The Marketing Research Potential of Eye Tracking
In marketing, the goal is to find the best possible way to advertise to your audience and convince them to choose your product or service. It can take a lot of trial and error, especially with the far from foolproof methods we have today of testing the success of ads. Visual tracking holds the potential to improve almost every step of the process.
Marketing Research Pain Points
The best metrics available to measure the efficacy of ads still leave much to be desired. Researchers can count vague interactions such as impressions and click rates, but those numbers don’t always accurately measure the success of a campaign. Many impressions can be misleading, generated by bot traffic or ad blockers. Eye tracking, on the other hand, can measure the true impact of advertising.
What Visual Tracking Can Do
Eye-tracking technology does exactly what its name promises: it tracks the gaze of a participant, gathering data on where, when, and how long they look at certain aspects of an ad or webpage. Eye movement is often unconscious and involuntary, offering researchers objective information on how users interact with certain stimuli.
A lot can be extrapolated from that data, especially when used in conjunction with biometric sensors recording aspects like the user’s heart rate. A participant’s gaze can indicate not only what they notice or ignore, but also what they are looking for and what they find interesting. Collected with data like heart rate, researchers can gain insight into what they find interesting and engaging or boring.
Eye Tracking Solutions
Eye tracking data holds a lot of potential for the world of marketing research. It offers more accuracy and more in-depth understanding to study participant’s reactions, leading to more informed decisions when it comes to creating advertising.
Researchers can learn what works and creators can have a better understanding of which impressions “succeeded.” Designers can create ads, websites, and apps based on real, concrete data to capture and direct a potential client’s gaze, and the company as a whole can craft a more cost-effective strategy.
Future Applications
Visual tracking isn’t limited to this kind of controlled environment testing and straightforward application. There are many possibilities for how it can further integrate with the field of marketing research. Collecting a user’s unconscious, unfiltered reactions can lead to the ability to model and predict behavior, placing ads or design elements where and when they will be most needed. Researchers can craft better strategies to direct the right ads to the right people and keep them returning. With eye-tracking technology in the hands of your company, you can discover the new possibilities for yourself.
Invest in Eye Tracking With Gazepoint
Gazepoint offers research-grade eye-tracking hardware and software at consumer price points to make it accessible to everyone. See what visual tracking can do for you, and order everything you need from Gazepoint today. For more information on what eye tracking can do for your business and the world at large, explore our publications page and follow our blog.
