Journal of Business and entrepreneurial
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Neuromarketing as a platform for the
internationalization of hotel services in Colombia
Neuromarketing como plataforma para la
internacionalización de los servicios hoteleros en Colombia
Campo Elías López-Rodríguez
*
Fernando Augusto Poveda Aguja
*
ABSTRACT
The objective of this article is to analyze the incidence of
neuromarketing in organizations that internationalize hotel
services in the city of Bogota, Colombia, based on the
importance of this activity as an emerging alternative for
market research. Methodologically, Spearman's Rho
correlation coefficient is used to associate the size of the
companies studied with the influential factors provided by
neuromarketing in the internationalization of hotel services
in the Colombian capital. The main results determine that
elements such as business development, eye-tracking,
product and web page design as an application of
neuromarketing for the internationalization of hotel
services are fundamental for these organizations. It is
concluded that ensuring a favorable user experience when
obtaining the hotel service and facilitating service decision
making through stimuli are relevant benefits of
neuromarketing for the hotel market.
Keywords: Neuromarketing, internationalization,
services hotels.
* Research leader of the Specialisation in Financial Management programme of
the Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios - UNIMINUTO. E-mail:
clopezr3@uniminuto.edu.co Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4061-2979
* Posdoctorado en currículo, discurso y formación de investigadores, PhD.
Educational in Technology education, Doctorando Administración de la
universidad de la Salle, Corporación Unificada Nacional CUN , Chia Bogotá–
Colombia. Fernando_poveda@cun.edu.co , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8149-
9963
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RESUMEN
El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la incidencia del
neuromarketing en las organizaciones que
internacionalizan servicios hoteleros en la ciudad de
Bogotá, Colombia, a partir de la importancia de esta
actividad como alternativa emergente para la investigación
de mercados. Metodológicamente, se utiliza el coeficiente
de correlación Rho de Spearman para asociar el tamaño de
las empresas estudiadas con los factores influyentes que
aporta el neuromarketing en la internacionalización de los
servicios hoteleros en la capital colombiana. Los principales
resultados determinan que elementos como el desarrollo
empresarial, eye-tracking, diseño de producto y página web
como aplicación del neuromarketing para la
internacionalización de servicios hoteleros son
fundamentales para estas organizaciones. Se concluye que
asegurar una experiencia favorable del usuario al obtener
el servicio hotelero y facilitar la toma de decisión del
servicio a través de estímulos son beneficios relevantes del
neuromarketing para el mercado hotelero.
Palabras clave: Neuromarketing, internacionalización,
servicios hoteles.
INTRODUCTION
From the perspective of Boz et al., (2017) the objective oneuromarketing is to analyse
the mind of the consumer as a strategy to understand what they want, the decisions
they make when making a purchase and to be able to carry out marketing strategies that
are satisfactory; Hence Lim (2018) highlights that most of the thoughts, learning and
emotions are produced at an unconscious level, and in traditional marketing, most of the
statements are verbal, unlike the inputs obtained from neuromarketing, being an activity
that is also known as the study of the brain and the influence of this when making a
purchase, this supported in neuroscience that studies the functioning of the brain and
nervous system (Meyerding & Mehlhose, 2020). Ortegón-Cortázar & Rodríguez (2016)
highlight the high relevance of emotions in marketing as an organisational function; it is
for this reason that the sciences are so important for marketing, especially neuroscience,
given that it allows us to know how much attention the consumer is paying, to determine
preferences and with this, to develop a more effective marketing strategy with potential
buyers (Neme-Chaves & López-Rodríguez, 2021).
According to Monfort Barboza et al., (2013), in order for hotels to optimise their market
share, it is necessary to know the public and innovate in their relationship processes
with consumers in order to increase customer satisfaction, which is closely linked to
marketing and the value proposition of these business offers.
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In 2019 the services sector had encouraging figures, as for 2017 Colombia's services
exports reached USD 9,536 million, for 2018 they were USD 10,617 million, and USD
10,589 million in 2019; however, in 2020 due to the COVID-19 contingency travel
decreased drastically, and the hotel occupancy rate was 7.9% being lower by 43.7
percentage points with respect to May 2019 (World Bank, 2020).
It is not only important for the hotel sector the valuation of consumers, but also for the
different existing offers in the consumer market, therefore, Shigaki et al., (2017) mention
that if customers are dissatisfied with the good or service offered, they will not only stop
buying it, but they will discredit it in front of others; Hence, an effective practice to
recognise the true needs and desires and try to meet these perspectives would be
implementing neuroscience technologies to marketing, considering that satisfying the
customer and the value he gives to the product is essential to manage and maintain
relationships with the consumer (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012).
Considering the above, the following question arises: What is the impact of the use of
neuromarketing activities in the commercial development of organisations that
internationalise hotel services in Bogotá Colombia? To do so, it is necessary to develop
a conceptual approach associated with neuromarketing and the internationalisation of
services, characterise the level of importance of the factors associated with
neuromarketing in organisations that internationalise hotel services in the Colombian
capital, correlate the factors that determine the incidence of neuromarketing in the
organisations studied according to their size, and finally determine the benefits that the
implementation of neuromarketing activities can bring in organisations that wish to
internationalise hotel services in Bogotá Colombia.
Veloso et al., (2016) understand neuromarketing as a transdisciplinary field of knowledge,
which represents the interaction of areas such as anthropology or psychology
specialising in neuroscience to study the consumer, which is understood as the
adaptation of behavioural methods and theories, combined with neuroscientific theories
and modern psychology (Stasi et al., 2018). Neuromarketing is currently an emerging
field in marketing research, as it studies the sensory and cognitive response to advertising
and marketing stimuli (Sreedevi et al., 2013).
Consumer neuroscience is presented as a new case of study and approach to markets,
as it is a research approach that makes use of neuroscientific procedures (Shigaki et al.,
2017), hence Sebastian (2014) asserts that marketing stimuli influence the moment of
decision to purchase a product, which can be measured in brain wave patterns and acute
emotions. Neuromarketing is considered a fascinating technique to get into the
consumer's mind and find out what they want, due to the application of neuroscientific
technology (Ruanguttamanun, 2014).
According to Rivas-Vallejo & Guijarro-Cagua (2017) neuromarketing in addition to being
a strategy for market research, provides the necessary information to design products
and investigate consumer behaviour for the success of companies; as it could help
organisations in their development and innovation with the objective information it
provides to understand the needs and desires of their customers (Burgos-Campero &
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Vargas-Hernández, 2013). Some well-known companies are known to have ventured
into the topic of neuromarketing with the aim of recognising the emotions of their
consumers when using a product or viewing advertising (Castro-García & Loor-
Zambrano, 2020).
For Salas (2018) neuromarketing studies arise at the time when the human being is
considered as an emotional and rational being, not as only one of the two; and it has
been shown that consumers usually make their purchasing decisions by their
unconscious, so it is necessary that the company activates subconscious emotions
through their products or advertising (Mendoza-Vargas, 2018). This is similar to the
comments of Canorea-Tiralaso & Cristofol-Rodríguez (2018) who state that
neuromarketing guarantees the in-depth study of emotions in the individual when it
comes to consumption; in decision-making, it is observed that, for the buyer,
consumption is emotional rather than a rational decision (Veloso et al., 2016). Table 1
lists different conceptual positions on neuromarketing
Table 1.
Definitions of neuromarketing
Author
Definitions
Rivas-Vallejo &
Guijarro-Cagua.
(2017)
Neuromarketing is a strategy that serves to decode and
understand the mind and behaviour of every consumer, thus
finding needs and satisfying them.
Salas (2018)
Neuromarketing is the fusion of marketing and neuroscience and
aims to study the factors that lead a consumer to the process and
completion of a purchase.
Stasi et al. (2018)
Neuromarketing refers to commercial interest in tools such as
electroencephalography (EEG) and imaging techniques such as
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand
consumer behaviour.
Calderón &
Rondón (2016)
Neuromarketing is the process of incorporating improvements in
marketing and neuropsychology.
Castro-García &
Loor-Zambrano,
(2020)
Technological changes and innovations have impacted marketing,
giving rise to neuromarketing.
Kumar & Singh
(2015)
Neuromarketing uses consumers' brains for research in a
commercial context, making it a shortcut for advertisers, as probing
into the minds of customers is facilitated.
Mañas-Viniegra
et al., (2020)
Neuromarketing makes it possible to recognise the reactions of
customers in different situations, in order to develop strategies to
retain and attract the market.
Ferrer-López
(2020)
Neuromarketing could be the answer to pricing a product correctly
and finding out how much the customer is willing to pay for a
business offer.
Source: own elaboration
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The information in the human brain is complex, which is why technologies are used to
obtain more data on what is happening in the psyche, depending on the stimuli received
(Casado-Aranda et al., 2021). Based on the above, Bastiaansen et al. (2018) think that
neuroscience, together with marketing and psychology have provided new strategies to
analyse consumer behaviour in order to create tactics and competitive advantages.
Veloso et al., (2016) explains that in neuromarketing it is not only dispensable to use
classical data collection elements, it is necessary to take into account the complexity of
the human brain and how it works. Some of the main neuromarketing techniques are
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), encephalography (EEG), Magento
Encephalography (MEG) and Tomography (PET) (De Andreis, 2012).
Neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI, EEG and MEG are excellent methods for
collecting information, being more efficient and faster than conventional methods
(Niedziela & Ambroze, 2021). With this, Burgos-Campero & Vargas-Hernández, (2013)
state that fMRI observes changes in cerebral blood flow by means of a scanner while the
individual is exposed to stimuli. According to Ares & Vidal (2021) fMRI together with
EEG are methods used to measure neurophysiological activity, which consist of
calculating neuronal activity when photographic stimuli are received.
One difference between fMRI and EEG is that fMRI is reliable when dealing with the
inner brain, while EEG has limited spatial resolution (De Andreis, 2012). Coca Carasila
(2010) comments that EEG captures the electrical currents produced by neurons when
exposed to a stimulus, whether it is a product or a TV commercial via electrodes. MEG
is very similar to EEG, but it senses the magnetic fields of neurons, i.e. it records the
magnetic fields that are generated by the brain's electrical activity and has similar
temporal resolution to EGG, but better spatial resolution (Sebastian, 2014).
For Coca Carasila (2010) neuromarketing also implements the analysis of facial
expressions, eye tracking and skin behaviour. There are tools such as Eye Tracking,
which indicates where the consumer's attention is most focused and, with the help of
other technologies, records information about sensations and emotions in a negative or
positive way (Dos Santos et al., 2015). Mañas-Viniegra, Núnez-Gómez & Tur-Vines
(2020) also mention Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) as a neuromarketing technique that
records areas of interest according to a subject's eye movements (AOI). Similar to the
above, bioelectrical activity is also mentioned, which is known to easily capture through
the skin the emotion and attention paid to an advertisement or other stimulus (Ferrer-
López, 2020).
Gani (2017) states that the internationalisation of services could be a boost for the
economic competitiveness of a country; services, especially for emerging countries, are
a platform for their economy to grow, and there is recognition of the country brand at
the international level (López-Rodríguez & Neme-Chaves, 2021). For Dávila et al., (2014)
these intangibles contribute to the generation of employment and the development of
the productivity of nations, although in some developing countries internationalisation is
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difficult due to the lack of cooperation between companies and foreign countries
(Moreno et al., 2017; López Rodríguez & López Ordoñez, 2022).
Trade in services has grown because it represents a large amount of employment in
developed economies and reduces the balance of payments deficit (Barcenilla, 2005). As
commented by López et al., (2014), the services sector was previously known as a sector
of low innovation and productivity, except for services related to tourism and transport.
For the internationalisation of services, it is important to take into account the product
to be offered and the specific characteristics it needs for a successful export process
(Salazar et al., 2012).
For Garay et al., (2019) there is a need for companies to access new knowledge-intensive
services that offer innovation and competitiveness, and with this, a need for
internationalisation; the export of services is beneficial for innovation, since by reaching
international commercial scenarios, new markets can be covered that allow the life cycle
of services to be increased (Grüning, 2018); Therefore, it is stated that some important
variants for the successful internationalisation of services are the management of foreign
languages and promotion and investment policies, as well as labour legislation (López-
Rodríguez et al., 2021).
One of the main reasons for the internationalisation of services is the reputation,
positioning, reliability of the company and market diversification (Sobral et al., 2019) and
according to Barcenilla (2005) these exports of services are closely linked to three
fundamental factors: relative prices, exchange rate and income, since internationalising
services involves certain difficulties, such as the valuation of intangibles, cost, the need
for qualified personnel, equipment and externality (Gani, 2017).
As mentioned by Salazar et al., (2012), an important limitation for emerging countries is
the provision of services internationally, due to the mobilisation of citizens between
countries and the non-negotiated points of international agreements; in addition to the
fact that companies in some countries do not have the appropriate technology to
provide services, since most of their processes are manual (Moreno et al., 2017). This is
why it is pertinent to highlight that as service export figures increase, institutional
reforms will have to be carried out so that there is a greater flow of internationalisation
of services (Dávila et al., 2014).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The methodological structure of the research is initially based on a bivariate correlational
scope, in which the factors that determine the incidence of neuromarketing in
organisations that internationalise hotel services in Bogotá Colombia were identified,
with which there is a significant level of association with the size of the company included
in the study, this from a quantitative approach, being appropriate for the analysis of data
extracted from a sample of a specific population, analysing behaviours or patterns that
follow the participating subjects (Binda & Balbastre, 2013).
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The selected population consisted of representatives of companies in the city of Bogotá
whose economic activity is the internationalisation of hotel services. According to
MinCIT (2020) the number of organisations with these characteristics is 668. Taking into
account a confidence level of 95%, a margin of error of 5%, and according to the
coefficient of positive and negative variation of 50% each, the sample applied was 245.
A survey was used to collect the information, which is divided into two parts: the first
presents three items that aim to characterise the participating companies in terms of
their size, time in the market and participation of the portfolio of services in the
international market based on nominal questions; secondly, thirty-eight items are
presented that characterise the variables that determine the incidence of
neuromarketing in the organisations that internationalise hotel services in Bogotá
Colombia based on a Likert scale (1: not at all important, 2: not very important, 3:
neutral, 4: important, and 5: very important) organised into six dimensions with their
respective variables.
The data collection was carried out in the second quarter of the year 2021 and the
validation of the instrument was developed with a pilot test of 10% of the sample through
the Cronbach's Alpha test, obtaining satisfactory results for each of its dimensions, as
shown in table 2. Cronbach's Alpha is an index that allows the measurement of the
relationship between two elements, i.e. it evaluates the volume or intensity of
connection between certain parts (Oviedo & Arias, 2005). The statistical analysis was
developed using the statistical package SPSS version 26.0.
Table 2. Reliability statistics for each dimension of the instrument.
Instrument dimensions
Cronbach's
Alpha
Cronbach's Alpha
based on
standardized items
Benefits of neuromarketing for
organisations
0,722
0,721
Importance of neuromarketing
techniques in the hotel industry
0,857
0,857
Relevance of possible applications of
neuromarketing for the
internationalisation of hotel services
0,685
0,696
Benefits of neuromarketing for
customer relations in the hotel
industry
0,787
0,793
Reasons for the use of
neuromarketing in
internationalisation processes
0,801
0,800
Keys to neuromarketing for
international brand positioning
0,793
0,800
Source: own elaboration
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RESULTS
48% of the surveyed population refers to small hotels, micro-enterprises obtain 10
percentage points less than these, with a number between 11 and 50 employees; on the
other hand, only 12% are medium-sized companies and the remaining 2% correspond to
large companies, i.e. the majority of these companies have around ten employees and
only 2% of these have more than 200 employees. Companies less than three years old
and more than fifteen years old each accounted for 6% of the hotels surveyed; companies
more than twelve years old and up to fifteen years old that have been open to the public
accounted for 11%. In addition to this, companies older than nine to twelve years and
those older than six to nine years differed by six percentage points, with the latter
accounting for 35% of the 245 hotels surveyed, while the former accounted for 29%.
Few hotels have a contribution of more than 81% of their portfolio in the international
market, with only 10% of the surveyed population fulfilling this element. Half of the hotels
that participated in the instrument sample have a participation in the internationalisation
of their services between 0% and 40%. On the other hand, between 41% and 60% of the
total number of guests are foreigners for 27% of the 245 hotels surveyed.
For the correlational analysis, Spearman's Rho test was used, which is a "measure of
linear association that uses the ranks, order numbers, of each group of subjects and
compares these ranks" (Martínez Ortega et al., 2009, p. 6) and the factors that determine
the incidence of neuromarketing in organisations that internationalise hotel services in
Bogotá Colombia and their level of association with the size of the companies studied
were taken into account. Highlighting that the significance (bilateral) of Spearman's Rho
is equal to or less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis
is accepted, finding significant relationships at a level of 95% reliability and 5% error
(Páramo-Morales, 2015). These associations are shown in table 3.
Table 3. Association between firm size and the influencing factors provided by neuromarketing
in the internationalisation of hotel services in Bogotá Colombia.
Variable
Influencing factors in neuromarketing
Significance
(bilateral)
Company
size
It facilitates the sale of products without the need to look
for other reasons to justify the purchase and convince the
customer as a benefit of neuromarketing for organisations.
0,036
Eye-tracking as a neuromarketing technique in the hotel
sector.
0,007
Product design as an application of neuromarketing for the
internationalisation of hotel services.
0,006
Web design as an application of neuromarketing for the
internationalisation of the hotel service.
0,001
Ensuring a favourable user experience when obtaining the
service, as a neuromarketing benefit for hotel customers.
0,001
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Helping to make service decisions through stimuli, as a
neuromarketing benefit for hotel customers.
0,001
Global trade is growing faster than global output, as a
rationale for the use of neuromarketing in
internationalisation processes.
0,001
Accelerated technological change as a rationale for the use
of neuromarketing in internationalisation processes.
0,036
Simplicity is the key to neuromarketing for international
brand positioning.
0,038
Organic forms are well received, being a key neuromarketing
tool for international brand positioning.
0,006
The brain needs to touch to believe, which is a
neuromarketing key to international brand positioning.
0,010
Source: own elaboration
Table 4 shows the bivariate correlations between the factors that determine the impact
of neuromarketing in organisations that internationalise hotel services and the size of
the companies. The relationship ranges are determined as follows: from 0 to 25 is
considered to be weak or null; from 0.26 to 0.50 is a weak link; between 0.51 and 0.75
is considered to be in the middle of moderate and strong; and the range between 0.76
and 1.00 represents a strong to perfect relationship (Martínez Ortega et al, 2009).
Regarding the size of the firms and the "ease of selling products", a significant linear
relationship was found, null and inversely proportional (rs= -0.197, p<0.05). The
correlation between the variables "eye-tracking" as a neuromarketing technique (rs=-
0.252, p<0.01), "product design" (rs=-0.254, p<0.01) and "organic forms are well
received" (rs=-0.254, p<0.01) in terms of company size, had a much more significant,
weak and inversely proportional relationship.
Regarding the factors determining the incidence of neuromarketing such as "website
design" (rs=-0.306, p<0.01), "ensuring favourable user experience when obtaining the
service" (rs=-0.304, p<0.01), "helping to make decisions regarding the service through
encouragement" (rs=-0.362, p<0.01) and "world trade grows faster than world output"
(rs=-0.349, p<0.01) have a much more significant, weak and inversely proportional
correlation with linear firm size. In contrast, for factors such as "accelerated
technological change" (rs=-0.197, p<0.05), "simple likes better" (rs=-0.195, p<0.05) and
"the brain needs to touch to believe" (rs=-0.240, p<0.05) their relationship is significant,
weak or null and inversely proportional.
For the correlation of "facilitates product sales" with factors such as "eye-tracking"
(rs=0.486, p<0.01), "website design" (rs=0.337, p<0.01), "ensuring favourable user
experience" (rs=0.484, p<0.01), "helping to make decisions regarding service by stimuli"
(rs=0, 471, p<0.01), "world trade is growing faster than world output" (rs=0.273,
p<0.01), "accelerated technological change" (rs=0.366, p<0.01), "simple likes best"
(rs=0.265, p<0.01) demonstrate a much more significant, weak and directly proportional
relationship; However, for "product design" (rs=0.557, p<0.01) and "organic shapes are
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well received" (rs=0.515, p<0.01) the relationship is also more significant but is moderate
to strong, and directly proportional to "makes it easier to sell products".
Regarding the correlation of "eye-tracking" with the factors "ensure favourable user
experience" (rs=0.577, p<0.01), "organic forms are well received" (rs=0.551, p<0.01) is
a highly significant relationship, moderate to strong and directly proportional; while for
the factors "product design" (rs=0.428, p<0.01), "website design" (rs=0.386, p<0.01),
"helping to make service decisions through stimuli" (rs=0.475, p<0.01), "world trade
grows faster than world output" (rs=0.314 p, <0.01), "simple likes better" (rs=0.484 p,
<0.01), "the brain needs to touch to believe" (rs=0.361 p, <0.01), there is also a highly
significant relationship, although weak and directly proportional.
In reference to "product design", having the factors "website design" (rs=0.395, p<0.01),
"ensuring favourable user experience" (rs=0.407, p<0.01), "world trade is growing faster
than world output" (rs=0.326, p<0.01), "accelerated technological change" (rs=0.361,
p<0.01), and "organic forms are welcome" (rs=0.405, p<0.01) reflect a highly significant
relationship, However, for the factor "help to make decisions about the service by means
of stimuli" (rs=0.516, p<0.01), a very significant, moderate to strong relationship is
directly proportional, and for the factor "simple things are more liked" (rs=0.225,
p<0.05), a significant, weak or null, but directly proportional relationship is observed;
both elements correlated with "product design".
In the case of the variable "website design", covering the factors "ensuring favourable
user experience" (rs=0.368, p<0.01), "helping to make decisions regarding the service
through stimuli" (rs=0.385, p<0.01), "world trade is growing faster than world output"
(rs=0, 325, p<0.01), "accelerated technological change" (rs=0.385, p<0.01), "simple likes
more" (rs=0.456, p<0.01), "organic forms are welcome" (rs=0.358, p<0.01), and "the
brain needs to touch to believe" (rs=0.352, p<0.01) a highly significant, weak and directly
proportional relationship is found.
For the factors "world trade is growing faster than world output" (rs=0.506, p<0.01),
"accelerated technological change" (rs=0.327, p<0.01), "simple likes more" (rs=0.472,
p<0.01) and "the brain needs to touch to believe" (rs=0.370, p<0.01), a highly significant,
weak and directly proportional relationship is observed, while a highly significant but
moderate to strong and directly proportional relationship is observed for "helping to
make service decisions through stimuli" (rs=0.607, p<0.01) and "organic forms are well
received" (rs=0.667, p<0.01) in reference to "ensuring favourable user experience".
In reference to factors such as "world trade grows faster than world output" (rs=0.362,
p<0.01), "accelerated technological change" (rs=0.314, p<0.01), "simple likes best"
(rs=0.371, p<0, 01) and "the brain needs to touch to believe" (rs=0.364, p<0.01), a very
significant, weak but directly proportional relationship can be perceived in terms of
"helping to make decisions regarding service through stimuli"; On the other hand,
"organic forms are well received" (rs=0.546, p<0.01) also shows a highly significant, but
moderate to strong relationship with "helping to make decisions regarding the service
through encouragement".
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With regard to the factors "rapid technological change" (rs=0.299, p<0.01), "simple
things are more appealing" (rs=0.483, p<0.01), "organic forms are welcome" (rs=0.498,
p<0.01), "the brain needs to touch to believe" (rs=0.402, p<0.01), it can be noted that
there is a fairly significant, weak and directly proportional relationship for the factor
"world trade is growing faster than world output".
In the case of the factor "organic forms are welcome" (rs=0.394, p<0.01), there is a
highly significant, weak and directly proportional relationship; while the factor "the brain
needs to touch to believe" (rs=0.207, p<0.05) reflects a significant, weak or null and
directly proportional relationship, all in reference to "accelerated technological change".
The factors "organic forms are welcome" (rs=0.436, p<0.01) and "the brain needs to
touch to believe" (rs=0.450, p<0.01) show a highly significant, weak and directly
proportional relationship with reference to "simple is more pleasing". While the factor
"the brain needs to touch to believe" (rs=0.431, p<0.01) shows a fairly significant, weak
and directly proportional relationship with respect to "organic forms are well received".
From a theoretical point of view, neuromarketing has been emerging in marketing
research because it analyses the sensory and cognitive responses of advertisements
(Sreedevi et al., 2013); in addition, it is considered a necessary tool to design products
that meet consumer needs (Burgos-Campero & Vargas-Hernández, 2013), due to its
relevance for the analysis of the emotions of individuals at the time of purchasing goods
and services (Veloso et al., 2016). Neuromarketing is recognised for its ability to obtain
accurate information, unlike other traditional market research methods (Mañas-Viniegra
et al., 2020; Nilashi et al., 2020; Ramsøy, 2019; Rodríguez et al., 2022).
Neuromarketing techniques tend to be more efficient and faster than traditional
methods for consumer studies (Quaresima & Ferrari, 2019); in addition to this, they
have the facility to analyse their emotional traits being an added value for the
identification of elements that influence the purchase decision of each consumer (Stasi
et al., 2018); however, a limitation of these techniques is that they are carried out in
laboratories and it is possible that the response in individuals changes in real situations
(Meyerding & Mehlhose, 2020).
This approach to neuromarketing allowed us to identify it as a strategy that works as an
interpreter to understand the mind and behaviour of the individual when buying, allowing
us to find their needs in a categorical manner for the full satisfaction of these (Rivas-
Vallejo & Guijarro-Cagua, 2017; Niedziela & Ambroze, 2021), which is why this practice
works as an ally for organisations in their development and innovation with the objective
information it provides to understand the real demands of their markets (Lim, 2018;
López-Rodríguez et al., 2020).
Particularly in this research process, it was relevant to analyse the incidence of
neuromarketing in organisations that internationalise hotel services in the Colombian
capital, in terms of its implementation in the different processes carried out by these,
identifying their perception regarding the benefits of neuromarketing, the importance of
its techniques in the hotel sector, the relevance of its possible applications for
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internationalisation, its benefits for customers in the hotel sector, fundamentals of its
use in internationalisation and its keys to international brand positioning.
Taking into account the benefits of neuromarketing, knowing and analysing the processes
that occur consciously and unconsciously in the brain of customers during the purchasing
process is an important factor for organisations that provide hotel services; However,
for them, it is even more relevant to facilitate the sale of products without the need to
look for other reasons to justify their purchase, to recognise the subconscious of
customers and effectively prepare offers, to optimise and integrate advertising resources
and techniques in a more rational and logical way, to provide more tangible and
irrefutable data than traditional measurement techniques, and to adapt products and
advertising campaigns to the real needs of consumers.
In terms of the importance of neuromarketing techniques for the hotel sector, it became
clear that methods such as electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography,
functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography could be
relevant for these organisations for their commercial development, while eye-tracking,
galvanic skin response and cardiac rhythm are much more important techniques.
Branding, product design, hotel and facility design, advertising and website design are all
very important factors in the possible applications of neuromarketing for the
internationalisation of hotel services.
Among the benefits that neuromarketing could bring to customers, the way in which it
could improve the shopping experience, strengthen brand communities, strengthen the
customer's relationship with the company and also with the tourism sector, avoid the
use of surveys or intrusive tools, ensure a favourable user experience and help to make
decisions associated with the service by means of stimuli, which are aspects that are very
important for hotel organisations, are highlighted. It was also evident that each of the
fundamentals for the use of neuromarketing in internationalisation processes had the
highest level of importance for hotels, highlighting that global trade is growing faster than
global output, that the structure of global trade has changed, that there are differentiated
products for particular markets, that there are relatively more open markets and better
informed and more demanding consumers, in addition to the existing accelerated
technological change.
CONCLUSIONS
The ability to understand consumer preferences, whether consumers like simpler
products, whether organic forms are well received by their brains, whether sensory and
emotional elements are more important than functional ones in the purchasing process,
were extremely important aspects for the organisations studied with respect to
international brand positioning, elements that can be managed from neuromarketing.
Using Spearman's Rho correlation, some factors were identified that determine the
impact of neuromarketing in the organisations studied according to their size. Firstly,
the factors "website designs", "ensuring favourable user experience", "helping to make
decisions about service through stimuli" and "global trade grows faster than global
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product" stand out, obtaining a very significant correlation. The implementation of
neuromarketing activities in organisations wishing to internationalise hotel services in
the capital of Colombia could bring benefits such as adapting advertising campaigns and
services offered to the real needs of the consumer, taking into account that intangibles
will be offered to customers from different parts of the world with different customs
and cultural tastes. In addition, the resources invested in advertising campaigns by these
companies would have better results since the study of the consumer's mind would
provide fundamental inputs for their development and application. As mentioned by
Gountas et al. (2019), neuromarketing could reduce economic losses for companies
through the execution of activities associated with integrated marketing communications
by analysing users' consumption decisions, which would allow them to understand their
preferences in order to design and implement successful commercial strategies.
Among the limitations that arose in the development of the research, it is worth
highlighting that due to COVID-19, the application of the instrument was mostly carried
out via the web and it is estimated that the responses obtained may not have been
objective due to the labour situation: in addition to this, some of the small and medium-
sized hotels were not aware of the neuromarketing techniques mentioned in the survey.
Several of the hotels stated that, due to the pandemic and the decrease of the market
in the sector, occupancy by foreigners was very low and therefore the number of
employees had to be reduced.
Based on this research, methodological strategies are proposed aimed at developing
experimental studies based on different neuromarketing techniques, with the purpose
of obtaining information and establishing alternative tactics aimed at products, prices,
distribution activities and advertising processes that allow the value proposition to be
strengthened in terms of the market. Likewise, it is pertinent to deepen the study of the
internationalisation of services with the aforementioned neuromarketing techniques
focused on the tourism sector, focusing on regions with significant market growth, so
that companies have a better scope and use of resources in their integrated marketing
communications.
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