The future of brand communication is multidimensional. It’s no longer about promoting the product with its features, price, or status and customers will come running to buy them. These are customers who are well-traveled and explore different brands for their uniqueness and enriched personalized features and options. Marketing has become even more competitive and to create an advantage over competitors, out-of-the-box ideas are what drives sales.
Brands and marketers have realized that there is potential in stimulating senses other than just seeing a product for effectively connecting brands with consumers. Our sense of smell, in particular, is known as Scent Marketing. It’s experiential and it’s powerful.
In a digital advanced culture, brick and mortar locations have a unique opportunity to use scent branding to build a deeper emotional bond with the consumer. Some brands already use scent, in some cases, naturally in the form of their food or products in establishments like restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries. Smell is one of the first things we register when we enter a hotel. A lot of people you see congregating in one place can very well be because of a scent trigger.
It’s time to turn smell into a reason customers want to experience a brand.
Deconstructing Scent Marketing
Scent Marketing also known as aroma marketing combines natural and artificial scents to draw in customers, enhance their experience, and establish an ambiance. As a marketing method, companies can give consumers one more reason to love them. It’s almost like creating a virtual image of the brand in the air.
This strategy is divided into two broad categories: the first one being ambient scenting that fills a space with a targeted smell and the second is scent branding, which identifies a company’s signature scent for a particular brand.
Sensory branding is based on the idea that humans are most receptive, and most likely to form, retain, revisit and reinterpret memory, when all five senses are engaged. Smell is the strongest of our senses and is also believed to affect 75% of our daily emotions. This means that scents can influence involuntary reactions and opinions.
It is, however, more than simply mixing a few oils & extracts to create a signature fragrance emanating from a restaurant or a store. There’s a lot that goes into creating an effective scent marketing campaign, from deciding what types of smells to use to choosing where and how to disperse them. We offer over 1000+ scents in our scent library catering to different businesses and industries alongside customizing it as per choice.
Regardless of the industry, the process and considerations for developing an olfactory (smell) brand are the same.
The Opportunity – Bring Your Brand Story to Life!
Science backs up the industry’s belief. If something smells good, we want more of it and more often. Scent marketing strategy has the power to drastically impact a business by bringing its brand to life in the minds of customers. But how does that translate to real money – dollars, and cents? Many independent and established research organizations have validated scent in increased customer satisfaction scores resulting in bigger revenue for brands.
Are you thinking of creating a signature scent for your business? Think about that one thing that will differentiate your brand emotionally and memorably. Choose the wrong scent or one that is too complicated, it can quickly turn customers off.
Once you find a mesmerizing scent for your brand, it’s best to retain the formula, because the perfect scent can keep customers in the store longer, too. Consistency is key to positive expectation so providing the same unique experience each time matters. Research shows that customers stay as much as 44 percent longer in a business ‘surrounded by an attractive scent’, according to research from the American Marketing Association.
About Business Sound and Communications
Our company is built around delighting your customers. From communication devices that are a conduit to sales to the power of scent marketing, we are experts at optimizing consumer sensory experiences. BSC has served the Houston area for over 25 years and we know what drives business whether it be through the drive-thru or a quick dining experience. We also serve retail locations, hospitality businesses, gym facilities and more; places where scent marketing can push sales and retain customers. We can help define your company and brand in unique ways that differentiate you from the competition.
If you are ready to explore the potential of scent marketing for your business, connect with our experts on (281) 590-3400 or email sales@bsctx.com and we will be happy to guide you.
