which handles matters such as reasoning, philosophy, math, and other high levels of thought.  I’ll call him Mr. Spock for he is all reason and no passion. 

 

The second level of the brain is the limbic system which is the seat of our emotions which I’ll call Doctor McCoy (remember Star Trek), where we find love, joy, peace, confidence, hope, anger, bitterness, and hatred. When our reasons and thoughts of the frontal cortex are merged with the emotions of the limbic brain then we solidify beliefs, loyalty, faith, and devotion, etc.

 

Lastly, near the base on the brain is our reptilian brain that runs most of our body functions on autopilot.  It’s also the center of our self-preservation where the raw and powerful emotions of fear and sex reside. When we identify danger, our reptilian brain will take over and will either do one of three things; fight, flee, or freeze. Or, when it’s stimulated sexually, it will lust for its mate.  The reptilian brain forms the basis that drives self-preservation.  Many times self-preservation is driven by fear; sometimes it’s the fear of not having enough; called greed.  Take a look at fallen companies such as Enron, whereby the best and brightest of the executive team was obsessively (fear and greed) driven by meeting quarterly profits.  It’s amazing to see how the primitive reptilian brain took over the power frontal cortex to take down a powerful company. 

 

Here’s an important rule of thumb.  The greater the emotional stimuli to the brain (fear or lust), then the more likely that the lower part of the brain will take over. For example, when a lion is chasing you, you don’t have time to smell the roses. Fear takes over.

 

Understanding fear can work for you.  For example, it’s difficult to sell to a prospect when they feel everything is okay and it’s more fearful to change the status quo.  However, when properly motivated and reasoned, a prospect can realize that there’s greater fear in remaining status quo.  To paraphrase an old movie quote from The Godfather, “you need to make them an offer they can’t refuse.”

 

The Power of Association in Neuro-marketing

 

The power of Neuro-marketing starts with the engagement of our seven senses; (1) Taste, (2) Smell, (3) Hearing (4) Touch, (5) Sight, (6) Humor, and (7) Intuition. To make it all work one must understand the power of association that directly impacts our emotional brain and how past experiences are recalled when we

 

encounter a brand experience. Walk into a Whole Foods Store and you’re bombarded with a cornucopia of beautiful food, fresh baked bread, brewed coffee, and desserts turned into art.  You’re flooded with emotions of mom, home, security, abundance, and happiness. The experience is frequently joyful and you’re willing to pay premium prices for their products.

 

The power of association will engage our senses to recall positive experiences that we will tie to the brand. Called somatic markers, they represent a total compilation of emotions, negative associations, and positive associations. When a woman is given a light blue box with a white ribbon, the Tiffany brand and blue color evoke strong feminine emotions. When we think of a well branded produc t, such as, Coke, Coach, Chanel, Harley Davidson and Tiffany, many of us experience an emotional and somewhat sensual positive response.   A good brand tied to Neuro-marketing should offer:

·         A great experience that exceeds customer’s expectations

·        A clarification of the value of the product

·         A decision by the prospect to consider purchasing it

 

How we associate products with past experiences can determine our purchasing considerations. Mr Lindstrom in Buyology highlighted a few examples such as;

·         Light blue for a woman can be associated with engagement, marriage, babies, and fertility.  Pink is associated with luxury, sensuality, and being feminine. 

·        Color will increase brand recognition by 80% and represents up to 50% in the decision making process to choose a brand product.

·        People will buy more out of love (53%) versus sex (26%).

·         Be authentic, transparent, and real.  We buy from people we can relate to.

 

The sense of smell is one of the strongest and most motivating senses. One whiff will immediately stimulate both the limbic and reptilian brains. How many times have we walked into a store smelling fresh baked bread making us hungry?  Like Pavlov’s dog we respond immediately without thinking.  Mr. Lindstrom explained that in Samsung stores, they discretely aerate the store with honey dew melon that invokes the sense of relaxation while lowering your purchasing tolerance. Clever!