Do you know that it is possible now to hack into the mind of consumers and influence their buying decisions? Well, if you don't believe in it then you must study more about the term “Neuromarketing”.
Neuromarketing is an emerging field of marketing that uses the application of neuroscience to do marketing. It is the measurement of neural and physiological signals to gain insights into customers' preferences and decisions which can help in creating advertisements, pricing, product designing or development, and other marketing strategies.
The two main tools of scanning the brain are EEG (Electroencephalogram) and fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging). For example - By using (fMRI) or other medical technologies to research the brain's response to marketing stimuli.
Responses and Behavioural Changes- Neuromarketing helps marketers to directly measure customers' underlying thoughts, intentions and feelings. Neurologists use the fMRI or EEG to measure changes that occur in parts of the brain and to learn why consumers are making a particular decision? And What part of the brain is telling them to make this decision?
With Neuromarketing, marketers can understand what the consumer responds to, whether it was the shade of the packaging, the sound the box generates when shaken, or the possibility that they will have something their co-consumers don't.
Improve packaging- Neuromarketing enables the companies to make changes in the designing of their products and developing it according to the consumer's need. Through Neuroscience, marketers can understand which product is grabbing their attention? Which confuses them? What is the speed of recognition? and what is the level of engagement?
Set Pricing- By learning about the responses of consumers after telling them the prices, whether it is positive or negative. It can help the marketers to set the prices of the products and services they are offering.
Improve Ads and Branding- Neuromarketing reveals the general emotional responses like happiness, surprise, fear and many more. Through this, a marketer can comprehend whether the brand image and advertisements of a particular company are good or bad. Thus, they can improve advertisements and branding, according to the information collected by conducting fMRI or EEG.
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The researchers of Neuroscience have started studying whether the brain can be used to affect buying decisions but it is also a field of study that generates ethical concerns. Although neural control may strike some as frightening, even tragic, critics call attention to that, they say - advertisers already use different strategies to influence customers without their insight.
One of the greatest concerns is an absence of transparency around what's going on in neuroscience labs at significant companies, especially tech giants like, Google, Facebook and Amazon. A few organizations are now under investigation for running tests without the consent of the customer.
Neuromarketing can be used in the future to influence consumer behaviour. It can help marketers to understand what exactly a consumer wants? How can they make changes in their respective products or services?
Below mentioned are some of the ways neuroscience might be used -
1. Marketers would be able to segment their audience in a better way. Traditionally, they used to segment based on age, wealth, etc., but now they can also segment consumers by brain differences.
2. Our Brain activity is affected by neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) and neuromodulators (brain hormones such as cortisol, testosterone and oxytocin) that enable brain cells to communicate with one another. Neurologists are currently examining how consumer behaviour changes when these neuromodulators are manipulated.
3. Neurologists are using the technique of temporary neural inhibition, in which they try to stimulate or depress nerve cells in the brains of individuals temporarily. It will help to alter the responses of individuals so that they can overcome their fears or disgust over some things. For example - to make people eat food made from insects, which is helpful because it is a good source of protein with less environmental harm.
Neuromarketing isn’t a new concept and it isn’t going out of fashion anytime soon. Additionally, the enormous amount of data and easy access to one’s behavioural patterns has made neuromarketing a crucial strategy. However, planning and execution still remain the fundamentals of any marketing strategy.