Neuromarketing in B2B Sales: Tools and Applications

Abstract

This thesis investigates the tools and applications of neuromarketing in business-to-business (B2B) sales contexts, addressing a significant research gap in this emerging field. While neuromarketing techniques have gained traction in consumer markets, their potential to enhance B2B sales processes remains largely unexplored despite their promising capabilities to reveal unconscious drivers of decision-making. Through a comprehensive literature review and an empirical study involving 117 B2B professionals, this research identifies five key neuromarketing technologies with particular relevance for B2B applications: Electroencephalography (EEG), Eye-tracking, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Facial Coding, and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR). The study examines each tool's specific capabilities, technical characteristics, and potential implementation scenarios within B2B environments. Following the analysis of tools, the research explores five critical application areas where these technologies can create significant value: supporting strategic decision-making, enhancing message clarity, facilitating trust-building in negotiations, optimizing customer journey efficiency, and personalizing sales communications. The empirical findings reveal a moderate awareness of these tools among B2B professionals (57.3%) but a strong perceived value (88.9% rating them as useful), with negotiations (74.4%) and product demonstrations (73.5%) emerging as the highest-priority application domains. The research also identifies substantial implementation barriers, with ethical and privacy concerns (81.2%) representing the most significant challenge. Based on these findings, the thesis provides practical recommendations for B2B organizations, emphasizing the importance of establishing ethical guidelines, adopting an incremental implementation approach, and tailoring applications to industry-specific needs. This work bridges the gap between academic theory and practical application in B2B sales strategy, ultimately advancing the understanding of how neuroscience-based insights can transform business relationships in increasingly complex and competitive markets.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Supervisor	Peter Hutterer (Supervisor)