25 AREAS OF MARKETING THAT CAN BENEFIT FROM NEURO CX
The development of neuroscience had a great impact on social sciences at the turn of the 21st century. Modern methods of studying brain activity help to identify the cognitive and affective processes that underlie people’s perception of the surrounding world, the formation of attitudes, and human behavior in various areas of life. Moreover, neuroscience greatly influences marketing as it helps to generate deeper insights into consumer behavior. The cooperation of neuroscience and marketing formed a new area of study called neuro CX that is actively developing now and shaping modern marketing practices.
Marketers and brand managers start using neuromarketing research methods more often as it gives a deeper understanding of what their consumer’s true needs and desires are. Neuro CX helps to overcome the challenges the companies can meet while introducing rebranding, launching new products, entering new markets, targeting new consumer segments, etc., as it is hard to predict consumer reaction. Traditional marketing research inputs focus mainly on consumer attitudes toward brands that may not actually correlate with a shopper's behavior at the point of sales.
Traditional methods do not provide data on subconscious processes in the shopper's brain while the purchase decision is being made. Neuromarketing can provide data, neuro data, and additional types of data on unconscious respondents’ reactions to marketing materials. This data helps to get a more clear and more accurate understanding of consumer behavior.
In this article we will shed light on neuromarketing research tools and methods, focusing on the marketing areas where neuromarketing can be applied.
Neuromarketing development and research tools
Neuromarketing research is a rapidly developing research method that studies human neurological responses in relation to certain stimuli, such as an advertisement or commercial. Medical instruments and insights of neuroscience are used to reveal consumer decision-making processes.
Today, neuromarketing has various methods for measuring respondents’ brain activity. Neuromarketing research tools work by registering metabolic processes in the brain of a shopper or by recording the electrical and magnetic properties of neurons in the brain or other physiological reactions in the human body.
Instruments that work on the principle of recording metabolic activity include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Instruments for recording electrical activity consist of electroencephalography (EEG)/event-related potential (ERP), magnetoencephalography (MEG), stationary topography (SST) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Instruments for measuring other physiological activities include gaze tracking, galvanic skin response, facial coding, and facial electromyography. (Agarwal and Xavier, 2015).
Application of neuro cx
With the results of modern research in neuromarketing, it is possible to identify key marketing areas that can benefit from neuromarketing. The table below represents 25 of the most promising scientific and practical areas where neuromarketing research inputs can be implemented.
The majority of marketing tasks, for which neuromarketing application is considered, bear tactical character. Nevertheless, the latter marketing tasks can be taken as a strategic resource. Today it becomes more evident that neuromarketing becomes a strategic resource that influences the adoption of key decisions and long-term marketing strategies.
Neuromarketing is now being actively used in the various digital areas, starting with digital marketing campaigns and ending up with creating big super apps and complex ecosystems. Neuromarketing helps to measure customers’ brain activity while intersecting with a digital product to evaluate/her response to a specific product feature or any other element. Neuromarketing helps to create digital paths of conversion, based on the cognitive characteristics of shoppers. Moreover, with neuro data and insights in neuromarketing research digital products can be easily implemented to adjust the product to meet the customer needs.
Conclusion
Recent years have laid a solid foundation for the emergence of neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience as a scientific discipline of study and research. Neuromarketing helps to get a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and find valuable insights that may help to shape the company's marketing mix.
Neuromarketing inputs can now be implemented to the companies’ marketing mix components and improve business performance by adjusting branding and pricing solutions, communication materials, and communication channels. Moreover, neuromarketing may shape a long-term company’s vision and strategy by providing valuable insights into subconscious consumer behavior at the moment of making a purchase decision.
Neuromarketing impact is now becoming more and more visible in various digital products and digital marketing campaigns. It helps to measure implicit customers’ reactions to digital features and adjust creatives and CX to meet the customer's needs. Neuromarketing is still an emerging research method for the majority of marketers. Though together with the development of AI and Machine Learning, which will help to make a great step up into the area of neuromarketing methods, we may see the further development of this area and its more profound implementation in the companies’ marketing activities.
References
Pismennaya A., (2021) Scientific And Applied Potential Of Neuromarketing In The System Of Marketing Research Of The Company, Saint Petersburg University of Economics