Mom always said to “put a good face on it.” Who knew she was giving us a recipe for marketing success?
In The Buying Brain, Dr. A.K. Pradeep examines the links between neurological stimuli and consumer purchasing intent. One fascinating indicator of neurological effectiveness concerns the importance of faces. Pradeep’s research shows that the human brain is neurologically wired to scan for and identify faces in a sea of clutter. In the retail world, faces on packages create an implicit familiarity to the product, even if it’s not recognized consciously.
It isn’t a very big step from the supermarket aisle to the trade show aisle. Unfortunately, too many B2B marketers haven’t learned the same lessons as Dr. Pradeep and our B2C colleagues.
Look around any show floor. You’ll find that too often the human element is missing from the face-to-face marketing environment. Marketers abdicate responsibility for making connections with attendees and rely on technology to do the job for them. Staffers hide behind demo stations instead of actively engaging prospects. Copy-heavy banners, signs and graphics recede in a blur of impersonal, meaningless hype.
When did we forget that face-to-face marketing isn’t just a descriptor? It’s a recipe for success. And we’re leaving out the critical ingredient.
Looks like Mom’s recipe is still the best, after all.