FREE SHIPPING on orders $100+
Your home staging is complete. The floors are spotless, furniture is meticulously arranged, and natural light pours in through the open blinds, illuminating the ever-desirable open floorplan. Everything seems perfect for prospective buyers — but is it?
While the visual presentation of a home is always necessary, another equally important aspect tends to be overlooked — the smell. (And we’re not just talking about masking unwanted odors.) Scent marketing solutions offer a unique way for realtors to showcase their listings.
Your sense of smell is impressive, to say the least. The human nose can detect at least one trillion distinct scents. (That’s right, one trillion.) Smell is not only a powerful sense but a powerful selling tool, as well. It’s called scent marketing, and it’s becoming the new secret weapon for real estate brokers and agents.
Here is a more in-depth look at scent marketing solutions and why they are a must-have for the real estate industry:
Scent Marketing 101
Never heard of scent marketing? You’re not alone. The benefits of a scent marketing strategy have not always been mainstream, but they’ve recently become too noticeable to ignore.
Scent Branding
In short, scent marketing, or scent branding, is associating your brand with a specific scent. (It is also called olfactory marketing since the brain’s smell center is called the olfactory bulb.)
Whether it’s the smell of roasting coffee at Starbucks or the signature fragrance of Abercrombie and Fitch, scent marketing plays a vital role in establishing a lasting impression of your brand.
Ambient Scent Marketing
Similar to scent branding, ambient scent marketing involves using scents to evoke emotion. Studies show that scents have positive effects on mood and stress reduction, which is the perfect combination for anyone in search of a new home.
For example, the smell of lavender is known to increase feelings of relaxation, vanilla is a mood booster, and the smell of fresh rain can elicit feelings of calmness.
Scent and the Halo Effect
Scent marketing is crucial in making a good first impression. To reinforce this, let’s take a look at the phenomenon known as “the halo effect.”
The Theory
The halo effect states that people form perceptions about people or products — whether accurate or not — based on one unrelated trait.
For example, a good first impression from someone you just met may lead you to believe that person is smart or funny. A negative first impression might cause you to think the person is lazy or rude. Are these perceptions always right? Not quite. But the phenomenon speaks volumes about the psychology of the brain.
What Does the Halo Effect Mean for Scent Marketing?
Much like the first impression on a first date, the first impression of a home determines whether or not you want to take the next step.
Taking the halo effect into consideration, one can only conclude that a buyer’s perception is formed the moment they walk into the door of a potential home. It takes about seven seconds for people to form a judgment based on a first impression, so those seven seconds must count!
If a buyer is immediately hit with the smell of pet stains, the overall perception might be that the rest of the home lacks cleanliness. In contrast, if the initial aroma is the cozy scent of cookies baking in the oven, they are more inclined to have a positive view of the home, even before the tour begins.
Scent Marketing for Real Estate
Scent marketing helps give real estate agents and brokers that extra “something” buyers are looking for. Here is how to harness its benefits:
Create the Right Environment
As the holiday season approaches, imagine you have the perfect home available for a couple with kids. They walk into an open floorplan, a spacious kitchen overlooking the living room, and the warmth of a fireplace — it’s already everything they want. The only thing that could make it better? The woody fragrance of pine, helped them picture the kids decorating a Christmas tree in that very living room.
An essential part of ambient scent marketing for real estate is creating an experience. Maybe this family was on the fence about purchasing the home, but the smell of pine was the extra nudge they needed to make a decision. The aroma didn’t just help them picture an experience; it helped them picture their own experience in the home.
Of course, holiday fragrances are not the only options. The same method can be applied to various types of homes. If it’s a mountain home, try the invigorating scent of fresh rain. A condo in the middle of a bustling city? The stress-reducing scent of lavender. A beach home? Try sandalwood or sea salt.
Get Buyers to Stick Around
The right scent encourages buyers to linger around the home longer, increasing your chances of a purchase. If the aroma is welcoming enough, they will feel comfortable taking their time during a tour. Most importantly, the right scent helps boost feelings of positivity, which boosts their overall opinion of the home.
Since buyers often need more than one visit to a home before making a decision, you should refrain from overbearing aromas. The bottom line? Keep it simple. If there are too many complex scents, it can distract prospects from focusing on their decision. Worst of all, it can prevent them from wanting to return for future visits.
Explore All of Our Scent Marketing Solutions
In today’s modern business world, scent branding has become a valuable component of any marketing strategy. Using scent marketing solutions for real estate proves to be an effective solution for any agent or broker looking to update their strategy. (And it’s quite possibly the solution you didn’t know you needed.)
Phoenicia Essence is passionate about making your brand unforgettable, and the power of scent can make it happen. Along with our fragrances, we have an extensive collection of diffusers that evenly distribute aromas, providing the best possible experience for your buyers.
If you’re ready to boost buyer moods while boosting sales, learn more about our fragrance and diffusion options.