I’m a pretty basic guy. So ‘reptilian’ pretty much sums up my brain activity.

So I was thrilled to contemplate what I might learn when I saw this headline on Roger Dooley’s Neuromarketing blog: 7 Ways to Engage Your Customer’s Reptilian Brain. Gotta be some fundraising insights there. And I wasn’t disappointed.

1. Speak to the pain of your audience

Nothing like the high road!

“The reptilian brain is more concerned with avoiding pain as a means of survival, than it is with gaining pleasure. As a result, talking about the direct benefits of your product will not immediately grab people at first.”

Therefore:

“Tap into exactly what the pain point is of your consumer. Then, in your value proposition, make sure that you have incorporated how you plan to alleviate that pain.”

2. Appeal to its self-centered nature

“Since it is strictly responsible for its own survival, the consumer’s reptilian brain will be more likely to be attentive if you’re talking about its favorite subject: itself.”

The advice: “Use words like ‘You’ and provide pictures from the consumer’s perspective.”

3. Demonstrate importance through contrast

“Contrast is understood by the reptilian brain extremely easily. Easily understood messages will be more likely to be rewarded with attention. It will also speed up the decision making process.”

The advice: Clearly show the difference between pain and relief from the pain!

4. Show value tangibility

I love this one …

“The reptilian brain only understands a few words at most. The optic nerve goes directly to the reptilian brain, and so it is primarily influenced by visual images. Since the reptilian area is the rest of the brain’s attention gate-keeper, this means you’ve got to be creative with how you communicate in order to persuade the reptilian portion to invest the rest of the brain’s energy on you.”

Some advice: If you need to use words (sorry to you copywriters out there), keep them simple and short. And: “Customer testimonials are a great source of proof. It shows the reptilian brain, which can only perceive the present, what has happened in the past.”

5. Don’t strive for impact in the middle: focus on the beginning and end

“Since the reptilian brain’s main focus is survival, it will be incredibly alert when a change occurs in order to evaluate danger.”

I thought this one was a bit of a stretch. But the premise is that the reptilian brain tunes out quickly once it has gauged the ‘threat’ from whatever is newly presented to it.

6. Visual metaphor

“Your reptilian brain will register that there is a bear in the distance before other areas of your brain can process that information. This allows for split second reaction if needed.

As a result, by showing a visual representation of what you plan to deliver, you are helping the consumer to understand what you are saying without having to involve the other areas of the brain.”

7. Strike an emotional chord

“What drives our decision making is mostly subconscious since it does not involve the cognitive parts of the brain initially. This means that it’s common for consumers to not know why they want certain things, or to be out of touch with what specifically causes them pain.

To help bring the pain point into awareness and drive the action you are intending, trigger the emotional pain point of consumer. Triggering positive emotions can also be effective, though the reptilian brain is more drawn to negative emotion.”

Advice: Of course … use images. “Video is even more effective because it engages both the auditory and visual senses, which will enhance attention and memory.”

Adding interest, the article is full of useful examples of ads that illustrate the points, and many of these are from the nonprofit space.

I like this one on air pollution …

Enjoy!

Tom