Marketing to our human instincts

Published July 15, 2014 at 8:45 am

The role that emotion plays in the effectiveness of a marketing campaign should not be overlooked. As consumers continue to expect higher levels of personalization, marketers should bear in mind that establishing a personalized relationship could create the edge needed to stay ahead of competitors.

A recent article from Fast Company discusses the role that emotion plays in decision-making. The article explains that the role of neurobiology is often overlooked when it comes to marketing strategy. The point is that humans have evolved to make many decisions unconsciously, even though they may believe they are doing otherwise.

In this respect, emotions cannot be controlled, only responded to. As marketers work to create materials that evoke emotional responses, it is important to keep in mind that human instinct is another factor that comes into play in decision making. As the article notes, even though a brand may be able to create an emotional response, the human instinct is typically not to want to connect with a brand on an emotional level.

The key takeaway is that despite how much we have evolved, humans still operate from an instinctual level, and survival plays a significant role in human decision-making. For this reason, campaigns that find subtle ways to appeal to these instincts have often had successful results. Unconscious connections are powerful, and this is something that the world’s most successful brands are clued into.

Emotion fosters connection, and connections are personal. Automated marketing software can make it easier for teams located in various geographic regions to execute campaigns seamlessly, while providing marketing collateral that delivers the level of personalization that consumers have come to expect.