October 25, 2024– Neuromarketing can be defined in a broad way, but I like to define it as any type of marketing or market research activity that uses the methods and techniques of brain science. Neuromarketing is about solving problems (just like marketing is), this method of marketing just allows us to solve these problems more effectively than other types of research.
Let’s distinguish between neuromarketing and marketing:
Neuromarketing: the newest way to measure how and whether marketing is working. It’s a much better and more realistic understanding on how consumer brains operate. There is a misconception about this field of study, that neuromarketing is a field only devoted to influencing people to buy things. While this is partly true, we must be ethical about the practices we use. Neuromarketing is good for telling us what’s going on in people’s brains while they’re experiencing a marketing stimulus such as any marketing material presented in a controlled research test. It tells us how brains react to marketing stimuli presented in different situational contexts such as in store vs online or various price points etc. It can also tell us how brains translate those reactions to consumer decisions and behaviours such as brand loyalty etc. Neuromarketing is built on three basic fields of brain science:
1) Neuroscience-This is the study of the human brain, its anatomy, functions, and peripheral nervous system that it controls. Neuroscience is understanding brain states and physiological reactions that accompany exposure to brands, products, and marketing materials.
2) Behavioural economics-This is the study of how people make monetary decisions in the real world. It shows us situational influences on consumer choice and behaviour.
3) Social psychology-This is the study of how people think and act in the real or imagined presence of other people. It’s relevant to understanding how conscious and non- conscious brain processes work together in consumer choice and behaviour.
Marketing: this field is devoted to influencing people to like things and ultimately to buy things. Marketers are aware that people have brains and marketing now and always has been steadfast in influencing brains. Of course, there are many specialized areas and mediums of marketing that branch off into other disciplines, but for ease of understanding, we’ll define it as an umbrella term. Marketers are using neuromarketing in many research areas including but not limited to branding, product innovation and package design, shopping and in-store marketing, online shopping experiences, and entertainment. Marketing is changing and will continue to evolve. Don’t get left behind! For additional information, check out my course here: Neuromarketing for Authors Course – Pandamonium Publishing House
