You’ve probably heard that it’s important to focus on your customers’ emotions, not just their intellect. That’s because the brain has two primary systems for processing information: the rational system and the emotional system.
The rational system is where we think about things rationally, like how many calories are in a burrito or whether you should file for bankruptcy. The emotional system handles all of our feelings and intuitions and it plays a huge part in determining how we make decisions.
When someone experiences an emotion that triggers memories from the past or creates expectations about future events, this is called “hot cognition” because it gets us excited and motivated to take action right away (or makes us feel mad as hell).
Hot cognition is more likely to occur when there’s something at stake like money or power which means that marketers who can tap into hot cognition can really get people motivated!
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Neuromarketing merges neuroscience and marketing to understand consumer behavior. |
| 2. Cognitive biases and brain responses influence purchasing decisions. |
| 3. Neuroimaging techniques reveal subconscious reactions to marketing stimuli. |
| 4. Using color psychology can evoke specific emotions and actions. |
| 5. Crafting persuasive messages based on brain science can enhance marketing strategies. |
| 6. Ethical considerations arise regarding subconscious manipulation. |
| 7. Applying neuromarketing principles can benefit businesses of all sizes. |
| 8. Continuous research in neuroscience contributes to evolving marketing techniques. |
| 9. Understanding the human brain is essential for effective modern marketing. |
| 10. Personalization and engagement driven by brain insights lead to successful campaigns. |
1. The Rule Of Seven
First, we’ll look at how to use the rule of seven to your advantage.
The rule of seven is a marketing rule of thumb that states that the average person can only remember seven things at once. The same principle applies to cognitive functions: there are only so many things you can do or pay attention to at any given time.
The science behind this comes from research conducted by Miller and Duffus in 1939, who found that people were able to hold six items in short term memory (STM) and two items long term memory (LTM).
These findings were later confirmed by George Miller in 1956 when he said: “We seem unable to cope with more than about three chunks of information at one time.”
Although there is some debate as to whether it should be referred to as STM or LTM, this study has become known as “Miller’s Law”.
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2. Less Is More
Simplicity: Customers are overwhelmed with information, and you don’t want to add yours to the pile. It doesn’t make sense for businesses to provide more than what their customers need or want.
Instead, they should focus on providing only what’s necessary in a way that’s easy for the user to understand and makes sense in the context of their lives at that moment in time.
For example, if someone comes into your store looking for help with something specific (like eye shadow), you don’t need to show them everything else under the sun;
Just show them one product that meets those criteria (in this case, I’m going with a nice purple shade). The point is: keep it simple!
Clarity: You need clarity across all channels social media profiles/pages/etc., website copywriting (including web page design), videos, etc. but most importantly in emails because this is where many people spend much of their time these days reading them!
So even though there may be an opportunity cost associated with including too many links within emails…
It can also lead recipients down less relevant paths which might negatively impact future purchases or sales opportunities because they’re left feeling confused about where exactly was my order placed again?
This confusion can lead new customers away from doing business with us again altogether so we must always remember how important it is that our emails contain clear instructions along with easy access points back into our websites through links embedded within each message sent out via email marketing campaigns.”
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3. The Aesthetic-Usability Effect
The aesthetic-usability effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to prefer aesthetic designs over less attractive ones. It’s one of the most powerful cognitive biases in marketing, and it can be used to increase sales by making your product more appealing.
The best way to use this effect is by applying two principles:
(1) appeal to people’s innate (or learned) desire for simple, elegant beauty and they will attribute their positive feelings about the usability experience; and (2), you must make sure your design does make your product easier or faster to use.
4. Balance Preference, Expectation & Reality
The fourth and final lesson is to balance preference, expectation, and reality. When we think of our preferences, expectations, and beliefs about marketing it’s important not to get too caught up in them since they can distort our thinking.
Expectations are based on memories of past experiences or information we’ve gathered about an object or situation.
They’re largely formed by what we see around us, but they can also be shaped by what others tell us and even advertising campaigns that have been designed specifically for shaping behavior.
In most cases, these sources provide us with a balanced perspective on the world (at least when it comes to rational thought).
However, when it comes to making decisions related to consumption this becomes problematic because people often make poor choices based on their expectations – whether those expectations are reasonable or not!
5. Closure & The Gestalt Principles
The closure is the process of filling in gaps in incomplete patterns. It’s a powerful tool for marketers, designers, artists, and writers alike.
It’s so common that you probably don’t realize you’re doing it yourself! When you hear someone talking about their new job or read an article about stock market trends on one of your favorite sites, chances are good that closure will be at work:
Filling in the gaps between what we already know to be true and our understanding of new information.
In this section, we’ll learn about how closure works and how marketers can use it to sell more stuff (or tell better stories).
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6. Contrast & Association
Contrast is a powerful tool for marketers because it works in both traditional and non-traditional ways. Contrast can be used to communicate your message more clearly, or it can be used to create a sense of mystery.
When you’re looking at an ad if the design has a lot going on in the background that draws your attention away from what’s important (the product).
Then marketers will help you focus by giving you something else to look at: another element in the foreground that balances out the background elements so they don’t distract from the item being sold.
This type of contrast is called “figure/ground.” It’s one of many types of contrasts we’ll talk about here today.
7. The Psychology Of Color
While color is not the most important element in marketing, it can be an important part of a brand’s image. Studies have shown that different colors cause people to respond differently. This is especially true when applied to certain types of products and brands.
For example, red has been shown to increase appetite while blue can enhance relaxation and calmness.[2]
In terms of branding, several studies show how specific colors affect us psychologically on a cognitive level or even subconsciously and these effects can influence our purchasing behaviors.[3]
There are some basic rules when it comes to choosing the right color for your company or product though:
- Consider your audience
- Choose between opposites or complementaries (i.e., use warm colors if you’re targeting women)
8. Do Not Disturb? Not So Fast…
> Do not disturb? Not so fast…
If you’re selling a product or offering a service, you’ve got one shot at getting your message across and engaging people to take action.
However, how we communicate has changed drastically over the years and even more so in recent years with the rise of social media and other digital platforms.
A huge contributor to this change is how much time we spend online and being bombarded by messages that can often be overwhelming or distracting when trying to focus on something else (e.g., work, school).
As such, there has been an increased focus on preserving users’ mental state while receiving communications from marketers, and rightfully so!
This trend has led us here: marketers need to consider their audiences’ emotional state as part of their strategy.
While it may seem like common sense that we should avoid disturbing our audience’s mental state whenever possible by not sending them irrelevant emails for example (because who wants another email?).
It’s important for companies like yours too because if you’re sending out content that isn’t relevant then even if someone does open up your email they’ll likely just delete it without reading because why would they want something uninteresting?
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9. Visual Hierarchy & The Four-Step Progression
Visual hierarchy is the order in which a viewer perceives the elements on a page. It’s determined by the size, contrast, and proximity of these elements on a page.
The visual hierarchy affects how your content is perceived by viewers and influences their decision-making process.
Visual hierarchy is one of the most important elements that determine whether or not visitors engage with your content and why they leave without doing so.
This is why we’ll start our journey into marketing for UX with an exploration of how to use visual hierarchy to create better user experiences (UX).
10. Optimize For Mobile Viewing
With mobile users representing a growing proportion of your audience, your website must be optimized for mobile viewing.
It’s not just about making sure your site works on mobile devices; you also need to take into account how people, in general, are interacting with content on their phones and tablets.
In general, people prefer to interact with brands on a personal level: they want to feel connected and engaged with the brand they’re interacting with.
This means that if you can make an emotional connection between what you’re selling and what the user wants, or even make them feel like they’re part of an exclusive club by providing special offers only available through certain channels.
Then you’ll have a better chance at getting them interested in buying from you or signing up for newsletters or whatever else it is that drove them back towards your site in the first place.
11. Animation Is Motion Is Attention Is Emotion
- Animation can be used to make a website more engaging.
- It can also be used to help users understand the content, or to help them navigate the site.
- Animation can make a website more memorable because it’s unique in that it creates its own story and adds personality.
- It can also be used to build trust between you and your customers.
For example, if you are using animation on a landing page for an e-commerce store, people may feel more comfortable sharing their contact information with you because they know that you’re using animation that is fun and lighthearted (which implies that you care about them).
12. The Power Of White Space And Simplicity
White space is a powerful tool in marketing. It’s the space between elements on a page or screen, and it can be used to create a sense of calm, balance, simplicity, and clarity. It’s all about creating balance in both your design and content strategy.
A great way to get started with white space is by adding more white space where you already have some. Take that website header or email subject line that you’re trying to work with;
Remove any unnecessary text from it (including “Click Here,” “Read More,” etc.) and see how that affects the overall message being conveyed by what remains: does it feel too cluttered? Could there be more? If so great! You’ve found someplace where white space could be applied.
For example: Let’s say you’ve got an eCommerce site selling clothing items online you want people who visit your site while they’re looking for new clothes but maybe aren’t ready to make purchases yet, so instead of showing them ads right away (which would just drive them away).
Let’s try using some proper design principles instead: we’ll keep things simple by not overwhelming our visitors with cluttery images of all our products at once (this would distract them from making their purchases).
Instead, let’s show off one item per row and at each item, we’ll leave enough room between rows so users can look back-and-forth between different pieces easily without having anything obstructing their vision too much (see how easy it was?).
Now watch those sales climb as soon as customers start seeing how much better this looks compared to other sites out there offering similar services…
13. Signs (Or Symbols) Of Trustworthiness
Trust is an important element in marketing. When someone trusts you, they are more likely to engage with your brand and purchase what you’re selling. Trust can be established through visual, auditory, or tactile signs of trustworthiness (or “symbols”). Let’s look at some examples.
- Visual: A logo that makes people think of reliability, like the FedEx logo or Apple’s apple symbol
- Auditory: An audio cue that indicates quality or honesty, such as the sound of a cash register closing or a doorbell chime on a car dealership lot
- Tactile: A physical feeling associated with trustworthiness (e.g., smooth surfaces), which we’ll discuss in detail later
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14. Anticipation Is Attention Is Emotion
Anticipation is attention. Anticipation is emotion, and anticipation has the power to change your life. It’s so powerful that it can affect your health and even the way you think and those changes will make a huge impact on the people around you as well.
If you want to understand why anticipation is such an important part of marketing, business, education, sports, and politics today, then read this section carefully!
15. Directional Cues – Avoiding The Sunk Cost Fallacy
Sunk costs are a big deal. They can be the deciding factor in whether or not you continue to support your project, and they can even be the reason that you don’t pursue a different career path.
If you’re thinking about making any large investment in something, it’s important to understand how sunk costs influence your decision-making process.
You might think about projects A and B as having equal weight because one looks good on paper and the other doesn’t but really, your perception of whether something is worth investing in depends heavily on how much money has already been invested in it.
For example: let’s say that both projects A and B are equally valuable investments with equally promising futures (i.e., they will both make money).
But let’s also say that project B was started first and now has 10 million dollars worth of sunk cost invested into it (money spent creating prototypes, advertising campaigns, etc.).
Project A only began recently and hasn’t yet reached its desired stage; it still needs another $9 million before its creators have achieved their goals for success and this amount isn’t recoverable once spent!
16. Inversion And The “Negative” Landing Page Approach
Inversion is a technique where you flip the normal order of things. Instead of starting with a positive, you start with a negative.
For example, rather than saying “we have great service” or “we sell the best products” you could say “we don’t sell cheap rip-off products that break and never get delivered on time.”
If you want to dive into inversion and learn more about how this works in marketing, I highly recommend reading Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (affiliate link).
17. Ambient Noise In Marketing And Web Design – Music, Audio Content And Branding – The Sound Of Marketing?
Ambient noise is a form of environmental sound that’s not intended to be listened to, such as the hum of machinery or the sound of traffic outside. It can also be used in marketing and web design to create an emotional connection with customers.
There is a reason why your favorite restaurant plays music when you walk in it makes you feel like you’re somewhere else.#
Ambient noise can create a sense of place, which is important for brands that want their products or services associated with certain emotions and experiences.
For example, if you are trying to sell French food at your restaurant then playing some accordion music would make people think about eating on the streets in Paris.
Instead of sitting indoors at a table surrounded by other people who just happen to speak English too well for comfort!
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our marketing tips and tricks. We know that there is a lot to remember, but we also know that the more you practice these techniques, the easier it will become for you. So go on and give them a try!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to deepen your understanding of neuromarketing and its implications:
Neuromarketing: A Layman’s Guide to the Science Behind the Ads: This scholarly article provides insights into the scientific foundations of neuromarketing and how it influences consumer behavior.
The Power of Neuromarketing: How Brain Science Elevates Marketing Strategies: HubSpot’s blog post offers a comprehensive overview of neuromarketing’s impact on marketing strategies, with real-world examples.
Neuroscience in Marketing: The Emergence of Neuromarketing: Delve into the emergence and significance of neuromarketing from a scientific perspective in this research article.
FAQs
Here are answers to common questions related to neuromarketing:
What is neuromarketing?
Neuromarketing is a field that combines neuroscience, psychology, and marketing to study and understand how the brain responds to marketing stimuli and influences consumer behavior.
How does neuromarketing work?
Neuromarketing uses brain imaging techniques like fMRI and EEG to measure neural activity in response to marketing stimuli. This helps marketers gain insights into consumers’ subconscious reactions to advertisements and products.
What are some practical applications of neuromarketing?
Neuromarketing insights can be applied to design more compelling advertisements, optimize product packaging, create persuasive messaging, and enhance user experience to drive higher engagement and sales.
Can neuromarketing techniques be ethically concerning?
While neuromarketing provides valuable insights, some ethical concerns arise regarding the potential manipulation of consumers’ subconscious responses. Responsible use of neuromarketing techniques is crucial to maintain trust and transparency.
Is neuromarketing only relevant to large businesses?
No, neuromarketing concepts can be beneficial to businesses of all sizes. Understanding consumer psychology and tailoring marketing strategies accordingly can lead to improved engagement and conversions, regardless of the company’s scale.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.