Neuroscience is the branch of science that deals with the study of the brain and nervous system. It’s often used to study people’s moods, personalities, and decision-making processes. Understanding how people’s moods can be affected, how they come to make decisions, and how their emotions impact their day to day lives can be a very powerful tool in understanding how to market to people.
What is neuromarketing and can it help grow your business?
Here’s what you need to know about neuromarketing techniques and their ability to shape and strengthen your marketing strategy.
Marketing is just a very specific form of communication. Using people’s preferences and considering their backgrounds is part of effectively communicating, so using neuroscience in marketing is not only a smart marketing move, it can help create better, more authentic, and longer lasting relationships with customers. Here’s how neuromarketing techniques and concepts can improve your marketing communication strategies.
Understand the importance of choice:
Consumers like choice. It is empowering to be able to make decisions and exert control in certain areas of life. Too much choice, though, science has shown can be paralyzing. Customers want to feel like there’s a personalized solution for them, but they don’t want to be overwhelmed with endless options. This makes them much less likely to decide on anything. Too many choices usually result in customers not choosing at all.
Keep packaging simple:
Another way to facilitate good, straightforward marketing communication with customers is to use packaging that is attractive without being too complicated. Simple fonts and clean logos resonate with people, even if they aren’t particularly aware of the effect. It’s the science behind why Apple’s logo is so iconic.
Encourage loyalty and trustworthiness:
Another neuromarketing technique to use to enhance the reach of your marketing is to showcase your brand as trustworthy. There are several ways to do this, but they all send out a psychological signal to your customers that your brand is honest. Some examples that companies have used to enhance trust and help influence customers to try their product or service include:
- Risk-free trials or guarantees
- No-hassle warranties
- Industry certifications
You can also help to build trust by establishing yourself as an “authority” on a topic or positioning yourself as a resource and partner to your customer. This can be accomplished through an informative email series or regular blog posts that help answer customer questions or shares relevant news and research beyond simply pushing a product or service.
Use people in your advertising:
People respond well to images of other people. Even if you have a beautiful product with hero shots that show it off, or you offer an intangible service that doesn’t allow for model photography to show it in use, it’s still very beneficial to use people and faces in your marketing. This helps customers see themselves as your customer. A face helps to “humanize” your brand in a way that makes people want to engage with it more.
In addition to using some of these basic neuromarketing techniques, you can help figure out what resonates with your specific customers in several ways. The first is to A/B test your marketing materials like landing pages and emails. Do certain colors perform better? Are customers drawn to one image over another, leading to more engagement? You can also use customer surveys to help gather more information about your customers’ motivations, intentions, and decision-making.
Understanding what customers respond to and why is the basis for every marketer’s job. Using basic neuroscience to enhance marketing can help marketers understand more about customer behavior and motivation and help them make increasingly informed and effective marketing decisions. Honing in on what makes your customers tick can ultimately help you compete in an increasingly competitive business landscape.
