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You don’t buy a car every day or every week, month, or year as you do other products on the market. This makes the single sale of a car or truck of utmost importance to a dealership’s bottom line. The first impression a potential customer has of the dealership can set the mood and close the transaction.
The industry is cutthroat and competitive dealerships and manufacturers contend for the consumer’s attention. Brand rivalry is forcing new challenges in marketing strategies to win over the consumer at a deeper and more personal level.
Phoenicia Essence believes adding a scent marketing strategy to a dealership’s overall marketing strategy, can help bond the consumer to their brand.
The Effect of Scent on Human Emotion
The sense of smell can affect up to 75% of a person’s emotion and commitment to the memory of a certain experience. The perception of luxury and newness is highly desirable to the customer when choosing a new vehicle. Negative scents, such as rubber, paint, and wax, can have the opposite effect.
Just as important as the first impression is in a dealership, so is creating dwell time once the customer is inside. Dwell time is a feeling of comfort and relaxation the customer experiences. A relaxed, comfortable customer increases the customer’s ability to know, like, and trust their sales rep, possibly leading them to agree to a higher sales price on the car.
Branding the Scent of an Auto Business
The proper scent of a luxury car showroom can instill the perceptions of quality and confidence. This can fuse an emotional bond between the potential buyer and the brand. A showroom’s signature scent should cater to the preferences of the desired clientele.
The concept is to create a sensory consumer experience that will stay in the memory and ultimately drive sales. Pleasant scents evoke pleasure and often lead to increased “dwell times” in an auto showroom.
It’s not enough to rely on an attentive staff, appealing discounts, and ‘sign and drive’ promises. The business has to tap into intense and meaningful feelings to solidify the connection between the customer and the sale.
Scents like vanilla evoke a sense of trust, and mahogany and leather, which suggests luxury and elegance will evoke a sensory consumer experience.
How Scent Affects Customer Decisions
Bad first impressions are forever. It’s indelible in the mind’s eye and impossible to change.
According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, “Buyers make most decisions by relying on their two-second first impressions based on stored memories, images, and feelings.” Despite political correctness, most people make a judgment based on how things look and smell.
Ambient air care applied by Phoenicia Essence carries that first impression further than pricey flourishes and pleasant personal contact. By seamlessly integrating the right scent and the right time, we can imprint the foundation of a loyal customer experience.
Olfactory Logos
An olfactory logo is a custom scent that a brand creates to advertise its unique character. It is used whenever the brand is present to associate the scent with the brand.
An olfactory logo is a way a showroom can capitalize on the power of scent marketing. This acts as a bridge between the consumer and a specific scent associated with a specific automobile, associating the two forever into memory.
A customized olfactory logo must be created for each brand. It must suit both the dealership and the consumer base it’s catering to. The scent must evoke the buying and driving experience the brand wishes to show.
Studies Show
Aromachology concerns the science of understanding the role of scent as it relates to human decision-making.
Eric Spangenberg, a pioneer in the study of scent and the dean of Washington State University School of Business, conducted a simple but iconic study in 2012 for Nike sneakers.
He found that by placing the same shoes in two different rooms – one scented and one not – there was an 84% increase in customer preference for the shoes in the scented room. He also found that the shoes in the scented room sold for an average of $10.33 more than those in the non-scented room.
However, according to Spangenberg, “Just because pine boughs and baked cookies smell good doesn’t mean they will lead to sales… Most people are processing scent on an unconscious level, but it is still impacting their behavior. The important thing from the retailer’s perspective and the marketer’s perspective is that a pleasant scent isn’t necessarily an effective scent.”
Scent marketing is the science of using scent to influence consumer behavior. We know how to evoke emotions and feelings about specific brands. Phoenicia Essence is the leading manufacturer of air-care systems and environmental odor and hygiene products. We serve a large range of clients all over Arizona.
Adding scent marketing to any business promises to add future improvement to the bottom line and ROI. Take the next step and learn more about fragrance and diffusion options.
