From Breakrooms to Boardrooms: Where to Use Scent in Your Office

How does your brand stand out? Colorful logo and a catchy tagline? Video and/or radio commercials with earworm jingles? Attention-grabbing “air dancers” outside your stores? Spotlights!?! It all works, in a sense. But if you want to take advantage of humans’ most powerful sense, it pays to consider scent marketing.

Wherever you use them, fragrances elevate the ambiance of a space. If properly deployed, aromas become an invisible salesperson that’s subtly, consistently selling your business to everyone who breathes them in. That’s scent marketing in action!

Managers and owners of healthcare facilities, gyms, retail stores, hotels, and offices can benefit greatly from a professional scent marketing setup. It’s not only good for encouraging customer loyalty and dwell time. Olfactory branding can also be beneficial to employees and staff.

Let’s look at the benefits of scent marketing:

• Scent has a fast track
  Like metal to a magnet, smells instantly “snap to” the limbic system—the part of our brains that controls memory, mood, and emotions. No other sense does this, offering a unique way to literally get into your customers’ heads to build brand positivity.
• Scent elevates our sense of quality
  Did you know that scented products are often considered “more premium” than their unscented counterparts? From cleaning products to laundry detergents, adding aromas to products produces results. [SOURCE]

• Scent makes ‘em stay longer
  Customers are sensitive to the environment in which they shop. If they’re stressed or in a hurry, they won’t stay long. But if they’re pleased by the calm, stress-free feel of the place, they’re likely to shop—and buy—more.
• Scent brings ‘em back
  Building brand loyalty is the key to long-term success. Consistent scenting, especially with a signature scent unique to your brand, is a powerful way to draw clients back. If they love the way your brand or business smells, they’re more likely to remember it positively and seek it out again.

Choosing the Right Scent

You’re convinced that you wanna scent your space…what now? How do you pick a fragrance that embodies your brand and activates all these benefits for your business? Certain scents might be well-received. Others, not so much. Let’s explore the options and look at what’s working in scent marketing today.

The feel of a place is suggested by all sorts of factors, including color, temperature, decor, and smell. Set the tone early for guests and clients with scents that project a welcoming, professional atmosphere.

Big meetings. Make-or-break presentations. In the areas where a clear-headed approach can help as big decisions are made, unleash the power of scents that exude comfort, calm, and focus.

How do you treat open areas in an office building? Cubicle farms and open-style desk setups require everyone to breathe the same air and be very aware of it. In areas like this, try to reduce stress and improve focus subtly.

The strong smells emanating from cafes and breakrooms can cause distraction, whether you’re just passing through or have an office near them. Breakroom scent marketing works best when it moderates these smells. No one wants to smell burnt popcorn!

Odor control is the name of the game around bathrooms. The best scents neutralize the worst body-oriented smells, keeping them from overwhelming users and distracting those close by.

Now that you’re intrigued by the possibilities, ask yourself this: How do I choose the right fragrance for my business? Not just my brand, but my building, too. Because every office is different. While a store in a strip mall may just need a few fragrance diffusers, a multilevel complex is likely to need HVAC scenting.

Realizing this—and customizing a plan for YOUR office building—makes a big difference in how effective your foray into scent branding will be. That’s where partnering with a professional like Aire-Master pays off.