IS YOUR IN-STORE EXPERIENCE KILLING YOUR PROFITS?
Did you know that 90% of shoppers say they’re more likely to revisit a brick & mortar business if the music, visuals and scent create an enjoyable atmosphere? Sensory marketing is about creating an experience that affects the senses and puts customers in the mood to buy. Even further, 75% of consumers say they are more likely to stay longer in a place of business if they’re enjoying the music, visuals and scent. Whether you’re an aspiring or seasoned retailer, incorporating sensory marketing into your operations can truly transform your profits.
Sensory marketing facilitates the needed momentum to showcase the complete personality and essence of a brand. Sensory marketing efforts drive elevated customer experiences. And elevated customer experiences drive success. Aradhna Krishna, who directs the Sensory Marketing Laboratory at the University of Michigan, notes “Companies are just starting to recognise how strongly the senses affect the deepest parts of our brains.”
The sensorial quality of your store can be attractive, and thus increase foot traffic, which will put your brand in the position to increase sales. Though many brands are looking toward e-commerce as the solution to closing the gap between them and their customers, today’s consumers are seeking more of an experience than a simple transaction. Sensory marketing may be the pivot your brand needs to reduce customer churn and strengthen your customer loyalty and retention efforts. An increase in profits is just one of the benefits of incorporating sensory marketing.
Increased Trust = Increased Profits
When it comes to the process of customers making buying decisions, trust in the brand they’re buying from is at the forefront. Implementing a sensorial ambience that reflects your brand means meticulously mapping out the customer journey and using the right combination of technology resources as a guide to create trust in the decision to purchase.
As you’re developing your plan to incorporate sensory marketing, understand that shoppers are seeking an immersive experience. Your tools for execution should include:
- A way to deliver business-appropriate content to customers. Fulfill customer desires to be educated and engaged in your products and services while also keeping them entertained with branded music and signage. Whether you’re a family-oriented physician or a brick and mortar eatery, it’s important to feature a system that filters content to fit the profile of your customers. Waiting area displays can be customised to show branded content as well as appropriate clips of popular shows.
- The invigorating power of scent marketing. Unpack the power of placing scent diffusers around your business to create an ambience that is inviting and memorable. Forge an emotional connection with your customers that makes your brand distinct. Choosing a signature fragrance can create emotional cues that make your brand familiar, wherever customers find themselves in the world.
- A blueprint for scaling across multiple locations. As your business grows, you want to partner with a trusted brand that can help you replicate your branded systems. Keep in mind that it is consistency that helps to create brand loyalty and trust that will help you continue to grow. Whether you’re managing a single brick and mortar store or a massive conglomerate of shops, you want to develop a sensory marketing plan that creates brand consistency, streamlines the shopping process and engages employees effectively.
Start With the Right Questions
When you ask the right questions about your in-store experience, you can weigh in on how to gain both the internal and customer-facing benefits of using sensory marketing as a tool to drive revenue and profits. An effective sensory marketing campaign requires the right data to help you plan and prioritise your strategic approach.
Consider the following questions as you begin to conduct the necessary research:
- What brand values do you want to bring to life in-store?
- How would you describe your brand’s “mood” or “personality”?
- How might sight, sound and scent solutions bring life to those values and personalities?
These are all great questions as you work to improve the customer’s experience and achieve better brand alignment.
Mood Media specialises in bringing your brand’s experience to life with our suite of experiential media solutions. Through the power of sight, sound, scent and systems solutions, Mood creates greater emotional connections between brands and consumers. As the world’s leading provider of in-store media solutions, Mood is dedicated and passionate about elevating the customer experience.