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Neuroscience is Helping Marketers Focus Their Spending on What Works
In a survey by the WFA, 75% of major advertisers and marketers say their budgets are under heavy scrutiny this year. Some expect their spending to be cut. There’s a pressing need to make every dollar go further and focus on messages that make you sit up, take notice and buy. But how can you get inside your customer’s head to know what really resonates? And how can you turn your messaging on a dime when it’s not performing?
Many companies are turning to neuroscience for answers. This emerging field of marketing research is based on how our brains respond to visual and auditory stimuli. It turns out that our primal brain says “yes” or “no” to a TV commercial, an email or a direct mail piece before we even have time to think about it (the thinking part of our brain is more rational, but slower to kick in).
The understanding of primal brain stimuli can help marketers create effective messages that are more likely to break through and focus audience attention. There’s actually a formula for this, and the more elements of the formula your ad contains, the more likely it will be remembered and acted on by the consumer.
The primal brain is fast. Within 17 milliseconds of being exposed to your marketing message, the primal brain has told the rational brain whether it’s worth further attention. That’s not a lot of time for your message to break through when it’s competing in a crowded inbox or mailbox.
What can the primal brain do in 17 milliseconds? With an email, it can read the subject line. With direct mail, it can scan the outer envelope. In social media, it can lock in on a photo or ignore it while you keep scrolling through your feed.
To create effective marketing messages, it’s essential to understand and prioritize what lights up the primal brain. It really boils down to three elements that drive all consumer behavior: pains, claims and gains.
Pains are the explicit or implicit problems, difficulties, fears and frustrations that your target audience is experiencing. These are the problems that your product or service aims to resolve. To create effective messaging, you need to identify and understand your audience’s pain points and articulate how your offering can alleviate them. Targeting generalized relatability in this way increases your audience’s willingness to engage with your marketing efforts.
Claims are unique and exclusive promises that your company, brand, product or service can deliver. To leverage claims, you need to lean into your unique selling proposition (USP), which explains what sets you apart. When making claims, it’s important to be specific, clear and concise.
Gains are financial, strategic or personal benefits that your audience can achieve by using your product or service. These are the positive outcomes that your offering can provide to your audience, such as increased revenue, better productivity or a better quality of life. By highlighting the gains, you’ll help your audience see the value in your offering and motivate them to act. It’s important to show how your product or service can deliver these benefits and to provide proof points, such as case studies or testimonials, to back up your claims.
So what does all this have to do with your marketing budget? Neuroscience gives you a way to formulate and optimize your messages and visuals for the primal brain. It also gives you a way to test and validate your CRM communications—allowing you to put your money on the winners instead of the losers.
By using neuroscience techniques to refine your marketing efforts, you can build stronger connections with your current and potential customers—even with a reduced budget. These techniques can provide a more nuanced and personalized approach to your marketing that taps into deep, underlying customer behavior and emotions. It allows you to craft more relevant and engaging messages that are not only more engaging and memorable, but also instantly communicate the unique value of your product and brand.
As industries divert funds from traditional advertising channels toward direct-to-consumer marketing, neuroscience can help differentiate products and services through personalized campaigns that truly resonate with audiences. In fact, a PwC Pulse Survey found that 89% of CMOs are effectively focusing on customer personalization as a way to stand out in this evolving market.
At KERN, we apply the principles of neuromarketing to our clients’ CRM strategies to help them maximize their budgets and bring their creative work to its full potential.
Thanks for reading. In part 2 of this blog post, we’ll take a deeper dive into the 6 stimuli of the primal brain. And we’ll show you specific examples where the pains, claims and gains formula produces marketing that works.
Neuroscience is Helping Marketers Focus Their Spending on What Works
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In a survey by the WFA, 75% of major advertisers and marketers say their budgets are under heavy scrutiny this year. Some expect their spending to be cut. There’s a pressing need to make every dollar go further and focus on messages that make you sit up, take notice and buy. But how can you get inside your customer’s head to know what really resonates? And how can you turn your messaging on a dime when it’s not performing?
Many companies are turning to neuroscience for answers. This emerging field of marketing research is based on how our brains respond to visual and auditory stimuli. It turns out that our primal brain says “yes” or “no” to a TV commercial, an email or a direct mail piece before we even have time to think about it (the thinking part of our brain is more rational, but slower to kick in).
The understanding of primal brain stimuli can help marketers create effective messages that are more likely to break through and focus audience attention. There’s actually a formula for this, and the more elements of the formula your ad contains, the more likely it will be remembered and acted on by the consumer.
The primal brain is fast. Within 17 milliseconds of being exposed to your marketing message, the primal brain has told the rational brain whether it’s worth further attention. That’s not a lot of time for your message to break through when it’s competing in a crowded inbox or mailbox.
What can the primal brain do in 17 milliseconds? With an email, it can read the subject line. With direct mail, it can scan the outer envelope. In social media, it can lock in on a photo or ignore it while you keep scrolling through your feed.
To create effective marketing messages, it’s essential to understand and prioritize what lights up the primal brain. It really boils down to three elements that drive all consumer behavior: pains, claims and gains.
Pains are the explicit or implicit problems, difficulties, fears and frustrations that your target audience is experiencing. These are the problems that your product or service aims to resolve. To create effective messaging, you need to identify and understand your audience’s pain points and articulate how your offering can alleviate them. Targeting generalized relatability in this way increases your audience’s willingness to engage with your marketing efforts.
Claims are unique and exclusive promises that your company, brand, product or service can deliver. To leverage claims, you need to lean into your unique selling proposition (USP), which explains what sets you apart. When making claims, it’s important to be specific, clear and concise.
Gains are financial, strategic or personal benefits that your audience can achieve by using your product or service. These are the positive outcomes that your offering can provide to your audience, such as increased revenue, better productivity or a better quality of life. By highlighting the gains, you’ll help your audience see the value in your offering and motivate them to act. It’s important to show how your product or service can deliver these benefits and to provide proof points, such as case studies or testimonials, to back up your claims.
So what does all this have to do with your marketing budget? Neuroscience gives you a way to formulate and optimize your messages and visuals for the primal brain. It also gives you a way to test and validate your CRM communications—allowing you to put your money on the winners instead of the losers.
By using neuroscience techniques to refine your marketing efforts, you can build stronger connections with your current and potential customers—even with a reduced budget. These techniques can provide a more nuanced and personalized approach to your marketing that taps into deep, underlying customer behavior and emotions. It allows you to craft more relevant and engaging messages that are not only more engaging and memorable, but also instantly communicate the unique value of your product and brand.
As industries divert funds from traditional advertising channels toward direct-to-consumer marketing, neuroscience can help differentiate products and services through personalized campaigns that truly resonate with audiences. In fact, a PwC Pulse Survey found that 89% of CMOs are effectively focusing on customer personalization as a way to stand out in this evolving market.
At KERN, we apply the principles of neuromarketing to our clients’ CRM strategies to help them maximize their budgets and bring their creative work to its full potential.
Thanks for reading. In part 2 of this blog post, we’ll take a deeper dive into the 6 stimuli of the primal brain. And we’ll show you specific examples where the pains, claims and gains formula produces marketing that works.
Neuroscience is Helping Marketers Focus Their Spending on What Works
SHARE
In a survey by the WFA, 75% of major advertisers and marketers say their budgets are under heavy scrutiny this year. Some expect their spending to be cut. There’s a pressing need to make every dollar go further and focus on messages that make you sit up, take notice and buy. But how can you get inside your customer’s head to know what really resonates? And how can you turn your messaging on a dime when it’s not performing?
Many companies are turning to neuroscience for answers. This emerging field of marketing research is based on how our brains respond to visual and auditory stimuli. It turns out that our primal brain says “yes” or “no” to a TV commercial, an email or a direct mail piece before we even have time to think about it (the thinking part of our brain is more rational, but slower to kick in).
The understanding of primal brain stimuli can help marketers create effective messages that are more likely to break through and focus audience attention. There’s actually a formula for this, and the more elements of the formula your ad contains, the more likely it will be remembered and acted on by the consumer.
The primal brain is fast. Within 17 milliseconds of being exposed to your marketing message, the primal brain has told the rational brain whether it’s worth further attention. That’s not a lot of time for your message to break through when it’s competing in a crowded inbox or mailbox.
What can the primal brain do in 17 milliseconds? With an email, it can read the subject line. With direct mail, it can scan the outer envelope. In social media, it can lock in on a photo or ignore it while you keep scrolling through your feed.
To create effective marketing messages, it’s essential to understand and prioritize what lights up the primal brain. It really boils down to three elements that drive all consumer behavior: pains, claims and gains.
Pains are the explicit or implicit problems, difficulties, fears and frustrations that your target audience is experiencing. These are the problems that your product or service aims to resolve. To create effective messaging, you need to identify and understand your audience’s pain points and articulate how your offering can alleviate them. Targeting generalized relatability in this way increases your audience’s willingness to engage with your marketing efforts.
Claims are unique and exclusive promises that your company, brand, product or service can deliver. To leverage claims, you need to lean into your unique selling proposition (USP), which explains what sets you apart. When making claims, it’s important to be specific, clear and concise.
Gains are financial, strategic or personal benefits that your audience can achieve by using your product or service. These are the positive outcomes that your offering can provide to your audience, such as increased revenue, better productivity or a better quality of life. By highlighting the gains, you’ll help your audience see the value in your offering and motivate them to act. It’s important to show how your product or service can deliver these benefits and to provide proof points, such as case studies or testimonials, to back up your claims.
So what does all this have to do with your marketing budget? Neuroscience gives you a way to formulate and optimize your messages and visuals for the primal brain. It also gives you a way to test and validate your CRM communications—allowing you to put your money on the winners instead of the losers.
By using neuroscience techniques to refine your marketing efforts, you can build stronger connections with your current and potential customers—even with a reduced budget. These techniques can provide a more nuanced and personalized approach to your marketing that taps into deep, underlying customer behavior and emotions. It allows you to craft more relevant and engaging messages that are not only more engaging and memorable, but also instantly communicate the unique value of your product and brand.
As industries divert funds from traditional advertising channels toward direct-to-consumer marketing, neuroscience can help differentiate products and services through personalized campaigns that truly resonate with audiences. In fact, a PwC Pulse Survey found that 89% of CMOs are effectively focusing on customer personalization as a way to stand out in this evolving market.
At KERN, we apply the principles of neuromarketing to our clients’ CRM strategies to help them maximize their budgets and bring their creative work to its full potential.
Thanks for reading. In part 2 of this blog post, we’ll take a deeper dive into the 6 stimuli of the primal brain. And we’ll show you specific examples where the pains, claims and gains formula produces marketing that works.