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Do your marketing efforts focus on audio-visual presentations, such as print ads, radio spots, and videos on TV and the Internet? If so, you’re missing out on the powerful and enduring effects of sensory marketing on consumer behavior.
Natalie Whited, VP of Marketing at Orbus Visual Communications®, offers our guest blog regarding the long-lasting impact of sensory marketing. It examines the science behind sensory perception and its influence on purchasing decisions. If you are motivated to create memorable brand experiences and drive customer loyalty, consider using sensory marketing to boost your organization’s sales.
The Long-Lasting Impact of Sensory Marketing
Sensory Input
Of the five senses, about 94% of sensory input comes through sight and sound (11% auditory and 83% visual). Additionally, taste accounts for 1%, touch 1.5%, and smell 3.5%.[DM1]
With visual information making up about 90% of the data processed in our brains[DM2], it’s no wonder that innovative companies consider color psychology when influencing consumers’ behavior. Adding visuals to your marketing campaign can boost engagement by 30% [DM3] and enhance people’s ability to recall your brand.
Brand Images
Brand images are among the first things that capture customers’ or clients’ attention. Even before being introduced to a product or service, the visuals play a decisive role in their initial interest.
When you visit a specific brand store or an industry event, a company visualizes its product and message differently, from eye-catching banners or flags to elaborate exhibits and displays. A brand’s visual representation entices you to enter a store or walk up to a booth at a tradeshow or event to make a purchase or learn more.
Audio
As for audio, you are already aware that sound can influence your emotions. For example, a sad symphony can leave you pensive, while an upbeat pop song can motivate you to action. Once customers hear a catchy jingle, they often find it playing repeatedly in their brains.
Regarding the nose, you should be aware that using scents can increase brand recognition by up to 40%. Wafting a pleasant fragrance toward customers, such as at a storefront or outdoor vendor tent, can elevate their mood and make your branding more memorable. Indeed, adding scents to products can increase sales.
Touch
Use the sense of touch to enhance your branding. Touch increases customer interaction, such as when people touch your textured packaging. Touch displays also encourage people to engage with your products.
Focusing on taste can encourage brand loyalty. Offering food samples will make customers more likely to purchase your products.
Benefits of Using Sensory Marketing
Emphasize imagery because about 65% of people retain memories of visual information, compared to 10-20% of written or spoken information, according to a report from Shift. Citing the Visual Teaching Alliance statistics, Shift noted that our brains see images that last a mere 13 milliseconds and can obtain a sense of a visual in under 1/10 of a second.
Consider how sound can impact your branding. Business owners follow psychological studies to help them influence shoppers’ behavior in their stores, such as by carefully selecting background music. Since people use music to change their emotional state, such as by selecting a playlist in their streaming service, companies can also use music to adjust shoppers’ emotions.
You need to know what demographic you’re trying to influence with music in your branding and marketing. Young shoppers linger longer in stores when music is overt and in the foreground, but older shoppers stay longer when music is lower in the background.
If you sell products people drink or eat, you should also experiment with taste by giving samples or conducting “taste tests.” Adding texture to your packaging will encourage interaction and engagement.
Play to the Senses to Increase Brand Recognition and Boost Sales
Whenever feasible, it makes sense to engage more of the five senses in your marketing and branding efforts instead of relying solely on audio or visual campaigns. Spraying cologne and perfume on customers who request it can entice them to purchase a bottle of your scented product, just as offering food samples can generate more sales when people like what they taste.
Related: Effective Communication Strategies for Better Client Relationships