What is neuromarketing?

When I ask about the outputs of the psychology people often pigeonholed too much with the health problems or clinical. The truth is that there are many exits after studying the psychology of a branch or health clinic. Education or training, sport, human resources, social intervention, prevention of occupational hazards, traffic, personal advice, research and business branch of marketing and advertising. Within the latter, consumer psychology and behaves as it perceives to stimuli that are part of the discipline object of this article: neuromarketing.

Index

1. What is neuromarketing?
2. The evolution of marketing to neuromarketing
3. Objectives of neuromarketing
4. Neuromarketing applications
5. Professional profile of neuromarketing: What I have to study to work in neuromarketing?

What is neuromarketing?

[Mks pullquote align = “left” width = “300” size = “18” bg_color = “# 000000” txt_color = “# eeee22”] Neuroscience + Marketing = Neuromarketing techniques [/ mks_pullquote] Neuromarketing is an emerging area of ​​knowledge result of a combination of studies in neuroscience and marketing techniques. As with most concepts, there is no single valid definition, but all emphasize that neuromarketing aims to improve marketing strategies through the study of consumer behavior by neuroscientists methods.
Neuromarketing try to identify the brain activity involved in each customer behavior, from product selection and purchase to the processing and interpretation of advertising messages. The main objective of these studies are trying to predict to some extent, consumer behavior and its relationship with the brand.

Objectives of neuromarketing

The specific objectives of neuromarketing are as follows:

• Knowing how the human nervous system receives, encodes, stores and retrieves information from stimuli.
• Check the effectiveness of advertising messages.
• Get data to guide on the best choice of formats that allow greater emotional connection with the consumer.
• Predicting consumer behavior from scientific studies.
• Improve the planning and development of all aspects of marketing: communication, product, price, promotion, etc.
• Meet the real needs of the consumer to adjust the marketing strategy of the brand.

To study the brain processes the consumer, neuromarketing uses neuroscientific techniques and technologies and experimental methods. Very often neuroimaging, pharmacological manipulation, psychological or psychophysical techniques to study basic psychological processes such as attention, memory, learning or emotion, among other tests used.
For example, it is possible to better define how the consumer makes the decision to buy, why prefer one brand over another or what factors the brand loyalty relates.

The evolution of marketing to neuromarketing

In 2001, Kotler proposed the four basic pillars of the marketing mix, called the 4P’s (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) accounting strategies based on the product (transactional marketing). However in recent years the stream has caught more force is relationship marketing, based on consumer experiences. With the 4P’s have given way to the 4C’s: Customer, Cost, Convenience and Communication (Lauterborn, 2000).
Evolution of the 4P’s 4C’s.

• Product to Cliente. Now the customer is important. Knowing your emotions will lead to emotional marketing mix.
• Price to Cost. The product price is not only the importance but also the cost to get it and enjoy it.
• Place  for Convenience. The strategies focus on what the customer needs and customer preferences for places where to position it. Yes, gumballs are in outlet boxes of large supermarkets for something.
• Promotion  to Communication. Not only have to look at the simple direct advertising but in the relations of two-way communication, word of mouth and customer feedback. Just look at the amount of haters there on the internet.

Neuromarketing applications

• Measure the motivations and emotions that generate a process of decision-making (purchasing).
• If we combine this with the attitude and information processing we can predict consumer behavior.
• Test new product concepts before removing the market.
• Validate scales questionnaires. By neuromarketing techniques podeos extend the reliability of the questionnaires that are made to consumers or potential customers.
• Design physical or virtual commercial establishments optimizing the consumer journey and experience of the buying process (path-to-purchase).
• Ad copy testing. Predicting the effectiveness of advertising.
• Political neuromarketing. Studying the content and transmission of the messages sent to appeal to the emotions of potential voters and promote a favorable vote.
• Packaging. Packaging design and packaging of products

Professional Profile: What I have to study to work in neuromarketing?

Like everything else, the choice depends on each individual person, their tastes, skills and goals. In addition, neuromarketing consultants usually multidisciplinary and its working group comprise people of different scope. The main branches of access to this professional, yet unregulated, can be:
Careers if neuroscientific basis
All those who have university degrees in neuroscience as a basis for study and specific training in brain imaging technologies, allowing to have some experience conducting studies and analysis of EEG (electroencephalography) and fMRIU (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system which, if you have studied medicine or psychology going on the right track to do some master or related graduate. Seen this way, we could say that the ideal would be to do a doctorate in neuroscience or similar, as are those who do this kind of research, but do not panic, people also need without this high level of knowledge, but we do know how to use other technologies simple as eye-tracking (see photo). In fact, with the advancement of technology it will increasingly need a highly qualified least to manage these tools and further development of studies staff.
Careers based on marketing
Careers related to business, economics, advertising, communication and consumer behavior may find good opportunities in neuromarketing. If you have studied Business Administration, Economics, Advertising, Marketing, Communication or even psychology also going on the right track. Of course, at the end you have to specialize in psychology and neuroscience programs (or programs directly neuromarketing).
Careers related data analysis.
Regardless of the basic training that is possessed, it is important the knowledge of analysis procedures derived from scientific data or studies from the business world. Normally in racing linked to economics and psychology are subjects statistic which might also go on track, but here we will include those who have directly studied the career statistics or even some engineering, and computer science. The processing of information is key because we live in the age of “Big Data” and you have to know them interpret.
And with this I finish this brief introduction about what is neuromarketing as a possible career opportunity for those who have some concern about human behavior in this age of mass consumption.