3 minute read
In Someone Else's Shoes
Worldwide neuromarketing expert Gaia Rancati uses science to determine buyer behavior
By Toni Shaw
Before switching careers to join academia, MTSU Marketing Assistant Professor Gaia Rancati worked professionally for several years in the premium-luxury retail sector for international fashion companies such as Max Mara, Value Retail, and Louis Vuitton.
Rancati took her love of fashion and marketing (and robots!) and carved out a space for herself as a worldwide expert in the field of neuromarketing.
Harvard Business Review defines neuromarketing as “the measurement of physiological and neural signals to gain insight into customers’ motivations, preferences, and decisions.” Such research on neuromarketing, retailing, services marketing, and artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial for informing companies about the most effective way to market products to consumers.
Neuromarketing is behind the strategy of pricing an item for 99 cents instead of $1 (or $99 instead of $100). It led the makers of Chips Ahoy to replace a standard cookie picture with one that is half-eaten.
The effectiveness of such strategies has its roots in the way researchers such as Rancati use neurotools that track eye movement, facial expressions, galvanic skin response, brain wave measurements, and heart rate to gain insights into advertising that moves people to action.
A FOOT IN THE DOOR
How did Rancati find herself in such an interesting and relevant field? She said her decision to study neuromarketing “happened by chance” after she stumbled upon The Trust Molecule by Paul Zak. Zak explains that when there is trust, the brain releases oxytocin.
Working in the fashion industry, Rancati wanted to study more scientific and objective measures of buyer behavior and turned her academic and research efforts to the two-decade-old field of study.
Describing it as a tool, Rancati says neuromarketing “is not able to read the minds of the customers. It is only able to show us there is a response to some stimuli.”
MILE IN HER SHOES
Now sought for her expertise, Rancati is an official speaker at the World Retail Congress and gives guest lectures at universities around the globe. In 2019, she was honored at the World Women Economic Forum. She won the Best Paper Award at Convergence 2020: Winning through Service Excellence for her study on robot-human interactions in retail stores.
Joining MTSU in 2022, Rancati coordinates the new Neuromarketing Lab, the only lab in Tennessee that combines AI, metaverse, and retail with neuromarketing. She works with companies such as Lavazza, Hermes, and Tesla to improve the customer experience.
For all that has changed in her life, including countries and professions, Rancati said one thing has stayed the same: her love of shopping, particularly when it comes to collecting shoes and books.
