Applying effective scent marketing in your business?

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Scent marketing: what is it and why is it so important?

Scent marketing is an established promotional method in shops, restaurants and companies. It is known as an innovative tool in the marketing world and has made an impressive advance in recent years. Scent marketing is a way to attract customers and generate more sales without being intrusive. Moreover, scent marketing has been proven to captivate the consumer with a longer memory of a product or brand and to increase the sales of the product up to 30%.

 

Scent marketing gives the experience of an organisation a positive impulse. For example, employees experience the workplace as more pleasant. Scientific research has also shown that scent marketing also determines the buying behaviour of consumers. A well-chosen fragrance contributes to the customer experience and stimulates the buying incentive. In the catering industry, scent marketing ensures that certain smells create a cosy atmosphere, as a result of which guests stay longer and order more drinks.

 

Using the right fragrances can stimulate purchase incentives

 

What is scent marketing?

Scent marketing is a technique that directly appeals to other senses than sight. This technique activates our sense of smell with different aromas that evoke emotions and memories in our mind. As a result, our brain creates a link between the product and the evoked memories. This can lead to a positive purchase incentive for consumers. The aim of scent marketing is therefore to reach consumers with scents that they will associate with your company, brand or products.

 

Scent marketing increases sales and customer loyalty as the fragrances, aromas or perfumes will evoke pleasant sensations of experience. According to a study by the Rockefeller University (New York) on the human senses, humans only remember 5% of what they see, 2% of what they hear and 1% of what they touch. However, 35% of what is smelled remains in the memory. This is crucial when using scent marketing as a marketing strategy.

 

In marketing, scent marketing refers to all measures that have a certain goal with the help of scents. Usually these goals are to increase product sales, customer loyalty and brand value. A well-scented space creates a pleasant feeling for consumers and makes them want to stay longer.

 

Smell is the sense that is most closely related to the hippocampus, a structure in the brain that is responsible for our memory.

 

 

What is the importance of scent marketing?

In today’s demanding times, one of the biggest challenges for brands is to create and maintain relevance. To achieve this you need to understand how to drive change through innovation that can maintain relevance and create energy and visibility. This is achieved through good scent marketing.

 

Scent marketing is the use of specific aromas in the food, retail or corporate sectors to evoke emotions and thus influence consumer behaviour and employee morale. The strategy aims to alter one of man’s most sensitive senses: smell, the sense that stimulates our memory the longest. It is important to remember that we can perceive up to 10,000 different smells, but can only distinguish 200 colours.

 

If it doesn’t smell good, let us help to neutralise these unpleasant odours. In healthcare, think of incontinence odours, patients with open wounds, the sometimes musty smell in PG departments. But also typical unpleasant odours caused by moisture. Manhole odours, toilet groups that do not smell fresh, sewerage problems. Or the smell after a building has been (partly) set on fire. Or even body odours in changing rooms of gyms, hospitals or factories.

 

It is at least as interesting to influence the smell in a positive way. Think of saunas, wellness centres, gyms, hotel lobbies, shops. Scent marketing is an emerging way to excite customers. And also to grab the attention and create a positive memory.

 

Examples of scent marketing in companies

Scent marketing has already been used by major companies with excellent results. The Abercrombie brand sells clothing for young men that is sprayed with a fragrance of fresh citrus and musk, a formula designed to encourage a sense of confidence and masculinity.

 

But it is not just clothing shops that use scent marketing. Disney  used scent marketing in its theme parks more than 15 years ago. The smell of gunpowder gave realism to all their shows. Similarly, it impregnated all its facilities with a tasty smell of popcorn to whet the appetite of its customers. Many cinemas still use this technique on a daily basis.

 

Another good example is Rolls Royce. They use the smell of leather and wood to scent the interior of their luxury cars when customers take them to an official workshop. This gives the customer the feeling of a brand new car and enriches the experience with the brand.

 

One of the most famous examples is that of Dunkin Donuts in an advertising campaign in Korea. They introduced fragrance dispensers on strategically chosen buses. Citizens using this means of transport to go to work could enjoy the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed coffee to the sound of the radio advertising. Visits to the shop increased by 16% and coffee consumption by 29% during the campaign.

 

Is scent marketing unhealthy?

Unfortunately, not all scent marketing techniques are healthy. Have you ever wondered why you sometimes get a headache when you’re in a shop or why it makes it hard to breathe? One of the reasons could be scent marketing. The composition of the aroma used is crucial. If it contains elements like dimethicone, camphene or phenoxyethanol, then the effects could potentially be harmful to your health. They are ultimately endocrine disruptors, which can aggravate asthma, cause rhinitis, migraines and irritation. These substances are found in chemical perfumes. But that is certainly not the case with all sceny marketing products. These harmful health effects can also occur when lighting scented candles and when using most air fresheners, perfumes and cleaning products. Even furniture can, over time, release these substances into the air we breathe. So it is worth paying close attention to the right quality when picking scent marketing. Because there are healthy alternatives in scent marketing too!

 

How can scent marketing be healthy?

Scent marketing is a very effective marketing technique and need not be related to health. Besides the quality of the ingredients, there are several points to keep in mind. For instance, the location of the scent diffuser is crucial. It is preferable to place the diffuser high up in a room so that it is not in direct contact with people and where good air circulation and ventilation is possible. If the establishment is not mechanically ventilated, it is best to place the diffuser close to a door. This way, you will get the fragrance moving and it will flow well.

So another important factor to consider for healthy scent marketing is the composition of the aromas used. If the fragrances are based on essential oils, then this is not a health issue. This is why you often use them for aromatherapy, to help people feel good physically and mentally. Another obvious example is the widespread use in healthcare facilities. Here, scent marketing is a great ally in eliminating unpleasant odours and helping to create more pleasant environments for patients. In short, scent marketing can not only be healthy, but also highly recommended to improve people’s mood.

 

What are the benefits of scent marketing?

Scent marketing has many advantages for shops, wellness centres, hotels, restaurants and offices.

 

When used in offices it can improve the atmosphere and concentration of employees. There is no doubt that a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere is essential in hotels and wellness centres. This can be achieved efficiently thanks to scent marketing. And what about a restaurant or cafeteria? Scent is essential to attract customers and stimulate the consumption of products.

 

For shops and companies the benefits of scent marketing can be summarized as follows:

• Improve brand image
• Differentiate from competitors
• Increase loyalty
• Improve working environment
• Increase sales

 

 

Which diffuser is best for scent marketing in my business?

When choosing a scent diffuser for your business it is important to consider firstly, the size of the premises. Secondly, the intended use. Thirdly, the ease of use. And finally, the capabilities and power it offers. At Extreme Air Products we have two professional scent diffusers that are ideal for scent marketing: the Scent Experience and the Smartscent.

 

Our Scent Experience scent diffuser is ideal for retail shops, restaurants, hospitals and other businesses. This professional fragrance diffuser is designed to influence the perception of smell in spaces between 100 and 800 m2. Moreover, the possibilities of this product are almost unlimited. Different scents have different effects. In a casino, for example, a stimulating scent will be preferred. A hospital, on the other hand, requires a refreshing and clean smell. In a shop, a relaxing effect is preferred. Also important when choosing a scent diffuser is that it is easy to use. The Scent Experience is easy to use and can be adjusted very accurately. It can also be determined exactly how strong the system is at what times and days it is active.

 

For smaller spaces, on the other hand, we recommend our Smartscent fragance diffuser. It is ideal for massage practices, group practices, yoga studios, offices and smaller shops. With the Smartscent, you can easily create the desired fragrance experience in rooms of 60-80 m2. Using cold mist technology, aromas based on essential oils are brought into the room. The desired intensity can be set with a slider.

 

Which fragrance is right for your business?

According to research, different scents have different effects. For example, a vanilla fragrance in a women’s shop doubled sales compared to another shop with the same characteristics but no fragrance. Similarly, a study by the Scent Marketing Institute found that the scent of jasmine in offices promoted concentration.

 

Examples of scents and their emotions:

• Lemongrass Sage – fresh invigorating scent
• Citrus Vanilla – sweet and warm fragrance appreciated by many people
• Fresh cotton – invigorating feeling of freshly washed laundry
• Lavender mild – soothing effect
• Sage – fresh, spicy character, well-known scent within the mystical world
• Palo Santo – woody, earthy character, widely used for mystical, spiritual experience

You can read all about the available fragrances here.

 

Need advice or more information?

Stimulate the customer experience in a positive way or remove unwanted odours. Extreme Air Products will work with you to optimise the scent in your building. Discover the possibilities of scent on the product page of our scent solutions. Do you have any questions or would you like a free consultation? Call +31 20 6464028. Or go directly to our scent product range: