Day: November 2, 2024

People tend to make decisions based on the behavior and preferences of others. Therefore, using elements of social proof such as customer reviews, user experiences and success stories can instill trust in consumers. Our brains tend to make decisions based on whether others trust a product or brand. Practice Tip: Feature customer reviews on your website and share user experiences.

With FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Strategies, the brain’s reward system is activated to avoid missing opportunities. The “Fear of Missing Out” strategy, known as “FOMO”, accelerates purchasing decisions by creating situations such as time-limited offers or stock limitations. This method is effective in increasing sales by utilizing the brain’s tendency to avoid risk. Application Suggestion: Organize limited-time discounts or limited stock campaigns to create a sense of urgency.

Emotions play a powerful role in decision-making processes. Neuromarketing uses elements that trigger consumers’ emotional responses. In particular, advertising and content that evokes emotions such as happiness, fear or curiosity can strengthen brand perception. For example, telling an emotional story or making customers experience a specific emotion can positively influence purchase decisions. Practice Suggestion: Focus on storytelling in ads, and try to create an emotional connection with sincere and empathetic messages. Discounts stimulate the brain’s reward center and increase consumers’ buying tendencies. Concrete offers such as “50 percent off” trigger the brain’s perception of opportunity and become attractive. However, if the discounts are of limited duration, this effect is even stronger.Implementation Suggestion: Run special discount campaigns in certain periods and announce these campaigns with effective visuals. Sensory marketing enables consumers to have sensory experiences with a brand.

Sensory stimuli such as smells, sounds and textures increase brand memorability. The brain strengthens memory in connection with sensory experiences, which can increase brand loyalty. Implementation Suggestion: Use pleasant scents in your store or add attention-grabbing sound effects in your ads.

These techniques can be effective in driving sales using the opportunities offered by neuromarketing. Adapting each method to suit your brand and target audience ensures maximum efficiency.

Reference: Psychologist Merve Altındağ

BALLI, A., DEMİR, S., & TOLON, M. NÖROGİRİŞİMCİLİK.

Ballı, A., & Aycı, A. (2021). Nörobilim yaklaşımıyla girişimcilikte farklı bir boyut: Nörogirişimcilik. Avrupa Bilim ve Teknoloji Dergisi, (22), 184-194.

The human brain has been sensitive to stories for thousands of years. Throughout history, humanity has found meaning through stories, drawing pictures on cave walls, telling myths and passing down stories from generation to generation. In the modern world, brands have realized that storytelling is one of the most effective ways to build strong bonds with their consumers. But why are stories so powerful? The answer lies deep inside our brains: neuromarketing. Before we focus on the relationship between these two unique fields, let’s define storytelling. Storytelling is the art of conveying an event, experience or idea to people in an effective and engaging way. It is both an ancient form of communication and a powerful way to create emotional and mental engagement.

When we listen to a story, our brains not only follow the events; we also begin to live them. The emotions felt by the characters change our brain chemistry and draw us deeper into the experience. Neuromarketing research using MRI scans shows that both sensory and emotional areas of the brain are activated when listening to a well-crafted story. So, instead of just listening to a brand, when we are drawn into a story, we form an emotional connection with that brand.

For example, think of a coffee brand. Saying “we make the best quality coffee in the world” provides information but does not leave an impact. But a story that tells the story of a small farm where that brand’s coffee beans are grown, where farmers carefully pick each bean, and where a father shares that coffee with his children in the early hours of the morning, takes us to another level. It is no longer just coffee, it becomes an experience. This story activates the reward center of our brain and allows us to identify with the brand. In this context, a successful neuromarketing strategy enables brands to tell consumers a story, rather than just selling them a product. The metaphors, emotional moments and characters used in storytelling cause the brain to release the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin increases emotions such as trust and empathy and helps to develop positive feelings towards the brand. A consumer who internalizes a brand’s story begins to see that brand not just as a product but as a lifestyle.

Neuromarketing, combined with storytelling, enables brands to create deep emotional connections with consumers. People are naturally drawn to stories, so brands can inspire consumers through storytelling, building loyalty and trust. In today’s competitive world, brands that offer emotional experiences beyond products gain a permanent place in consumer minds and hearts through stories.

Reference: Psychologist Merve Altındağ

Ramsden, A., & Hollingsworth, S. (2017). Hikaye anlatma sanatı. translator: Ali Bucak, İstanbul, İletişim Publisher.

Çalışkan, S. (2021). Reklam Filmleri ve Hikaye Anlatıcılığı. Literatürk Academia.

Cultural neuroscience can be defined as the effort to explain the neuroscientific basis of the human mind’s ability to create social and cultural evolution.

Although the brain is born with a certain structure, it is an organ that changes, shapes and learns as a result of environmental and cultural experiences. This feature, called brain plasticity, helps us understand how the brain is shaped by cultural experiences. Cultural differences cause individuals to have different cognitive processes, perceptions and experiences based on social interactions, leading to different activation patterns in certain areas of the brain.

In Western societies, people tend to think more individualistically and analytically. Western individuals perceive in a more isolated way, focusing on the characteristics of an event or object. The prefrontal cortex of the brain is more active to process this analytical thinking.

In Eastern societies, individuals are often more focused on their environment, groups and relationships. People in these societies have a holistic way of thinking, meaning they see things more holistically and pay more attention to contextual factors. Neuroscience research has found that the brains of individuals raised in Asian cultures show more activity in areas such as the parietal lobe to process the broader visual and social context.

Neuromarketing research shows how cultural differences influence consumers’ neuroscientific responses to products and services. In Western cultures, advertising campaigns that emphasize individual achievement and authenticity can be effective, whereas in Eastern cultures, messages related to community cohesion, harmony and traditions may be more effective. In Western cultures, advertising campaigns that emphasize individual achievement and authenticity may be effective, whereas in Eastern cultures, messages associated with community cohesion, harmony and traditions may be more effective. The relationship between cultural differences and neuroscience explains how the brain adapts and is shaped by environmental and social factors. Neuromarketing can use this relationship to develop more effective strategies because consumers’ decision-making processes are tightly linked between neuroscientific underpinnings and cultural contexts. Culturally sensitive marketing strategies can better target consumers’ perceptions and generate stronger results for brands.

Reference: Psychologist Merve Altındağ

Tanrıdağ, O. (2015). Sosyal Nörobilim. Nobel Tıp Kitabevi.

Mutafoğlu, M., & Psikolog, U. Otobiyografik Bellek ve Kültür İlişkisi.