My first encounter with neuromarketing goes back to 1994. Back then, my country, Mexico, was going through one of the worst economic and financial crises in its history — the value of the dollar went from 3.4 to 7.2 Mexican pesos per dollar in just one week, quite similar to what's happening today. At the time, I worked in a family business founded by my grandmother; I remember that while people were fighting to keep from losing their homes or cars, those of us in retail were struggling to hold on to the few customers who dared to visit the stores.
The drop in family income due to low sales led me to study economics, because I wanted to get ahead of any crisis like the one I had lived through. Influenced by my mother, a psychologist by profession dedicated to sales, I discovered neuroeconomics, a science that studies the role of the brain when individuals evaluate buying and selling decisions, weighing risks and rewards. That's where I discovered my true calling, marketing — because while economic principles tell us that lowering a product's price increases sales, in reality that's not always the case.
Until then, marketers believed that by properly applying every field of marketing, we could reach and persuade the consumer's mind, thereby increasing our chances of a sale. However, with the arrival of neuromarketing, a new way of analyzing the brain processes behind a customer's purchase decision, we can use that knowledge to increase sales.
If what you're after is helping your customers make a purchase decision, follow these neuromarketing tips. I guarantee you'll be surprised.
The customer is your best friend.
Communication with customers should bring them closer to your business; to achieve this, use the words “you” in a personal way, which creates a more personalized bond. Remember that to earn someone's trust, we need to get closer to them and get to know them: ask what they like or what their needs are. Chances are, next time they need a product or service, they'll remember you as their first choice, simply because of the attention you gave them at that moment.Good stories for great buyers.
Those of us in sales know that selling to a woman can be a bit more complex than selling to a man. Neuromarketing teaches us that women have stronger emotional intelligence, and their purchase decisions are less rational around functionality, price and quality; the products they prefer are those that let them experience emotions while using them. To have a good sales process and help your customer, talk with her and listen to her. If you have an interesting story about the product you're selling, tell her. In the case of women with children or family, keep in mind she's looking for something that benefits her loved ones.Your product and its 3 best features.
If your potential customer visits your website looking for information about your product or service and finds countless benefits, they may end up confused and drift away from their decision. Focus on a maximum of 3 attributes that define and highlight your product's differentiating value compared to the competition. A clean, direct message sells more than one crammed with text.Male audience, tech-savvy and modern.
Men tend to look for products that let them stay on the cutting edge of technology and show off their mastery in front of their peers. By nature, they need to see a wide variety of products and learn about their functionality, usability, practicality, etc. Place products within reach so they can examine them closely. Use short sales pitches that still make him feel like the leader who, through that product, will be able to “provide for” and protect his family or loved ones.Create your own success stories.
“A satisfied customer brings in 2 more customers, but a dissatisfied one costs you 8.” If you want your customers to become your best business partners, work hard to offer them the best service. Rest assured, a satisfied customer will be happy to leave you a positive comment on your Facebook Fan Page, which will be seen by all your followers, even those who just discovered your brand. If we build our own success stories, we create that perception of being a reliable, efficient service provider — two attributes customers welcome.Want to sell? Launch an offer.
The old trick used by sales masters from the Middle East, like Jewish and Arab traders, still gets excellent results today. Phrases like “Clearance sale,” “Promotion of the month” or “End of season offer” act on people's brains as a clear invitation to take advantage of an opportunity that “will never come again.” If you run an appealing offer for your customers and promote it by email or through your website, chances are your sales for that product, and others in your catalog, will increase.If you want to grow your business, use neuromarketing, since it will push you to innovate across the traditional fields of marketing: market intelligence, product or service design, communications, pricing, branding, positioning, targeting, channels and sales.
Though it's new and its path is only beginning, this discipline still has a long way to go, but it will undoubtedly let you not only market your products more effectively, but also create products aligned with people's needs to grow your business. Interested?
*Special contribution from Francisco Nuñez Ávila, Marketing Manager at Altavoz Comunicaciones; advertising strategy consultant; and speaker on marketing and digital marketing topics.