Let's get seduced!
Why We Buy What We Buy
What influences us when we go shopping? What do we purchase, what do we decline? For some time now, a new approach has been all the rage: neuromarketing. Not long ago, the concept of the “glass consumer” was born, as neuromarketing began to exploit the knowledge generated by the neurosciences, which is to say: knowledge of brain function, as well as insights into the psychology of human nature. But things are not quite so simple. While it is true that neuromarketing involves generating brain scans of potential customers while showing them photos of various products or ad spots, this does not mean that the consumer becomes transparent. It is instead a question of better accommodating the needs of customers. The “flop rate” for products brought out onto the market every year, say entrepreneurs, is simply too high. Today, producers want to know more about customers, about what they want, about their unconscious desires, to find out which offerings will result in sales. As a rule, neuromarketing is used in product development and branding, but less in the retail area.
Scans reveal which regions of the brain are more strongly involved: if this emotional side is responsive, that is a good sign for a product, since people make decisions based on gut feelings far more often than they might believe. Enterprises are now working aggressively with the findings of neuromarketing. The knowledge gleaned from examining scans of test subjects is translated into advertisements, and hence shapes the image of a given firm.
To some extent, ad agencies as well have their own neuromarketing departments. There is a vigorous exchange, and it is not scientific knowledge of a product which stands in the foreground, but instead the realm of human feeling. Nespresso, Nivea, and other brands are created, generating emotions of exclusivity for customers, who now become members of a family – hence fulfilling a need that grows steadily in our anonymous society.
We do allow ourselves to be seduced, whether we are aware of it not. Which decides? Reason or the unconscious? A matter for debate.
