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The Power of Scent Marketing For Companies


Scent marketing is a unique concept in which you enrich the perception of company values and achieve more loyalty and satisfaction with your customers.

In recent years more companies have used scent marketing to realise a pleasant atmosphere. It’s becoming clearer how important scent is. Not only in the buying behaviour of customers, but also in terms of brand loyalty, corporate identity, and the satisfaction of your customers and staff (1).

The history of scent marketing

Midway through the ’90s, psychologists found that in shops where the room was subtly perfumed the sales increased. More research followed, but it was only in 2002 that this concept was labeled: scent marketing (2). Despite its increasing use of it in various settings, the underlying mechanisms are still quite undefined. The consequence is that the power of scent is underestimated when it can offer so much.

The scent is the most powerful of all senses

With all of the other senses, you think before you respond, but with scent, your brain responds before you think. (3)

When an odour is diffused, the molecules travel directly through the nose to the olfactory bulb, which is linked to the limbic system – the emotional brain. This entails that scent is not first processed in the thalamus, but subliminally (4, 5). The advantage of this is that scent has an immediate effect on the mood of the customers (6) and indirectly how the customer perceives and values your company and brand.

Scent and emotion

In modern society, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the abundance of sensory stimuli; for example, (loud) music in clothes shops, (colourful) interior designs, and different shades of light. Meanwhile, the right scent can provide a relaxing and appropriate atmosphere.

Since scent is linked strongly to emotion, it has an important influence on our mood. Every scent has different strengths and qualities. For instance, it is proven that eucalyptus reduces fear (7), lemon elevates mood (8), and lavender reduces anxiety and fear (9).

Read more about the science behind scent and mood.

A positive state of mind of the customers and staff has a beneficial influence on multiple aspects of your company, such as buying behaviour and the level of satisfaction.

Moreover, data from numerous researches suggests a strong connection between scent and memory, which is advantageous for brand identity (10). A scent that is congruent with the identity of your brand will cause the customer to associate that fragrance with your company.


There are different ways to use scent in a marketing strategy. So is spreading the fragrance of freshly baked bread in a bakery a good advertising approach. Similarly, scent is used as an element to add ambience to a room. This technique is widely used in hotels, airports, retail, banks, casinos, and in other settings. The clothes brand Abercrombie & Fitch is a well-known example. They use the musky fragrance ‘Fierce’ that’s now considered a signature to their brand (11).

Research shows that the usage of scent can have a positive influence on multiple aspects of your company. A pleasantly smelling room induces customers to reside longer in that space and consume more (12, 13). Additionally, research from Michon and Chebat (2005) proved that there was a 63% increase in product sales when using a subtle lemon scent (14). Likewise, various researches reported an increase in positive shopping experiences with an ambience fragrance (15) and a positive influence on sale, evaluation of the brand and the time spent in the shop by costumers when there was conformity between scent and the products (16).

In short, scent marketing can beneficial consequences for your company. Increasingly more research shows that scent plays an essential role in marketing and brand identity. Likewise, every fragrance has a different quality that can be used to your advantage (17). Whether it’s about increasing the sales figures, enhancing the performance in your office, creating a unique brand, or just the gratification of an aromatic room; the diffusers of Aroma GreenSpace are an answer to your needs.

Aromen GreenSpace

Health and wellbeing starts with a deep breath!

Aromen GreenSpace specialises in creating a pleasant fragrance experience in every room.

The unique and alluring fragrances of our diffusers create a pleasant environment in which customers can feel calm and comfortable.

Choose for instance for the refreshing tones of ‘BioPure Spring’ to create an invigorating and fruity space that resembles a sunny day. And during the colder days of the year, the warming ‘BioPure Winter’, based on spicy cinnamon and sweet orange, can turn every room into a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere.

Moreover, the ‘BioPure Blends’ are ideal for the realisation of a perfect ambience. The aromatic ‘BioPure Focus’ with fragrant rosemary and fresh peppermint heightens the concentration, which is ideal for an optimal workspace. Or for a quieter setting, the ‘BioPure Relax’ can be helpful. The soothing qualities of lavender and orange create a relaxed environment.

Besides the great advantages that scent offers, our diffusers also provide a special health aspect. By using essential and organic oils, our diffusers clean the air and enhance your health with every breath you take.

Give your company that little bit extra by adding scent to your environment and let yourself be surprised by the noticeable differences. The advantages that scent offers is proven over de years and many companies are now reaping the benefits!

References

1. Meng, H. (2016). The Effects of Scent on Consumer Behavior (Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University).

2. Emsenhuber, B. (2011). Scent marketing: Making olfactory advertising pervasive. In Pervasive advertising, Springer, London, 343-360.

3. Vlahos, J. (2007). Scent and sensibility. New York Times.

4. Tierandha, A., & Iskandar, B. P. (2014). (Don’t) keep your nose out of my business: an experimental study on the efficacy of scent marketing in retail environment. In Journal of Business and Management. 3 (3), 296-304.

5. Kumamoto, J., & Tedjakusuma, A. P. (2018, March). A study of the impact and effectiveness of scent used for promotion of products and services with low olfactory affinity. In 15th International Symposium on Management (INSYMA 2018). Atlantis Press.

6. De Luca, R., & Botelho, D. (2019). The unconscious perception of smells as a driver of consumer responses: a framework integrating the emotion-cognition approach to scent marketing. AMS Review, 1-17.

7. Seol, G. H., & Kim, K. Y. (2016). Eucalyptol and its role in chronic diseases. In Drug Discovery from Mother Nature, Springer, Cham. 389-398.

8. Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Graham, J. E., Malarkey, W. B., Porter, K., Lemeshow, S., & Glaser, R. (2008). Olfactory influences on mood and autonomic, endocrine, and immune function. Psychoneuroendocrinology33(3), 328-339.

9. Sayorwan, W., Siripornpanich, V., Piriyapunyaporn, T., Hongratanaworakit, T., Kotchabhakdi, N., & Ruangrungsi, N. (2012). The effects of lavender oil inhalation on emotional states, autonomic nervous system, and brain electrical activity. 95(4).

10. Tierandha, A., & Iskandar, B. P. (2014). (Don’t) keep your nose out of my business: an experimental study on the efficacy of scent marketing in retail environment. In Journal of Business and Management. 3 (3), 296-304.

11. Meng, H. (2016). The Effects of Scent on Consumer Behavior (Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University).

12. Emsenhuber, B. (2011). Scent marketing: Making olfactory advertising pervasive. In Pervasive advertising, Springer, London. 343-360.

13. Emsenhuber, B. (2009). Scent marketing: Subliminal advertising messages. GI Jahrestagung154, 3894-3903.

14. Michon, R., Chebat, J. C., & Turley, L. W. (2005). Mall atmospherics: the interaction effects of the mall environment on shopping behavior. Journal of Business Research58(5), 576-583.

15. Mattila, A.S. and Wirtz, J. (2001). Congruency of scent and music as a driver of in‐store evaluations and behavior. Journal of Retailing, 77, 273–289

16. Bradford, K. D., & Desrochers, D. M. (2009). The use of scents to influence consumers: The sense of using scents to make cents. Journal of Business Ethics90(2), 141-153.

17. Hulshof, B. (2013). The influence of colour and scent on people’s mood and cognitive performance in meeting rooms (Master’s thesis, University of Twente).

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Aromatherapie & Wellness