Wednesday, September 26

The Power of cheating

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All that we are dedicated to marketing, we never tire of saying that the brand communication with the client must be sincere. Our company must not promise what you can not deliver. Nor must promise to do something you can not feel. The reason we've been over sometime. When this experience is disappointed deception. Someone cheated never be a loyal customer. And not only that, but also drag with your negative recommendation to others.

However, we are tired of seeing some ads, called "teleshopping", give exaggerated information on the effects of their products and remain on the air for a long time. And they do it because they are still making sales. What keeps them in the limelight. Many users are still buying, even though they know they will not get the same result as seen in the spot. It is just the opposite of the sincerity of the marks. Why it works?.

The Journal of Marketing Research has the answer. The effect "attractiveness" of the property, called the attention of several researchers decided to study why they sold, even when he knew they were exaggerating.
For the study employed a group of twenty volunteers and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). This system measured, in real time, the amount of blood that irrigates each brain area. If a particular area receives more blood in an instant, because you need more "food", as it is running. Thus, through this system, we can know, in real time, which areas of the brain are working at every moment.

Taught various ads (including the home shopping) and prepared to draw conclusions after fMRI readings.
They concluded that our brain reacts to that kind of publicity as when we detect a danger around us. That is, the more "misleading" is advertising, analyze it in more detail. Our brain knows you are trying to "cheat" and increase their level of analysis. So these ads attract attention. So continually issued and sold.
We could say that deception is a powerful attention getter, but a great enemy of loyalty. Customers attracted to these ads buy, but do not repeat your purchase. Could we use this strategy without compromising the sincerity of marks?. The answer is yes, using the ambiguity.

Before an ambiguous ad, which does not provide all the information our brain reacts exactly the same. As the information is incomplete, our brain functions to analyze and find out if we are trying to deceive or if, on the contrary, it is a good thing.

Do not give all the information, let the potential client to find out what it is is a powerful attention getter and is not detrimental to the loyalty. Instead, it creates expectations. And we know that when we create an expectation and overcome, the loyalty is one step, if not directly that is achieved.

Wednesday, September 12

Why brands need to be emotional?

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Lately,  people would often ask the same question: Really brands and companies have to be emotional?. Could it be simply that the emotional is fashionable?. I will try to answer the two questions in this post.

It is true that lately it seems that everything has to excite the customer. If it does not sell thrills, even claim. It is one of the strongest trends of marketing. But it is much more than a fad. It has a scientific basis.

Until recently, we thought that the man was a rational being. We believed that the reason, that sets us apart from other species, was the one who controlled all voluntary acts of our lives. However, something seemed to fit that thesis. We all happened before we've found two products, one above another in performance, but something has to tip the balance toward that rationally, was lower. Something that we can not explain, however has made that "we have been wearing." Remember the first iPhone smash?. iPhone was GPRS. Its direct competition was 3G. However it was sales leader. Or how many times to get home have said: Why I bought this?. Something that, rationally, not needed, but that mysteriously clings to our hand. Later we thousand reasons to justify that purchase to ourselves. But the reality is that we needed.

These examples and many others (not only in the world of marketing), suggested that the famous theory of being absolutely certain it was not as rational as we thought. Indeed, the ability to reason makes us different. It's an evolutionary advantage to our species that is found in the "newest" of our brain. So, which appeared later in the timeline of evolution. That leads us to one conclusion: we have been using the other parts of the brain for much longer. The reason, the rational influences in our lives, yes. But the non-rational, impulsive, instinctive, emotional, too. And much more strongly the latter. Why harder?, Because we, as a species, much longer using a brain without rational part with it. Do not know how to use our brain so that "the boss" is the reason. We have not learned yet.

Man is not rational, it's just a being that is capable of reasoning, but man moves irrational stimuli. We could say that the "emotional brain" is much stronger than "rational brain". This does not mean that the latter does not influence anything in our lives. If so, it would be meaningless existence. But you will agree with me that it is much stronger emotional. What happens when the team loses a big fan?. If the rational dominate, surely it would save a great hard time, but not, we can emotion. What heartbreak?, Rationally there are many people we fall in love, there's no reason malratos. However, the emotional can. Had bad because that person has left us of that, emotionally, we were in love and we do not attend to reason.

Marketing aims to bring companies to their markets. He tells companies what their customers need and then give it as a product, at the same time disclosing these to your potential market. That is, marketing is responsible for the customer-company relationship will be fruitful for both. If customers and businesses are people and people are more emotional than rational, does not it make more sense that the marks are just so emotional?.

That's why that emotion is not fashionable, it is the language of man. The Neuromarketing handles precisely applying marketing knowledge that brings neuroscience. The neurosciences are those that have shown that man is emotional. Neuromarketing is responsible that brands start talking over emotions and less of reasons.

Wednesday, August 29

The power of simplicity

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Our brain is the organ of our body consumes more oxygen. More than 20% of what we breathe is used to feed him.

In the technological revolution in which we live, we understand very well the importance of saving energy.What wrong when your smartphone battery does not last the whole day! Right?. When this happens, the best solution is to see what are the applications that consume and then consider whether they need to be running all day. If not, the disable and so we reduce consumption.

Something similar happens with our brain. As the body requires more energy, have a permanent "power saving mode". By having a very complex activity, requires "a lot of battery", but also tries to save all you can.

Our body gets energy through various processes that take place in our cells, for which it needs oxygen. Therefore, the brain is "a major consumer of oxygen." If we did not have that "savings mode", we would need a lot. So we would have to reduce other functions, or increase the amount you get through the respiratory system.

So how easy, simple, easy to understand what is, what little oxygen needs to be processed, and we like attracts us. If two devices perform the same function, but one is much easier to use, we prefer this. Although other more complete, simplicity attracts saves energy because our body.

And the simple attraction applies to everything. Not only to use easier, we also like to look more simple, because we understand with less effort and therefore less energy requirement.

Good teachers are those who are able to make complex concepts simple, that is, those that facilitate us to understand the idea with less consumption.

The success of Apple, are due to put in the hands of users complex tools with multiple functions, but extremely simple to use.

The best advertising campaigns, they do get the message more directly without having to think too much.
Conversely, when we see concepts and processes that seem complex, we flee from them. It is therefore important that the products, besides being simple in appearance. Our brain makes a first quick scan "at a glance". Behind him, "decided" that if you want simple and, on the contrary, it will reject if it seems complicated. Learning something that at first seems difficult is, first of all, do battle with ourselves, against our own brain.

Ideas, products, communication, everything has to be simple and also have to look for it is thus able to leverage our mindset which saves energy.

Wednesday, August 15

The best sales tool

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It involves over thirty muscles in face, trunk and abdomen. Improves breathing, increased heart rate and blood pressure. Decreases the concentration of cortisol (stress hormone). Increases of endorphins, as a result increases the will to live and reduces pain. All with a single act, ... I'm talking about laughter.

but besides these great effects on our body, does the laughter role in sales?. Yes, of course.

Advertisers are well aware of the positive effects of this great tool, as they have proven, without quite knowing why, how humorous campaigns have had better results than the more serious. Neuroscience and neuromarketing discovered the effects noted in the first paragraph later.

Although these have been the pioneers in commercial use are not the only ones called to use them. Bring a smile to the customer, the potential buyer increases the probability of purchase. Why?.

As I said, laughter releases endorphins. These are, among other things, responsible for "increasing the connection between individuals' ability to improve our readiness to be attentive to what they tell us and help" fix "knowledge. Dopamine is also present, and highly responsible character of love in our species. Therefore, a commercial that make your customers laugh naturally, is much more likely to sell than the most serious.

I knew a trainer insurance salesmen who said they had to sell serious, because the insurance world was something that did not produce laughter. Coincidences of life that when this was replaced by one of these people who have a natural gift for making people laugh, sales people who prepared increased by over 40%, because she was able to motivate more than above.

Both to motivate salespeople, and the individual customer, no doubt, the best tool there is laughter. Some people have easy to provoke and who not. Although the latter today, thanks to new technologies is less severe. Internet is full of videos, jokes and funny situations to teach our clients.

What a coincidence, right?, One of the topics on the Internet is more humor. Videos, stories, jokes, why?. Because laughter is addictive. We love to laugh and want more and more and more. Disclose why funny situations, reasons for others laugh, laughing is a vice, healthy, but vice.

If your client has one of those days in a bad mood, escape is a sale impossible. Unless you have the gift of speaking before.

When making a sales call, a product presentation or an advertising campaign, before thinking about the product or on the advantages this will bring to the customer, think about how you can make you laugh, your sales will increase exponentially with a smile.

Follow me on Twitter: @joseruizpardo

Wednesday, August 1

Kiss and engagement on the client

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Few things are as desired, rather, as a long-awaited first kiss. It is not the contact itself that causes us to desire to have our lips on the other person, is what we feel in the moments before. The anxiety of the first time, how kiss?, I like it?, Kiss as your eyes say?, A thousand questions that have hovered in our heads, sometimes days or even months, are crowded in the seconds before the pulse quickens, at which time we live in another world, another reality. What provokes you that state is curiosity, not the kiss. Who has not done that once it's time did not like and loses all interest?. Expectations have not been overcome and the run was better than later, in many cases, will not return.

Product-customer relationship is a kiss from manufacturer to consumer. It's not just the usefulness of the product are the moments before having it, it's time to open the package and see inside the box, is the first time that the product is in their hands. The packaging and product presentation are responsible for that something becomes useful also desired.

During my years in the computer industry have had in my hands many boxes of product, I opened, I have shown, but never felt much desire to own one like the first time I opened the box of an iPad. The ritual, form, position paper, the smell ... Apple knows very well to live experiences. Not the kiss, are the moments before ... Not the product is the desire to have one. There is no better kiss than the one for before you arrive, there is no greater loyalty than that provokes desire. Who has not been broken child and the gift wrap can not wait to open it slowly?.

Whether the product is solid, liquid or gas, the packaging is just as protagonist. Especially if it can be touching something that is not. Our mind likes to know how things really are than you think.

In these difficult times sales, many companies are launching the online channel to increase portfolio. Their product, which was previously sold at a neighborhood store is now sold throughout the country or even worldwide. Orders arrive, get into any box, albeit with much cork to prevent breakage and are delivered to the courier. Just started a kiss without moments before, without enjoyment, all fast, not the packaging care.
Internet has a problem with respect to the other channels: the product can not be touched. But it has a great advantage, the purchase is not immediate, it takes on the best one day, so they are much more desired. At the time we receive the order confirmation email and we look forward to the messenger call the front door.
If we care how our product reaches the customer, packaging, get to be even more desirable, increasing the likelihood of new purchase. No matter what you sell is solid, liquid or gas, the important thing is not only to arrive in good condition, but what consumers feel before opening.

Design experience in receiving product will increase engagement, the level of enthusiasm and thus, the degree of customer loyalty. Neuromarketing has tools to design an experience for the customer to live the feelings and emotions that the manufacturer or distributor has planned.

While we should not forget that as a bad kiss shatters all previous moments (and perhaps future) a bad product will do the same with the preliminaries to use.

Wednesday, July 18

Anthropology of trademarks or understand consumer behavior

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Understand how man relates with his environment is fundamental to understanding how it should be the relationship between brands and people. Companies are only one element in our environment.

Man is by nature, curious. Want to learn. It is pure survival instinct of the species. Find out more around us allows us to better prevent and defend against threats. Therefore, the new, the unknown attracts us.

When something unexpected happens, we quickly huddled around to see what happened. The many road accidents, the cause of which has been a major accident is not the first crash, but the decrease in the rate of those who went back to see what happened. Are typical scenes of the movies in which people around an area where there has been a tragedy and the police try to clear the congestion, scenes that reflect reality.
Naughty say some, but more than that is survival instinct. We were attracted by the unfortunate event to learn and so we try not happen to us.

With the relationship between people, something curious happens. We attract new people, yes, but we like being with people who are similar to us. We were attracted by strangers, but when we approached them we began to unconsciously associations to classify the new acquaintance. As we confirmed our assumptions that person wins or loses interest for us as far as it coincides roughly with the way we are. If we like the self-assertion, look people we discuss and try to get over it. If we do not like to argue, the other person will lose interest as they discover that does not match our thinking.

The company-customer relationship is exactly like the relationship between individuals. Companies are made up of people and products marketed cover human needs. So when we see a brand we are attracted to them when they are unknown. When we discovered what the product or the company they represent, we began to classify and arouse more interest or lose everything, to the extent that this classification agrees or not with our way of being and the product covers or not our needs.

So there are brands that "we like" and other "we dislike." Sometimes we consume a product because it is the only to us, but we are not comfortable with him. And maybe perfectly fulfills its function, but what it communicates your brand is contrary to our way of being. We do not like. It's like that coworker who can not stand, but we have to live with it, necessarily, on a day to day.

It is important when designing a brand, be clear to whom it is addressed, what personality traits we want to evoke feelings and what we want to achieve. Neuromarketing can help achieve our goal, making sure that really evokes the intended.

It is also important to know that, like every one of us likes us to everyone else, our brand will be detractors within our market potential. People who do not sit well. It is therefore essential to know the target and, in defining the personality traits of the brand, try to find features common to most people who make up our target market. Still, one must assume that our brand is not going down well at all, so our goal will never be 100% of our potential market.

Wednesday, July 4

The Neuromarketing in tourism

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The neuromarketing has applications in absolutely all areas. Tourism is one of the most powerful in the economies of many countries, and one in which the neuromarketing can contribute a lot.

When a city sells its beaches or its gastronomy, in fact, is selling what the tourists feel to soak up the sun, drinking cool water, or enjoy the typical food of the area. And of course, nothing like the neuromarketing to measure emotions, is one of its purposes.

Other times I have spoken of neuromarketing in advertising campaigns. Well we can apply these to see if we are communicating the feelings we want. But in this post, I would like to focus on another important aspect that neuromarketing can help tourism.

In addition to ensure that our communication campaigns are effective, neuromarketing can help identify what feel our tourists. Those positive feelings will be those living then communicate through our campaigns.

It's about being more effective. So far, those responsible for tourism campaigns, the designing based on what they thought, felt the tourist. The Neuromarketing can help identify those feelings that tourists feel real truth in a certain place, a city, a beach, a restaurant.

Studies using neuromarketing techniques applied to a representative sample, allow it to identify the sensations and feelings associated with a tourist experience. After defining the experienced positive values, is designed communication campaigns around them, and check that they really are these and not others, the values being transmitted.

This methodology is applicable not only to a city, also to a particular establishment. A hotel, restaurant, entertainment complex even a train or plane, may be subject to them.

Furthermore, once identified the sensations experienced in the area studied, we can introduce elements that enhance them. So, Bernd Reutermann, founder of Mindness Hotel, introduced in hotels humorous details in the toilets or "hugging pillow" in their armchairs. Identified that almost all clients traveling alone and was using humor to alleviate "the solitude of the business traveler."

Although there is much to contribute to the tourism sector, this is still anchored in traditional patterns of marketing and has not taken advantage of the benefits of neuromarketing to offer. But yes, those places that have decided to implement it, have marked difference from the others.