Comments on: Forget RFID, We’ll Just Read Your Mind…

By: Getting Inside the Minds of Your Customers « Experience Branding Blog

Getting Inside the Minds of Your Customers « Experience Branding Blog — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:30:17 +0000

[...] informed sales people can then act quickly to respond to customers’ emotional needs. Bill Hanifin’s July ‘09 blog post covers this technology and all its problematic issues very well. But what it doesn’t identify is [...]

By: Bill Hanifin

Bill Hanifin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:30:04 +0000

Thanks for the insightful and concerned comments on Neuromarketing.

A few follow up thoughts: it is possible that the 60 Minutes feature stretched the capabilities of Neuromarketing as well as the intentions of marketers interested in the science. Roger’s comment “the idea of scanning the brains of unsuspecting consumers … is far beyond the reach of current technology” is a strong clarification from a leader in the space.

Barry Kirk set a fair bar for the expectations of Neuromarketing. Marketers can place unwarranted confidence on surveys that are casually completed by respondents and focus groups that are dominated by an opinionated personalities in the group. If there is a way to discern the “real” answers to questions in order to build confidence in marketing strategies, it would be a welcome result for most of us.

I also agree with Jonathan Treiber that any sort of technology that identifies consumers on-location via tracking technology, be it Bluetooth enabled phones, RFID stickers, or reading our minds (doubtful), will only be successful if consumers invite the intrusion.

Opt-in is a must. It has proven to be the path to success for SMS marketing and will most likely be mandatory for these more sophisticated marketing technologies to grab a foothold.

By: Lisa Stephens

Lisa Stephens — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:09:00 +0000

My biggest concern with privacy breaches such as these ideas could create, is that consumers in a lesser economy will withdraw, completely, from the market. I worry that this age of technological science, as applied to understanding your customer base through ‘fact’ as ‘interpreted’ is irrespective of knowledge, and doesn’t allow for truth. The assumption of comprehension of an individual’s thoughts (not habits), without direct verification… seriously? Seems to me this would lead to a new era of bomb shelter mentality.

Neuromarketing, in my opinion, has its place; but not as perception of psychological competitive advantage through the use of technology.

By: Penny

Penny — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:15:25 +0000

I think this would be an excellent anti terrorism device at airports and other places where terrorists are known to strike, it could prevent strikes and suicide bombers perhaps? If it could be done, then roll it out!

By: Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:39:55 +0000

The idea of scanning the brains of unsuspecting consumers wandering through stores is far, far beyond the reach of current technology and in no way is the focus of development efforts.

Rather, current neuromarketing providers test willing volunteers much the same as focus groups do, with the difference being the way the data is collected.

Neuromarketing is perfectly in tune with the idea that “business is driven by pleasing the customer” – the end goal of neuromarketing studies is to develop products that consumers REALLY like and to create ads that don’t do more harm than good.

Roger
Neuromarketing – http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/

By: zsyphon

zsyphon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:41:57 +0000

Neuro-marketing seems to be the end all be all to me. However, it’s way to intrusive. There’s to much room for abuse. Ran across Tetherball the other day. They are running a mobile RFID campaign like the one you described.
The details are here: http://tetherball360.com/how.aspx

By: Barry Kirk

Barry Kirk — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:11:47 +0000

Bill, I’m actually engaged in some neuroscience work at Maritz right now and am finding the whole field both intriguing and disconcerting, for all of the reasons you have noted above. In our work to apply it to consumer loyalty we’ve had vigorous discussions about how to ensure you do so in an ethical fashion, which is primarily done by putting the focus on what the consumer wants/needs first, rather than on the brand’s needs. But whether or not neuromarketing and fMRI scans become standard tools for loyalty marketers, here is my major takeaway from the current interest in the topic: marketers need to understand a whole lot more about human psychology, about how the brain really reacts to messages and offers, and how cognitive biases often drive us to make seemingly irrational choices. I think marketers are often working from really uninformed assumptions about how consumers think and that’s why many marketing strategies fall short. If the current focus on neuromarketing helps drive our field to embrace a more enlightened view of human psych, I think it will be a good thing.

By: Alex Feldstein

Alex Feldstein — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:25:08 +0000

Interesting idea but I doubt it’ll work. I’m all for RFID as a viable and worthwhile technology, but Neuromarketing strikes me as too much SciFi, too little reality. Creep it is, but I wouldn’t worry just yet.

By: Jonathan Treiber

Jonathan Treiber — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:14:20 +0000

Bill, I think your sentiments are spot on here. RFID has never caught on the way technology companies have intended. I think the cost issue around RFID has always made this a cost-prohibitive technology for most retailers. I think the consumer value proposition is terrible.

I see one key application that might be a compromise between the two. What about an opt-in program with blue-tooth enabled phones that give loyal customers the ability to click to get offers to their phone when they walk through the security panels in the entrance of the store. It’s better and way less expensive than RFID and doesn’t have the same downsides. Thoughts?