Light up Your Buying Brain
“When we brand things, our brains perceive them as more special and valuable than they actually are.”
Martin Lindstrom
“The Joneses” is one of the movies that were shown at the Sonoma Valley International Film Festival. I found it to be an insightful, sometimes funny look at how our desire to buy things is influenced by our need to fit in and acquire the things we observe to be possessed by those we admire. Since I am in the business of branding, it got me thinking about what it is that creates that irresistible urge to buy IT, makes us think we cannot live without IT or that having IT will make our lives so much better.
The Brain and the Buy Button
The field of neuromarketing is real science. It has been popularized through the works of branding expert Martin Lindstrom. He gives us a peak inside of this fascinating field in his best selling books: brandsense and buyology. I was introduced to neuromarketing by Patrick Renovise and Christophe Morin. These two are entertaining as they explore how to turn on the “buy button” we have in our brains. There are differences between consumer products and business services, but the triggers that activate the “buy button” described in SalesBrain Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customer’s Brain are the same.
Triggers That Cause us to Buy
We may think we make decisions to buy based on objective information. In reality, our decisions come from our old brain, the one we share with lizards. Our emotions reside in the mid brain, and our new brain, rationalizes our decisions.
How can we attract and stimulate the old brain to take action? The main function of our old brain is survival. It behaves to keep us safe and wants to avoid pain. Safety, shelter, food and belonging are the domain of the old brain. We respond to marketing messages that identify a real or perceived pain and how to avoid it or remove it. Then we need to make it clear that we have the ability to fix the situation. A well-defined claim that differentiates us from our competition is will help us get the attention of our ideal clients. To seal the deal, a demonstration of what is to be gained by using our services will light up the buy button in our old brain.
In the movie “The Jones”, wanting to be like the beautiful, charismatic family of the title influences buying behavior. As a species we survived by choosing the most attractive mates, those who were strong and good providers. In today’s consumer world, we respond to the same triggers as our cave dwelling ancestors.
Brands Light up Brains
Neuromarketing measures observable brain behavior.
Techniques include:
How well does your brand message answer these questions?
- Who do you serve?
- What is their pain?
- What makes you the best solution to their problems?
- What will clients gain working with you?
Are you keeping up with the Jones with your marketing message?
Tell me how your value proposition lights up brains.
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