IIC Journal of Innovation 4th Edition | Page 29

Neuromarketing – The Art and Science of Marketing and Neurosciences Enabled by IoT Technologies 3500+ store locations 1 or have filed for bankruptcy 2 in this year alone tells that story. I NTRODUCTION Imagine you had the ability to understand and influence human emotion – could you use this to increase sales at your company, identify the right advertisements or product mix? Advertisers, psychologists, hypnotists and top sales performers have long recognized the relationship between stimulating emotion and influencing action. While this unique skill has been in the hands of few, neuromarketing is a growing field of science and technology that looks to put it in the hands of many. Historically, traditional focus groups have been the “go to” method for marketers to understand consumer receptiveness to products and advertisements. However, focus groups have limitations – people don’t always say what they feel or behave in a predictable manner. A person may say they eat kale salad for lunch 3 days a week and go mountain bike riding every other weekend, but in reality, they are skipping lunch every day and watching sports on television while throwing back a six pack of beer to fuel their team spirit. This behavior, and likely inaccuracies, poses quite a dilemma for retailers in focus group settings. As John Wanamaker, a department store owner said as far back in the 1800s: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” In today’s retail environment, companies are facing an increasing shift in consumer decision making and different buying habits – from the rapid growth of online purchasing to the practice of “showrooming” – where consumers browse products at a physical store and ultimately purchase online. These factors are forcing brands and retailers, to become better at measuring consumer emotions and enhancing their marketing efforts. So how do retailers know what half works? W ILL THE A RT OF N EUROSCIENCES P LEASE S TEP U P Retailers are aware of the critical need to understand consumer behavior. By understanding consumer behavior, retailers can ensure the right products are available at the right price and locations while incentivizing purchases through targeted promotions. When retailers lose touch with continuously shifting consumers’ wants and needs, and are unable to adapt in a timely manner, the implications can be disastrous. The number of retailers that are closing Created by Dr. Richard Bandler and Dr. John Grinder, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) was developed to identify different types of verbal and nonverbal human communications and examine internal and 1 “These 21 Retailers Are Closing 3,591 Stores -- Who Is Next?” Forbes, 3/20/2017 2 “Retail bankruptcies march toward post-recession high” CNBC, 3/31/2017 28 June 2016