Written by: Alan S. Carlson
As neuromarketing continues to increase in popularity, there are still many people who do not fully understand the field and often form misconceptions about neuromarketing. Below are the some of the top misconceptions held by marketers and the average person about neuromarketing:
1. Neuromarketing is Evil
Many people think neuromarketers might someday find the “buy button” in the human brain that will cause people to act like zombies and make purchases they don’t want to. Upon examining how the brain works, it becomes clear that this is impossible, as the human brain cannot be controlled by an advertising message. Too much goes on inside the brain when making decisions for it to be taken control of in this way.
The fact is any form of marketing could be used for evil, such as making false claims about a product. It is not exclusive to neuromarketing. And in fact neuromarketing can ultimately be used for the greater good.
Imagine how we could make advertisements for organizations such as the Salvation Army or the Red Cross convince more people to volunteer their time for humanities sake.
2. Neuromarketing will make Focus Groups and Surveys Unnecessary
Conducting a thorough neuromarketing analysis is more costly (for now) and can’t get many things the survey and focus group can. The cost of using an fMRI and EEG machine can be great, considering they can mostly be found in medical centers and require someone with an advanced degree to use. While there are less expensive and less complicated neuromarketing techniques, surveys still provide good insights at significantly lower costs. So we definitely won’t be replacing the standard ways of conducting market research anytime soon.
3. Neuromarketing can cause your nonconscious mind to control your conscious mind.
It has been confirmed in hundreds of studies that this is not true. The fact is the very opposite is true. Your conscious mind always has the power to take control of your nonconscious mind. In scientific experiments, when test subjects are made aware of nonconscious techniques being used on them in order to persuade them, the effects instantly go away.