Bish Muir Marketing

What is our mirror neuron system?

How often do you yawn after you've seen someone else do it?  This is thought to be caused by a phenomenon where 'mirror neurons' in the brain are triggered through the individual copying or engaging with an action that is carried out by something or someone else.  In effect, the individual neurons 'mirrors' the behaviour of others.  

How does this have anything to do with marketing?

Although only really discovered in the 1980s, big brands, such as Coca Cola and Nike, have started to use this science to create more relatable and engaging campaigns which deliberately leverage the mirror neurons in their target audience.

You will know what it's like when someone is eating a delicious doughnut next to you and your mouth starts to water, or you see a team winning a match and it makes you want to get out there and play...

Consumer behaviour can be influenced when the mirror neurons act as a conduit between empathetic connections and purchase decisions.  But the only way this can happen is when the action itself is fully relatable to the individual.  If you don't like doughnuts, then sitting next to a doughnut eater is not going to make you want to buy one.

Put the mirror to your Open Day visitors

School Open Days remain one of the most tangible and successful ways to engage and recruit new students and nowadays these tend to be smaller, more bespoke events, aimed at a particular customer profile.  This is a great idea if we are to engage the mirror neuron system, we need to appeal to the very things that most resonate with our visitors. 

We want to create the FOMO effect! We need to demonstrate activities and facilities that you know will appeal to their children.  We want them to think "I want to join your team".   Coca Cola ran a social experiment to demonstrate exactly this and it is worth having a look. 

People buy from people and, believe it or not, emotions drive decision making, even more so than logic or price. That is a fact.  Social proof, empathetic storytelling using relatable characters, popularity, testimony - these will all act as persuaders as long as you understand who your customers are and what they, individually, are looking for. 

Be careful what you talk about!

Whilst emotions can drive people towards something, talking about paying for something can have the 'reverse magnet' effect triggering insulin associated with pain.  However, discounts, or the perception of something that is 'free' or an added extra, activates the nucleus accumbens - the brain's reward system. 

So just be careful how you steer conversations!  If you are, you can reap the rewards.