How can emotions be used to influence consumer behavior?

As neuroscientist Antonio Damasio puts it: “We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think”. This also applies to consumer decisions. Consumers make decisions triggered by emotions and finalize them on a rational basis. Emotion is the source of the decision. The afterthought is called "post rationalization". The similarity between the words "motion" and "emotion" is not accidental. You can only create action if you can create emotion. Emotions, therefore play a leading role in consumer science. Of course, not every emotion is applicable to every service/product. However without the emotional triger, there can be no action.

Consumers frequently experience a fear of missing out or a perception that others lead better or easier lives. By conducting consumer perception studies that capture content and data, one can effectively align messages with the concepts of scarcity and urgency. The fear of missing out or the excitement of acquiring something exclusive can act as powerful motivators, compelling individuals towards impulse purchases.

As a researcher in the field of Neuromarketing, it is easier to dive deep into emotions and buying behavior. 95% of our buying decisions are subconscious and only require a trigger to act on it. Ego, fear (FOMO), Nostalgia and aspiration are the 4 main drivers of our buying behavior. Most often, although we make impulse purchases, the desires are far deeply rooted. Our brain responds exponentially faster to emotional stimuli than rational information. Using the right palette of emotions to strategize your sales depending on your product/ service often works best. I often quote that a brand is the emotional experience it offers and not the rest of the things we often consider.

Marketers often leverage emotional appeal in advertising to connect with consumers on a deeper level. Establishing an emotional connection can make a brand more memorable and foster long-term relationships. Understanding and tapping into the emotional drivers behind consumer decisions can be a powerful tool for businesses seeking to create impactful marketing strategies and build lasting connections with their target audience.

Consumer need for product is based on their pain points or desires which has some emotional cord attach to it. As a researcher, the job is to find that open cord.Take examples of Maggi or cadbury dairy milk that has been hitting the right emotional connect since decades now.Over the period of time these 2 brands had their share of ups and downs due to product equality issues or high market entrant brands. But yet the brand stood out rock solid and a great come back by clicking the right emotional cord that connects the product with consumer. The hostel nostalgia or hiking nostalgia for Maggi or the happy memories surrounding Cadbury are some amazing call outs of brands that always had overwelming response for the brand.

It's critical to identify which emotion is effective in which product/service, that is, which emotion can influence consumer behavior. At this point, the symbolic benefit of the product is an important guide. The question of whether your consumer uses your brand to look cooler, as a socializing tool or to feel nostalgic changes the emotion you will highlight. Each of these symbolic benefits can be processed through different emotions. For example, socialization can be approached through the feeling of "belonging" or through "the comfort of being in a family". In addition, it is also important for the sincerity of the emotions to be presented in a way that does not break away from reality and without undue exaggeration.

Neuromarketing measurement methods that can reach the source of emotion by eliminating the misleadingness of the claimed data, are one of the most effective methods. Especially when it comes to responding questions regarding perception, participants tend to answer according to social norms or ideals. In addition, self-report data is influenced by many parameters such as education, income, vocabulary, self-confidence, etc. Brain data, on the other hand, has a much lower standard deviation and emotions are more universal. The feeling of fear is the same in Japan as in America. Therefore, we can say neuromarketing research methods are one of the most reliable research methods to reach emotions.

There are several techniques in Marketing Research to identify and measure emotions. Laddering theory has been a tried and tested way in which Projective techniques are used to question customers and derive insights on Attributes, Consequence and Values that determine Customer's core emotions. Quantitative analysis of Laddering data can help to measure the extent of each emotion affecting the final Customer behaviour.

It's me effect is one of the effective methods of transferring emotions. The phenomenon known as the Chameleon Effect, which describes the unconscious imitation of the behavior of others in one's social environment, tells us that people are more found of people who look like them, listen to them without prejudice and therefore find them more persuasive. It’s me effect not only increases the feeling of trust, but also makes it easier to feel the emotions of the actor one is putting oneself in the shoes of.

A consumer's purchase decision is driven by certain motives through the emotions that product or service evokes at a certain time. Since consumers at different stages have different motivations and distinct path to purchases; once you identify which emotions/motivations lead actions, you can repetitively trigger those in the relevant touchpoints along the consumer journey.

P&G’s Thank you, mom campaign, which premiered in 2010 winter Olympics, is a great example of brand leveraging emotional storytelling to influence consumer behaviour. With an objective to forge stronger emotional connect with P&G’s brands, the marketer leveraged winter Olympics to bring to limelight its core TG – mothers. A campaign which appealed to the emotional needs of its consumers & positively impacted brand’s equity & sales. The result - $500 million in global incremental P&G sales, 76 billion global media impressions, over 74,000,000 global views, And over 370,000,000 Twitter interactions.

One of the most iconic commercials is undoubtedly Cadbury's Gorilla commercial. After its release in 2007, it quickly went viral and became a cultural phenomenon. It won numerous advertising awards, including the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions, and is still used as a case study. The secret behind the success of the ad, which basically showed a gorilla playing drums was its ability to convey emotions of eating chocolate without literally showing them. It did not include any demo scene or show eating experience that we are used to seeing in chocolate ads. However, emotions such as "pleasure, happiness, joy, energy..." are rushed throughout the ad. It is a good example of illustrating that there are many different ways to transfer emotions.

Emotions can be used to influence consumer behavior by tapping into the concept of 'emotional contagion'. This psychological phenomenon, where people subconsciously catch feelings from others, can be strategically used in marketing. For instance, showcasing happy, satisfied customers in advertisements can induce similar feelings in potential consumers, leading them to associate those positive emotions with the product or service. This method goes beyond traditional emotional appeals, leveraging the innate human tendency to mirror emotions observed in others. By embedding this principle into marketing strategies, brands can create a ripple effect of positive emotional associations, subtly guiding consumer behavior toward their products.