What do consumers really want? That’s a question market researchers would love to answer. But since people don’t always say what

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问题     What do consumers really want? That’s a question market researchers would love to answer. But since people don’t always say what they think, marketeers would need direct access to consumers’ thoughts to get the truth.
    Now, in a way, that is possible. At the "Mind of the Market" laboratory at Harvard Business School, researchers are looking inside shoppers’ skulls to develop more effective advertisements and marketing pitches. Using imaging techniques that measure blood flow to various parts of the brain, the Harvard team hopes to predict how consumers will react to particular products and to discover the most effective ways to present information. Stephen Kosslyn, a professor of psychology at Harvard, and business school professor Gerald Zaltman, oversee the lab. "The goal is not to manipulate people’s preferences," says Kosslyn, "just to speak to their actual desires. " The group’s findings, though still preliminary, could radically change how firms develop and market new products.
    The Harvard group use positron emission tomography(PET)scans to monitor the brain activity. These PET scans, along with other non-invasive imaging techniques, enable researchers to see which parts of the brain are active during specific tasks(such as remembering a word). Correlations have been found between blood flow to specific areas and future behavior. Because of this, Harvard researchers believe the scans can also predict future purchasing patterns. According to an unpublished paper the group produced, "It is possible to use these techniques to predict not only whether people will remember and have specific emotional reactions to certain materials, but also whether they will be inclined to want those materials months later. "
    The Harvard group is now moving into the next stage of experiments. They will explore how people remember advertisements as part of an effort to predict how they will react to a product after having seen an ad. The researchers believe that once key areas of the brain are identified, scans on about two dozen volunteers will be enough to draw conclusions about the reactions of specific segments of the population. Large corporations—including Coca Cola, General Motors, and Hallmark—have already signed up to fund further investigations.
    For their financial support, these firms gain access to the experiments but cannot control them. If Kosslyn and Zaltman and their team really can read the mind of the market, then consumers may find it even harder to get those advertising jingles out of their heads.
Harvard researchers use scientific technology in the experiments because they

选项 A、don’t believe the surveys done by the marketeers can reveal the truth.
B、want to find a direct way to predict future purchasing patterns in different markets.
C、want to find out how the ads influence people’s brain activity and emotional responses.
D、expect their experiments to alter the marketing strategies of products.

答案C

解析 哈佛的研究人员在实验中使用科技是因为他们[A]不相信市场人员的调研结果能反映事实。[B]想找到一种直接的方式预测未来不同市场上消费者的购买模式。[C]想发现广告是如何影响人们的大脑活动和情绪反应的。[D]期待他们的实验能改变产品的市场营销策略。第二段中指出,在哈佛大学商学院的“市场心理”实验室里,为了提高广告和宣传用语的吸引力,研究员们正在对消费者颅骨内的物质进行研究。哈佛大学的研究小组运用数字图像技术测量大脑各部位的血流量,他们希望用这个方法预测出消费者对某种商品的反应,从而发现最有效的信息表达方式。由此我们可以找出本题的正确答案应为[C]“想发现广告是如何影响人们的大脑活动和情绪反应的”。
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