your campaigns aren't geared toward each platform uniquely, your advertising and social spends may miss your proposed target audience. Why?

Whether we, as consumers, like it or not, Facebook, Google and other social channels and search engines respond to our behaviors online. It's the way we receive direct and indirect promotional messaging based on our interests.

Yes, "big brother" is watching our every move. But, there's another way that marketers can learn about consumer interests and it has everything to do with how we think, feel and react - subconsciously. If you're thinking, "This sounds complicated," it is - yet, it isn't.

The term is called neuromarketing. In short, neuromarketing is based on the head games we play with ourselves, unknowingly.
NEUROMARKETING = 1 PART BRAIN + 1 PART EMOTION + 1 PART RESPONSIVENESS
Chances are you've already seen examples of neuromarketing in your day-to-day but weren't aware of it. That's the beauty of it - when neuromarketing is executed correctly.

Playing off the way humans react to stimuli (products/services messaging), neuromarketing provides mechanisms to measure:

What we respond to,

When we respond,

Why we respond, and

How to tailor branding and sales initiatives to increase conversion rates.

I've found some great examples of successful neuromarketing campaigns to share, but before that, let's dive a little deeper into the way market researchers use technology in neuroscience to get a better understanding of what drives human behavior in the sales funnel.

The Before and After of Neuromarketing

One of the more challenging aspects of predicting how your target audience is going to react to your brand or promotional messaging is that you can't predict it. People are fickle. Emotional. Transient. Impulsive.

There is no magic trick or special sauce (except for McDonald's') that will draw prospects and existing customers to your business. However, neuromarketing can test the waters, so to speak, and provide a consensus of what to expect.

Focus Groups Represent Consciousness

Many marketing agencies will set up focus groups to gauge consumer interest and opinions before a hard launch of a new product or update to a brand. What neuromarketers can do to enhance a focus group session is to bring the science of the subconscious to meet head on with consciousness. This is where it gets interesting - in fact, humorous.

How Often Do We Mean What We Say and Say What We Mean?

Ask your friend if they like Sriracha sauce and you'll get a roll of the eyes with a screeching, "Well duh, who doesn't?" Then you ask if she wants to head to Burger King for a Sriracha-infused fish sandwich and the response is, "GROSS!"

Maybe she doesn't like fish? Perhaps she has an aversion to anything Burger King. But she said she liked Sriracha sauce.

This is part of the challenge in neuromarketing: the many variables of human nature that make what we say not always an accurate assessment of what we mean or how we feel.

The Nitty Gritty of Neuromarketing

Researchers will monitor how a person sees an online ad, for example, by using an fMRI scan that will provide details of brain activity. In addition, this is a great way to A/B test a promotional message for a marketing campaign.

The "A" ad might show the same copy with a different design or image than the "B" ad. The viewers' brain activity can give an indication of their subconscious response to each.

EEG images are also used to show how a person emotionally responds to a product or service, depicted on the web, print or broadcast. For online-specific campaigns, neuromarketers track where a person's eyes move about a webpage, usually going to the most prominent areas of the ad first.

Once noted, marketers can then use the information when choosing color palates for their brand. This also indicates where the primary messages should be placed (layout-wise) for maximum traction, increasing the click-through rate.

There are numerous ways that neuromarketing has come to light and can assist in the go-to-market, prelaunch process. Now, let's put some sizzle to the science.

Neuromarketing Puts the Snap, Crackle and Pop Back in your Advertising

Perhaps the golden ticket in an advertiser's ability to successfully tap into the mind of a consumer is by making the experience memorable. The most powerful part of the prior sentence is the word experience.

If you can create an experience for the user, it will be more memorable, will evoke emotion, decrease bounce rates, increase time spent viewing, build more relationships and convert more sales - even if you've only got their attention for three to five seconds. How?

Poke their curiosity.

Challenge their intellect.

Ask their participation.

Reach their comfort zone.

Not every marketing campaign will hit all four goals noted in this list, but it's something to keep in mind when considering how neuromarketing can go to work for your business.

5 Examples of Neuromarketing by Household Brands

Neuromarketing invokes the subconscious, allowing advertisers to sway behavior based on emotion without thought...stirring the deeper recesses of our brains. Through neuromarketing, marketers hope to engage our internal chemistry, and that may not come with specific reasoning, but more from responsiveness based on memory or deep-rooted cognition from another time that provides appeal in the present moment.

Apple

While many businesses will pull out all the stops to try to win your attention and, ultimately, loyalty, some companies have a distinct brand presence - so much so, that there is no other brand like them. Their brand is their calling card. Apple defines this strength.

Neuromarketing in this instance showcases the power of simplicity because Apple's positioning is always about its singularity. In a sea of competitors, Apple is always at the forefront of the industry wave.

When introducing the iPhone, Apple used imagination and how consumers feel separate yet connected by their mobile device, allowing them to enter and exist in their own world - just by turning them on. Apple pokes at the viewer's curiosity.

Trivago

The online travel booking company Trivago uses the anchoring or comparison approach in its market positioning. Trivago's brand ambassador presents a specific destination and then lists options for hotels and other accommodations that the consumer may not readily find if they use another booking company.

Through a no-nonsense, sometimes whimsical portrayal, the spokesman here is trying to make the consumer feel silly for using anything other than Trivago. This campaign indirectly challenges the intellect.

M&M's

Other examples of neuromarketing focus on the brain's reward center, the same area of the mind that responds to all things pleasurable: sugar, alcohol, drugs and sex. Yes, these are substances that have addictions associated with them. But there's a reason for that.

Human beings respond to people, places and things that excite the senses, sending messages to the brain that spur desire, anticipation, expectation and reward. Once experienced, the body will then respond in the same way to sight, sound, scent and touch that relates to the first experience. M&M's draws from this aspect of neuromarketing.

For the last several years, milk chocolate and peanut M&M's have been depicted as human-size products. Oh, what would it be like to have a 66-inch M&M to nosh on? Fantastic!

Lay's

This next neuromarketing example is my favorite of 2018 so far: the Lay's Potato Chip "Operation Smile" bags campaign. I think this one is brilliant! A product packaging rebrand that brings experiential marketing to a multi-layered level. Each potato chip flavor has its own redesign, with the very top of the bag portraying a different smile. After all, smiling is contagious.

The consumer can then take the bag, hold the top of it in front of their own mouth and convey a smile. Just the act of doing it makes the consumer smile, laugh and invite them to share it with their friends or family.

In addition, because each flavor has its own design, consumers may want to buy more than one flavor to experience all the smiles. And when the chips are gone, they will be hard pressed to find another potato chip brand experience to equal what Lay's offers. Remember, you can't eat just one.

Clever Turns of Phrases

For targeted audiences by age or geographic area, a marketer might want to tease their memory by tugging at something familiar but with a twist. Known as hippocampus headlines, these clever phrases of copy often use an American adage and change just a word or two near the end.

This draws the audience to what they know, holds their attention and then keeps them considering the message because of the shift. I don't know of a campaign that uses the following phrase, but it would be ideal for a water-flavoring product:
You can lead a horse to water but you CAN make him drink.
Now You Need a Neuromarketing Marketing Strategy to Understand How Your Customer Ticks
See Our 4-Step Inbound Marketing Approach

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Examples of Neuromarketing Done Well to Help Your Marketing Strategy

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There's an intuitiveness to digital marketing that if your campaigns aren't geared toward each platform uniquely, your advertising and social spends may miss your proposed target audience. Why? Whether we, as consumers, like it or not, Facebook, Google and other social channels and search engines respond to our behaviors online.

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https://imotions.com/blog/neuromarketing-examples/

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively. The following articles outlines 15 fascinating examples of neuromarketing in action.

1. The Importance of Eye Gaze

It is old news that ads that include people are much more effective than those that do not. In particular, images and videos that include babies tend to attract longer and more focused attention from potential customers. Advertisers have long attempted to boost sales for baby products using close ups of adorable baby faces - with the help of eye tracking technology they have identified that this alone is not enough.

Researchers discovered that when the infant looks face on, viewers will be far more focused on the baby's face to the detriment of focusing on the ad content. However, if the infant is directing its gaze at the product or text then the viewer will in fact focus on the advertising content.

Takeaway: As a result of such findings advertisers have now taken on board that although baby faces are popular among consumers, they also make sure that the baby is looking at what they want the consumer to buy. Read more about the study here.

2. Using Effective Packaging

We all know the feeling of being drawn to particularly striking or attractive packaging. Advertisers have always known that it's not always what's inside that counts, but neuroimaging has managed to take this to a whole new level. Brands such as Campbell's and Frito-Lay have used neuroimaging to reimagine their packaging. In studies, customers were shown packaging with their responses recorded as positive, negative or neutral. In addition, they were interviewed extensively in relation to color, text and imagery.

This research revealed that customers had a negative response to shiny packaging, but didn't show a negative response to packaging when it was matte. Frito-Lay then went on to scrap the shiny packaging, and move on with the new, matte look.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques are being employed extensively to redesign packaging and presentation. To read more about the study above (and some other interesting studies) check out this link.

3. Color is Key

When selecting colors, bear in mind that you may be influencing how potential customers feel. Colors can evoke a wide range of emotions, with studies consistently showing a link between certain colors and certain emotions.

Utilizing a color effectively can be a powerful marketing tool. One of the most infamous examples is Coca Cola's ubiquitous use of the color red, but there are many more companies who have also used color to great effect. Neuromarketing experts specializing in color and advertising have divided colors into subgroups as a guide to how they may be used effectively. Cool blues, for example, are the go-to color if you wish to attract professionals.

Takeaway: Make sure to familiarize yourself with how color may be used to influence purchasing behavior.

4. Ad Efficiency

For many years brain imaging was purely the reserve of the academic or the scientific. Neuromarketing however, has tapped into the incredible potential of fMRI imaging to grant us insights into human behavior and consumer habits.

One example of how neuromarketing has made use of fMRI is to compare advertising campaigns before releasing them to the general public. In one particular study, three different ads for the National Cancer Institute's telephone hotline were viewed by participants. The ad campaign that elicited the highest amount of brain activity in a particular region, led to significantly higher calls to the hotline. This novel approach is a new avenue for identifying ad campaigns that will genuinely engage the public.

Takeaway: fMRI has incredible potential for enhancing marketing strategies, increasing engagement and action.

5. Decision Paralysis

Sometimes, consumer behavior research goes against what we may have previously believed. A study by Columbia University revealed that too many choices may actually be a deterrent for potential customers. Using different types of setups, they found that displays containing a wide array of options were less likely to get customers to stop.

Takeaway: Less is more and sometimes customers can be overwhelmed by too many choices. Interested in learning more about decision paralysis and what to do about it? Take a look at this great article.

6. Evaluating Satisfaction

Emotion Response Analysis (ERA) uses EEG imaging to identify the emotional response an individual has to a product, advertisement etc.

Our level of engagement or emotional arousal in relation to a product is invaluable to the advertiser. If, for example, the consumer experiences high levels of frustration in response to your product then there is evidently an issue with usability you may wish to address. EEG may be used to evaluate consumer satisfaction. In one study EEG was used to evaluate satisfaction with a dermatological treatment. They found that customer satisfaction correlated with activation in the neural circuits involved in evaluating facial beauty.

Takeaway: Like fMRI, EEG can shed light on the most effective ways of advertising (amongst other uses). If you're interested in how EEG can be used in conjunction with iMotions software then check out this link.

7. Loss Aversion

One interesting finding utilized by neuromarketing is that people really don't want to lose out. People are just as worried about what they might lose as what they might gain. For this reason "buy before it's gone" strategies are highly effective.

When the alternative option is posed as a loss, consumers are much more likely to buy. For this reason, a concept called "framing" is highly important in neuromarketing. This technique is how advertisers present decisions to consumers in a way that makes them more likely to splash the cash.

Takeaway: Consumers hate to feel they are missing out on a bargain, so make sure to emphasize if they are set to lose out.

8. Anchoring

The first piece of information your customer receives is highly important. It can be the basis for any subsequent decision making and set the tone for their purchasing behavior. Neuroscientists have discovered a flaw in the workings of the mind, and how it reaches decisions. As individuals, we are rarely able to evaluate the value of something based on its intrinsic worth, but instead compare it with the surrounding options.

A valuable application of neuromarketing therefore, is to take advantage of this "anchoring effect". If for example, you are looking at two hotel rooms which are priced similarly but one offers a free coffee in the morning, you are much more likely to go with the free coffee. You will more than likely not explore the quality of the rooms offered or any detailed features.

Advertisers often take advantage of this when comparing bundle packages or deals against each other. In this way, we may often find ourselves signing up to contracts or a year- long commitment.

Takeaway: Anchoring can help you swing the deal the right way. This interesting piece highlights how anchoring methods can work for businesses.

9. The Need for Speed

Neuromarketing is useful for detecting customer trends. Whilst companies often seek to portray a sense of safety and security, speed and efficiency may be what customers are after. PayPal discovered this by conducting a study which found that the promise of convenience activated the brain more than security. They used this information to convert more shoppers to their online payment service by emphasizing their speedy payment system.

Takeaway: Whilst it may seem like emphasizing the safety and security of a product will win customers over, you may instead want to get the message across that your product is fast and efficient.

10. Revealing Hidden Responses

When testing a new advertisement, Cheetos used focus groups and EEG to evaluate consumer response.

In this particular ad, a woman played a prank on her friend by filling her white load of laundry with orange Cheetos. Focus Groups reported a dislike for the ad, however when an EEG study was ran with the same participants it revealed that they really liked it. Participants in the focus group were afraid to voice the fact they found the ad humorous in case other members thought they were unkind. In this manner, neuromarketing can reveal hidden thoughts and preferences.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques can reveal hidden responses. To read about another interesting technique capable of illuminating our thought processes check out the IAT.

11. Reward and Punishment

Even video game design has started to use psychological principles in the product design process, specifically using reward and punishment in order to make engaging games, and to keep people playing them. By increasing the reward presented by the game, the action may also increase the levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) within the brain. This neurotransmitter is associated with pleasure and positive associations, which can increase the attachment to keep playing.

Game designers are now even hiring psychologists to help with game design, building psychological principles directly into the game mechanics.

Takeaway: Create a pleasurable experience for consumers to keep them attached, and coming back, to the product.

12. Prototype Testing

Whilst advertisements are obviously vital to influencing consumer behavior, the design of products themselves can also be instrumental.

In a famous neuromarketing case, Hyundai used EEG to test their prototypes. They measured brain activity in response to different design features, and explored which kind of stimulation was most likely to result in buying.

The findings of this study led Hyundai to change the exterior design of the cars themselves.

Takeaway: The growth of neuromarketing has the capability to transform the world we live in.

13. Setting the Right Price

How to price products in a way that tempts consumers is a long-running and contentious question. We are all aware that pricing something at $9.99 instead of $10 is an advertising tactic, but does it work?

An array of new findings are shedding light on this age-old question. One fascinating new piece of information being used by neuromarketers, is that rounded figures are more likely to work alongside emotional decision making, whilst more complex figures work better when the logical brain is engaged. This is because complex numbers make the brain work harder, perhaps convincing it that the complexly priced product is the more logical decision.

Takeaway: Take the neuromarketing approach to setting your price.

14. Website Layout

Neuromarketing techniques are also being employed to inform how websites are designed.

From color schemes, layouts, font size and beyond, neuromarketers are delving into our website preferences. There are now some firm rules of thumb when it comes to creating websites. For example, using certifications, testimonials and social widgets are sure to draw customers in more than those that don't.

Another interesting finding is that newer, horizontal style website layouts are less effective than traditionally vertical. This is because reading webpages from the top down engages the brain, and makes viewers more likely to keep on scrolling.

Takeaway: Use science to inform your website design. For 15 additional ways to engage web traffic take a look at this link.

15. Memorable Headlines

Headlines are one of the first things the viewer sees so obviously they need to stand out and be noticed.

As a result they have been heavily researched, with a new neuromarketing technique called "Hippocampal Headlines" being coined. What does this mean? Researchers at University College London found that when a familiar phrase is slightly altered, our hippocampus is activated, and our attention is piqued. Many bloggers have used the example of Patron and their marketing slogan "Practice makes Patron" as an example of this.

Takeaway: If you surprise the brain your advertising campaign will be much more effective.

We hope you have enjoyed these examples. If you want to learn more about neuromarketing, and to see how iMotions can elevate your neuromarketing research, please feel free to get in touch or download our guide below to see how eye tracking can help you uncover valuable insights.

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15 Powerful Examples of Neuromarketing in Action

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively.

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Consumer behaviour & neuromarketing in hospitality

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Consumer behaviour & neuromarketing in hospitality

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Neurofocus uses Neuromarketing to hack your brain 

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Neurofocus uses Neuromarketing to hack your brain 

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A.K. Pradeep knows what you like and why you like it. Take the sleek, slick iPad. Ask Mac lovers why they adore their tablet and they'll say it's the convenience, the touch screen, the design, the versatility. But Apple aficionados don't just like their iPads; they're preprogammed to like them. It's in their subconscious-the curves, the way it feels in their hands, and in the hormones their brains secrete when they touch the screen. "When you move an icon on the iPad and it does what you thought it would do, you're surprised and delighted it actually happened," he says. "That surprise and delight turns into a dopamine squirt, and you don't even know why you liked it."

Pradeep is the founder and CEO of science-based consumer-research firm NeuroFocus, a Berkeley, California-based company wholly owned by Nielsen Holdings N.V. that claims to have the tools to tap into your brain (or, as Woody Allen called it, "my second favorite organ"). You might say Pradeep was born to plumb the depths of our minds. The "A.K." in his name stands for Anantha Krishnan, which translates as "unending consciousness"; Pradeep means "illumination." Fortunately, he doesn't refer to himself as Unending Illuminated Consciousness, preferring, as is custom in his native region of India, a single name: Pradeep. "Like Prince or Madonna," he explains.

On this particular spring day, he's in New York to offer a presentation at the 75th Advertising Research Foundation conference. As he holds court on a small stage in a ballroom of the Marriott Marquis in Midtown, Pradeep seems to relish the spotlight. Swizzle-stick thin and topped with unruly jet-black hair, the effusive 48-year-old is sharply dressed, from his spectacles to his black jacket and red-and-black silk shirt, and all the way down to his shiny boots. He stands out, needless to say, from the collective geekdom gathered at this egghead advertising fest.

Speaking with the speed and percussive enunciation of an auctioneer, Pradeep is at the conference today to introduce his company's latest innovation: a product called Mynd, the world's first portable, wireless electroencephalogram (EEG) scanner. The skullcap-size device sports dozens of sensors that rest on a subject's head like a crown of thorns. It covers the entire area of the brain, he explains, so it can comprehensively capture synaptic waves; but unlike previous models, it doesn't require messy gel. What's more, users can capture, amplify, and instantaneously dispatch a subject's brain waves in real time, via Bluetooth, to another device-a remote laptop, say, an iPhone, or that much-beloved iPad. Over the coming months, Neuro-Focus plans to give away Mynds to home panelists across the country. Consumers will be paid to wear them while they watch TV, head to movie theaters, or shop at the mall. The firm will collect the resulting streams of data and use them to analyze the participants' deep subconscious responses to the commercials, products, brands, and messages of its clients. NeuroFocus data crunchers can then identify the products and brands that are the most appealing (and the ones whose packaging and labels are dreary turnoffs), the characters in a Hollywood film that engender the strongest emotional attachments, and the exact second viewers tune out an ad.

These corporations share the same goal: to mine your brain so they can blow your mind with products you deeply desire.

Pradeep and his team in Berkeley are hardly the first to make a direct connection between brain function and how it determines consumer behavior. Advertisers, marketers, and product developers have deployed social psychology for decades to influence whether you buy Coke or Pepsi, or a small or an extra-large popcorn. Like the feather weight of that mobile phone? Suddenly gravitating to a new kind of beer at the store? Inexplicably craving a bag of Cheetos? From eye-deceiving design to product placement gimmickry, advertisers and marketers have long exploited our basic human patterns, the ones that are as rudimentary and predictable as Pavlov's slobbering dog.

NeuroFocus, however, promises something deeper, with unprecedented access into the nooks and crannies of the subconscious. It's a tantalizing claim, given that businesses spend trillions of dollars each year on advertising, marketing, and product R&D, and see, by some estimates, 80% of all their new products fail. The hope that neuroscience can provide more accurate results than traditional focus groups and other traditional market research is why Citi, Google, HP, and Microsoft, as well as soda companies, brewers, retailers, manufacturers, and media companies have all become NeuroFocus clients in the past six years. When salty-snack purveyor Frito-Lay looked to increase sales of its single-serve 100-calorie snacks to women, it tapped NeuroFocus, whose research informed new packaging and a new ad campaign. CBS partnered with the firm to measure responses to new shows and TV pilots; Arts & Entertainment (A&E) had NeuroFocus track viewers' second-by-second neurological reactions to commercials to ensure that its programs work with the ads that fund them; and Pradeep's team helped ESPN display the logos of its corporate advertisers more effectively on-air. California Olive Ranch had NeuroFocus test its olive-oil labels for maximum appeal. And, as we'll see later, Intel hired the company to better understand its global branding proposition, while PayPal sought a more refined corporate identity.

These corporations vary widely, but they share a fundamental goal: to mine your brain so they can blow your mind with products you deeply desire. With NeuroFocus's help, they think they can know you better than you know yourself.

Orange cheese dust. That wholly unnatural neon stuff that gloms onto your fingers when you're mindlessly snacking on chips or doodles. The stuff you don't think about until you realize you've smeared it on your shirt or couch cushions-and then keep on eating anyway, despite your better intentions. Orange cheese dust is probably not the first thing you think of when talking about how the brain functions, but it's exactly the kind of thing that makes NeuroFocus, and neuromarketing in general, such a potentially huge and growing business. In 2008, Frito-Lay hired NeuroFocus to look into Cheetos, the junk-food staple. After scanning the brains of a carefully chosen group of consumers, the NeuroFocus team discovered that the icky coating triggers an unusually powerful response in the brain: a sense of giddy subversion that consumers enjoy over the messiness of the product. In other words, the sticky stuff is what makes those snacks such a sticky brand. Frito-Lay leveraged that information into its advertising campaign for Cheetos, which has made the most of the mess. For its efforts, NeuroFocus earned a Grand Ogilvy award for advertising research, given out by the Advertising Research Foundation, for "demonstrating the most successful use of research in the creation of superior advertising that achieves a critical business objective."

This seemingly precise way of unveiling the brain's inner secrets is the ultimate promise of neuromarketing, a science (or perhaps an art) that picks up electrical signals from the brain and spins them through software to analyze the responses and translate those signals into layman's terms. While evolving in tandem with advances in neuroscience, the field owes much to a study conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine in 2004 to investigate the power of brand perception on consumer taste preferences. Based on the famous Coke vs. Pepsi tests of yesteryear, volunteers had their brains scanned in an MRI as they sampled each beverage. When they didn't know what they were drinking, half liked Coke and half liked Pepsi. When they did know, however, most preferred Coke, and their brain scans showed a great deal of activity in the cranial areas associated with memory and emotion. In other words, the power of Coke's brand is so great that it preps your brain to enjoy its flavor-and presumably to influence your purchasing decisions when you're in the supermarket.

Since the Baylor study, neurotesters have turned to the EEG as their standard measurement tool, rather than the MRI. For starters, the MRI is bulkier, harder to administer, and expensive. Far more important, however, is the fact that an EEG measures the brain's electrical activity on the scalp, while an MRI records changes in blood flow inside the brain. This means that an EEG reading can be done almost in real time, while an MRI's has a five-second delay. MRIs provide beautiful, high-resolution pictures, ideal for identifying tumors and other abnormalities, but they are useless for tracking quick-hit reactions.

For example, imagine that you are asked to generate an action verb in response to the word ball. Within 200 milliseconds, your brain has absorbed the request. Impulses move to the motor cortex and drive your articulators to respond, and you might say "throw." This process happens far too fast for an MRI to record. But an EEG can capture virtually every neurological impulse that results from that single word: ball.

This is where modern neuromarketing exists-at the very creation of an unconscious idea, in the wisp of time between the instant your brain receives a stimulus and subconsciously reacts. There, data are unfiltered, uncorrupted by your conscious mind, which hasn't yet had the chance to formulate and deliver a response in words or gestures. During this vital half-second, your subconscious mind is free from cultural bias, differences in language and education, and memories. Whatever happens there is neurologically pure, unlike when your conscious mind takes over and actually changes the data by putting them through myriad mental mechanisms. It's all the action inside you before your conscious mind does the societally responsible thing and reminds you that artificially flavored and colored cheese dust laced with monosodium glutamate is, well, gross.

With the instantaneous readings of EEG sensors, neuromarketers can track electrical waves as they relate to emotion, memory, and attention from specific areas of the brain: namely, the amygdala, an almond-shaped region that plays a role in storing emotionally charged memories and helps trigger physical reactions (sweaty palms, a faster heartbeat); the hippocampus, where memory lurks; and the lateral prefrontal cortex, which governs high-level cognitive powers (one being attention). Once the brain waves are collected, complex algorithms can sift through the data to connect each reaction to a specific moment.

Neuromarketers like Pradeep argue that this testing is much more efficient, cost effective, and precise than traditional methods like focus groups. While Gallup must poll roughly a thousand people to achieve a 4% margin of error, NeuroFocus tests just two dozen subjects for its corporate clients-and even that is a sample size larger than those deployed by leading academic neuroscience labs. This is possible because people's brains are remarkably alike, even though there are some differences between male and female brains, and between those of children and senior citizens. And NeuroFocus collects a massive amount of input, recording and analyzing billions of data points during a typical neurological testing project. This is the genius of neuromarketing, according to a booster like Pradeep. He promises an accurate read of the subconscious mind. Focus groups and surveys, on the other hand, give an imprecise measure of the conscious mind, of so-called articulated, or self-reported, responses. They are one step removed from actual emotion, inherently weak: like flashbacks in a film. They are fine for eliciting facts, less so for probing into what people really feel.

Ray Poynter of the Future Place saves his harshest criticism for neuromarketers: "They are overclaiming massively."

Not everyone agrees that neuromarketing is the next great thing, of course. Because its research has been primarily corporate funded and its tangible results primarily anecdotal, neuromarketing is not without detractors, who tend to lump it in with the array of businesses, like biometrics or facial mapping, that promise all sorts of new-wave marketing breakthroughs. Ray Poynter, founder of the Future Place, a social-media consultancy in Nottingham, England, colors himself a skeptic on all of them but saves his harshest criticism for neuromarketers. He believes they offer far more hype than science. "Neuromarketers are overclaiming massively," he says. "While it is likely to reduce the number of bad mistakes, and slightly increase the chance of good things happening, it's all a matter of degree."

Even so, it's hard to imagine neuromarketing proving less reliable than traditional market research. For decades, marketers have relied on focus groups and surveys to divine what consumers want, using these methods to solicit feedback on their attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and perceptions about an advertisement, a product and its packaging, or a service. Each year, hundreds of thousands of focus groups are organized around the world, and about $4.5 billion is spent globally on qualitative market research.

This kind of "mother-in-law research," as ad exec Kirk Cheyfitz calls it, has all manner of shortcomings. It's not statistically significant, so it's risky to graft your findings onto the population at large. One or two blowhards may hijack an entire panel, and researchers can, without knowing it, influence participants. The world has changed, and yet so much market research is still conducted the same old way.

Brain Eaters

"I bet you, long ago if you looked at cave paintings, there were a bunch of Cro-Magnon men and women sitting around a fire in focus groups wondering whether to go hunt mastodon that night," Pradeep says. "Today, our focus groups are no different." In the tale of our inner lives, we have always been unreliable narrators. Pradeep believes he can get at the truth.

When David Ginsberg joined Intel in 2009 as the company's director of insights and market research, he was something of an expert on the slippery nature of "truth," having spent 15 years working on political campaigns for John Edwards, John Kerry, Al Gore, and Bill Clinton. Ginsberg was downright skeptical of neuromarketing, or, as he calls it, "nonconscious-based research." He thought it had more to do with science fiction than reality. But he also knew that Intel had been conducting market research as if it were still 1965, with surveys that were the equivalent of sending Gallup off to knock on thousands of doors. That may have worked decently in the days when a person bought a computer based on specs-processing speed, RAM, etc. But in an age where virtually every computer is sold with power to spare, Ginsberg knew that the rationale for buying a certain computer was as much emotional as it was rational. To compete in this new market, Intel the company had to understand how people felt about Intel the brand.

"If you ask people if they know Intel, something like 90% will say they know Intel," Ginsberg says. "Ask if they like Intel, a huge percentage will say they like Intel. Ask them [to rank or name] tech leaders, however, and we come out much lower on the list." Ginsberg felt that he needed to understand consumers' feelings at a deeper level: What words did consumers associate with Intel? Were these associations altered by one's culture? Ginsberg decided to run pilot tests with a number of market-research firms, and despite his sense of neuromarketing as mumbo jumbo, he included NeuroFocus. What he learned surprised him and turned him into a believer.

NeuroFocus structured its test for Intel as it does most of its market research, patterning it after something called the Evoked Response Potential test, a staple of neuroscience. Test subjects were paid to come to a NeuroFocus lab and put on a cap with 64 sensors that would measure electrical activity across the brain. Because the U.S. and China are two very important markets for Intel, NeuroFocus tested groups of 24 consumers (half men, half women) in Berkeley and in a midsize city in China's Sichuan Province.

In a quiet room, each test subject was shown the words "achieve," "possibilities," "explore," "opportunity," "potentiality," "identify," "discover," "resolves," and "solves problems." Each flitted by on a TV screen at half-second intervals. The subject was instructed to press a button whenever she saw a word with a letter underscored by a red dot. After several minutes of this subconscious-priming word test, she was shown a few Intel ads. Following this, the words were again presented on the screen, this time without the dots.

The exercise served two functions: First, the red dots focused the subject's attention; second, they gave NeuroFocus a baseline measure of the brain's response, since each time a test subject saw the red dot, her brain went "A-ha! There's a word with a red dot." Click.

When NeuroFocus later analyzed the EEG readings, it looked for those same "a-ha" moments from the period during which the subject had viewed the Intel ads. The words that provoked the most such responses were "achieve" and "opportunity." Interestingly, women in the U.S. and in China had virtually the same response post-advertisements, as did American men and Chinese men. The differences were in the genders; on both sides of the pond, men and women had strikingly different reactions. "Achieve" prompted the most intense reaction among women, while men gravitated toward "opportunity. "

Says Ginsberg: "This was incredibly fascinating to us. There seem to be fundamental values across humanity." He believes that Intel would have never learned this through traditional market research and focus groups, where cultural biases come into play. He also concluded that there are differences in how men and women think, and that these differences cross cultural boundaries. This is not news to Pradeep, who points out that male and female brains are different, and not in a Larry Summers women-aren't-as-good-at-math-and-science-as-men-are kind of way. The female brain is our default brain when we are in the womb. But at week eight, about half of all fetuses are bathed in testosterone. These now-male brains close down certain communication centers in the brain while opening up others geared toward sex and aggression. In female brains, meanwhile, the communication pathways continue to evolve, intricate neural routes are constructed across both hemispheres, and areas dedicated to emotion blossom. Life seems to imitate a beer commercial, doesn't it?

Now Intel is changing its marketing strategy. "A brand that helps people achieve and offers opportunity has a phenomenal brand attribute," Ginsberg says. "It gives you a new perspective on things, to understand your consumer better." The NeuroFocus findings have informed the next round of creative advertising you'll see from Intel, due to emerge later this year. "I guarantee when you see these ads you'll see a straight line," Ginsberg adds. "The study gave us fresh insights to talk about things we didn't have permission to talk about before."

It is conceivable that Intel could have redirected its advertising toward achievement and opportunity with the help of focus groups. But Ginsberg feels, and Pradeep fervently believes, that neuromarketing has a much better shot at getting closer to the unconscious truth, and therefore proving more effective. Still, the difference between the two forms of research sometimes seems to be just a matter of degrees.

Barry Herstein left American Express to join PayPal in October 2007 as global chief marketing officer with the goal of giving eBay's transaction-processing division a coherent marketing strategy. After the first few weeks, he knew just how difficult the task would be. Almost every time he asked a PayPal employee, "What's the big idea behind PayPal?" the following response came back: "Safe, simple, wow!"

"Safe, simple, wow?" Herstein scoffs. "That's not a big idea. It's a tagline." It didn't even make sense. Wasn't any payment product supposed to be safe and simple? He supposed that software engineers might know that paying for things was complicated, but having worked at American Express and Citi, he knew that the consumer didn't think that was the case. And "wow"? He cringed. Then, after a series of brainstorming sessions and conversations with a broad range of customers, he hired NeuroFocus to help him figure out the basic concepts around which he could build a new global identity for PayPal.

As part of its standard methodology, NeuroFocus captures the subconscious resonance consumers have for seven brand attributes: form, function, and benefits, as well as feelings (the emotional connection a brand elicits from consumers), values (what it represents), metaphors (aspirations, challenges, lessons, or life events that seem connected to the product), and extensions (the unexpected and perhaps illogical feelings it inspires). Based on his earlier brainstorming sessions, Herstein asked NeuroFocus to home in on three attributes and create three phrases for testing within each. For function he offered "convenient," "fast," and "secure"; for feelings, "confident," "hassle-free," and "in the know"; and for benefits, "new opportunity," "on my side," and "empowering." The 21-person panel had 11 men and 10 women and was also segmented into regular, light, and non-PayPal shoppers.

According to NeuroFocus, "fast" ranked the highest in the function category. (Notably, "fast" was not acknowledged in any way by "safe, simple, wow.") In fact, according to the brain heat map that NeuroFocus created from the aggregated data, speed is a huge advantage that sets off extremely positive feelings, especially from regular users. The more people use PayPal, it seems, the more they appreciate how quickly they can close transactions. For the feelings category, "in the know" resonated best, and in benefits, "on my side" won out.

Examining brand attributes is a standard of traditional market testing, of course. Herstein ran a parallel, more conventional track at the same time as his NeuroFocus study, creating a conventional online survey. The results were significantly different. While the word "fast" resonated with this group, the phrase "on my side" wound up at the bottom of the benefits category, which was topped instead by "confident"-a word that had finished dead last among men in the NeuroFocus study.

Herstein trusted the NeuroFocus results, though, and set out to create a coherent global image for the company based on them. That image would humanize PayPal by emphasizing the outcomes it delivers, not the act of paying; nowhere in the new marketing would you find any dreaded, dreary images of two people hovering around a computer. "People don't want to see that," Herstein says. "They want to see people enjoying either what they just bought or the time that it gives them by paying fast."

Not everyone at the company was sold on his new approach. The heads of some foreign markets-Herstein declined to name which- predicted that the new campaign would bomb. Herstein says that his boss, PayPal president Scott Thompson, told him he was crazy-but Herstein was willing to stake his reputation on the new approach.

What happened? According to Herstein, when he changed PayPal's visual and verbal identity across the company's email and web pages, click-through and response rates increased three to four times. "I'm telling you, in the world of direct marketing, the words '400% improvement' don't exist," he says. "If you can go from 1.2% response rate to 1.3%, you'll get a promotion, right? And if you can take something from a 4% response rate to 16%? Unheard of."

"The mystique is that there's a way to turn consumers into robots to buy products. That's simply not the case," says one neuromarketer.

Herstein has left PayPal to join Snapfish and now sits on NeuroFocus's board as an unpaid adviser. While eBay confirms the basics of his account, it won't confirm his description of the outcomes from the marketing campaign he created; a spokesman repeatedly asked Fast Company not to include this information in our story.

This bid for secrecy is entirely in keeping with the aura around neuromarketing, an industry that is both highly confident about what it can deliver and very nervous about its perception in the broader world. Several neuromarketing firms were approached for this story, but the only one that would do more than provide vague descriptions of its work was NeuroFocus, which is by all accounts the industry leader. Out of dozens of its corporate clients, very few would agree to discuss their work with the firm.

Neuromarketing outfits are afraid of being branded as trendy voodoo science, no more trustworthy than palm readers. Such a perception, they believe, will wither with good results. Perhaps more worrying is the other end of the speculative spectrum, which posits that corporations armed with our neurological data will be able to push a secret "buy button" in our brains. This is a fear promulgated by, among others, Paul B. Farrell, a columnist for Dow Jones and author of The Millionaire Code. He calls this buy button your brain's "true decision-making processor," a "weapon of mass delusion." You end up like a computer "without virus protection" and "exposed to every Wall Street banker, politician, and corporate CEO with gobs of cash and a desire to manipulate your brain."

"There's still this mystique that there's a way to control consumers and turn them into robots to purchase products," says Ron Wright, president and CEO of Sands Research, a rival neuromarketing firm based in El Paso, Texas. "That is simply not the case." Nevertheless, after spending time with Pradeep, you get the feeling we've only just begun to tap the potential of this new movement. Pradeep is not a neuroscientist. He's a former GE engineer and consultant who became fascinated by neuromarketing after a conversation with a neuroscientist who sat next to him on a cross-continental flight. After seven years at the helm of NeuroFocus, he sees every product relationship in terms of the brain, like a virtuoso musician who hears music in everyday sounds, from the clackety noise of a woman's heels on a wooden floor to the melange of notes from a car engine.

On a sun-drenched afternoon in Berkeley, we tour the shops at the local mall. We stop in front of a Victoria's Secret plate-glass window and Pradeep points out the ambiguous expression of a lingerie model on one of its posters. He explains that the brain is constantly looking out for our survival and as part of that is always ready to measure another person's intent. Is that stranger happy? Angry? Sad? When an expression is not easy to decipher, we do a database search through our collection of faces-curious, worried, nervous, threatening-to choose which is closest to the one we see, and match it. "If the expression is easy to decipher, I hardly glance," he says. "But if the expression is relatively hard to decipher, she makes me open the cupboard of memory." Contrast this with the nearby Bebe store, where Pradeep shakes his head at the headless mannequins in the window. "Now that's what I call a crime against humanity. Money down the drain."

At the Apple store, we pause at a desktop computer and he explains why it's always better to put images on the left side of the screen and text on the right: "That's how the brain likes to see it," he says. "If you flip it around, the right frontal looks at the words and has to flip it over the corpus callosum to the left frontal lobe. You make the brain do one extra step, and the brain hates you for that." Pradeep loves Apple, and he loves to talk about Apple, in part because Steve Jobs never has been and probably never will be a client. (Apple doesn't even use focus groups. Jonathan Ive, Apple's top designer, famously said they lead to bland products designed to offend no one.) But the real reason he loves talking about Apple is that he believes the company has elevated basic design to high art, a hugely successful strategy that Pradeep thinks is justified by our most basic neurological underpinnings.

Which brings us back to that iPad. Pradeep claims the brain loves curves but detests sharp edges, which set off an avoidance response in our subconscious. In the same way our ancestors stood clear of sticks or jagged stones fashioned into weapons, we avoid sharp angles, viewing them as potential threats. NeuroFocus has performed several studies for retailers and food manufacturers and found that test subjects prefer in-store displays with rounded edges over those with sharper edges. In one instance, when these new rounded displays were rolled out to replace traditional store shelving, sales rose 15%.

But curved edges are only one reason for the iPad's success. We also like how the tablet feels, how sleek and well balanced it is. Signals generated by our palms and fingers, along with lips and genitals, take up the most surface area within our brain's sensory zone. The way a product feels in our hands can be a major selling point. It's why we prefer glass bottles to cans, which NeuroFocus product-consumption studies bear out, although it's not just the material, it's also the slender curve of the bottle and the ridges in it. The touch screen, too, is a mental magnet and can induce those hormonal secretions Pradeep likes describing.

Why we like these curves no one knows for sure. Perhaps our brains correlate curves with nourishment-that is to say, mommy. (Calling Dr. Freud.) In men, it could be sexual. One study asked men to view before-and-after pictures of naked women who underwent cosmetic surgery to shrink their waists and add to their derrieres. The men's brains responded as if they had been rewarded with drugs and alcohol. But this response to curves may be even more primal than sex, or beer. Another study suggested that men seek women with curves because women's hips and thighs contain higher doses of omega-3 fatty acids, which nurture babies' brains and lead to healthier offspring.

This is the flip side to our fears of neuromarketing: the potential to look at our choices in a new way that blends science, psychology, and history. Lately, NeuroFocus has been moving into product development, providing research to companies that will influence how products look, feel, and function before they hit the market. That's what the firm is doing with its Mynd crown of sensors. But Pradeep has visions that go far beyond testing products, packaging, and commercials. He imagines neurotesting as ideal for court-room trials: A defense attorney could pretest opening and closing arguments for emotional resonance with mock juries. And while NeuroFocus is not getting involved in politics, he says that competitors of his helped Republican politicians shape their messages for the 2010 midterm elections.

One stunning application of neurotesting is the work of Robert Knight, Pradeep's chief science officer, and a host of other neuroscience researchers who are trying to develop a way for quadriplegics to control their wheel-chairs just by thinking alone. When you watch someone move a hand to grab a can of soda, mirror neurons in your brain react as if you were grasping it yourself. Knight is studying which brain signals can be translated into software commands to drive a wheelchair. To further this research, Knight, part of the team that invented the Mynd, plans to give it away to scientists and labs around the world. And the next iteration, he promises, will be a big step up, with eye-tracking capability, a built-in video camera, and three times as many sensors for greater brain coverage. "If our limbs will not respond to the beauty of your thinking or your feeling, that is a horror beyond horrors," Pradeep says. "Restoring a little bit of gesture, a little bit of movement, a little bit of control to that beautiful mind is an extraordinary thing to do."

He seems sincere, passionate even, though of course I cannot read his mind.

Correction: Neurofocus is owned by Nielsen Holdings N.V., not Nielsen Research as stated in the original article.

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NeuroFocus Uses Neuromarketing To Hack Your Brain

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A.K. Pradeep knows what you like and why you like it. Take the sleek, slick iPad. Ask Mac lovers why they adore their tablet and they'll say it's the convenience, the touch screen, the design, the versatility. But Apple aficionados don't just like their iPads; they're preprogammed to like them.

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Is missing out on millions of dollars in revenue because its coffee prices are too low? That seems unlikely when the $5 cup of Starbucks is a staple of comedians mocking over-priced products. But, in reality, a small brewed coffee runs about $2 in the U.S. Now, a neuromarketing study in Germany suggests that the coffee giant may actually be under-pricing their product by a third and perhaps leaving profits on the table.

The provocative notion that we're not paying enough for a cup of java comes from scientist Kai-Markus Müller of Stuttgart-based The Neuromarketing Labs. Using EEG brain wave measurement, Müller's firm gauged the emotional reaction of consumers to different prices for a small cup of coffee, which costs €1.80 ($2.45) at a Stuttgart Starbucks.

The firm claims their results show that our brains reject prices that are too low or too high as being unrealistic, and says that the optimal price point for that small coffee in Stuttgart would be €2.40 ($3.25).

According to Der Spiegel, this claim is buttressed by another experiment in which a set-your-own price vending machine on a college campus showed that students paid, on average, €.95 ($1.29) for a latte macchiato. When subjects were shown prices while their brain waves were being measured, an optimal price very close to that number was observed.

Starbucks shareholders might salivate at the idea that at least some of the firm's products could be priced substantially higher, but some caution is in order. For commodity items like coffee, lower prices tend to increase sales while higher prices discourage them. It would be quite unexpected for a higher price to increase unit sales for this type of product.

Furthermore, price comparison for brewed coffee is easy. Regular coffee drinkers know what a cup costs at different outlets. At least in my local Austin market, Starbucks is already at the upper end of a fairly narrow band of coffee prices. If they suddenly broke from the pack by raising their prices 33%, it's hard to imagine that traffic wouldn't shift to the competition.

Previous studies on pricing using fMRI brain scans by Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University and others did show a "pain of paying" effect from high prices, but didn't report a negative reaction for low prices.

I think this kind of "most liked price" analysis would work best for unique or new-to-the-world products. When introduced the iPad, for example, there was no reference point or competitive group to refer to. Studying consumer reaction to hypothetical price points might have been helpful. Of course, new and unfamiliar products present another problem - consumers have difficulty assigning a price (even subconsciously) if they don't know what value the product can deliver.

What do you think would happen to small (aka "tall" in Starbucks-speak) coffee sales if prices jumped by a third? Share your thoughts in a comment!
Roger Dooley is the author of Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing (Wiley, 2011). Find Roger on Twitter as @rogerdooley and at his website, Neuromarketing.

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Is Starbucks missing out on millions of dollars in revenue because its coffee prices are too low? That seems unlikely when the $5 cup of Starbucks is a staple of comedians mocking over-priced products. But, in reality, a small brewed coffee runs about $2 in the U.S. Now, a neuromarketing [...]

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How to Use the Power of Neuromarketing to Grow Your Business

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How to Use the Power of Neuromarketing to Grow Your Business

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https://www.influencive.com/the-power-of-neuromarketing

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Youtube movie about how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=150&v=VCf3L4pUpOg

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https://imotions.com/blog/neuromarketing-examples/

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively. The following articles outlines 15 fascinating examples of neuromarketing in action.

1. The Importance of Eye Gaze

It is old news that ads that include people are much more effective than those that do not. In particular, images and videos that include babies tend to attract longer and more focused attention from potential customers. Advertisers have long attempted to boost sales for baby products using close ups of adorable baby faces - with the help of eye tracking technology they have identified that this alone is not enough.

Researchers discovered that when the infant looks face on, viewers will be far more focused on the baby's face to the detriment of focusing on the ad content. However, if the infant is directing its gaze at the product or text then the viewer will in fact focus on the advertising content.

Takeaway: As a result of such findings advertisers have now taken on board that although baby faces are popular among consumers, they also make sure that the baby is looking at what they want the consumer to buy. Read more about the study here.

2. Using Effective Packaging

We all know the feeling of being drawn to particularly striking or attractive packaging. Advertisers have always known that it's not always what's inside that counts, but neuroimaging has managed to take this to a whole new level. Brands such as Campbell's and Frito-Lay have used neuroimaging to reimagine their packaging. In studies, customers were shown packaging with their responses recorded as positive, negative or neutral. In addition, they were interviewed extensively in relation to color, text and imagery.

This research revealed that customers had a negative response to shiny packaging, but didn't show a negative response to packaging when it was matte. Frito-Lay then went on to scrap the shiny packaging, and move on with the new, matte look.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques are being employed extensively to redesign packaging and presentation. To read more about the study above (and some other interesting studies) check out this link.

3. Color is Key

When selecting colors, bear in mind that you may be influencing how potential customers feel. Colors can evoke a wide range of emotions, with studies consistently showing a link between certain colors and certain emotions.

Utilizing a color effectively can be a powerful marketing tool. One of the most infamous examples is Coca Cola's ubiquitous use of the color red, but there are many more companies who have also used color to great effect. Neuromarketing experts specializing in color and advertising have divided colors into subgroups as a guide to how they may be used effectively. Cool blues, for example, are the go-to color if you wish to attract professionals.

Takeaway: Make sure to familiarize yourself with how color may be used to influence purchasing behavior.

4. Ad Efficiency

For many years brain imaging was purely the reserve of the academic or the scientific. Neuromarketing however, has tapped into the incredible potential of fMRI imaging to grant us insights into human behavior and consumer habits.

One example of how neuromarketing has made use of fMRI is to compare advertising campaigns before releasing them to the general public. In one particular study, three different ads for the National Cancer Institute's telephone hotline were viewed by participants. The ad campaign that elicited the highest amount of brain activity in a particular region, led to significantly higher calls to the hotline. This novel approach is a new avenue for identifying ad campaigns that will genuinely engage the public.

Takeaway: fMRI has incredible potential for enhancing marketing strategies, increasing engagement and action.

5. Decision Paralysis

Sometimes, consumer behavior research goes against what we may have previously believed. A study by Columbia University revealed that too many choices may actually be a deterrent for potential customers. Using different types of setups, they found that displays containing a wide array of options were less likely to get customers to stop.

Takeaway: Less is more and sometimes customers can be overwhelmed by too many choices. Interested in learning more about decision paralysis and what to do about it? Take a look at this great article.

6. Evaluating Satisfaction

Emotion Response Analysis (ERA) uses EEG imaging to identify the emotional response an individual has to a product, advertisement etc.

Our level of engagement or emotional arousal in relation to a product is invaluable to the advertiser. If, for example, the consumer experiences high levels of frustration in response to your product then there is evidently an issue with usability you may wish to address. EEG may be used to evaluate consumer satisfaction. In one study EEG was used to evaluate satisfaction with a dermatological treatment. They found that customer satisfaction correlated with activation in the neural circuits involved in evaluating facial beauty.

Takeaway: Like fMRI, EEG can shed light on the most effective ways of advertising (amongst other uses). If you're interested in how EEG can be used in conjunction with iMotions software then check out this link.

7. Loss Aversion

One interesting finding utilized by neuromarketing is that people really don't want to lose out. People are just as worried about what they might lose as what they might gain. For this reason "buy before it's gone" strategies are highly effective.

When the alternative option is posed as a loss, consumers are much more likely to buy. For this reason, a concept called "framing" is highly important in neuromarketing. This technique is how advertisers present decisions to consumers in a way that makes them more likely to splash the cash.

Takeaway: Consumers hate to feel they are missing out on a bargain, so make sure to emphasize if they are set to lose out.

8. Anchoring

The first piece of information your customer receives is highly important. It can be the basis for any subsequent decision making and set the tone for their purchasing behavior. Neuroscientists have discovered a flaw in the workings of the mind, and how it reaches decisions. As individuals, we are rarely able to evaluate the value of something based on its intrinsic worth, but instead compare it with the surrounding options.

A valuable application of neuromarketing therefore, is to take advantage of this "anchoring effect". If for example, you are looking at two hotel rooms which are priced similarly but one offers a free coffee in the morning, you are much more likely to go with the free coffee. You will more than likely not explore the quality of the rooms offered or any detailed features.

Advertisers often take advantage of this when comparing bundle packages or deals against each other. In this way, we may often find ourselves signing up to contracts or a year- long commitment.

Takeaway: Anchoring can help you swing the deal the right way. This interesting piece highlights how anchoring methods can work for businesses.

9. The Need for Speed

Neuromarketing is useful for detecting customer trends. Whilst companies often seek to portray a sense of safety and security, speed and efficiency may be what customers are after. PayPal discovered this by conducting a study which found that the promise of convenience activated the brain more than security. They used this information to convert more shoppers to their online payment service by emphasizing their speedy payment system.

Takeaway: Whilst it may seem like emphasizing the safety and security of a product will win customers over, you may instead want to get the message across that your product is fast and efficient.

10. Revealing Hidden Responses

When testing a new advertisement, Cheetos used focus groups and EEG to evaluate consumer response.

In this particular ad, a woman played a prank on her friend by filling her white load of laundry with orange Cheetos. Focus Groups reported a dislike for the ad, however when an EEG study was ran with the same participants it revealed that they really liked it. Participants in the focus group were afraid to voice the fact they found the ad humorous in case other members thought they were unkind. In this manner, neuromarketing can reveal hidden thoughts and preferences.

Takeaway: Neuromarketing techniques can reveal hidden responses. To read about another interesting technique capable of illuminating our thought processes check out the IAT.

11. Reward and Punishment

Even video game design has started to use psychological principles in the product design process, specifically using reward and punishment in order to make engaging games, and to keep people playing them. By increasing the reward presented by the game, the action may also increase the levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) within the brain. This neurotransmitter is associated with pleasure and positive associations, which can increase the attachment to keep playing.

Game designers are now even hiring psychologists to help with game design, building psychological principles directly into the game mechanics.

Takeaway: Create a pleasurable experience for consumers to keep them attached, and coming back, to the product.

12. Prototype Testing

Whilst advertisements are obviously vital to influencing consumer behavior, the design of products themselves can also be instrumental.

In a famous neuromarketing case, Hyundai used EEG to test their prototypes. They measured brain activity in response to different design features, and explored which kind of stimulation was most likely to result in buying.

The findings of this study led Hyundai to change the exterior design of the cars themselves.

Takeaway: The growth of neuromarketing has the capability to transform the world we live in.

13. Setting the Right Price

How to price products in a way that tempts consumers is a long-running and contentious question. We are all aware that pricing something at $9.99 instead of $10 is an advertising tactic, but does it work?

An array of new findings are shedding light on this age-old question. One fascinating new piece of information being used by neuromarketers, is that rounded figures are more likely to work alongside emotional decision making, whilst more complex figures work better when the logical brain is engaged. This is because complex numbers make the brain work harder, perhaps convincing it that the complexly priced product is the more logical decision.

Takeaway: Take the neuromarketing approach to setting your price.

14. Website Layout

Neuromarketing techniques are also being employed to inform how websites are designed.

From color schemes, layouts, font size and beyond, neuromarketers are delving into our website preferences. There are now some firm rules of thumb when it comes to creating websites. For example, using certifications, testimonials and social widgets are sure to draw customers in more than those that don't.

Another interesting finding is that newer, horizontal style website layouts are less effective than traditionally vertical. This is because reading webpages from the top down engages the brain, and makes viewers more likely to keep on scrolling.

Takeaway: Use science to inform your website design. For 15 additional ways to engage web traffic take a look at this link.

15. Memorable Headlines

Headlines are one of the first things the viewer sees so obviously they need to stand out and be noticed.

As a result they have been heavily researched, with a new neuromarketing technique called "Hippocampal Headlines" being coined. What does this mean? Researchers at University College London found that when a familiar phrase is slightly altered, our hippocampus is activated, and our attention is piqued. Many bloggers have used the example of Patron and their marketing slogan "Practice makes Patron" as an example of this.

Takeaway: If you surprise the brain your advertising campaign will be much more effective.

We hope you have enjoyed these examples. If you want to learn more about neuromarketing, and to see how iMotions can elevate your neuromarketing research, please feel free to get in touch or download our guide below to see how eye tracking can help you uncover valuable insights.

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15 Powerful Examples of Neuromarketing in Action

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Neuromarketing is taking the world by storm and has been utilized by almost every major company and university in some way or form. Despite such a widespread influence on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuromarketing is, or how it can be used effectively.

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The marketing industry has started using neuroscience, but the results are more glitter than gold

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The marketing industry has started using neuroscience, but the results are more glitter than gold

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The idea behind neuromarketing is that the brain can reveal hidden and profitable truths, but this is misleading https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/28/vaughan-bell-neuroscience-marketing-advertising

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How Steve Jobs turns customers into fanatics!

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How Steve Jobs turns customers into fanatics!

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https://medium.com/@aminekh/the-psychology-of-iphone-a-neuromarketing-strategy-or-an-overdose-f76583ce6502 Also as an addition

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Marketers gaze in envy at brands like Apple. The firm that began with the Mac built some of the first home computers [doh, thanks, alert reader!] has turned their customers into legions of fanatical evangelists. But, without a Steve Jobs at the helm, or with fewer resources than Apple, is building that kind of loyalty possible? I've got good news: while having a visionary and charismatic CEO is a big plus, it isn't necessary to build a fan base, or even a fanatic base. One big secret of Apple's success lies in an experiment conducted 40 years ago.

The Seminal Experiment

Psychologist Henri Tajfel wanted to know how seemingly normal people could commit genocide, and explored how easy or difficult it was to get subjects to identify with one group and discriminate against others. What he found was startling: with the most trivial of distinctions, he could create artificial loyalties to one group, who would then discriminate against those not in that group.

Tajfel tested subjects by having them perform a more or less meaningless task, like choosing between one of two painters or guessing a number of dots shown on a screen. Then, each subject was assigned to a group, ostensibly based on their answer. When the groups were formed and asked to distribute real rewards, they became loyal to their own group and were stingy with the other group. Many variations on this experiment have been performed subsequently, and they have shown that people can develop group loyalty very quickly even in the absence of real differences. Subjects even became emotionally invested in their meaningless groups, cheering for their own group's rewards and mocking the other group

Tajfel's experiment (published in Social categorization and intergroup behavior) led to the theory of social identity, which states that people have an inherent tendency to categorize themselves into groups. They then base their identity (in part) on their group affiliations, and build boundaries to keep other groups separate.

Us vs. Them

In neuromarketing terms, our brains are hardwired to WANT to be in one or more groups. Brands that can be positioned to put their customers into a group will find that their efforts will be enhanced by their customers' own need to belong. In addition, they will likely cultivate a dislike for other brand groups.

Jumping back to Apple, look how they have leveraged an "Us. vs. Them" approach for decades. Their "1984" commercial certainly drew a sharp distinction between the lone, attractive, athletic young woman and the lines of brainwashed drones.

A year later, Apple's creepy and somewhat depressing "Lemmings" commercial continued to push people into one of two camps; they again portraying PC users as blindfolded businesspeople functioning like suicidal rodents following each other off a cliff.

Fast forwarding to today, look at the wildly popular Mac Guy vs. PC Guy ads. These in particular draw a sharp distinction - do you want to be one of the cool kids, or a dork?

Compare People, Not Products

Note the common characteristic of these, and many other, Apple commercials: they focus on the PEOPLE who use each product. These ads convey little or no actual product information, and instead mock PC users while portraying Apple users in a favorable way.

Certainly, other brands have successfully exploited this concept, both directly and indirectly. Could the surprising results that showed Coke-branded cola lit up people's brains more than Pepsi (whether or not the beverage tasted was Coke or Pepsi) be a result of more people thinking of themselves as "a Coke person" vs. "a Pepsi person?" The famous "Pepsi Generation" campaign was all about Pepsi drinkers as a group, though in the long run Coke has held its leading position.

Car and truck makers haven't worked the "us vs. them" angle very much in their ads, but their owner base has certainly picked up on the theme. Truck owners in particular seem to consider themselves part of groups, as shown by the ongoing animosity between Chevy people and Ford people, to say nothing of the clannish owners of HUMMERs.

Our Customers are Different/Better

While the "us vs. them" strategy works better when products are visible to others (cars, apparel, cigarettes, etc.) there is no reason why it couldn't be employed by nearly any brand people feel at least a little attached to. It's critical to make your customers feel different, and to interact with them in a way that makes that more credible than a passing ad slogan.

Godin and Tribes

Seth Godin echoes this thought, but states it in his own terms:

Brand management is so 1999.

Brand management was top down, internally focused, political and money based. It involved an MBA managing the brand, the ads, the shelf space, etc... Tribe management is a whole different way of looking at the world...

What people really want is the ability to connect to each other, not to companies. So the permission is used to build a tribe, to build people who want to hear from the company because it helps them connect, it helps them find each other, it gives them a story to tell and something to talk about...

People form tribes with or without us. The challenge is to work for the tribe and make it something even better. [From Seth's Blog - Tribe Management.]

Do your customers feel like they are part of a group?

Have you been able to make your customers feel different than those of your competition? Does your brand have a tribe? Have you been able to define an "enemy" group that strengthens the cohesiveness of your own? Leave a comment. If I can, I'll feature a success story or two in a subsequent post.

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Revealed: How Steve Jobs Turns Customers into Fanatics - Neuromarketing

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Marketers gaze in envy at brands like Apple. The firm that began with the Mac built some of the first home computers [doh, thanks, alert reader!] has turned their customers into legions of fanatical evangelists. But, without a Steve Jobs at the helm, or with fewer resources than Apple, is building that kind of loyalty [...]

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Volkswagen had the best advertismen t of all carbrands. The advertisment
made the brain of watchers go crazy

Youtube advertisment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n6hf3adNqk

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Griezelig efficiënt lijkt het wel: in plaats van consumentenpanels naar hun mening of voorkeur te vragen, koppelen neuromarketeers hun proefkonijnen aan een hersenscan, een bril die oogbewegingen meet of een paar naalden die de spieractiviteit vastleggen. Dat blijkt een probaat middel tegen sociaal wenselijke antwoorden: nog voordat een mens zijn mening heeft geformuleerd, verraadt zijn lichaam al zijn werkelijke gevoelens. En waar we naar op zoek zijn is natuurlijk de stimulering van het beloningssysteem in de hersenen: dat zorgt voor een koopmoment.

Hersenen meten is weten

De neuromarketeers kunnen aantonen welke delen van de hersenen actief reageren als personen worden blootgesteld aan een plaatje of filmpje. Helaas weten we slechts globaal af te leiden welke emoties exact bij welke hersencellen horen. Maar de combinatie van verschillende technieken heeft al geleid tot opmerkelijke resultaten. De marketingtechniek bestaat pas een jaar of twintig en er werd lang een beetje geheimzinnig over gedaan. Maar sinds kort komen alle grote consumentenmerken ervoor uit: Coca-Cola, Unilever, Heineken, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Google: iedereen schakelt neuromarketeers in om campagnes, verpakkingen en producten te testen.

Meten is gissen

Dat neuromarketing nog niet helemaal volwassen is, bewees Martin Lindstrom, neuromarketinggoeroe en schrijver van , die dacht te hebben vastgesteld dat bezitters werkelijk verliefd waren op hun iPhone. Huncortex insularis werd gestimuleerd door de aanblik en het geluid van Apple's smartphone. En dat eiland in de hersenen is immers verantwoordelijk voor gevoelens van liefde en mededogen? De media kopieerden eerst driftig dat we op onze iPhone verliefd zijn. Vervolgens plaatsen wetenschappers kanttekeningen bij het onderzoek van Lindstrom: het betreffende deel van de cortex reageert bijna continu bij tests, ook bij het luisteren naar aanwijzingen, het richten van je aandacht op om het even wat.

Neuromarketing technieken

De uitkomsten van alle metingen moeten dus voorzichtig worden geïnterpreteerd, maar gelukkig voor de marketeers zijn ze steeds makkelijker en betaalbaarder te vergaren. Met een fMRI-scan, (functionele kernspintomografie) maakt de computer de hersenactiviteit zichtbaar in 3D. Daarvoor moet een proefpersoon wel in een forse MRI-scanner plaatsnemen. Een helm die een EEG (Elektro-encefalogram) produceert, is vriendelijker en kan mee naar de winkel. Het resultaat blijft dan beperkt tot een reeks grafieken. Facial coding, het meten van gezichtsmimiek, is ook een populaire techniek, net als eye tracking: het meten van oogbewegingen. Tot slot worden proefpanels ook aan leugendetectortrucs als het meten van hartslag, ademhaling en zweetproductie onderworpen.

Eyetracking

Bavaria: Hugh scoort

Dat vermoeden hadden we al: de Bavaria-commercials met Playboychef Hugh Hefner in de hoofdrol scoren als een tiet dolle. Neuro Intelligence Group scande de hersenen van een proefpanel, en die reageerden positief op de man en het merk. Met name de nucleus accumbens werd flink gestimuleerd, staat in een fraaie prezi van de case.

NEM: Derksen irriteert

Nog zo'n inkopper, maar meten is weten natuurlijk: de reclames van de Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij werken als geen ander: Frans Bauer en later Johan Derksen maken dat de reclame blijft 'hangen'. Maar: Frans stimuleert de orbital front cortex in veel hogere mate, en die associëren de neuromarketeers met koopintentie en positieve gevoelens. Zie de Prezi van NIG.

Lay's: vies verkoopt

Van kaaszoutje Cheetos krijg je vieze oranje vingers, en wel meer dan 3. Met een EEG stelde NeuroFocus vast dat het consumentenbrein heftig reageert op kaaspoeder dat achterblijft aan je handen. En wel positief: de snackers gingen helemaal op in hun vieze vingers. Producent Frito-Lay zette vervolgens vol in op de viezigheid in zijn reclame.

Heineken: reclame in de ban

Heineken had in 2011 een reclamespot klaar waarin een paar mannen in de bar met hun mobieltjes in de weer zijn. Ze sturen foto's, zo blijkt, naar elkaar. Met EEG, een analyse van de gezichtshuid en het volgen van oogbewegingen werd vastgesteld dat de situatie wel herkenbaar was, maar niet als positief werd beoordeeld. Het merk kwam te klein in beeld, de grap veroorzaakte weinig hersenactiviteit. Next!

Campbell's: stoom slaat aan

Neuromarketing zorgt voor revoluties: de iconische verpakking van Campbell's soepen ging op de schop. Het rode merklogo werd onderin het etiket gezet, elke soep kreeg voortaan zijn eigen kleurcode en een wolkje stoom bleek de juiste emoties op te roepen die bij warme soep horen. De lepel daarentegen verdween, omdat de hersenen daar niet of nauwelijks op reageerden. Andy Warhol zou zich omdraaien in zijn graf.

VW: The Force werkt

Volkswagen scoorde een hit met het kereltje dat dankzij The Force een Passat tot leven wekt. De reclame was voor de Superbowl, het best bekeken en daardoor duurste tv-moment van het jaar in de VS. Neuromarketingfirma Sands Research vergeleek de effecten van Darth Vader met de andere spotjes en de meter sloeg uit zijn kastje. Bekijk de fenomenale video van de meting hier.

Filmtrailers: Pirates winnen

Neuromarketing kan succes voorspellen. Innerscope liet 40 filmtrailers bekijken door meer dan 1000 mensen en mat hun hartslag, ademhaling, zweet en oogbewegingen. De trailers die de heftigste reacties opriepen, hoorden bij de grootste kaskrakers. De grote winnaar was Pirates of the Carribean nummer zoveel, goed voor een eerste weekendomzet van 90 miljoen dollar. Arrr!

Unilever: ijs het lekkerst

De Oostenrijkse Unileverdochter Eskimo heeft het wetenschappelijk bewezen: ijs is lekkerder dan yoghurt is lekkerder dan chocolade. Althans: Neuroconsult bekeek in hoeverre proefpersonen met hun ogen knipperden tijdens het horen van lawaai, terwijl ze ijs, yoghurt of chocola aten. Bij ijs lieten ze zich het minst afleiden, wat de Weense wetenschappers interpreteren als het hoogste welbevinden.

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Griezelig efficiënt lijkt het wel: in plaats van consumentenpanels naar hun mening of voorkeur te vragen, koppelen neuromarketeers hun proefkonijnen aan een hersenscan, een bril die oogbewegingen meet of een paar naalden die de spieractiviteit vastleggen. Dat blijkt een probaat middel tegen sociaal wenselijke antwoorden: nog voordat een mens zijn mening heeft geformuleerd, verraadt zijn lichaam al zijn werkelijke gevoelens.

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Het effect van de Mercedes reclame op de hersenen

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Het effect van de Mercedes reclame op de hersenen

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NeuroAdvertising analysis of Mercedes TV ad - The Neuromarketing Labs

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Making of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBpLMFzTNiM Cool new Bavaria commercial with Hugh Hefner at his Playboy Mansion

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Het effect van de beste reclame van woldcup 

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Het effect van de beste reclame van woldcup 

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http://neuroscience.org.uk/pepsi-vs-coke-a-neuromarketing-study/

Ellen

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Campbell’s Soup Neuromarketing Redux: There’s Chunks of Real Science in That Recipe

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Campbell’s Soup Neuromarketing Redux: There’s Chunks of Real Science in That Recipe

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https://www.fastcompany.com/1558477/campbells-soup-neuromarketing-redux-theres-chunks-real-science-recipe

Ellen

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Frito-Lay Tries to Enter the Minds (and Lunch Bags) of Women

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Frito-Lay Tries to Enter the Minds (and Lunch Bags) of Women

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/business/media/25adco.html

Ellen