Have you ever wondered what is really happening in a client’s brain when he chooses a product or service? If you had the opportunity to influence his decision making while creating your content, would you do it? This is where neuromarketing comes in.
If you understand the brain mechanisms involved in customer choice, you will maximize the return on your web marketing strategy investment, all while guiding your target towards your products and services. Ultimately, understanding their behavior will help you increase your profits. How? Read on.
1. What is neuromarketing?
A term first used in the early 2000s, neuromarketing is the bridge that links two distinct but closely related disciplines: cognitive neuroscience and marketing. It provides valuable data on consumer behavior and the reactions of the human brain in the face of marketing stimuli. Clearly, this is why we prefer certain brands or companies over others, and how a company can improve its persuasion tools.
To collect such data, researchers use a variety of tools to decipher the recurring mechanisms of the human brain when faced with a specific stimulus.
Neuromarketers use, among other things:
– Facial movement decoding;
– Eye movement monitoring (eye tracking);
– Electrical activity on the surface of the skin, including an individual’s involuntary reaction opposite a stimulus
– EEG, which measures the electrical activity of the brain;
– Functional MRIs that displays brain activity.
2. Neuromarketing in practice: some examples
The key to success is to produce content that affects what researchers call our “reptilian brain”, the kingpin of neuromarketing. It is the gatekeeper of our innate reflexes, which first causes immediate reactions and then behaviors.
This is why the consumer is naturally drawn to articles with snappy titles, special offers that appeal to his impulsive buyer instinct, moving images, etc. because his reptilian brain is in action.
A few examples of the use of neuromarketing:
- eBay: with its online payment company PayPal, eBay has realized that the need for speed of service aroused more interest than the need for the security of banking information.
- Mercedes-Benz: this car company launched an advertising campaign in which the front of the cars was shaped like human faces, appealing directly to the “pleasure” sensors of the brain. The brand recorded a 12% sales increase in just one quarter.
- A homeless man’s sign: On the advice of a neuromarketing specialist that passed by him, a homeless man changed the message on his sign from“Homeless. Please help me.” to “What if you were starving?”. The beggar collected $60 within a few hours as opposed to $2 at the same time the previous day, simply by arousing the emotions of passersby instead of merely begging.
3. Why use neuromarketing to create content?
Neuromarketing allows you to precisely anticipate the behavior of your future customers through well-written content.
- Formulate your unique selling proposition so you make an impression.
You just need one finely formulated sentence on your website to accelerate your growth revenue!
There is indeed an essential element that is often overlooked in creative writing texts: the ability to tell the difference between the resulting gain or loss avoided in the purchase of a product, and a “prevention” type message versus a “promotion” type message.
In practical terms, what does this mean?
A “prevention” type message is used for the sale of products/services that solve a problem or prevent its occurrence.
A “promotion” type message is used for the sale of products/services to obtain a benefit, to improve a situation, in short, to enjoy something new that you didn’t have before.
Neuromarketing allows you to distinguish, depending on your unique selling proposition, which type of message will attract your ideal client more.
Example: if you sell cars, you can choose to focus on their engine durability through the kilometers (promotion) or the lower cost of maintenance (prevention).
- Convince your target that they are making the right decision in choosing your business over your competitors.
Again, it just depends on the products/services you offer, as mentioned above, if you primarily offer a benefit or if you solve a problem.
Example:
- a) you sell an energy drink. So it makes sense to create “promotional” messages because the consumer will have to buy a benefit.
You’d most likely choose the message“Increase your energy!” (gain obtained) instead of“Be less tired”(reduced loss). The gain obtained has a higher perceived value than relief from an already existing problem.
- b) you sell a drink to prevent the clogging of arteries. It makes sense to create “prevention” messages as the consumer wants to avoid this health problem.
You’d most likely chose the message“Don’t miss out on the chance to protect against clogged arteries” instead of “Fight against clogged arteries”. The consumer will perceive the first message as an opportunity to be quickly seized, unlike the second message that will seem “far off” to him (in the sense that, since he’s not yet ill, he will not feel immediately affected by the message).
- Sensitize and educate the prospects who will become your future customers.
Thanks to a carefully thought out content plan, you can, through the articles and documents that you will share, sensitize your readers and better inform them on:
– your industry and its operation;
– available services (even if they aren’t necessarily yours);
– the uses and benefits of certain products;
– useful (and free) advice, etc.
Examples: publish before/after pictures following the use of your products (this idea works for more than just weight loss products!); publish informative “step by step” type articles to make the reader want to learn ever more and acquire more knowledge about your industry.
4. How to create content using neuromarketing?
Among the many ways to use neuromarketing in content creation, we will highlight 3 relevant tracks.
- Provide an immediate benefit that will trigger buying
Example: Would you like to get a $10 discount coupon today or a $50 coupon in six months?
The idea here is that when consumers have a choice between two similar rewards, they prefer the one that they can get earlier and faster, even if it is worth less in monetary terms.
Another example: You encourage your customers to recommend you to their followers. In general, companies ensure that the followers in question have signed a contract before the customer obtains his reward. He will therefore be less motivated to refer the company since there will not necessarily be immediate gratification.
- The systematic use of a reference comparison
The consumer will tend to rely on the first information he receives as a basis for comparison, even if the information in question is itself based on senseless information.
Example: The most telling example is that of Apple when Steve Jobs introduced the iPad for the first time. When he announced the price, he suggested that the device should cost $999 (why and on what basis??), taking care to show the amount on a giant screen for several minutes. Then he continued by announcing that “The IPad will not cost $999 but only $499″ with the new price displayed on the screen! (watch the announcement clip).
- Avoid losing out on a deal or making a bad one
Loss aversion is the tendency of consumers preferring to avoid losing out on an exchange rather than winning it. Usually we find this trend in campaigns that offer a “last chance” or “last minute opportunities” to ensure that the customer never misses an opportunity to purchase the product/service using the notion of scarcity.
Example: You are at the supermarket, two options are available:
– buy a bottle of juice for $5 and get 20% discount
– or buy a bottle of juice for $5 and not getting the discount but instead receiving a gift: a special travel size bottle.
If you choose the second option is because you have been motivated by what psychologists call “the loss aversion” because you know that the gift will not always be offered.
Another example: limited time offers, such as a free 30 day software trial. Once you get used to the product, the likelihood that you buy it at the end of the trial period is higher, and you will not necessarily be put off by the price.
In short, take the time to think about the decision making processes of your prospects, depending on your industry. This will help you develop marketing content that is all your own, triggering your target’s positive emotions, and using neuromarketing to your favor.
Do you have other examples of neuromarketing practices that act as a lever to increase your conversion rate? What are they? Leave us a comment!
