Ever faster change, greater customer choice and channel proliferation are realities every business faces today. In this still challenging time, developing an exceptional brand which will differentiate to the competition is more crucial than ever; businesses need to focus their attention across multiple touch-points, EX (Employee eXperience), CX (Customer eXperience) & SX (Sensorial eXperience) to enable them to build loyalty so they can grow their profit. To achieve this, you need to understand your internal and external customers’ behaviour, experience and emotions. New Retail Study by Motista Shows thatConsumers with Emotional Connection to Brands Have 306% Better Lifetime Value than Satisfied Customers.
Connecting at an emotional level means putting the five senses into practice, the Smell, Touch and Taste are linked to our limbic system, the right brain which is responsible for creativity, memories, feelings, emotions, and it’s these senses in particular that can make a brand more impressionable to a consumer and influence their purchasing habits.
However, we noticed that 83% of all branding only appeals to the eyes. Visual cues, such as gifs, pictures, videos those are processed in the cortex, the left brain which is responsible for thoughts and actions, the analytical, logical brain and is also linked with the Hearing.
Yes, I hear you it’s not physically possible to wear a car nor practically possible to eat clothes, so brands need to start using sensorial experiences to create associations instead. By tapping into the emotional triggers that prompt consumers to make unconscious decisions and to buy on impulse and desire, brands can create long-lasting memories.
When McDonald’s wanted to get rid of the negative perception that its outlets smelt of stale French fry cooking oil, they asked for the help of Simon Harrop & Partners, sensory branding experts. They created a signature fragrance designed to capture and express all the good things the brand stands for. The fragrance could then be used everywhere, incorporated in cleaning products, diffused in the restaurant, creating a subtle aroma effect, which after research on scanning some of their consumers’ brains, they concluded that activating the olfactory receptors more than doubled the emotional impact of the dine-in experience.
So here is my challenge to you, how can you get your customers to taste something that can’t be eaten? How can they smell something that has a non-descriptive scent? How can they hear something that can’t be heard?
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About the Author:
Claire Boscq-Scott is on a mission to inspire businesses to thrive by bringing more care into what they do, alluring the senses to connect with employees and customers on an emotional level; enhancing business environments, increasing employees’ engagement and customer loyalty, through sensorial experiences.
No 5 Top 30 Global Customer Service Guru and UK Top 10 CX Influencer, Claire is an authority in the Customer Experience Industry, Caring in Business Specialist and Sensory Queen, she brings a more holistic approach to Employee & Customer eXperience. She is a Keynote Speaker, Consultant & Trainer.
She is the author of 2 books, Thrive with the Hive and Thriving by Caring, with its Audible version and its French version Prospérer en étant attentionné.