Businesses at the forefront of their industries utilize sensory marketing techniques to sway their consumers and guide them towards sales. The aspect of scent, in particular, is an unavoidable facet of the human experience. When walking into a bakery or coffee shop, you can smell the product sold there. The enticing aroma of baking bread or brewing coffee will often persuade you towards an initial and usually a repeat purchase. However, scent marketing can be utilized by virtually any business across any industry if handled correctly.
The average business owner will curate the perfect ambiance with decoration, background music, lighting, and the right staff. By doing this, you are hoping to appeal to your customer and secure their business. Ensuring your business smells nice is often a forgotten component of the consumer experience. Inserting custom scent can take your business to the next level and go the extra mile to motivate your customers to purchase, return, and remember your brand.
Including scent in your business experience may motivate consumers in the following ways:
A customer will stay in your space longer if they enjoy its fragrance.
This enjoyment is the fundamental appeal of atmospherics marketing. If a customer hears their favorite song playing in a store, they'll be naturally drawn to it. Suppose a potential customer enjoys the smell of a store, hotel room, restaurant, or any space. In that case, they will naturally create a positive association and want to stay there longer. An East Tennessee State University study on scent atmospherics cited that scented stores see customers remaining in a physical space 20% longer than when the area was unscented. The positive association based on smell will motivate that customer to linger, making higher profits for your business.
A customer will also be more likely to return to your space.
The human brain naturally prompts the direct association of a smell it likes with a memory. This association happens in the brain's limbic system, which is responsible for retaining memories and emotions. Therefore, utilizing scenting in your business will harness that connection to the limbic system, prompting a customer's brain to connect with your space emotionally. Once a customer experiences a smell that they enjoy, your space will be associated with a relaxing, enjoyable, and inviting environment. Researchers at University Linz in Austria found that creating a customer's emotional connection to your business is vital to ensure repeat visits. Whether you own a store, a hotel, or a restaurant, customers will be more likely to return based on a perceived emotional connection. Customers return because they primarily remember how wonderful their experience was. In turn, you will then be more likely to see financial benefits.
A simple scent has the potential to create customer motivation.
Once you know that scent activates an emotional-based memory, the scent marketing model can directly apply to your sales model. The same study that concluded that customers would stay in a store 20% longer when they like the smell asserted that scented stores experienced a 300% sales increase in particular products as opposed to when they did not use scent. The atmosphere of space directly correlates to the potential for product consumption. Creating a pleasant environment will keep a consumer in your area longer, leading to the probability of product consumption. The beauty of scent marketing is that owners can achieve its' effects with something as simple as a custom scent air machine or any number of alternative options.
A scent can appeal to your customer directly.
One of the significant benefits of scent marketing is that you can subtly appeal to your targeted customer base. Scents, like any other kind of stimuli, appeal to different demographics. Scent specifically diverges in effect based on age and gender. The same East Tennessee State University survey cited that men gravitate towards rose-based scents according to case studies. At the same time, adversely, females are drawn to sweeter scents like vanilla. However, when prompted with their targeted fragrance, both men and women spend roughly 50% longer in a scented space than an unscented area. Appropriately motivating your target customer base can prompt your consumers to stay longer, return more frequently, and spend more money at your business.
The scent is one of the most potent tools in sensory marketing and is frequently undervalued. We can help you use the power of scent to create lasting emotional connections with your customers. These connections will enhance your brand identity and create a durable and memorable marketing message that will continually emphasize your brand. Scent marketing will prompt your customers to stay in your business longer, become repeat customers, and spend more of their money on your products and services.
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Keywords: Scent, Fragrance, Scent Air Machine
Sources: https://dl.gi.de/bitstream/handle/20.500.12116/31418/cd-3894.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1264&context=honors
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022243719888474