If A Marketer’s Basic Assumption Is Flawed, Inefficiency and Ineffectiveness Are Inevitable.
People Do Not Make Logical Decisions,
Despite What We Believe!
People are hard-wired to think our decisions are logical. That’s because the only access we had to the subconscious was through our emotions. Until the MRI.
Now neuroscience is peering into the brain as decisions are made, and guess what? We are far more primal in our thinking and our decision making that we thought. Most often, the Primal Brain makes a decision and the Logical Brain rationalizes it – ask any trail lawyer about the “logical decisions” juries make.
So what about marketing is flawed and why is it important?
Historically, it was taught and we all believed that people make rational, logical decisions. Only in the last decade did marketers, consultants and agencies start appealing to people’s emotions. The difficulty is that people can have many different emotional responses to a single message…positive or negative.
Okay, then what REALLY happens when buying decisions are made?
It turns out that 95% of all decisions are made with the subconscious/Primal Brain! Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio was one of the first to find that without access to emotions, people could not make good decisions – just the opposite of historical assumptions. There have been many examples, particularly in cases of brain injuries.
The biggest discovery of all is that the subconscious isn’t just a ball of emotion. It actually has a logic of its own!
At BrilliantDoc we have developed a proprietary model of decision making. The implications are significant.
First, marketing must break through people’s “spam filter.” People are inundated with over 4,000 commercial messages every day. The Primal Brain is always scanning the environment for danger or opportunity. We have to break through the clutter and get the Primal Brain’s attention just to be considered.
Second, to break through the filter, you have to know what the Primal Brain is looking for – and it’s probably not the “obvious” problem, like crooked teeth. That’s too logical for the Primal Brain.
Third, the audience needs to understand how you can transform them in a relevant way.
Fourth, they need to feel what life will be like after your services.
Fifth, they need to understand “why you?” and be able to rationalize the expenditure
Learn more about the STAR® Decision Model.