What is Sensory Marketing? And Does it Work?
When you walk into a room, what do you notice first? While some people might comment or art on the wall or the paint color others will say that the smell of lavender or the sound of soft music drew their attention first.
As human beings we experience spaces with all five of our senses – sometimes without even knowing it. The marketing industry has taken notice of this and created a brand new way or marketing to customers.
It’s called sensory marketing.
Are you intrigued and ready to learn more? Keep reading!
What is Sensory Marketing?
Sensory marketing, also referred to as sensory branding, or multi-sensory marketing is a method of branding intended to appeal to more than one of the five senses.
In case you forgot, the five senses include sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound.
Using a combination of carefully planned art as well as sensory science, marketing brands aim to evoke a more powerful and meaningful reaction and experience from customers. Through the experience they ultimately hope to influence customer behavior.
Let’s look into a few examples.
Sight
We process through sight immediately. And we judge a product’s aesthetic right away too. Companies like Apple hold focus groups to gather information from consumers on what they like or don’t like about how a product looks.
Smell
If you’ve walked by an Abercrombie & Fitch or a Cinnabon at the mall, you’re already familiar with scent marketing. Scent marketing for hotels is an emerging marketing trend with a lot of promise.
Touch
Sensory marketing for touch goes beyond a fuzzy blanket or a comfy sweatshirt. Imagine picking a new television provider and wanting to hold the remote in your hand to see how it felt. Yep- that’s sensory marketing. And it makes a difference!
Taste
Not all products are meant for tasting. But that doesn’t mean they can’t still utilize the sense of taste to connect with customers. Bridal shops offer champagne and hardware stores offer popcorn because they know an experience can be made better with food and drinks.
Sound
Catchy jingles are just the beginning. Sound can provide an overall ambiance for a physical space that matches your brand. It can also bring you a sense of satisfaction or excitement. If you remember the days of AOL’s “you’ve got mail” greeting, you know exactly how sound can affect marketing.
Does Sensory Marketing Work?
After all this explanation, does a sensory marketing campaign even work? Just ask Dunkin Donuts in South Korea. They used sensory marketing by releasing the smell of coffee while they played a company jingle and saw an immediate boost in sales of close to 29%.
Getting a catchy jingle out of your head or immediately recognizing the color coco-cola red are a few other examples of how successful sensory marketing can be.
We learn to associate a feeling with a brand which is powerful when it comes to consumer behaviors and brand recognition.
Learn to Use Sensory Marketing
You know what it is and that it works. So why not try to use sensory marketing for your own business? This highly effective, immersive marketing strategy can help you improve sales while also enhancing the customer experience.
Playing new music in your store or updating the company logo with more appealing colors and shapes could make the difference in your sales this year. You’ve got nothing to lose – give it a try!
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