What do the senses and an increase in a company’s sales have in common? Although at first glance there does not seem to be much of a relationship, sensory marketing is leading many brands to success by using the emotional component in combination with our five senses to capture the attention of the customer and make their purchase a whole experience that allows them to become a regular consumer of the brand.
According to research by the consultancy Sensori-k, a 65-year-old person has seen more than 2 million advertisements, while every day more than 3,500 messages are broadcast on the channels a consumer uses most. This is reinforced by the already well-known figures that human beings remember 1% of what they touch, 2% of what they hear, 5% of what they see, 15% of what they taste and 35% of what they smell.
It must be kept in mind that in life it is not all about appealing to reason if you want to build customer loyalty, it is ideal to delve into the field of the senses. A lasting memory, a pleasant smell, a song you hum are those perceptions that become fixed in memory and become a means to attract customers and develop sensory marketing.
To get the most out of this tool, we share some tips to make sensory marketing your best ally.
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Smell.
It is one of the most stimulated senses. A pleasant aroma during the customer’s stay is what will captivate them to visit the establishment again and again. The mixture of aromas evokes situations or moments that may be pleasant, and because they feel “close” to that attractive context, the customer decides to return. Smell has begun to gain special ground within sensory marketing, as the inclusion of personalized fragrances, such as candles, air fresheners, fabric deodorizers, among others, has translated into average billing increases of more than 30% for businesses. This figure has been backed by research from Utrecht University and published in the journal Psychological Science, which found that smells serve to communicate human emotions.
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Sight.
Everything comes in through the eyes, says an old saying. According to the measurement tool Kissmetrics, for 85% of customers color acts as the first filter for their purchase decision, and it is the main attribute for brand recognition in 80% of consumers. The combination of colors, typography and brand designs with new trends can make a good impact on the consumer and lead them to choose a particular product or service. Some colors, such as blue, are recommended for structuring the corporate image of online commerce companies; if you want to convey prestige or exclusivity, you should opt for black or gold. If you want to draw attention, red will be the best option, as it is pleasing to the eye and conveys warmth.
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Hearing.
A pleasant, modern melody in keeping with what the brand offers. If the company is focused on selling home goods, it is ideal to choose music that makes customers feel at home, to ensure they become loyal to your firm and its products. This resource is widely used at Christmas, Peruvian Independence Day or specific celebrations where music is used to attract the customer’s attention and stimulate their hearing so that, drawn by the melody, they enter the business, feel at ease and buy. Another resource also used by stores or department stores depends on the time of day and the flow of customers. In moments of low traffic the music is relaxed, prolonging the moment of purchase and making for a more exploratory experience of the store. On weekends, by contrast, the music can be livelier to speed up the process and encourage customer turnover.
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Touch.
Tactile marketing is being greatly underused. In businesses where upon entering you find a sign that says “do not touch,” a barrier looms before the consumer. Touching a pair of headphones, listening to an artist’s new album and handling the tracks of their CD has become a pleasant experience to boost sales. As iStore does, the mere fact of touching the store’s products makes the consumer feel they are theirs, try out what their life would be like if they had an easier iPad, iPhone or Mac, and sales are thus encouraged. When the customer pays out and tries on any garment (in the case of clothing) or touches any product they like, it becomes a very valuable opportunity to let everyone judge the quality of the product before taking it home. If the product is good, then “word of mouth” can be a powerful tool to attract more customers and keep a business on an upward curve.
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Taste.
If your company offers hot or cold drinks, it is important to take into account details that seem minimal, not only in how the product is offered but in how to make the customer stay longer in your venue. Most people like places where they feel at home, from sharing a conversation to a business talk for a prolonged time. Sensory marketing reaches consumers going unnoticed and getting them to synchronize emotionally with a good or service, which shows that we have moved from a purely visual marketing to an experience that envelops us through emotions, memories and moments that go beyond the moment of purchase, and extends to our daily life and becomes part of us.
