Can Neuromarketing Manipulate Consumers to Buy?

• Is Neuromarketing subliminal advertising?
• Does the brain have a “Buy Button?”

Buying decisions are influenced by numerous factors. Helping your customers make those decisions and creating an enjoyable experience are good for both businesses and consumers.

In 1957, there was extensive news coverage of “subliminal perception” in advertising. It was supposed to use quick flashes of language to get people to take some unconscious action. McDonald Vicary, a market researcher, claimed he had tested the technique. In a movie theater the words “THIRSTY DRINK COCA-COLA” were supposedly displayed for 3 milliseconds during a film.

He claimed that Coca-Cola sales in the theater rose 18% due to this. There was a nationwide backlash against manipulation of people’s minds. In 1963, however, Vicary admitted that the entire thing was a public relations hoax, meant to boost his own business. It never happened.

Can Neuromarketing Manipulate Consumers Buy?

Some people have expressed similar concerns about the use of brain research in marketing. They worry that consumers may be manipulated into buying what they don’t want. It doesn’t work that way at all. It can only nudge consumers gently into making decisions. Best of all, it can guide businesses in providing products and services that consumers truly want.

All marketing aims to convince consumers to act. Through trial and error, focus groups and consumer surveys, businesses seek to find out what consumers like or dislike. Neuromarketing simply offers science-based ways to do that better.

• Why Do Subtle Cues Help People Make Decisions? – Using advanced technologies, including brain-imaging and eye-tracking, Neuroscientists study how the brain functions during decision-making.
  They’ve learned that up to 95% of decisions are made intuitively and unconsciously. Surprisingly, many unnoticeable factors were found to have large impacts on our decisions.
  For example, Neuroscience research shows that colors affect people’s emotions. So, Google did some tests. When they tried different shades of blue in the ad links, they discovered that more people clicked on ads with a specific shade of blue. So, they switched to that color, and increased revenues over $200 million per year.
• Neuromarketing Creates Better User Experience – Websites, social media, pay-per-click advertising and email marketing are used by almost every business. In every case, consumers begin making decisions as soon as they first see something on their computer or smartphone.
  Do they keep looking or leave? Do they read to learn more? Do the images they see help them decide? Will they buy or make contact?
  The answers depend on each consumer’s experience. The design of a page, the words chosen, colors, fonts and images affect that experience. The results are measured by the conversion rate – the percentage of viewers who decide to buy or make contact. Applying Neuromarketing can boost that rate from 100-500%. The improvement is due to a better user experience, not trickery or unethical practices. According to Amazon, a 0.1 second improvement on its website increased its sales by $1.7 billion.
• Can You Make It Easier for Your Customers to Buy? – The answer is yes. How does Amazon persuade so many customers to buy again and again? Every purchase involves decisions. As humans, we don’t like to make decisions because we are afraid of making mistakes.
  Amazon eases its customers’ fears by leveraging social proof through reviews, ratings and best-seller labels.
  Its customers can buy with confidence. Amazon understands the biases in our brains and knows how to persuade its customers.
• Any Deceptive Marketing Is Unethical – The fundamentals of ethical business operations are truthfulness, fair pricing, accurate information, and honest value for the consumer. Any marketing methods that reflect those values are ethical.
  Since Neuromarketing methods can’t force any consumer to make any decision, there is nothing unethical about using them.
  Consumers shop for products and services. They actively look for what they need. Subtle hints and cues are a legitimate way to help them decide to do business with you, rather than with a competitor.

Choose an Ethical Neuromarketing Company

Neuroscience-based marketing is a new development. Successful companies like Amazon, Facebook, BMW, Coca Cola and PayPal actively use these science-based techniques to outsell their competitors. Smaller companies often choose to outsource this effort. A few independent Neuromarketing firms are available. They are helping businesses apply the latest research to their sales efforts. Ethics are important to your company’s business. You should expect your Neuromarketing partner to verify its commitment to meeting the highest ethical standards.