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USPS attempts to get inside consumers' heads
One of the biggest challenges that marketers face is trying to put themselves in the position of their target audience to gauge their preferences and reactions to specific campaigns. While address verification software ensures that direct mail items will reach the right person, how can a business be sure they're using the appropriate channel to send promotional messages? The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General has the precise goal of understanding how mail recipients react to physical and digital communications.
A more than modest proposal
According to a request for information statement released by the USPS OIG Risk Analysis and Research Center, the office asserted its duty as a federal agency is to conduct reviews and investigations that pertain to the postal service's functions. One of the primary operations of the USPS is to aid business owners both large and small in their direct mail marketing campaigns, acting mainly as the courier between companies and their consumers. Accordingly, the chief objective of the proposal is to use neuroscience techniques to get a better grasp on the effectiveness and reactions people have when they get direct mail appeals, as well as digital marketing.
What does neuroscience research mean?
The proposal asks that the prospective research team carries out a number of methodologies to gauge response to physical and digital ads. These include self-reporting, implicit testing, eye tracking, facial coding and core biometrics.
One of the more advanced methods suggested is electroencephalography, which involves consumers having small metal discs attached to their heads while the test tracks electrical activity in their brains, the Mayo Clinic indicated. Another test is functional magnetic resonance imaging, which is an additional way for researchers to measure brain activity. However, this technique looks at levels of oxygenation and blood flow in the brain in response to stimuli, PsychCentral wrote. An fMRI delivers a visual display of cerebral activity that can help the tester understand how people react to a specific variable.
The USPS aims to include roughly 30 participants in the study, and they would remain anonymous so the information can be shared more freely.
Why does the USPS want to perform this research?
According to the OIG, the postal service plays a strategic role for companies using multiple channels to reach customers. Businesses can be limited by size and budget in their ability to effectively measure and understand which channels perform best for a given promotion. In effect, the USPS hopes to equip companies with information that will help them make better marketing decisions.
There is some precedent already established that lends credence to the effort. Royal Mail commissioned a similar study in 2010 that looked at the neurological impact of different media stimuli. Some of the key findings were that physical items like direct mail leave a more lasting impact on consumers than digital marketing does. Consumers are better able to internalize the messages because the actual delivery method is tangible.
While the results of the neurological study may provide insight into consumer behavior, marketers still need to ensure address validation is part of their strategy to deliver messages accurately.
