Paper – Sensory Marketing

English Paper Julien BECQUEVORT BAC 3 - Intermediate 1 2011-2012 English Paper Julien BECQUEVORT BAC 3 - Intermediate 1 2011-2012 The sensory marketing The sensory marketing Table of contents Introduction2 Sensory marketing2 Visual marketing4 Sound marketing5 Olfactory marketing6 Gustatory marketing7 Tactile marketing8 Personal opinion9 Conclusion10 Bibliography12 Introduction Even if one does not realize, sensory marketing is ubiquitous in marketing campaigns and it may explain most of our purchasing decisions. The soothing ambience of a store, pleasant odor diffused, attractive colors,… can influence the customer’s decision.

Sensory marketing can be defined as “a marketing technique that seeks one or more of the five senses of the consumer. Its aim is to attract customers by increasing their welfare in order to positively influence their behavior vis-a-vis a product or a point of sale”. To approach sensory marketing, I decided to begin by a short description of the topic. After, I will talk about the five types of sensory marketing : visual, sound, olfactory, gustatory and touch. To finish, I will expose you my personal opinion about the subject. Sensory marketing

Compared with traditional marketing, the sensory marketing focuses more on the five senses : sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. The sensory marketing creates around the product a multisensory atmosphere that boosts their attractiveness. According to specialists, the use of the five senses in a marketing campaign would allow companies to increase their sales by arousing customer’s emotions. Nowadays, with the growth of the supply for a product, it is very important for a company to differentiate itself from its competitors. We notice that more and more companies use the sensory marketing to do it.

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Despite the fact that Kotler stressed already in 1973 the importance of the atmosphere in a store, the sensory marketing has only really developed until the 2000’s. It is still a young aspect of the marketing strategies. But today, more and more marketing specialists attach importance to the sensory marketing because it is a great success. This success can be explained in two ways. On the one hand, sensory perception brings a comfortable feeling, a sense of reality that the consumer looks for because of the development of virtual in our society.

On the other hand, the consumer looks for a sensorial experience with all senses and especially with a back to the nature in a context of increasing urbanization. But some specialists say it is unethical to play with people’s feeling and emotions in a commercial aim. In fact, the sensory marketing can be used in an abusive way, trying to manipulate the customer. However, it is not like “neuromarketing” that is completely unethical. This type of marketing consists in a study of the mechanisms of the brain when it receives commercial stimuli.

Professionals of marketing can adapt their advertising campaigns based on the results of the study. It’s difficult for consumers to not buy the product with this type of marketing. But concerning sensory marketing, if the consumer has been once fooled on a product because of a sensory marketing, he will not be fooled a second time. Today’s marketing would be a marketing based on the five senses at the same time. That is called “polysensorality” by the marketers. However, it’s really difficult to set up for most of products. Now, I will give you some concrete examples in order to better understand what the sensory marketing is.

It would be interesting to diffuse a smell of hot chocolate in a chocolate department. This strategy, combined with an attractive visual aspect of the product, will guide the consumer towards the product. Moreover, tastings in stores can also increase the sales of the product. The consumer can be aware of the product’s quality, smell, texture, etc. Nature et Decouvertes is a pioneer among the sensory marketers. When we are in the store, all our senses are stimulated. For example, all the products are exposed and we can touch and test everyone. It is really entertaining for the clients.

Concerning the smell, odours of essential oils are spread in the shop, and even outside of it. It makes the passers want to enter the store. Moreover, we can hear a relaxing music. People often buy a CD and essential oils to recreate this relaxing atmosphere at home. Nature et Decouvertes has well understood that the sensory marketing can increase purchases but also enhance the image of this brand. Visual marketing The visual marketing is used by the professionals of marketing since a lot of years. The beauty and the design have always been very important in the marketing.

People are always looking for aesthetic. Colours and forms, department’s arrangements of a shop are important factors for the product’s success. It influences the consumers and triggers emotional reactions that play a role in the purchase decision. The sight is the most highlighted sense in a marketing campaign. The client has his first impression of a product, whatever it is, by the sight. Visual aspects are essential and sellers try to attract people thanks to the sight. For example, in an automobile showroom, everything is studied.

The lighting, the colours and the positions of the cars can influence people who look for aestheticism. But the visual marketing has also evolved with new technologies. Nowadays, beautiful pictures are broadcasted on LCD or LED screens. In travel agencies, pictures of withe sand and blue seas scrolled on a screen and invite to evasion. People are more likely to push the door to enter the agency. Apple has also developed a strong visual marketing for its products. We can found the iPod, the MP3 players of Apple, in a wide range of colours.

Before, the iMac was also available in different colours and the product was transparent in order to make the machine more pleasant. All the products of Apple are design and beautiful. Apple is specialized in the visual marketing because the brand has understood that the customer will choose more easily a product which is beautiful. Sound marketing The sound marketing is a recent side of the sensory marketing. Marketers have now understood that hearing is primordial in a communication campaign. The sound marketing must represent the brand and the product.

It’s really important for a brand to have a specific music, a jingle or a voice which can allow people to identify the brand in question. Uncle Ben’s, U and Leclerc are linked to a specific voice that differentiates themselves from competitors. These voices play a role of jingle and the auditors recognize immediately the brand. Music is also used in stores and shops to sell a product. But it’s recent. Different studies have proven that music influence the perception of time and the customers stay longer and more easily in a store which trend music is played.

According to these studies, a soft music, like classical music, encourages to stroll and relaxes the customers. The particular sound of a product is also used by producers hoping to differentiate it. For example, in the world of household electrical appliances, the sound of the buttons is different depending on the brand. But the most striking example is the engine’s sound of a Harley Davidson. No engine makes a noise similar to a Harley Davidson. This is one of the biggest selling points of the brand and it was studied during a long time by mechanics. Please, follow this link ttp://www. youtube. com/watch? v=31GBuRHxsDo&feature=fvwp&NR=1 Olfactory marketing Since more or less two decades, marketers have discovered that odour in an advertising campaign has a lot of influence on the purchase decisions of the customer. Before the 90’s, this sense was totally put aside. It was very difficult to implement the olfactory marketing because the technologies did not permit it. Since few years, marketers have understood that the power of odours is something that they should not overlook as the olfactory memory is the most powerful.

The olfactory marketing is very important to highlight a product or a brand. When we walk on the street, we can smell delicious odours coming from a restaurant, a bakery or store which sells coffee. All these odours attract the customers and trigger an emotional process that lost any sense of time. Customers like to go to shops and store where it smells good. It’s normal. Some brands like Nature et Decouvertes and Sephora have succeeded in attract the customer and the passers with odour. But olfactory marketing is not limited only to odours in shops and stores, it cans also be found within the products.

For example, it’s important that a cosmetic cream smells good. In order to differentiate their products from the others, it’s essential for a company to use different flavours. It’s the same for cleaning products. A lot of brands like Mr Propre, Carolin or Dreft use different scents for their cleaning products. These products do not only evoke cleanliness but also evoke evasion and pleasure thanks to the odours. A third example is the 3M company who has commercialized flavoured strawberry post - its. The target of this marketing’s type is essentially teenagers and especially young girls.

However, olfactory marketing goes further and an odour diffuser, the “SmellBox”, was created to diffuse fragrances in a shop or a store. This box is connected to a computer and diffuses odours that are linked with the broadcasted pictures on the screen. Today, it is the most advanced application of the olfactory marketing. Gustatory marketing With this type of marketing, there are two possibilities : either the consumer likes the product either he doesn’t like and doesn’t buy it. Taste marketing is often used in supermarkets where different brand representatives propose to taste new products.

Clients appreciate this practice because they can judge the product for free. And this technique increases sales because people buy it after having tasted it so they don’t take a risk and know that they like it. Obviously, this marketing is usually used for food products. But there are some exceptions. Indeed, gustative marketing can be a good way to promote a product. For example, a jewelry demonstration accompanied by a chocolate fondue. Or we can also find candies in some stores. Moreover, gustative marketing is essential for toothpaste’s brands too.

Today, the trend is traveling and people like new flavors of the world. There is a strong growth in sales of exotic spices and especially from Asia, very trendy at the moment. So, food industries have their gustative laboratories in order to taste new relishes depending on the trend and desires of consumers. Thus, this sort of marketing is not easy because we always have to adapt to the new flavors appreciated by people. So, there are gustatory trends that we have to follow all the time to satisfy customers. Tactile marketing This sort of marketing uses the touch to optimize sales of a product.

This sense has more and more importance in communication campaigns, and professionals know it. Indeed, consumers need to touch the product in order to have a precise idea of its quality. For example, at the supermarket, customers like palpating fruits and vegetables and they think that they can evaluate their quality in this way. In fact, the touch creates a familiarity with the product. So, tactile marketing has a gigantic power and sellers have to use it in order to enhance sales. Moreover, people prefer going to a store which proposes to touch products, so this sort of marketing increase the number of clients.

That’s why more and more enterprises look for textures appreciated by consumers. Today, for example, the trend is cashmere. Indeed, this textile inspires sweetness, comfort, protection, etc. As the touch refers to the qualities and functions of the product, the choice of the material and the form is essential. More the texture is successful, more consumers will want to buy it. We can well see this phenomenon in bedding store where people always lie on mattresses. Clients want to test the thickness and comfort, and prices become even less important. Food industries have also understood the advantages of this marketing.

Children and teenagers like the combination of different textures as crunchy and sweet. For example, Danette created a new product to satisfy consumers : liquid chocolate accompanied by crunchy balls. We can also find chewing-gum crisps outside and liquids inside. Tactile marketing can also be applied for a service. Indeed, a hotel will be judged on the softness of the sheets, the thickness of the towels, pillows’ quality, etc. If the client appreciates all of these things, he will have a good image of the hotel. So, the touch is a factor essential for product’s success. Personal opinion

I have chosen this topic because I am really interested in the marketing sciences. I think that it is very important for a firm or a company to deeply understand how behave customers when they receive commercial stimuli. Otherwise, I would choose as master options marketing and management’s services. I hope that I will learn even more with the lecture of consumer’s behaviour. During my studies in management, we have seen lots of strategies and techniques to attract the customer to a product or service, but I think that the sensory marketing is the most interesting and is really booming.

We can see more and more strategies of sensory marketing today. I think for example at the cover of the jam’s jars of Bonne Maman brand. The cover is squared with blue and white or red and white. Moreover, the writing on the label looks like handwriting. It really reminds jams of long ago. Another example is the development of the free distribution of new products in the street. When we walk on the street, we can see huge cars giving for example chocolate, cans of Coca-Cola, … This is linked with gustatory marketing. Just yesterday, I went to a copy centre and the merchant had put an essential oil diffuser in the store.

It was really nice to photocopy sheets in this atmosphere. Even if a copy centre does not need to use sensory marketing in order to attract customers, I think that it is a good initiative and it works. I will go back there to make photocopies. I think that more and more brand and retailers must use the sensory marketing. The customers asks for it, it is more sympathetic that our senses are requested when we do shopping or when we see an advertising. Moreover, studies and surveys have proved that the sensory marketing really influences the purchase decisions.

It has to be developed by all the brands, if it is possible obviously. During the lectures of market research, we have seen lots of studies that showed that the marketing sensory has a lot of influence on consumers. For example, we have seen, supported by figures, that the purchases are more important if the music in the store is slow than fast. Moreover, if it is coupled with a nice odour, the amount of purchases is much more important. We have also learned that the light plays an important role in a restaurant. If the light is bright, the number of wine bottles purchased is higher than if the light is subdued.

Per contra, the spent time in the restaurant and the amount of the bill is higher if the light is subdued. Recently, I have participated to a market research concerning the bookshop Libris Agora. We were asked during the study to analyse different odours that could be diffuse in the bookstore. It is typically a sensory marketing strategy. Personally, I am for a strong sensory marketing strategy. As I said before, it can attract lots of people to a store. For example, I like when trend and good music is played in a shop.

I have already noticed that I stay more easily in a store where dance and electro music is played, maybe because I love this kind of music. Contrary to what my analysis says, I will never go to a store where classic music is broadcasted or maybe I will stay maximum five minutes. I think that it is because I am young and that does not attract me at all. Nevertheless, I can understand that people like this type of music and that classic music encourages people to stay longer in a store. One of the sensory marketing strategies that I like the most is the gustatory one.

I really like to taste different products when I am at the supermarket or when I go to a fruit and vegetables seller. Usually, if the products are good, I put them in the cart. In order to further differentiate from the competition, brands and retailers should enhance their sensory marketing strategies. They should couple visual marketing with olfactory marketing, etc. However, the consumers must not receive too much sensory stimuli at once time. If it is the case, I think he feels oppressed and uncomfortable and he will certainly run away from the product or the store.

Retailers have to find the right middle between the different strategies of sensory marketing. Moreover, the sensory marketing is not popular with everyone. I know some people who feel uncomfortable with odour of essential oils. I think that the big problem of the sensory marketing is to find the right settings in order to reach as many people as possible. Conclusion Throughout this report, I tried to explain what the sensory marketing is and how the five senses can play a role in the purchase decision. I also tried to give concrete examples to make this report more understandable.

We can see that in a context of an increasing supply, companies have to differentiate themselves from each other. It requires a very thorough marketing and more and more companies rely on sensory marketing to attract customers to their products. According to experts, marketing of tomorrow will be a “polysensory” marketing through which all senses of the consumer and prospect will be awakened. Nowadays, thanks to new technologies, this type of marketing is possible and some companies like Nature et Decouvertes use already this concept of “polysensority” marketing.

The discipline of sensory marketing is now booming but it is very important to not oppress the customer with too much commercial and sensory stimuli. The sensory marketing must be carefully considered before being implemented. Bibliography http://marketing. oboulo. com/marketing-sensoriel-exemple-zara-h-m-killafornia-1 05054. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sense http://fr. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marketing_sensoriel http://www. netpme. fr/marketing/704-marketing-sensoriel. html http://www. journaldunet. com/management/dossiers/0606139marketing/cestquoi. shtml

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