What is Scent Marketing?

Imagine the following situation: You are walking through a shopping centre on the weekend before Christmas. It is loud, crowded and you are flooded with impressions. You enter a shop and immediately notice the sweet smell of cinnamon and orange. A pleasant feeling comes over you and the Christmas spirit is suddenly in full swing. This way of influencing the buying experience is called scent marketing.

The influence of fragrances

In addition to the obvious influence of scents on human behaviour, such as the choice of a partner, health, well-being or thinking, scents also influence our buying behaviour. For this reason, scents can evoke positive as well as negative memories, and thus change a person’s well-being.

Scent marketing in washrooms

Scent marketing in connection with your washrooms uses a slightly different approach. If there is a strong smell of urine in the washrooms, this will have an impact on customers. If, on the other hand, it smells pleasantly of mint or lavender, a visit to the washrooms can leave a positive impression or at least prevent a negative impression. So far, this has come into play primarily in the catering industry, as restaurant guests want a fully satisfying experience. And customers associate washroom cleanliness and hygiene with kitchen hygiene. Clean and maintain your washrooms regularly to improve overall satisfaction. This will also protect your brand image. It’s not for nothing that they say “The eye eats with you”.

Economic approach

The influence of fragrances on purchasing behaviour has been studied since the 20th century and was probably used in a natural way even before that. In the meantime, there are various studies that confirm that the targeted use of fragrances can extend the length of stay in a shop and increase the willingness to buy. As mentioned at the beginning, seasonal (e.g. Christmas) or product-related scents are used.

In larger shops, scents can also be used to direct customers’ attention to a department or product range.

Resumée

Fragrances have a great influence on human behaviour. The targeted use of fragrances, whether artificial or natural, can influence the buying experience. Even the use of neutralising fragrances has a positive influence on customers. In addition, clean and hygienic washrooms increase satisfaction.