What is Neuromarketing

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The neuromarketing has been an important and frequently studied topic by marketing professionals. After all, understanding consumer behavior is a big challenge. Thus, in recent years, psychology has started to help in this regard, with the advancement of neuroscience and studies of the human brain.

Understanding what people feel when they receive a message and how to use it to have better results in their minds has helped to develop new techniques, especially in digital marketing. Competitiveness is increasing, especially with the ease of promoting products and services on digital channels.

In times of big data, where all the consumer's steps are studied and compiled, the application of neuromarketing becomes an important complement, helping to understand how people process information.

In this post, we will talk about what neuromarketing is and how using it can help your company.

Neuromarketing concept

When we combine neuroscience, psychology and marketing, we arrive at the much talked about neuromarketing. This concept and the creation of the term was coined by scientist Ale Smidts, professor of marketing at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, in 2002. The scientist was based on a study from the 1990s, by doctor and professor at Harvard Business School, Gerald Zaitman, who used magnetic resonance imaging to study the human brain, but with a focus on marketing.

Although the first studies were found in the 1950s, it was in the 1980s that investigations of the human brain to certain stimuli began. David Lewis was the first psychologist to really understand and give importance to research related to consumer behavior and its stimuli in the brain and became known, because of this, as the father of neuromarketing.

Thus, neuromarketing is defined as the study of the brain, using medical technologies, with the purpose of studying responses to marketing stimuli.

How neuromarketing works

The starting point of the application is that the entire purchasing decision process begins in people's subconscious. Therefore, research in this field, by allowing access to deeper areas of the brain, helps to understand responses to stimuli from marketing actions.

By using an MRI or any other technologies, it is possible to evaluate what really happens in the brain at the time of these stimuli.

Fields of application of neuromarketing

In reality, there are four main areas where neuromarketing can be applied. One of them is branding, or brand identity. Helping to understand the ideas and sensations that a brand and its identity may have on people is essential for a company to build its name in the market.

Another application is in product design and innovation. Measuring consumer responses to new products or certain versions can help with launches and adjustments of existing products. Testing the effectiveness of a new project before putting it on the market can be a great way to reduce costs and be more assertive.

Advertising also benefits greatly from the use of neuromarketing. It is possible to know how people react to certain advertisements and messages, which can help define more effective advertising paths and options.

But the area where neuromarketing has been most used is digitally. We spend many hours online these days, and this is where its use is most abundant. As adjustments in the digital world are much more dynamic and measurable, this new science applies like a glove in the virtual world.

Ways to apply neuromarketing

The techniques resulting from studies in neuromarketing can be applied in very specific ways.

One of the most used is color psychology, where large companies frequently work, understanding their influences and impacts on consumer behavior. The market for fast food, for example, uses yellow a lot, for example, just as red does in relation to retail. The colors even have already known effects. If we think about blue, for example, we know that it conveys trust and security (used a lot in companies B2B). Red, emotion and passion. In the case of green, serenity and tranquility. Black, luxury. White, transparency.

Another very important application is in storytelling. In recent years, companies have changed their strategies, telling stories instead of convincing the consumer simply by the benefits of their product. Generating added value, using more subjective than objective techniques, the narratives of storytelling make emotional appeal the key point.

Finally, we have an essential application. In the digital world, mental triggers became very well known. The purpose of triggers is to awaken urgency or need. There are different ways of using it that allow for very interesting results in campaigns, especially product launches.

Some tips for your campaigns:

Use images instead of text

Visual content is much better understood by most people. And it attracts more attention. It’s no surprise that social media platforms favor the use of images.

Don't forget color psychology

As we said, use color psychology. When you use them together with the other points, your campaigns become much more assertive.

In photos, use people's faces

Creating bonds is one of the ways to emotionally reach your audience. There are several image banks where you can choose beautiful photos, especially of people. Focusing on the face helps a lot.

Seeking people's attention and being more assertive is a difficult task, but we increasingly have new tools at our fingertips to increase our successes.

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