When to Use Neuroscience for Market Research

At Research 2010, Graham Page, formerly EVP of Consumer Neuroscience at Millward Brown, presented “Brains, Babies & Bathwater”, which made the cautious case for neuroscience. Brainwave measurement, especially when synchronized with eyetracking, offers the potential to understand consumer reactions in new, more powerful ways.

Graham outlined four times when neuroscience methods add value.

1. “Dealing with sensitive material.” Neuroscience can be a way to bypass the social desirability bias that arises from traditional qualitative and quantitative research on sensitive subjects.
2. “Dealing with abstract or higher order ideas.” Consumers are not naturally able to articulate the complexity of their reaction to, and their understanding of, brands.
3. “Probing for transient responses to ads or brand experiences.” Consumers themselves are reductive when describing how they reacted to an ad or how they decided to purchase something. In an earlier presentation, Ian Addie, R&D director of Nunwood, described how shopping was particularly suited to “neurometric” research: much of the buying process is subconscious, and consumers can’t recall let alone articulate the dozens of products they saw but passed over when deciding which product to buy.
4. “Giving more detail on consumers feelings.” Neuroscience can provide timelines of emotional responses, which is perfect for assessing consumer response to television commercials.

To sum up, Graham argued that researchers should “add neuroscience to the toolkit, but be critical, look for a partner with experience, and integrate with other information.” Neuroscience is not a replacement for traditional market research methods but is instead a supplement. So don’t brain the baby as you throw out the bathwater.