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Human feelings, thoughts and actions, even consciousness itself, are merely products of neural activity in the brain. These bold statements by Nobel laureate Francis Crick have been attempted by opponents and dissenters alike for 20 years. Advertising campaigns, commercials, websites, social network pages and posts, music and anything else that becomes a tool to promote goods and services are all trying to be evaluated in terms of emotion, interest, attractiveness, engagement and memorability.
Neuromarketing is one of the hottest areas of commercial marketing today, studying the behaviour of customers and internet users in response to marketing triggers.
Neuromarketing allows companies to capture the smallest mental, emotional and sensory-motor responses of consumers to a product or marketing exposure. Scientists study people’s eye movements, pupil dilation, facial expressions and gestures as they make decisions. And marketers and salespeople use this information to their advantage: to stimulate impulse purchases, to increase the marketing impact of advertising campaigns and promotions.
Segment your audience
A salesperson can’t scan a prospect’s brain like a neuroscientist. But they can observe a person by comparing their reactions with those of others. To understand how buyers make decisions, you must first segment your audience and then analyse the motivations of each group of buyers by dividing the audience by one or more attributes.
Demographic segmentation:
- Age and generation: Boomers, Millennials, Zoomers
- Gender: male, female, non-binary
- Marital status: single, married, with children
- Education: students, graduates, professionals
Psychographic segmentation:
- Personality: Extroverts, Introverts, Adventurers
- Values: material values, spiritual values
- Interests: hobbies, leisure activities, cultural preferences
- Pain points: problems faced, difficulties
- Habits: daily and repetitive, buying patterns
Geographical segmentation:
- Country: different cultural and economic contexts
- City: level of development, population density
Behavioural segmentation:
- Purchase frequency: frequent, infrequent, occasional, regular, ad hoc
- Media channels: information and communication sources
- Online shopping habits: online shopping preferences, frequency of purchases
Create a customer profile for each group. Why do they want to buy a particular product from your shop? Representatives of each group will be united by common goals, pain points or interests. Try to look at customers from the outside – what external factors influence their decisions.
Collecting the data
This is the quantitative research stage. Study competitors’ websites, trading platforms and general industry statistics. Analyse traffic channels: organic (browsers that ‘come’ to the site based on Google /Yahoo /Bing search results), direct (the customer enters the URL in the browser or the site is bookmarked), Google / Facebook / Instagram advertising.
By analysing search trends for keywords, you can use Google Trends to identify peaks in user searches on the search engine for keywords of interest, by time period, geographical area and over several years.
Compare the data
Compare qualitative and quantitative data. This allows you to track recurring trends and unique behaviours specific to each segment of your target audience. Analyse how loyal customers behave, how often they buy, what promotions they respond to, and whether sales dips in each segment are seasonal or due to other reasons. Map the customer journey from the moment they search for a product or service to the moment they buy. For each group, identify: what are the barriers and inhibitors for customers, and what are the most typical triggers for each group.
Trying to make a difference
The aim of this stage is to predict reactions and minimise barriers and limiting patterns in advertising and promotions. Before implementing new solutions, think about how customers will react to them.
Simplify the process of adding products to the site. Implement guest checkout without the need to create an account. Simplify the checkout form (only name, delivery address and payment method). Prominently display clear and understandable information about delivery and returns.
Test the changes
Don’t introduce too many changes at once. Test changes with a small group of loyal customers – they are more likely to give feedback. Offer a bonus or discount on their next purchase to get detailed feedback.
Track the response to each change using key metrics: conversion rate, lead value, LTV and other marketing metrics. If you want to win the most customers, you need to track the entire decision-making process.
By understanding the core values and beliefs of each group, you can determine which products or services align with their values and meet their needs. The experts at Stelvel Ltd are dedicated to studying the emotional factors that influence consumer behaviour. We help create marketing strategies that skilfully and ethically appeal to consumers’ emotions.