Unlike questionnaires that usually represent general positive and negative attitudes, neuroscience focuses on a variety of real-time emotions. Below, let’s explore how neuromarketing allows Google Play to learn more about their consumers’ behaviors and decision-making patterns.
Neuroscience as a Marketing Tool
The human brain has a complex interplay of neural and cognitive processes. Even when we can’t explain the logic of making a specific decision, there is always a reason behind it. Neuromarketing helps to understand such reasons and use this information to enhance user experience. That, consequently, often improves app metrics.
Indeed, neuromarketing is not about manipulation. The data collected during such research aims to make apps more convenient. It also makes it possible to offer purchases in a timely and appropriate manner.
Neuroscience lifts the veil of cognitive and emotional biases. When filling out standard questionnaires, respondents may forget minor yet essential details or unconsciously make their answers more rational. At the same time, neurotesting allows researchers to gather real-time data on emotions and reactions. An EEG (electroencephalogram) cap or just a web camera helps to identify emotions and micro mimics that would otherwise remain imperceptible for the focus group. Finally, the results are translated into measurable data and reports.
What’s Involved in Neuromarketing Research
Modern neuromarketing technology requires only a web camera and special software to analyze the participants’ behaviors. It can track and monitor facial expressions, gaze direction, and changes in physical characteristics like heart rate, among other attributes. As follows, researchers gain insight into users’ emotional state, stress levels, and engagement. Eye tracking also provides information about both the most noticeable and elusive elements of design.
The results of such tests contain perception evaluation data and attention heatmap with second-by-second scores. Emotion detection shows the milestones of increased and decreased engagement. This can also emphasize the moments when one is ready and excited about making a purchase and when such offers feel annoying.
How Neuromarketing Helps to Evaluate and Improve Apps
Google Play has 2.5 billion monthly users and millions of apps and games. There is a fee for developers who offer paid services or in-app purchases, so Google Play invests in different tools that help apps improve and succeed, creating win-win outcomes. Some of these tools track emotional feedback, shedding light on how users actually feel while using an app or playing a game.
These tools connect changes in mood and perception to particular moments of the game, so it becomes possible to observe the influence on emotions and decision-making. Afterward, analytics can suggest personalized ways for improvement based on that data.
Here are a few situations when neuromarketing research can be beneficial:
- Improving the game’s mechanics and complexity levels to maintain optimal engagement, immersion, and interest.
- Clarifying the scoring system, navigation, and communication of achievements.
- Improving the app UI/UX or overall look to make it suitable for chosen audiences.
- Testing hypotheses for boosting user acquisition and retention.
- Building a research-based foundation for personalized in-app recommendations.
- Assessing the most suitable times for offering paid level-ups and items.
Modifications in a number of small design elements and processes transform into an overall better experience. This, in turn, may positively affect user satisfaction with the product and, in the long run, revenue.
How It Works
A neuromarketing test involves several steps. While they may differ from client to client, the basic ones are the following:
- Identifying the goals and current parameters. Researchers gather current metrics as well as strong and weak points. They define what the client aims to find out through this test.
- Creating a focus group. Based on the client’s requirements and the specifics of an app, a focus group can vary in size and include people of similar or different demographics. It’s possible to choose participants based on their location, age, gender, and other characteristics.
- Conducting a test. A web camera monitors the interaction between a user and an app. It tracks emotions, concentration level, tension, and attraction, and this data is used for creating attention heatmaps.
- Analyzing results. The results of neuromarketing tests have a second-by-second nature, showing how users respond to any change on the screen. While respondents make decisions subconsciously, charts allow analysts to find the correlation between actions on the screen and points of motivation and frustration.
- Preparing recommendations. Results are presented in a detailed and visual form that allows researchers to suggest changes that can improve user experience, retention, and app promotion.
How Emotional Feedback Tools Identify the App’s Weak Points
The key parameters of the app’s success include retention rate, session duration, and the number of in-app interactions and purchases. The emotional state may affect each of these characteristics, and neurotesting explores what potentially creates tension and what can help relieve it.
Speaking in more detail, neuromarketing focuses on the following emotions:
- Happiness. Measuring the level of enjoyment when the user performs certain actions or faces certain stimuli. Changes in this parameter show how UX solutions and game mechanics influence attractiveness.
- Interest. Surprising and innovative elements of the gameplay contribute to excitement and engagement. If used reasonably, they reduce monotony and therefore improve retention.
- Stress. This element is about tracking anger, irritation, and frustration. If these feelings are too intense and frequent, it may lead to decreased engagement. However, adequate amounts of stress help feel the energy of challenges and achievements to the fullest, making the game more appealing.
- Concentration. Focus and concentration are recognized as increased sadness. Emotional feedback tools monitor the moments when users achieve a sense of flow and become better immersed in the game. However, excessive and prolonged concentration may cause a loss of interest in continuing the game.
- Engagement. Engagement represents a complex balance of interest and stress. Whether the game’s logic is too predictable and dull, or it’s too complicated to comprehend quickly enough, this will affect the metrics.
In addition to estimating involvement through emotional feedback, neurotesting monitors intentional and unintentional gaze. With modern programs, accuracy can be less than 50 pixels, which allows testers to create detailed heatmaps.
Three Key Unconscious Biases Affecting App Use
Loss Aversion
Due to loss aversion, people tend to focus more on what they can get rather than what they may lose. In the app use, it can occur as:
- Greater willingness to use the discount or accept another similar offer if it’s exclusive or limited in time.
- Reluctancy to delete a paid account even if they use it way less often than usual.
- Higher engagement and interest if they can earn rewards or do specific actions to maintain their achievements.
Anchoring Effect
According to this bias, any initial information seems more reliable. For example, after seeing the most expensive pricing plan as a default one, users have a higher tendency to consider a cheaper option. This bias also makes it important to monitor UX and bugs. If users face glitches at the very beginning, they may perceive all the features as inconvenient.
Reciprocity Bias
After receiving something valuable from the app, be it a free trial or a bonus, users may want to reciprocate. They may spend more time using the app, leave a review, or become more loyal to the offerings of paid features.
These are only the three examples of biases, but many other cognitive processes affect users' decisions. With the help of neurotesting, it’s possible to measure the influence of different features and make the whole process more convenient and advantageous for both users and developers.
Examples of Solutions Found via Neurotesting
Neurotesting evaluates different parameters and scenarios, so a large amount of data allows analysts to notice more connections and causal links. Final recommendations may be related to the overall design, particular UI elements, difficulty level, sales mechanics, and more. For example:
- Adding new characters and spaces to maintain appropriate tension if the game flow is monotonous.
- Clarifying the scoring system through UX and text explanations to reduce frustration.
- Introducing customization (for example, character’s appearance or weapons) to support engagement.
- Increasing or decreasing the difficulty of puzzles based on emotional feedback.
- Offering in-app purchases at specific moments when users find it most helpful or appealing.
- Expanding or narrowing the assortment in the in-app shop to boost interest or avoid frustration, respectively.
Aside from mechanics, design and UX solutions can affect the success of an app. Neurotesting allows publishers to assess such parameters too. Based on research and reports, developers may receive recommendations like:
- Making the sign-up form larger and easier to access.
- Replacing unattractive color combinations.
- Reducing the number of registration steps.
How Eye Tracking Heatmaps Can Help?
Eye tracking reports allow app publishers to find hotspots that lead to better engagement. With the help of heatmaps, developers can simplify navigation, choose the most appealing placement for products in the in-app shop, etc. Moreover, eye tracking paired with emotional feedback can tell publishers if their monetization strategy is clear and appealing.
Ethical Aspects of Neuromarketing Tests
The key principle of neuromarketing tests is informed consent. To ensure transparency and awareness, Google Play refers to its official neurotesting partners, such as Sensemitter. The company gathers focus groups and safeguards the respondents’ rights. Before participating in a study, candidates receive full information about the used techniques, the purpose of the research, and the privacy policy.
Summing Up
Neuromarketing is a modern way to dive deep into people’s decision-making mechanisms. It makes it possible to understand how specific actions and visuals affect emotional state. As a result, such data allows for natural improvement of apps and services.
Developers may use the information about the most engaging mechanics to increase session duration. An enhanced balance of challenge and relaxation may increase the retention rate. With neurotests, you can see what users actually feel during the game and understand which elements contribute to conversion and which ones decrease it.
Ready to start your journey toward data-driven improvements? Contact Sensemitter to learn more and plan a neurotesting session for your app.