Garbology in Marketing Strategies - Term Paper Example

Neuromarketing Introduction Marketing is arguably the key to drawing s to a particular brand of a company (Zurawicki 211). However, marketing has never been easy to many companies due to the failure to understand clearly what consumers want and whether or not they would be able to remain loyal after using the brand in question (Guardian News and Media Limited par.4). This has not gone well for many companies that adopt poor marketing strategies that fail to attract or retain the customers needed to keep the company in operation. No single company can continue in operation if it cannot draw the many consumers to buy its brand. It is for this reason that marketers have in recent years embarked on vigorous research to come up with new technologies of studying consumer behavior. One such marketing research was garbology, which amused many people the first time it was introduced. The technology is based on the idea of rooting through an individual’s garbage in order to understand their consumption pattern (Moor and Pareek 195). Despite causing uproar and creating controversies from some squatters, currently the technology is widely accepted. Besides garbology, neuromarketing research is another emerging marketing technology that has attracted attention of many marketers of the recent years. This was sparked by a publication, which appeared in the Neuron issue of 14 October, 2004 (Singer 1). The research concluded that the technology has the ability to analyze and understand what influences consumer behavior and pattern and their feelings. As such, many see is as a good marketing tool especially in the modern world of technology. This paper will explore the reasons why marketers need to embrace neuromarketing technology. Moore and Pareek argue that marketers have for a long time perceived the minds of human beings as a black box (195). In this regard, they believe that they can get customers to their side by just carrying out extensive marketing campaign, which is somehow true. Most marketers also believe that they can easily gauge their marketing efforts in terms of awareness created, sales made and linking among others (Zurawicki 211). Despite knowing all this, there is one thing that marketers seem not to understand. That is, what the consumer think. This is arguably the change that neuromarketing is bringing. Neuromarketing in this case refers to the application of technology to determine the consumer’s brain activity so as to assist in developing products and communications (Zurawicki 211). The technique is founded on the idea that consumer purchasing behavior is formed in split seconds. The technique also holds that buying decisions are made within the brain’s subconscious and emotional part. The technique is also based on the premise that that by being able to clearly understand what consumers like, do not like, or fear as shown by the reactions of the brain to brand stimuli, marketers can be able to brand their products and communicate with them in a manner that best meets the market needs, by influencing consumers to buy the products. All these fundamentals are based on neuromarketing is based on neuroscience, which involves the study of how the brain enables human to think, perceive, and feel emotions, make decisions and communicate (Guardian News and Media Limited Par. 3). The techniques applied are based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), psychophysics, electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) as noted by Moore and Pareek (195). Neuromarketing research is said to have triggered significant amount of interest among many marketers and companies. Proponents of the technology argue that it could be the next big thing in the marketplace (Guardian News and Media Limited par 6). In this regard, they argue that by using science to locate the ‘buy buttons’ of consumers, it would be easy for marketers to open the black box of the consumer’s mind. Research reveals that neuromarketing is good for application in different areas especially in predicting behaviors, understanding the ads that the majority of consumers can easily remember. It can also be applied in choosing the media formats that can easily be understood by consumers. Other areas of application according to Moore and Pareek are in understanding why most consumers differ from what they inform the focus group (196). Some companies have adopted this technology as a way of improving their marketing communication. They believe that as technology advances, the business become more competitive and for a company to stay ahead, and have a competitive advantage over others, it is imperative to keep pace with technology. The companies that have embraced this technology for improving their marketing communication include Mercedes, Google, Microsoft, and even twitter (Singer 1). Microsoft, for instance is currently using the EEG data as means of understanding how well its users interact with computers as well as establishing their feelings during the interactions. This enables the company to predict how consumers will probably respond to their products once they hit the market. Google is another big company that is currently embracing the technology as was seen during its partnership with MediaVest on the study of biometrics to measure how effective youTube overlays versus pre-role were. In this regard, the study found overlays to much more effective with subjects (Fabiano 12). It is also noted that making brands that evoke emotions among consumers has never been easy to many companies. Many consumers make their purchases at the subconscious level. But due to rapid technological advancement, it is not sufficient to do perform an analysis just based on traditional methods. This is where the neuromarketing comes in, since it will give marketing experts the opportunity to ensure that their brand are up to standards that incite emotions thereby making lasting and positive impressions to consumers. This is by enabling the marketers to explore far and beyond so as to understand what makes consumers respond (Singer 1). Despite the benefits, there are also some critics of the technology. In this regard, some critics see the technology not being cost effective and unpleasant of the scan. Nevertheless, there has not been substantive proof to support this argument as noted by Dr, Gemma Calvert, one of the co-founder of Neuroscience Ltd (Moore and Pareek 196). In his publication in the London Times magazine, Calvert indicated that MRI is not as costly as some individuals think. He further noted that it is as costly as the cost of conducting focus group. This means that it is beneficial to use this technology due to its efficiency and accuracy than to adopt the focus group method. With regard to unpleasantness, Calvert noted that this is just a mare talk, which cannot be substantiated. He argued that no problem has arisen since they began using the technology. He supported his argument saying that they have always remained focused when reading brain imaging so as to understand the consumer’s perception (Plessis 134). Conclusion In spite of the controversy facing neuromarketing, certainly the technology is likely to become an important tool within the marketing industry. In fact, the trend and experience show that many big corporations have began adopting the technique and probably sooner or later, we will start seeing the technology being adopted in all companies. Indeed, this technology will certainly revolutionize the ability of marketers to access the inner emotions of consumers. It is thus a technology that needs to be embraced by all companies so as to remain competitive in the marketplace. In fact, I foresee this technology becoming a corporate marketing strategy amongst most companies across the globe. Work Cited Fabiano, Brian. Neuromarketology: Harness Converging Technologies and Diverging Audiences to Create Dynamic One to One Marketing and Astonishing ROI. Scottsdale, AZ: Neuromarketology, 2010, Print. Guardian News and Media Limited. Mind control: The advent of Neuroscience in Marketing. Web, 15 Oct. 2012: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2012/mar/23/mind-control-advent-of-neuroscience Moore, Karl, & Pareek, Niketh. Marketing: The Basics. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2010, Print. Plessis, Erik D. The Branded Mind: What Neuroscience Really Tells us about Puzzle of the Brain and the Brand. Kogan Page Publishers, 2011, Print. Singer, Natasha. Marketing Ads That Whisper to the Brain. New York Times, 13 November 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2012: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/business/14stream.html?_r=0 Zurawicki, Leon. Neuromarketing: Exploring the Brain of the Consumer. Boston, MA: Springer, 2010, Print. Read More