The different dimensions of Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing can be seen as a rather learned term at first glance. However, it is part of our lives and we have all been infected with it. It is simply the application of neuroscience in marketing. To be clearer, neuromarketing represents research that studies consumers’ cognitive and sensorimotor responses to particular stimuli. Stimuli that are often associated with the likelihood of purchasing the product or service represented by the marketing message. For this reason, companies have recently been using this new area of marketing to subtly influence consumer behaviour. 

Emotion is at the heart of neuromarketing. A customer who buys is a customer who has felt feelings towards your offer. So it is through this customer experience and the attention you pay to it that you will be able to discover new points of view for your brand. Indeed, neuromarketing methods can often help you discover the triggers of emotional responses. Through these observations, you will be able to implement content that will provoke higher consumer engagement.

Currently, some companies are riding the neuromarketing wave. They have a good understanding of what this new field of marketing can bring them. In particular, understanding why a customer chooses a competitor’s product or service and how to influence consumer buying behaviour.

Neuromarketing is universal since it offers research techniques that companies can extend internationally, using comparable methods, and thus obtain similar results.  This is a significant advantage for companies based all over the world. Especially when it comes to multinationals with a global presence, or high-potential start-ups that want to expand rapidly internationally.

For years, brands have been using psychological advertising methods to deceive the consumer’s mind. For example, to increase sales, marketers advertise products at specific prices such as €9.99 instead of €10. They have even completely removed the euro sign. Seeing a euro sign unconsciously shifts people’s attention to loss, not gain.

When a potential client looks at something, whether it’s a poster, logo or packaging, it activates a range of associated ideas in their mind. Neuroscientists call it the priming effect. Some of these ideas that neuro techniques can measure relate to the feelings and concepts that an advertisement or brand logo can trigger in us. Some of them activate goals within us, often without our knowledge. For example, the desire to afford something expensive may have been triggered earlier in the day by seeing a poster for a luxury brand.

When you start asking people to express how they feel about something, they begin to examine, revise and rationalize their feelings, so that you no longer get the pure original reaction. Sometimes consumer behaviour research goes against what we used to think. One study found that too many choices can actually deter potential customers. Using different types of configurations, they found that displays containing a wide range of options were less likely to drive customers to stop.

There are other subtle ways marketers use to get their customers to make a purchase. Tips that involve understanding how to influence the outcome of the consumer’s choice simply from the choice of colors. For example, products with light colors sell best when placed on the top shelf, while products with darker colors perform better on the bottom shelf.

To improve the effectiveness of its marketing strategy, especially in the physical sense, the possibility of considering a sensory approach can be adopted. Pleasant smells can redirect a customer’s attention and create a whole new experience. Subtle changes in physical environments can have a drastic impact on sales.

By exploring eye tracking models, we can determine what customers see in advertisements, on specific products or even in physical stores. By understanding how customers look, it is possible to redirect their attention and encourage them to see and interact with their brand. By taking a group of participants for a study, we can analyze the natural look of customers to determine what stands out and attracts their attention. For example, do participants focus on or overlook a specific color, line of text, or image? If study participants are in a store, do they pass an advertisement without making a commitment? The results can change the way marketing is displayed online or in a store. The main thing is to focus on what the customer finds attractive and meet their inner desires.

Consumers pay more attention to light objects when they hear high-pitched sounds, and similarly, they pay attention to dark objects when they hear high-pitched sounds. Adding a scent to your store can invigorate memories and excitement, and changing lighting can help highlight specific products.

It has been found that a prospect who can sign up for a free trial is more likely to become a customer than one who has to submit credit card details. To build trust with customers, barriers to entry need to be lowered. For marketers, this means designing intuitive Web forms, limiting the number of steps in a registration process, and optimizing the customer journey.

With so much content available online, it is becoming increasingly difficult to capture the attention of users. It is therefore important not to let CTAs (Call To Action) such as additional links, downloads, product redirects, etc. get lost in text-rich content. Therefore, take advantage of image banners with clickable buttons and overlay images whenever possible for maximum relativity.

Never underestimate the power of a smile. Laughter is simply contagious. Laughter and similar images of happiness release endorphins in the brain and promote unity and social inclusion. That’s why companies need to add personality to their brand with a smile. The image of a smiling person influences a customer’s willingness to spend. In revisiting patterns of eye movement, research has also revealed that customers are more likely to focus their attention on a smile rather than a frown.