Neuromarketing: Understanding the Science Behind Consumer Decisions

Posted on Aug 04, 2023 at 08:08 PM

Have you ever wondered why Pepsi and Coke machines are always next to each other? Why do food chains like KFC and Mcdonald's always have red in their logos and restaurants? Why do some companies control most of the market while others have excellent products yet few consumers? 

It all boils down to neuromarketing: the science of advertising to the subconscious brain.

Sounds interesting right? Come along for a trip to the psychology of consumerism and how brands use it to attract more customers.

What is neuromarketing?

Neuromarketing is a marketing method that uses neuroscience (the study of the brain) to explain consumer behaviour. It's based on the studies of cognitive responses to different marketing techniques and combines neural and psychological findings with commercial strategies to create scientific marketing trends.

In other words, neuromarketing is a field of neuroscience that aims to understand how the user/consumer would respond to ads and other marketing methods and how to use that insight to improve advertisements in a neuroscientific way.

How does the process of neuromarketing happen?

While the definition of neuromarketing is a bit complicated, the application of neuromarketing techniques is undeniably remarkable; here's how Neuromarketing works:

Picture this, a group of neuroscientists invited Rue to participate in a neuromarketing study to check her responses to different branding logos. A month before that appointment, one company approached the clinic to ask scientists for an evidence-based decision on logo creation. 

Now, Rue is one of the applicants coming to the clinic to participate study of customer reactions to colour combinations. After she goes in, the scientists will give Rue a variety of signals and stimuli while monitoring her brain's activity through a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (FMRI) or EEG. 

By measuring Rue's neurological activities, these researchers will understand her preferences and how she interacts with the company's products. They can afterwards provide the company with the best options to choose from while designing their subsequent advertising campaigns. 

Intriguing, right? 

Human brains are fascinating, and the processes that control our sense of achievement and drive us to favour one product over others are subtle yet effective. 

By studying medical neuropsychology and researching the depth of our brains' behaviours, many companies could discover marketing trends -on social media or through websites- and predict the crowd's reaction to their products.   

I know what you're thinking; where's the catch? 

Although this marketing strategy is one of the top product advertising methods, many have deemed it unethical. While neuromarketing was emerging as the new best marketing method to influence people's purchasing decisions, a few traditional opposers who view neuromarketing as a controversial and unethical marketing method stood up to protest against using this technique. Their primary concern about neuromarketing is that it violates people's privacy and makes them vulnerable to fraud.

Neuromarketing broken down into its essential elements:

As previously mentioned, neuromarketing uses a combination of technologies to measure responses to visual content. Simply put, the goal is to get into the consumer's brain and understand the target audience wants. But what do these technologies test for?

Some of the neural testing measurements that neuro-marketers use are: 

• Psychological responses: An emotional response or verbal explanation (i.e. the subjects explain how they feel to the tester)
• Physiological responses: Eye movements, sensorimotor responses, facial expressions and blood flow to significant brain parts
• Biometric indications: Heart rates and respiration.
  

These metrics translate in different aspects of marketing; for example, eye gaze and movement measurement help in logo design and visual advertisement campaigns, whereas biometrics and mri focus on physical responses like excitement, happiness, and anticipation and can be used in sales and pricing.

Should you try out neuromarketing? 

Neuromarketing has indeed created significant advances in the marketing world. It involves a certain level of manipulation, allowing businesses to control their customers' decisions. 

Whether to practice neuromarketing remains an individual decision every business owner must make. 

However, knowledge of neuromarketing remains essential whatever your decision, as online marketing training courses uk graduates have stated. Understanding the neuroscience behind consumer responses has helped them better grasp marketing and understand customer psychology better.

All in all

Neuromarketing aims to create better communication between companies and their consumers. After all, if you know what your consumers want, you can cater better to their needs, and that's the basic definition of neuromarketing, marketing for the brain.