Cultus
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Marketing has become far more than just a strategy to sell your product. It has become a real science and as such it has its branches into psychology and neurology alike. These two sciences can be used to influence the clients and customers to choose your product over the next one. With that in mind, it is useful to know a thing or two behind this amazing new feature of marketing: neuromarketing.
What is the idea behind neuromarketing?
The idea behind this neuromarketing is that people have certain parts of the brain called “pleasure centers” that can be stimulated. When stimulated, people it fairly influences their decision making. Therefore, this process can be taken advantage of when people are making decisions about purchases if their “pleasure centers” are stimulated. It has been shown that if you associate the certain brand with the certain feeling or sense, you are more likely to buy that brand and stay loyal to it.
How are brands associated with positive feelings?
This can be done by using something called the somatic marks. Somatic marks can be thought of as of the stamps in our brains made by experiencing certain sensations and associating them with different situations, persons or things. Remember the cozy feeling that a smell of a freshly baked pie evokes in you, together with sweet childhood memories? That is exactly the psychological mechanism that a business can use to make the same pleasant associations.
Which are good examples in practice?
A very good example of using neuromarketing is using the sense of smell. Excellent way of putting this into practice is done by the Hayat hotels. This amazing chain of hotels uses the same smell in their lobbies all over the world. Since the lobby smells familiar, it smells like something you know, just like home. Therefore, you feel safe in a place that is generally strange to you, and unconsciously, you choose what you know – in this case, a room in Hayat.Another way of tapping into our senses is by using music. In supermarkets, they play different types of music to change the behavior of the customers. There is music to speed people up, music to calm them down or to make them stay longer in the supermarket. Playing classical music in the London tube has decreased mugging, violence and crowds significantly.
How can you use neuromarketing?
Think about the senses and how you can use them. This means that you want people to associate you with a certain color, texture, sound and/or smell. If you are doing most of your marketing online, use distinctive and carefully chosen color for your site. If you are sending out mail to your clients, a nice, special texture of the paper, distinctive font and perhaps even scented paper should be taken into consideration. In retail, you can also use distinctive air fresheners, color the walls and the furniture in your shop in your color and uniform the staff. However, be extra careful about using air fresheners and scents. Some of them may cause allergies or really irritate people with asthma.
Neuromarketing may sound like something too “sciency” or too farfetched. However, when you think about it a bit, you will see that it makes perfect sense and that it really works. Just take a walk in your favorite mall and see some of these mechanisms in action. You will be surprised.
About the Author:
Diana Smith is an author of this article. She is a passionate blogger interested in business promotion through Promo planet, promotional items and new ways of advertising.