What is "sensory marketing"?

Definition

Sensory marketing is part strategic positioning tool for retailers and part immersive experience for consumers seeking new sensations. Its purpose is to appeal to consumers’ five senses. It’s based on a series of sensory stimuli which make up what is known as the sensory mix or sensory design. It’s a subjective and subconscious phenomenon which has proven its worth and which many brands are already using.

Stimulating the senses to optimise the purchasing experience...and your sales

Did you know that ONLY 7% of our reactions are conscious? 93% of our reactions to all types of stimuli are managed by our autonomic nervous system. This partially explains the success of sensory marketing.

Source: Benoit Mahé in Retail Coaching –  “Iceberg des niveaux neurologiques”

The main benefit of sensory marketing is to provide consumers with something the Internet can’t (yet) provide: touching and holding the product, exploring its packaging, taking in the atmosphere of a place and creating a pleasant memory. A consumer’s best memories don’t include the moment they entered their card code when they purchased an item or when they hit the “Buy” button on a retailer’s website. The experience before the purchase has now become very important.

Just the right background music, the ideal temperature, and even the right fragrances in the air: sensory marketing has been growing in popularity for several years now. While it has naturally made its appearance with major brands, it is also tending to find its place with smaller retailers. It’s an interesting and opportunistic trend, which makes it a real strategic positioning tool.

Use the senses, but maintain your identity 

The implementation of a sensory approach is always done based on a clear objective. It creates the experience, emotion and, in the end, the engagement of visitors and customers with a sales outlet thanks to the activation of their cognitive and emotional functions.  

However, in practice, there always has to an overall balance,  notably by complying with: 

• consistency with the values (DNA) of the brand to ensure that it is seen as authentic 
• consistency among the different elements of the sensory mix (colour codes, background music, fragrance and staff attitude, among other things) 
• Customer acceptance, notably with respect to the two most difficult senses to block (auditory and olfactory). The managers of shops and areas hosting the public must consistently carry out checks, starting by measuring the impact on their own employees. 

Mastering the keys to sensory marketing 

This guide contains 66 tips for creating the sensory designs (or systems) available to you which will “make sense” for visitors to your points of sale. 

Let your imagination run and think about what your customers would like to feel when they enter your shop. Get some ideas from the examples in our guide. Implement some actions and be sure to survey your customers to find out how effective your strategy is.