Qualitaly_115

FEB. MAR. 2020 XIV disproved more and more quickly. Digital communication has challenged established systems of investigation into people’s behavioural analysis. So, thanks to some researchers, the idea of trying to exploit the tools created in neuroscience in order to find new analytical methods that would allow the development of updated marketing strategies was born. Therefore, Neuromarketing was born. Italy was among the first to approach this research and to regulate it thanks to AINEM – the Italian Association of Neuromarketing - of which Prof. Francesco Gallucci is founder, scientific director and vice president. For two years I have been Professor Gallucci’s assistant in a Neuromarketing course at the Polytechnic of Milan. A FUNCTIONAL TOOL Neuromarketing surveys can offer some precise and documented answers on how large groups of people approach and react to certain stimuli, such as: an image, a film, a product, a word, phrases and/or slogans, as well as the aesthetics of a range, a taste, a fragrance. Since the analysis is supported by scientific instruments in direct contact with our brain, and other parts of the body, the stimuli and emotions we feel cannot be altered by possible “lies” of those who undergo the test. By repeating the same test on a sufficient number of people, and analysing all the reactions with special certified software, it is possible to obtain statistically sufficiently correct values on the behaviour of the most relevant population masses. Neuromarketing analyses are more correct - if well carried out and, even better, analysed - than many traditional market surveys, precisely because the latter were carried out with traditional methods, such as interviews and remote tests, to groups of consumers who could even be insincere, thus distorting the data in a more or less relevant way. On the error of traditional market surveys, it is enough to mention the 2019 report by Nielsen - certainly the most important worldwide agency in the sector - which states that “82.3% of the NEW products that are put on the market every year do NOT survive beyond 12 months, as well as 67.4% of the advertising produced every year has the same problem. Despite this, global spending on (traditional) market research each year is more than $45 billion.” But who already uses Neuromarketing for their strategies? First of all, the large-scale retail trade, which has even had a number of special supermarkets built (in Italy, for example, Ipsos manages one) where they can scientifically monitor the behaviour of their loyal consumers, who are invited to visit these spaces, which are not open to the public, to make a monitored but spontaneous shopping experience. Also, several multinational manufacturers rely on similar structures during the development of new products to verify the appeal of the packaging. So, can you take advantage of Neuromarketing to avoid squandering your marketing investments? And in the specific case of catering, can Neuromarketing surveys be used? The answer to both questions is absolutely positive. An important trade association has had a survey carried out on the keywords to use or not to use in a communication. The survey found that the main word to use in communication is continuity , while the most negative one, in a ranking of more than fifty words used in communication, is quality . Think of those who use the word quality in their communication to try to stand out from others. Well, the public and consumers have probably become so accustomed to the use - or perhaps it is good to say abuse - of the word quality, that they no longer detect it with their subconscious. Because in our everyday life, it is our subconscious that commands us. Man considers himself to be rational, but scientific studies have shown that we are not very rational. In everyone’s brain, the unconscious always prevails (on average it is 95%); and it is that drives our choices or decisions. When something hits us unconsciously in a positive way – a concentration time of more than 30 seconds - our memory automatically activates and records it indelibly. So, man needs to live - and consequently remember - positive experiences. Hence the concept of designing the customer experience . THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE It is the experience that a customer has when approaching a restaurant, a hotel, a place of hospitality in general. The customer experience begins before walking through the door. Usually when the customer chooses a place and investigates - either with friends who have already been there or from reviews - what the place they want to visit has to offer. Just as the large-scale retail trade examines the behaviour of shoppers within its physical or digital stores (we are always monitored although we don’t notice it), so is the ‘monitoring’ of customer behaviour to check that the experience is absolutely positive and convince them to choose your restaurant again. The objective is not to manipulate the consumer, but to build the best possible experience around his expectations - even unconscious ones. The one that will make him happy. Many people believe they know how to build their customer involvement, but it is a process that is far from obvious. Especially because it must be a positive customer experience. This is why Neuromarketing’s analysis can support us in verifying the real efficiency and positivity of a correct ‘experience’, today absolutely fundamental for the catering sector, which is now inextricably linked to the judgement of the public through the well-known digital platforms (Google, Tripadvisor, etc.) where the public expresses, almost always spontaneously, the evaluation of the satisfaction of the experience lived (a different matter concerns intentionally negative reviews and how to contrast MAGAZINE