Friendly staff and gold standard customer service have long been the focus of marketing for the retail and hospitality industries, but that may be about to change. In a recent study carried out by ICM research, more than 50 per cent of consumers now rate ambience as the main reason they choose where to shop and stay. So, for the retail and hospitality sectors, design, lighting, music and above all, fragrance, are key to successful marketing.
It seems that consumers are acting on impulse and nearly three quarters of those polled stated that they were attracted to a shop by its fragrance. The opposite is also true and unattractive smells are very likely to put people off. The majority of respondents (90 per cent) would leave a store or hurry through it is they did not like the way that it smelled. A smaller but not insignificant number (43 per cent) reported that they would think twice about checking into a hotel that had an overpowering smell.
The most powerful of the senses is smell
This is all down to simple biology. The sense of smell is acknowledged as the strongest of our five senses, in terms of influencing our emotions. It is easily strong enough to trigger retail brand loyalty according to Chicago-based neurologists. However, the effect is just as powerful in the hospitality sector, as over three out of every four consumers experienced a positive impact from fragrance. This makes scent marketing a concept that all sectors need to embrace to increase sales and brand loyalty.
Using fragrance to your advantage
Businesses are increasingly aware of how an understanding of the principle of neuroscience can help with their marketing. We use all of our senses when making a decision to purchase or not. An effective marketing strategy, therefore, needs to address all of the senses,including smell. Marketers can take advantage of custom scent design and development, provided by experts such as https://moodmedia.co.uk/project/scent-marketing-for-businesses/, to create the right conditions for sales.
With the help of new technology, the time is right for brands and businesses to incorporate multi-sensory marketing strategies into their plans. The right smell can encourage customers and clients to make positive judgements about a business, the people who work there and the products on offer.