{"id":40753,"date":"2021-06-26T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=40753"},"modified":"2021-07-19T08:56:58","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T12:56:58","slug":"what-is-neuromarketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-neuromarketing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Neuromarketing: Manipulating Customers?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is neuromarketing? How do marketing experts take advantage of psychology to manipulate you into buying?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neuromarketing is when marketers use brain research to find out how they can manipulate customers into buying more. Many of these practices rely on dopamine traps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of the most common neuromarketing traps and advice on how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Neuromarketing: Marketing That Caters to Your Brain<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is neuromarketing? Well, since dopamine makes you keen on immediate gratification<\/a>, it’s not surprising that so many people today suffer from obsessions and compulsions. And it’s also not surprising that the field known as “neuromarketing” has skyrocketed. Marketing experts use brain research to find out what they can do to make you want more and buy more.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing tactics based on dopamine traps are ubiquitous. Businesses understand that our brains are attracted to sales, and especially sales under time pressure (as in \u201cact fast for these one-day doorbusters!\u201d). Our brains are also lured by evocative scents like cinnamon in the fall and winter and coconut in the summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every chain restaurant knows they need to keep adding new products\u2014as in \u201cI’d like a lavender chai latte infused with nitrogen gas, please\u201d\u2014because dopamine loves novelty. <\/strong>The old brain<\/a> rewards eventually become dull, but the promise of a novel reward reignites the spark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Brain\u2019s Response to Neuromarketing <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you find yourself heading to the nearest gourmet grocery store whenever you’re bored, it might be because your brain knows it’s a reliable place to get a dopamine rush<\/a>. Everything smells so good, looks so pretty, and tastes delicious. Even the piped-in music is appealing. And it’s all engineered to hook you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t mean you should never let yourself browse your favorite upscale market. Life is better with rewards\u2014and even sometimes with only the promise of reward. Our brains\u2019 reward system keeps life interesting and fun. The key is to know the difference between real rewards\u2014those that actually make us happy and give our life meaning\u2014and false rewards that only serve to distract us (and wind up making us feel bad).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example: <\/strong>Jane drives to the mall whenever she’s bored or unhappy, convinced that shopping is the quick fix she needs. But when Jane turns off her default mode and analyzes her feelings, she realizes that she’s always happier on the way to the mall than she is when she’s shopping or driving home afterward. She realizes that she feels impatient and anxious when she’s inside the stores, and she doesn’t enjoy making purchases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Jane, going to the mall delivers the promise of feeling good, but being there and buying stuff doesn\u2019t feel good. She decides to make dopamine work for her rather than against her: Now when she needs cheering up, she still goes to the mall, but she only walks around and window-shops. She doesn\u2019t bring her credit cards, she doesn\u2019t buy anything, and she doesn\u2019t leave feeling bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willpower Hack: Keep Close Watch on Your Dopamine Triggers <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Since dopamine triggers are all around us, it’s worth considering which of your willpower failures are related to traps found in your everyday environment. We all have different triggers depending on what stimulates our individual brains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, let\u2019s say you turn to TikTok when you\u2019re bored or unhappy. Maybe watching a few funny dog videos makes you laugh, and you quickly feel better. But do you turn it off after enjoying 10 minutes of laughter, or do you keep watching until two hours have passed, the videos don\u2019t seem funny anymore, and you feel like you\u2019ve wasted a beautiful afternoon? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is neuromarketing? How do marketing experts take advantage of psychology to manipulate you into buying? Neuromarketing is when marketers use brain research to find out how they can manipulate customers into buying more. Many of these practices rely on dopamine traps. 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