Why we buy.
How are buying decisions made by consumers? Which kinds of stimuli incite action, and which leave the consumer cold? Why do consumers often report behaving one way when in observation they may react totally the opposite?
These are questions that have vexed marketers for years. And now, a new book by Martin Lindstrom may shed some light on many of these issues.
Lindstrom’s book, Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, reports the findings of some recent breakthrough Neuromarketing studies that relate buying behaviors to regions of the brain. Through the use of fMRI technology, Lindstom and his team were able to observe what goes on in consumers’ brains in real time while subjected to a variety of marketing images and concepts. Among some of his more interesting findings:
- Celebrity personalities and product placements are ineffective.
- Sexual images and innuendo, while widespread throughout advertising, are effective only at selling sex, not products.
- Products that involve some sort of ritual are much more likely to be embraced by consumers.
- When subjects view images associated with strong brands—for example, the iPod, Harley-Davidson, Coca Cola—their brains register the same patterns of activity as they do when viewing religious images.
- Fragrances and sounds associated with a brand are far more memorable and powerful than a (more often than not forgotten) company’s logo.
- Disclaimers and health warnings, instead of suppressing consumer behavior, actually stimulate it.
Kudos to Lindstrom and his team for undertaking this ground-breaking study. The information and often-surprising findings of this friendly-reading 240-page book is well worth the effort.
Posted by Mickey
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