Measuring the Buying Brain

[C. Dianne Zweig Editor's Desk]

 Measuring the Buying Brain

 

Dr. A.K. Pradeep, CEO of NeuroFocus, Inc.

Each year a trillion dollars is spent on communicating to and persuading the human brain, yet few understand how the brain really works—what’s attractive to it, how it decides what it likes and doesn’t
like, and how it chooses to buy or not buy the infinite variety of
products and services presented to it every day. Neuromarketing
research is revealing a myriad of fascinating insights that help improve
the effectiveness of every aspect of clients’ brands, products,
packaging, in-store marketing, advertising, and entertainment content.

Synchronized Senses
Among the five senses, vision is the most pronounced and the brain will discount information that is not in concert with the visual stimuli it
receives. The sense of smell is quite powerful too, as it is the most
direct route to emotions and memory storage. Being linked with a
pleasant, iconic smell can significantly improve a product’s success in
the marketplace.

Brains are also quite empathic and it is a neural “monkey see; monkey do” mechanism that can help companies around the world create and market products and services that consumers will find naturally
compelling. Mirror neuron theory says that when someone watches an
action being performed, he or she performs that action in his or her own
brain. Activating this mirror neuron system is one of the most
effective ways to connect with consumers. Consider how watching a close
partner handle a stressful conversation can cause your blood pressure
to rise; how seeing a bicyclist zoom down a hill will elevate your heart
rate and give you a feeling of alertness and possibly even a mirrored
endorphin jolt.

Defining Differences
While human brains are remarkably similar, there are some fundamental differences such as age and gender that affect how we respond to
stimuli.

The Boomer Brain: There are 44 million baby boomers in the U.S. who control 77% of all financial assets. After age 50, the brain becomes less able to screen out distractions, presenting a huge
implication and a great opportunity for marketers. A key difference
between the older and the younger brain involves the amygdala, the brain
area devoted to primal emotions, which in young people responds to
positive and negative stimuli, but in older people, more strongly to
positive stimuli. Another key trait among older adults is the tendency
to overlook the negative. It’s called “preferential processing,” and
several studies have highlighted it. They indicate that, when presented
with a negative message, older brains can “delete” the NOT and remember
it as a DO over time. A real world example of how this neuroscience
discovery is useful for marketers is when crafting a message for the
Boomer Brain, say “Remember the milk”, not “Don’t forget the milk”.

The Female Brain: Despite the fact that women’s spending capacity has increased to a whopping $13 trillion annually worldwide—more than the GDPs of China and India combined—it has only
been in the last decade that the female brain has been studied in any
depth and detail. Marketers are waking up to the fact that the female
brain has four times as many neurons connecting the right and left
hemispheres, greatly enhancing its ability to process information
through both rational and emotional filters—a fact that must not be
ignored when crafting a message.

The Mommy Brain: Pregnancy and motherhood present women with the most significant changes their brains will experience in their adult lives. Importantly, those changes will last their entire
lifetimes. The highly evolved Mommy Brain is largely responsible for our
status at the top of the food chain, and mothers control 80-85% of all
household spending. The millions of Moms across the country are an
army—mobile, nimble, vigilant, in touch like never before through social
media, and powerful—if your product or messages hit home with them, you
have won over powerful allies who will support you through instant
communication networks beyond anything you could create for yourself.
But the reverse is also true.

Precise Measurement
The group of world-class neuroscientists, neurophysiologists and marketing experts at NeuroFocus measure and analyze actual brainwave
activity across the full brain using a combination of
electroencephalographic (EEG) testing and sophisticated eye tracking
equipment that records exactly where a person is looking while
experiencing a stimulus. This combination allows precise measurement of
exactly how a person’s brain is responding to a certain stimulus in
terms of three primary NeuroMetrics: Attention, Emotional Engagement,
and Memory Retention, and correlate that with exactly where the person’s
eyes are focused at that same millisecond. The results are
unprecedented in depth, accuracy, and detail, and unequalled by any
other form of research.

Companies around the world, including the largest and most successful global giants, are increasingly turning to EEG-based full brain neurological measurements because they offer far more accuracy,
reliability, and actionable results than conventional market research
methods alone such as surveys and focus groups. In the near future
manufacturers, marketers, retailers and content creators that take the
time to know the real consumer at the subconscious level will survive
and prosper. Those that treat consumers like a number in a survey or a
nameless wonder in a focus group will perish.

^[2]NeuroFocus CEO Dr. A. K. Pradeep, is the author of the forthcoming book, The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind, which provides the knowledge and the tools necessary to help marketers understand how to appeal to the subconscious on a very practical level by covering the five major areas of neuromarketing practice: brand, products, packaging, in-store marketing, and advertising.

To learn more about the book and to discover how neuroscience is impacting the making, selling and buying of projects, visit NeuroFocus.com ^[2].

Article printed from Nielsen Wire: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire

URL to article: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/measuring-the-buying-b...

[Dena]

This is a good article but I wish it would have been a little less vague and gave more productive ideas on how to market such as pictures and descriptions that would attract buyers.

[C. Dianne Zweig Editor's Desk]

Perhaps as members read this artice they can offer their own ideas.

Dianne

[Dena]

That would be great, guess I should add any if I can think of some. :0) I will think about this and hopefully there will be some good ideas to share among us. Dena

[C. Dianne Zweig Editor's Desk]

Right now, my "Female Brain" is M U S H

dianne

[Suzie Fredregill]

I read an article that citrus odors make shoppers linger and therefore, increase sales. I purchased Bath & Bodyworks fresheners for my booths when I was at an antique mall, and I did fairly well financially. The same article said baking smells (cinnamon, vanilla) make people hungry so they will quit shopping to seek food, so if you're in food service, that's good. If you're in the antiques business, not so....

Try it and let us know if it works for you! Good luck!
Suzie