In the past, having an excellent product or service was enough to get you on the map and attract enough customers to be a success. These days, however, mainly due to the powerful impact of the digital age and social media, this is no longer enough.
To get ahead, it is vital to provide not only a great product or service but also an experience around it that connects with the customer on a deeper level through their senses. Enter scent marketing and tactics that include all the senses – smell, touch, sight, sound and taste. Broadly, this can be termed as sensory marketing.
The Science Behind Sensory Marketing
Understanding how our senses work in an interconnected way is essential if you want to use them to influence behaviour. Let us first look at each sense individually:
- Smell: Scents are directly linked to our perception of emotions and memories. A familiar fragrance can produce memories from your childhood, holidays and other special events, to name a few.
- Sound: Music can energise and excite or calm and soothe. Ambient sounds can make a shopper feel more comfortable and relaxed.
- Sight: Visual stimuli are vital for brand identity. Colours and shapes form familiar pictures in the consumer’s mind that can produce reactions from recognition to loyalty.
- Touch: Tactile experiences further enhance the consumer’s interaction. How a product feels (for example, soft, smooth, or cool) will lead the customer to make assumptions about the quality and durability of the product.
- Taste (where applicable): Taste is tricky to incorporate and would apply only to food items. However, a positive taste experience equates to a positive sensory experience.
Integrating Scent and Other Senses
Combining scent with other senses in your marketing campaign can help to maximise the impact, for example:
- Scent and sight: A visually appealing display combined with an appropriate scent will have double the impact.
- Scent and sound: Smells and sounds that generate complementary feelings will heighten the sensory experience for the customer.
- Scent and touch: Enhance product interactions by encouraging the customer to touch and feel the product while being exposed to a suitably stimulating scent.
Contact Scent.ology today for the latest scent marketing methods and how to incorporate them into your other sensory marketing strategies. We can help you develop a customised scent strategy to perfectly complement your brand’s visual identity and sound profile and improve overall customer satisfaction.
