Power of scent in marketing

While I was out recently in a super market, I walked past the counter for fruits and was really struck by the strong smell of oranges coming from the shelves.  Neither did it divert my attention to it but also compelled me to buy a kilo.

It reminded me about how powerful our senses are in marketing. Without the use of smell, I wouldn’t have given the oranges a second glance, but of course with a great orangey smell that stopped me in my tracks and influenced by behaviour.  Most of the communication is directed for the eyes as it is said that 80% of our decisions are influenced by what we see. Therefore, marketers often scramble for appealing to the eyes, through printed materials, TV ads etc.  when using  smell can really add to the effectiveness of marketing.

Smell is one of the most powerful senses that a human has. Recall, memories, emotions, feelings, and associations are quite easily accessed via sense of smell than through any other channel.

In humans, there are four genes for vision, whereas there are 1,000 allocated to scent, which means we have the ability to differentiate more than 10,000 odours. According to the Sense of Smell Institute, 75 percent of all emotions we generate are due to what we smell. Marketers are well aware of this and for years they have used the power of scent as an important marketing tool.

The power of smell is so powerful that it influences our decision whether to buy a product or not, whether to visit a particular restaurant or not and also to an extent it impact our recommendation for a particular product or service.

The most prominent products that use this power are perfumes and deodorants. Walk into any large super store or a mall and you would find the counters of all perfume brands right at the entrance. All that the sales staff is asking you to do is have a “free trial”. They know it so well that there are every chances of conversion for those who go for this freebie. In fact, that’s the best possible way to create a sale in this industry. However scent marketing is not only restricted to perfumes and deos. I remember walking down a street near a tube station in London and there was a bakery house right near the exit. Now the aromas of its freshly made bread and pastries used to spread right through its strategically placed window. Surely, that drove footfalls inside this bakery and eventually sales. Aroma branding is not just restricted to spreading inviting scents but also used to create a brand experience that would result in positive associations and aid brand recall. Also called olfactory branding, it is something that remains with the consumer in his memory and is better suited than reaching for the “eyeballs” which are difficult to reach in a crowded media bazaar.

As a strategy, cafes are very good examples and a coffee store must make sure that the customer who walks in is greeted by the smell of fresh beans. In fact, there would be a difference in the smell of beans when you compare one coffee shop to another. When you think of launching a new product in a market place, for example a soap,  a marketer looks into which “positioning” is unoccupied in the minds of the consumer and thus fill it with his unique offer. Smell becomes an important factor here too. Look at all soap brands and all of them carry a distinct “position” in terms of their fragrance.

Smell can also be used to whet your appetite in restaurants and therefore, you have these open kitchens where food is cooked in an open place which obviously is meant to stimulate your urge for eating.  While natural fragrance cannot be produced always, artificial fragrance is also used and the ones that are commonly used are those of fresh bread and bakery products.

Smell as a branding tool is not new but is gaining prominence mainly because of the media clutter and it being an important element in creating a “brand experience”.  Every brand is striving to create its signature aroma which will not only help in creating an association for the brand but help in recall and influence buying decisions.

Effective online marketing

Companies are using the web for a spectrum of marketing activities, from brand building, after sales service to lead generation. The most popular tools that are used are e-mail, website,  display ads and now recently, social networks. I would like to focus on some basics of how online marketing can be made effective :

1. Website: Your website is like a 24X7 store/office where people can visit, look at your products, understand your company and decide whether they want to deal with you or not. For new visitors, a website gives an idea about the offerings and how much they could trust the same. For existing customers, they could find new updates on your company. It is important that the website be made user friendly so that people can easily get the information they seek in a proper sequence. I have seen websites where you have to spend a lot of time search basic information like, “contact us”. It may be mentioned in a place where the customer may have to really do some hard work to locate it. A company spends so many resources in making the perfect office but if your potential customer has a poor online experience, is that affordable?  Having a proper content is another important aspect that is often overlooked.  In fact, the more (relevant) content you can upload, the better it is. Remember, the website is viewed by the visitor at a time convenient to him. As a result, he may be really interested in knowing more about the company and thats where having a good content in place works to your advantage.

2. E mail: Perhaps the most undermined and abused form of online marketing is email. It’s a no brainer when it comes to telling someone to carry out an e-mail marketing campaign. However,the most common mistake that is done is sending bulk emails. There cannot be any result expected from such campaigns mainly because the chances of your email landing in spam is quite high and even if they don’t, receivers tend to ignore bulk mails. I have also noticed that many mail drafts are also done in a very casual manner.  One does need to adopt some basic business letter writing skills to draft a professional email. It should carry an attractive subject line, the matter should contain the purpose for the mail, brief introduction about the company and products and the expected reply from the prospect. At the end of the mail, it does not require  a great deal of any effort to have a signature that contains your name, website address, office address and contact numbers. If you are sending attachment with the mail, make sure it is properly made in terms of content and design. If its a brochure one can either get it a done from a professional designer or else can do it by himself by using images, word design templates etc. It is always better that the e-brochure is send in a pdf format.
3. Social media:  Names like Facebook, Linkedin, Blogs are commonly known but their potential for business or marketing is not so well known. Many businesses, small and big have leveraged the power of the social media for revenue generation or brand building. Dell is an excellent example of the power of social media in business. Starting a  profile on a facebook or linkedin is very easy and if one follows basic instructions, you can have a profile ready in no time. If you notice, Facebook has recently introduced a feature that asks you about your work information. Needless to say, Facebook knows that many people would like to share details about their work and others would like to know. Linkedin is a professional social network and its USP is that it is meant for everything that is work related including jobs. Social networks are a revolutionary concept because you can network with any body from any part of the world which without this concept would have been difficult. If you are opening a profile on Linkedin, make sure you write the content that gives your description in the most effective manner rather than writing too much or irrelevant stuff. Many times, information that could be most impactful can be missed out. For starters, you could possibly get feedback from your friends on how they liked the introduction etc mentioned on your profile. Get as many testimonials as possible, again it is a simple tool but very effective. If you are looking for conversions in business, you must get this one right.

Blogs are another effective tools in social media, according to me. If one doesn’t have a website, he can use a blog which if done well, can be as effective as a website and it is free. The best aspect of a blog is that you can upload unlimited content, can attach photos or videos with every posting. One cannot possibly mention on a website that is not relevant to the company or product because the mindset that a visitor has is to know about the company or its products. Whereas, on a blog, you can write about the industry, tips on how to use, random thoughts etc. Of course, it always helps to have a defined strategy in place so that all that doesn’t go directionless.

I think these are the most important tools that one needs to take advantage of on the web.  One may already be doing it, but whether they are creating the desired impact is important to know.