In a society where consumers are spoilt for choice, it would be prudent to wonder: "What influences them to make the choices that they do?"

Faced with making a decision about a purchase? Apparently we have already made our decision, even when we take time to think things over.

Why? Because, "We think without thinking," says Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink, which explores the idea that decisions are made in the blink of an eye.

Although often unaware of the fact, when we assess a situation our response is determined before our mind has caught up with itself. The brain recognises patterns and makes snap judgments without consciously being aware of doing so.

An example would be the way our foot knows to find the brake split seconds before our brain has the chance to register or even utter the words ‘red light’. We first see and perceive a colour several hundred milliseconds before we can think or say "red light." Our foot seeks the brake long before we actually think about stopping, that is, if we think about it at all.

As marketers, we need to understand the influence of emotions on our behaviour and decision making. In fact, the consciously thinking part of our brain cannot make a decision - it needs an emotional signal from the brain first.

Try this Emotional Research example. Think about a time and place when you were very relaxed. Then close your eyes so you can see it better. Imagine that you are back in that place and time. Slowly look around you from left to right and describe the detail you are seeing.

Did you go to the beach or some body of water, as most people do during this experiment? This illustrates our very primal human need to be near water, and shows how research can highlight what our underlying emotional drivers are.

The prize is to get to the bottom of what causes an emotional reaction - the smell of a favourite dish, for example - and analyse what the emotions around it are, and how they affect behaviour. And therein lies the secret to what a brand must say and do to succeed.

In short, what your customers think about your brand is not the crucial question - what they feel, is.