Think back to your last major purchase. Did you really buy those pricey training shoes because they were made of a tough new material? Or was it because you imagined yourself looking so cool in them?
If you’re like most people, it was a mixture of both. First you pictured yourself looking good and then sought a solid reason to justify the cost.
We tend to buy on emotion and then justify with logic. Experts say that 95% of what happens in our heads is preconscious and this is the target of neuro marketing.
It sounds rather high-tech but actually is based on solid principles of creating a marketing message that will be well received by the whole brain. Neuroscientists refer to a three-part model of the brain that’s based on human evolution.
At the top, we have the neocortex or most recently developed part of the brain. This is the home of conscious thought, comprehension, and logic.
Below, we have the limbic system, the seat of all emotion. Then at the bottom, we have the lizard brain that controls our most basic functions including the survival instincts. These two parts can be called the “old brain”.
Any marketing message first has to pass the lizard brain, which filters out threats and boredom. It then has to stimulate the emotions in the limbic system. Finally, it makes its way to the conscious brain. By then, the buying decision has already been made. It only needs to be rationalised.
Neuromarketing for Sydney SEO
Relax, you don’t have to go back to university to study psycholog. Just follow these simple principles when you create websites, develop content and run marketing campaigns.
- Firstly, the old brain is rooted in survival so it’s totally self-centred. Focus only on how you can help your visitor and craft your message in such a way that’s tailored for the old brain.
- The old brain is driven by emotions, which you can access through the senses. Create product descriptions that bring the item alive and add in some dazzling pictures.
- The old brain deals in specifics not abstract concepts. So instead of saying “high durability”, use concrete terms such as “These floors tiles are sealed at ultra-high temperature so they’ll resists any moisture or stains in your kitchen”.
- The old brain is particularly influenced by the beginning and the end of a message. This means you craft a powerful opening and end your content with a bang.
Ultimately, it’s all about identifying what makes you special and presenting that in a way that is best absorbed and understood by your target customer on all levels. The good news is that once you’ve seduced the old brain, dealing the logical part of the mind should be a walk in the park.
