The term Neuromarketing can be defined as the set of marketing techniques which, combined with the discoveries and methods typical of neuroscience , aim to determine more effective forms of communication capable of influencing the decision-making process of the reference users. In more practical terms, Neuromarketing is able to define the emotional response to an advertisement through the analysis of the brain through techniques such as classic magnetic resonance.
But what are the ethical limits of this science ? And most importantly, is it really capable of influencing the marketing of the future?
Undoubtedly, Neuromarketing has enormous potential and, if exploited properly, it can be a very powerful tool for marketers who really want to “ enter the minds of consumers ” by understanding the emotions that guide their choices . But is a fusion between the neurosciences that study the functioning mechanisms of our brain and the marketing that essentially deals with sales really appropriate?
In reality, the question is rhetorical because in fact Neuromarketing has already been used for years , with the aim of increasing the effect of advertising messages, giving life to successful products capable of reflecting consumer expectations and even designing entire brand .
According to Martin Lindstrom , one of the world’s leading neuromarketing experts, “over 30% of Fortune 100 brands are using this methodology for strategic research . Neuromarketing has shown that today we no longer need to sell products, but rather seduce customers ”.
The ” science of the mind ” therefore manages to find an effective interlocutor in marketing when this is interpreted as an art of persuasion and, therefore, more in its psychological dimension than pure selling. A correct use of Neuromarketing therefore has the objective of identifying, in the bombardment of information of which each new object is daily, how much our decisions are influenced by rationality and how much, instead, by the emotional sphere .
Emotional intelligence expert Daniel Goleman confirms that “our brains are designed, when faced with a decision, to emotionally evaluate and weigh each option. No decision in life is independent of emotion, unless we are in the field of mathematics , which is a purely theoretical universe. It is a tacit emotion, imperceptible, but very relevant “.
Neuroscientist Susan Greenfield points out that “cognitive science is currently widely used to study consumers, through brain scanning techniques . There are many reasons. First of all, it is not painful for people, who can be fully conscious. And the images that are obtained, with some parts of the brain that light up, are beautiful to see and, at least apparently, very clear and easy to interpret “.
But will Neuromarketing actually be an integral part of the marketing of the future? According to Lindstrom, yes .
“ Advertising no longer works . Marketers spend a huge amount of money and people don’t really remember anything. Obviously, something happens. Maybe we store knowledge on a subconscious level , which is what we are trying to understand, or maybe it just goes into a black hole : I basically don’t think we forget everything, but that we store information somewhere . Neuromarketing helps to understand where these messages go and how they affect us, and it is probably the best and only choice we have right now in understanding the consumer and the future of advertising ”.
