In our last insurance marketing, neuromarketing & psycology article we learnt the importance of being “visual” and the importance of the “old brain”, the true decision-maker. How can you reach the old brain?
This “part 2” article (based on the book “Neuromarketing” by Patrick Renvoisé and Christophe Morin) gives you the key to “unlocking” the deicsion-making process.
According to the authors, the only six stimuli that speak to the old brain:
- Self-centered: “Your audience must hear what you (or your company) can do for them before they will pay any kind of attention to you.
- Contrast: The old brain is sensitive to clear contrast, such as before/after, risky/safe, with/without, or fast/slow. Contrast allows the old brain to make quick, risk-free decision. Do you use contrast in your presentations, ads or brochures?
- Tangible input: The use of words, especially the complicated ones (pay attention here insurance professionals) will slow down the decoding of your message and utomatically place the burden or information processing onto the new brain. Use “tangible inputs”.
- The beginning and the end: The brain is constantly looking to conserve vital energy and will tend to drop information in the process. Insurance professionals, should you have the choice of presenting first or last, you should always choose to present first, because you have an opportunity to anchor the first “beginning” point against which all other presentations will be measured.
- Visual stimuli: Neuroscience demostrates that when you see something that looks like a snake, your old brain wars you instantly of danger (in about 2 milliseconds) causing you to react even before your “new brain” physiccally recognizes the object is a snake. In fact, it will take about 500 milliseconds for the visual cortex part of your neocortex to recognize that indeed it is a snake. Are you really still using words and more words in your insurance power point presentations? Insurance lawyers… Are you still writting articles and more articles in your slides? In that case your message is putting your audience to sleep.
- Emotion: The old brain is only triggered by emotion. We remember events better when we have experienced them with strong emotions. Antonio Damasio says in his book Descartes´error (another book hightly recommended) “We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think”.
In our next iNLIP marketing and pshycology article we will talk about the four fundamental steps to tap into the old brain.
David Roig (See profile on LinkedIn)
Source: Book “Neuromarketing” by Patrick Renvoisé and Christophe Morin.