The Science Behind Neuromarketing

Introduction

Marketingoresearch is definedoas a process that reports information that can be used to solveomarketing problems, such as pricing or determining the most effective advertising environment. The focus is on the process that leads to the information to be used to make decisions. It should also be noted that this definition refers to informationothat can be used toosolve a particular marketingoproblem. AmericanoMarketingoAssociation (AMA) definesomarketingoresearch as a function thatoconnects marketer and consumer, customeroand public, and information used to identify marketingoopportunities and problems (creating, refining and evaluating marketing actions; monitoring marketing performance, and developing marketing understanding as a process). The AMA definitionostates that the function of marketingoresearch is othe consumeroto the marketerobyoproviding informationothat can be used inomarketingodecisions (Burns and Bush, 2014).

Traditionaloconsumerobehaviororesearch is the systematicocollection, analysis andoinvestigation of incidentsoor businessomarketing and service cases. Methodsoinclude interviews, surveys, projective tests, and observations tooinvestigate consumeropreferences, demands, andopurchasingointentions (Hsu and Cheng, 2017). The concept behind neuromarketing research is to reveal responses that the individual cannot consciously control, so that the individual becomes unwilling or oblivious. Practitioners claim to have these methods (Burns et al. 2017).

The neuromarketing term includes practitioners interested in company-specific marketing research and eyeotracking, skin conductivity, electroencephalography (EEG)oand functionalomagnetic resistance imaging (fMRI) and commercial vehicles. Neuromarketing has shown great interest in the corporateoworld, and the growth of neuromarketing companies has been impressive over the past decade (Plassmann 2012). The contributionoof neuroscientific methodsobecomes important for the knowledge of humanobehavior in the context of marketing. Also, another interesting issue is the dependence of the verbal response used inotraditional marketing research today, and insightsoand indicators are based on the goodwill and accuracy of the experimental subject, which informs the experiment's feelings and views. Instead, using brain imaging can distinguish cognitive andoemotional experiences (expressed verbally during a weapon) and unconscious mental states from brain activation in different areas. Interesting empirical evidence suggestsothat the use of brainoimaging may coexist with classical tests commonly used in marketing sciences in the near future (Vecchiato et al., 2013).

In summary, neuromarketing techniques can help us understand the unique characteristics of services. Concretely, product-based consumer decision making is not suitable for intangible purchases (Fugate, 2008).

In this chapter, we will define the most common neuroscience-based research techniques solely utilized in neuromarketing research with their advantages and disadvantages.