As a consumer, I do not want to spend oodles of time comparing prices and the quality(-ies) of the product. In the shop, or whenever and wherever I buy, I want trust and a preferred relationship [I may sound like a snob, but our current condition encourages this behaviour]. And, in order to create that link, the BRAND is essential… In the New (read: Net) Order, getting that
trust (and the good relationship) via the web is intimately related to such ordinary measures as ease of access, the time it takes to process the order (do they ask for only pertinent information?) or even just the length of time it takes to load up the pages. This is a far cry from how we operate in a brick & mortar store (the friendly smile, ability to trial, lighting…). Our brains are definitely evolving, but I don’t want to subscribe to the idea of a purchase button in the brain as nascent neuromarketing “science” is suggesting (reference to the Pepsi Coke MRI test in this 2004 article from US News). [Or see the French article http://tinyurl.com/2j5u6u].
What of the evolution toward a softer, gentler opt-in marketing? It would seem that the human being will create anti-bodies to common advertising and even viral marketing. Thereby, I see the human brain in constant flux and I don’t believe a one-time (MRI) snapshot of a brain will enable us to do better marketing. We must remain more than ever on our marketing toes and learn to shift with the southweberly winds.
