“Neuromarketing is not manipulation; it is Mindful Merchandising” – Melissa Bolton. With the rising degree of competition and the emergence of the digital era, marketers are constantly on the lookout for new ways to tap into the untapped potential of technological innovation to tap into consumers’ right nerve and sell their exposure. Marketing was once thought to be a blend of art and science. It allows for a lot of creativity and perceptions while also adhering to a set of laws and principles. Neuromarketing is a feather added to the scientific component of marketing, where marketers use neuroscience to access the brain functioning of their target customer so that they can competitively position their brands right there.

Neuromarketing is a relatively new notion, having emerged in the last decade as a result of solid research-based investigations. It all started with a simple knowledge of how feelings and emotions, followed by ideas and actions, might affect how a human neuro system perceives any particular product or service. It is founded on the assumption that if a marketer fully comprehends this problem, it will predict buy intentions for the same accurately. If it can function in the way that marketers believe it can, it will undoubtedly be beneficial to them. If this information is correct, it will be precious in subsequent marketing actions such as integrated marketing campaigns (IMC) and product, price, and channel strategies, among others.

NeuroMarketing:

Professor Ale Smidts is credited with coining “neuromarketing” back in 2002. Scanning eye movements, brain scanning, physiological tracking, and other approaches are used in neuromarketing strategies. fMRI and EEG are two key technologies for brain scanning; however, they are mostly utilized for medical treatment to look at how the human brain moves in fractions of seconds. This is a costly strategy for marketers to use on their large consumer base, and it also necessitates medical competence and approval. Other ways to measure consumers’ physiological proxies include scanning eye movements, body language, facial expressions, skin reactions, emotional responses, and heart-beat and respiration tracking studies. When researchers discovered the impact of various IMC on the human brain and other physical organs in the mid-2000s, it became a new area to investigate for marketers. It means that marketers can now assess the influence of their advertising and promotions on consumers’ minds and bodies and forecast their future behaviour. Various trials have already made significant contributions to research in terms of product, brand, pricing, value for money, and so on. In addition, researchers conducted a number of studies in order to uncover some levels of the consumer’s mental calculation of goods, brands, and price.

Scope of Neuro-Marketing:

However, because it is backed by solid results obtained by many academics in the past, this cynicism is projected to dissipate quickly. There are two main causes for this futuristic outlook. First, science will advance at a breakneck pace, resulting in an avalanche of new study evidence. Second, researchers will join the corporate team working with brands once they are more confident in the significance of the outcomes. All of this in the hopes of obtaining more accurate results than standard market research methodologies can provide? Traditional market research methods have a major flaw: because they are based on interviews/surveys, participants are frequently intentionally or unwittingly biased when answering research questions. Moreover, the information gathered was unable to predict sales statistics. Market testing can compensate for these flaws, but it can be costly to conduct, risking competitors learning about new products. It can only be done late in the development phase when production and distribution infrastructure is already in place.

Is it really necessary for marketers to be taught that people’s brains react differently to BrandA and BrandB to appreciate the value of branding? Big companies like TATA, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Frito-Lay, Vodafone, HP, Mars, Hyundai, Kimberly Clark, Cheeto, and PayPal are among large companies adopting neuro research to gauge the effectiveness of marketing, advertising, and packaging.

The findings and scope have been encouraging thus far. However, we cannot ignore the reality that neuroscience is complex, that there is a lack of confidence in the results, and that it is not easy to use neuroscience in marketing because it deals with a large consumer base.

Happy Reading!

Dr. Anuradha Yadav
Assistant Professor
DSCE-MBA