As a business owner, it pays to ask: how do I choose the right fragrance for my business? Because when customers enter your store, stay in your hotel, or visit your office, they take it all in…the sights, the sounds, AND the smells.
Selecting the right fragrance—one that welcomes customers while reinforcing your brand identity—can have many benefits. It affects how customers perceive your business, how much time they spend there, and how much money they’re willing to spend.
Employees benefit from the scent, too. Studies have shown that pleasant aromas have a positive influence on mood and productivity. Combine this with the scent’s other benefits, and you have a recipe for scented success.
Understanding the Psychology of Scent
One of the most exciting developments in modern advertising is scent marketing. Scientific studies show a strong connection between scent, mood, and memory. Research indicates that certain scents produce specific, predictable responses. With every passing year, marketers are learning to use scent’s direct connection to the limbic system of the brain to influence customer behavior.
It’s been said that scent is like a silent salesman, always working in the background to sell your brand.
But how does scent work, and why does it connect so powerfully to mood and memory?
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Business Fragrance
With so many scents to choose from, how do you find one that fits? Start by asking yourself this question: From the first moment they walk into your business, how do you want your customers to feel? Calm? Nostalgic? Confident? Something else? Scent can help set the tone.
Once you and other decision-makers agree on the mood you want to cultivate, it’s time to pick a scent that encapsulates that feeling. As part of this process, getting buy-in from those inside the company who know the brand best is vital. When it’s time to pick your brand’s signature scent, it helps to get everyone in one room, waft various scents at them, and start fine-tuning.
Industry & Business Type
As consumers, we have developed certain expectations of standard industries and common business types. By carefully choosing scents that align with the feel of their stores, the managers of clothing shops, auto showrooms, and furniture outlets can help draw customers in.
Target Audience
Demographics play a significant role in determining your target audience…and the scent most likely to appeal to them. By identifying things like gender and age, you can narrow your range of scents. Then, by determining their priorities and lifestyle, you can hone in even more.
Brand Identity
Whether you have a well-defined brand or one that’s still coalescing, it’s important to make sure your signature scent matches its personality. Lean into the differences that set your brand apart. Take something unique from your brand persona and work it into the scent profile. If you need a little help, browsing a list of aromas can be a good start.
Seasonality
Consumers rely on the regular cadence of the seasons, and businesses that use this cycle to attract customers need to be ready to shift with them. The cold months of fall and winter lend themselves to warming scents, making scents like vanilla, cinnamon, and woodsmoke more appropriate. But the arrival of spring and summer offers a chance for stores to refresh their scent marketing to match the mood, working in fresh floral scents and oceanic aromas.
Intensity & Subtlety
One common concern with implementing scent marketing is its intensity. As a business owner or manager, you may worry that too much scent will turn customers away, or that too little scent won’t have an effect. Luckily, the scent experts at Aire-Master have years of experience getting the settings just right. With our wide array of scent dispensers, we can customize intensity levels to perfectly suit your place of business.
It’s fun to start thinking about which scents might fit your brand!
Best Scents for Different Business Environments
What scents work best in different business settings? Let’s start with a few of the most popular examples. Rosemary oil enhances concentration. Lavender oil helps reduce stress and instills a sense of peace. Peppermint oil is invigorating and has been shown to boost productivity. However, every business seeks to attract a slightly different clientele, meaning their priorities–and, therefore, their choices–will differ. Let’s look at how specific segments are using scent marketing.
Hotels
As the world’s most prominent purveyors of hospitality, hotels have a vested interest in ensuring their guests feel welcome and comfortable. The next time you visit one, take note of the ambient scent in the lobby, hallways, and rooms. Odds are, it’ll be something that encourages relaxation, like jasmine or sandalwood, maybe with some chamomile worked in.
Fitness Centers
Folks concerned about fitness like to frequent places that help them meet their goals, making gyms and fitness centers popular. But for fitness center managers, the challenge of presenting a fresh-smelling environment when hundreds of people are working out is all too real. Often, they turn to scents like peppermint or rosemary, especially for the reception area. Inside the gym itself, invigorating scents like lemon, lime, pineapple, and orange can provide a mood lift while cutting the scent of body odor.
Banks or Financial Institutions
Visit a place where money matters, and you’re likely to encounter scent marketing. Because, for most people, money often causes stress, banks tend to choose soothing smells like lavender or frankincense. Fragrances that spur productivity, such as peppermint and rosemary, are also popular. Institutions wishing to cultivate a premium, elite atmosphere might choose aromas of luxury, like leather and tobacco.
Beauty Salons and Spas
Customers visit a spa or salon to escape the ordinary. Choosing scents that support that feeling is an important part of the holistic experience at a place like this. Relaxing, calming scents that reduce stress, like green tea, lavender, and mint, are popular choices in environments like this. Geranium and jasmine, which aid in relaxation and lower cortisol levels, are also choices.
Retail Environments
Many retail stores benefit from the smells produced by the goods they sell, and they know it. Movie theaters (popcorn), coffee houses (coffee), floral shops (flowers), and bakeries (bread, cookies) are some of the most popular places where customers literally follow their noses.
But what about other stores, like clothing outlets and sellers of widgets and knick-knacks? For businesses like these, it’s all about matching the energy of the store to the scent. Vanilla and floral notes can be both welcoming and comfortable. Citrus scents can be energizing, while fragrances such as cinnamon or baked apples can instill a sense of warmth.
Implementing Scent Marketing in Your Business
In all sorts of environments, from hospitality to fitness to finance, the carefully controlled dispersal of scent helps tweak customer behavior to the business’s benefit. If they like the way the setting smells, they are more likely to feel at ease, linger longer, and make more purchases.
According to the VP of Development at Scent World, Jennifer Dublino, “The global scent marketing industry is growing at an estimated annual rate of 15% with revenue of about $300 million.” [SOURCE] Scent is surging, and now’s a great time to work scent marketing into your portfolio.
What method of scent delivery best fits your space? Learn more about the advantages of scent diffusers in our previously published blogs on Air Fresheners vs Scent Diffusers and Scent Diffusers vs Candles.
Crafting a Unique Scent for Your Brand with Aire-Master
If your business is ready for the next step in scent branding, it pays to consult with the experts at Aire-Master. Our team works with you to understand your brand values, target audience, and environmental factors to design a scent that captures your business’s brand identity.
Our customized scenting solutions mean that we can work scent marketing into your space seamlessly. And as your business grows and customer preferences change, we’ll be there to make just the right adjustments to your scent profile.
Ready to get started? Use our quick quiz to find a type of fragrance that would suit your business!
Make your future more fragrant with help from the experts. Contact Aire-Master today!