The smell of freshly baked bread, the sight of cuddly creatures, the taste of a delicious new delicacy... The power of senses is undeniable. And, understanding senses and how they can impact us is a powerful and influential tool that marketers should be employing.
Think about your favourite smell, your favourite sight, even your favourite sound. Think about these and the memories they trigger. And with each of those triggered memories, emotions are quick to follow. The association between what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch, and how we think and feel, often happens so fluidly and subconsciously that we barely notice it. But our senses are a vital part of everyday life, informing our decisions and ultimately altering our actions.
Five senses = five opportunities for brands to build meaningful, memorable connections and relationships with consumers.
As the marketing sphere drifts further away from 'traditional' tactics, brands are searching for ways to cut through the clutter and build valuable relationships with customers. Sensory marketing offers exactly that.
Smell
Try to ignore a smell. Whether good or bad, smell is one of the most powerful senses and incredibly difficult to disregard. A staggering 75% of all emotions generated daily are scent dependent, making us 100 times more likely to remember what we smell, rather than something we hear, see or touch. Many retailers including Lush, Victoria's Secret and Peter Alexander use scent as powerful marketing tactic. Think of any of those stores and their smell is synonymous. The creation of such a distinctive aroma is not only pleasant for consumers, but actually has the ability to alter buying behaviours. Scent marketing is used to build memorable and meaningful brand experiences — the next time consumers are exposed to that smell, they will inadvertently be reminded of an encounter with that brand.
Not only can scent create positive brand associations but it can also enhance in-store experiences and in turn, sales. A study run by Nike showed that the addition to scents in-store increased intent to purchase by 80%. Our sense of smell is directly connected to the section of the brain responsible for processing emotions, explaining why the impact of smells is so incredibly intense.
Sight
Perhaps the easiest of the senses to engage and delight, visual stimulation is a factor that every brand and business should care about. Whether looking at images, videos or even simply colours, our sense of sight instinctively affects our actions. From Cadbury's trademark purple to Tiffany's iconic teal blue, colour can be powerful in purveying the identity and personality of a brand. In a study focusing on the impact of colour on marketing, it was revealed that up to 90% of snap judgements made about products can be based on colour alone. Whether this be due to the emotions the colour evokes or the association with an established brand, use of colours can mean the difference between customers spending or saving. With sight being such an easily accessible sense to delight, both online and in person, taking a creative approach can mean the world of difference in setting you apart from the crowd. Creativity is the currency of the future and should be considered when curating visually stimulating and engaging experiences.
Touch
Touch is a sense that has largely been neglected by marketers, thanks to the shift into a digital age. But it remains integral to informing buyer behaviours. With e-commerce dominating, getting physical and allowing consumers to feel and interact with your brand is an important point of difference that can cut through and elevate your sales and brand power. It's all well and good to read online that an item of clothing is a soft wool blend, but it's not until you can actually feel it, that you truly understand. Around 75% of consumers state that they want to physically touch and feel products before they purchase them. The interactive nature of being able to physically touch goods is comforting to consumers and helps foster physical and emotional connections.
Sound
As a consumer, we often don't give much thought to music playing in retailers or restaurants — reducing it to a mere backing track. But these tunes can actually be far more influential than we may think. Music has the power to change moods and perceived values — offering a clever way to associate your brand with the vibes and values you want to communicate. Classical or jazz music can create a sophisticated, premium ambience, whereas loud, bass-driven beats lean towards a younger, more "cool" environment. Not only can sound forge a personality of a brand, but can actually alter buying behaviours. One study showed that playing slower music in a restaurant resulted in customers spending significantly longer dining, leading to a nearly 40% increase in food and drink sales.
Taste
Traditional advertising may be able to capture the visual factor of food, but fails to relay the flavours and full experience of tasting the real thing. Seeing a picture of a steaming bowl of pasta might whet your appetite, but it will never compare to actually tasting the dish. Sampling food and beverages is a fool-proof way to win loyal followers. Free samples and tasters eliminate barriers to trial, diminishing doubts and encouraging repurchasing. 73% of consumers said they were likely to buy a product after trying it, whilst only 25% said the same about seeing a television commercial. As the most intimate of the senses, taste triggers emotions otherwise inaccessible by marketers. By leveraging this in your sampling activities, you can create brand loyalty, trust and invaluable customer relationships.
Human senses are incredibly informative and integral to the decision making process and as such, should comprise a considerable part of your marketing mix. Experiential marketing offers endless opportunities to stimulate senses and create sensational brand encounters that really resonate, encouraging purchase and building lasting consumer relationship.
Interested in learning how sensory marketing can impact digital design? Check-out this fascinating article from our friends at Toptal: The Ultimate Experience: a guide to the principles of Sensory Design.