The Benefits of Ambient Scenting for Your Business: Everything You Need to Know

Smell is our oldest and most evolved sense, and today, entrepreneurs are leveraging it as a marketing tool to attract, delight, and retain customers. Scent Marketing, or olfactory marketing, is an increasingly popular strategy as it allows companies to create multi-sensory experiences for consumers. Discover below the potential impact scent can have on your customers and the advantages you can gain by choosing to scent your commercial space!

What is Scent Marketing?

Scents have a powerful impact on the human mind and emotions, making scent marketing a highly effective way to communicate with customers on a deeper level.

Scent marketing refers to the use of ambient fragrances to create a brand identity and influence the behavior of the target audience. From the way people feel when they enter a space to how they interact with products on shelves or the company’s services, fragrances play a crucial role in shaping the customer experience.

More specifically, pleasant smells act as a gateway to the limbic system, one of the brain’s oldest regions, triggering areas that enhance a person’s mood and, consequently, their perception of a particular place or experience. This chain reaction sets off a series of actions that marketing specialists can predict, which is why many brands implement scent marketing to shape consumer behavior and experience. 

The Benefits of Ambient Scenting for Your Business

Ambient scenting can help create a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere for both your company’s employees and your customers. Additionally, ambient fragrances can provide numerous benefits, such as:

Ambient scenting makes your brand easily recognizable.

Ambient scenting is a key element that influences brand recognition and popularity among the public. By using signature fragrances that represent the products and services your company offers, customers can identify your brand more easily. Additionally, choosing the same scent for all your locations can seamlessly establish a strong brand identity and enhance brand awareness.

This approach fosters a closer connection with customers and creates a sense of familiarity when they return. For example, if your brand targets middle-aged individuals with a modern lifestyle, you can use a fresh and energizing scent to show them that you understand their needs and expectations.

Customers spend more time in a space that smells pleasant.

Fragrances are persuasive and have the ability to make shoppers feel at ease. According to a study conducted a few years ago, stores that used ambient fragrances encouraged customers to spend more time at the location. Those consumers who identified with the store’s specific scent, without being aware of it, lingered longer and browsed through the stores included in the study. [1]

Ambient fragrances can have a positive impact on sales.

A carefully selected fragrance can convey the idea of quality in the products and services offered. This can encourage customers to trust your brand more and indirectly motivate them to spend more. Additionally, the ambient aroma can attract new customers, curious to discover the brand and the experience it can provide.

Nike, one of the largest sportswear and footwear companies in the world, discovered that 84% of customers are willing to spend more time in a location that smells pleasant and spend, on average, $10.33 more than usual on a pair of sneakers. [2]

The aroma stays in the customer’s memory for a long time

People can remember a scent and the memories associated with it with 65% accuracy after 12 months, while visual memory has an accuracy of only 50% after just four months. [3]

Olfactory marketing gives a brand an unforgettable image due to the scents used, which can imprint a pleasant memory in the minds of consumers, linked to the product or services offered. The effect of ambient fragrances has a lasting impact on your customers. A special dinner at a restaurant with a distinctive scent may lead the customer to return much later, especially if the fragrance soothes their senses and allows them to automatically recall previous memories.

You gain a significant advantage over the competition

Olfactory marketing is an opportunity to create personalized experiences for your customers and is an effective and affordable way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. If you’re looking for a strong competitive advantage, make sure your business location has a distinctive scent. This can help strengthen your market presence, as scent is a major component of your business’s brand recognition.

In conclusion, investing in ambient fragrances can be an important step towards the success of your business. Regardless of your industry, there is a suitable scent for every business. Explore the range of scenting solutions and take advantage of the potential a carefully chosen fragrance can offer!