Neuromarketing - Why Customers Buy

by Mark Nagurski, May 30th, 2008

A while back I got an email from Mark Boreland at Greenique and ZenRooms suggesting I read Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customer’s Brain. A few clicks on Amazon and the book arrived two days later in time to join me on a 4 hour journey to Dublin.

I have to admit a certain fascination with this kind of topic so I was expecting good things - and by and large I got them.

Written in an accessible style, Patrick Renvoise has created a very usable reference with lots of take away information and examples. He uses a simple structure to break down his over-riding concept, “The Six Stimuli”, into a usable, if a little familiar, four step process.

Diagnose the pain
Differentiate your claims
Demonstrate the gain
Deliver to the Old Brain

While it’s always useful to hear these concepts expressed in new terms - and backed by solid examples and logic - the first three points should be familiar to most marketers and salespeople.

Where the book wins is in its ability to dive a bit deeper into these ideas. For example, rather than just suggesting that we should be addressing the prospect’s needs / pain, Renvoise goes further by asking:

What is the source of the pain? Is it financial, strategic or personal?
How intense is the pain?
How urgent is the need to alleviate the pain?
Does the prospect acknowledge the pain?

Where the book spends the most time however is in addressing ’selling to the old brain’ - the old brain being the driver of decision making beyond the logic of the first three points.

Again some of the information is familiar. As part of the book’s ’six building blocks’ and ’seven impact boosters’ for selling to the old brain you’ll find clear and memorable claims, proving your claims and boosting your impact by using ‘you’.

But like with the rest of the book, the benefit is in the systematic approach, the ‘do this‘ detail, the examples and the clear take away points.

Although it hasn’t revolutionised the way I think about marketing and selling, Neuromarketing has both reinforced some approaches and introduced new ones for consideration. If anything it’s a kick in the ass to start thinking more about the materials and messages we create.

There’s tons of great info if you haven’t been introduced to this kind of approach previously - and an excellent checklist and reference if you have.

Like all good marketing books, this is one I’ll go back to.

Link: Neuromarketing Blog

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