The Impact of Designer Fragrances

When a customer steps into a store, office building or another facility, they are greeted with new sights, sounds, and other stimuli. And while one particular aspect can’t be seen, it often has the greatest impact on guest satisfaction; this is of course smell.

Scented environments have been proven to enhance worker productivity, increase purchase intent, extend the duration of a retail visit and even boost the willingness of consumers to pay more for a product. For these reasons, it’s important for organizations to implement a well-planned odor control program.

When choosing an air care system, there are several points for facility managers to consider. Understanding the impact of scent marketing and implementing a well-chosen odor eliminating system helps solidify a brand’s reputation as a place that cares about its customers and its image.

Scent Marketing 101

Scent has the power to affect peoples’ perception of a facility and allows them to draw associations between a fragrance and their surroundings. For example, Hyatt Place hotels employ scent branding with their “Seamless” signature scent – a blend of fresh blueberries and light florals on a base of vanilla and musk. Guests have reported that the scent enhanced their experience and increased brand memorability. Beyond the hospitality industry, retail stores like H&M, Calvin Klein and even Nike have turned to scent marketing to enhance the shopping experience and encourage customers to keep wandering their stores for longer, making it more likely for them to make a purchase.  

However, nowhere in the world is luxury fragrance more valued than in France, the birthplace of several famous fragrance lines and companies. From Chanel and Christian Dior to Estée Lauder, France is home to several of the greatest names in the perfume industry and is an international leader in perfume sales with 30% of the world market cornered. The heart of the French fragrance industry lies in the small town of Grasse, where the art of perfumery – extracting the fragrances of flowers and concentrating them into forms from which they can be transformed into perfumes and other fragrances – is still ongoing to this day. These highly sought-after fragrance oils find their way into not only designer perfumes but also air freshening systems that help eliminate unwanted odors.

Realizing the Benefits of Fragrance

Investing in an innovative odor control system that offers high-quality fragrances provides numerous benefits, including:

• Eliminating malodors: If a customer enters a facility and is greeted with unpleasant smells, they are likely to associate that negative memory with the brand. Businesses should invest in an air care system that eliminates malodors, rather than masking them. Look for fragrance cartridges with proprietary odor-fighting agents that lock in malodor molecules, neutralize them and release a fresh scent into the air. The best systems allow facilities to customize odor control for 30, 60 and even 90 days.
•  
• Supporting sustainability: Businesses can support environmental stewardship by selecting the right air care products. It’s important to look for a system that uses recyclable fragrance cartridges, long-lasting low-drain batteries, and 100% fragrance oil. This keeps excessive waste out of landfills and harmful chemicals like butane, acetone, propane, toluene, and ethanol out of the air.
•  
• Enhancing brand loyalty: According to research from the Kellogg School of Management, up to 15% of a business’s most loyal customers account for 55-70% of its total sales. Having a scent marketing strategy in place can secure greater customer loyalty by tying positive emotions to a brand.
•  
• Appealing to a wide range of preferences:  Look for a system with fragrances that feature multiple notes and are tested for popularity and appeal. One scent might offer an exotic mix of pineapple, tropical fruits and coconut while another boasts a medley of orange coupled with warm spices. Choosing fragrances with multiple notes ensures scents aren’t overpowering and appeals to a wider range of customers.
•  

Shaping Perceptions through Scent

Brands that incorporate air care solutions and pleasing scents can more easily shape the way customers perceive their organization. An odor control system should effectively eliminate odors, allow for various scent durations and offer a wide range of designer fragrances in light, medium and strong intensities. This will help an organization select a scent that’s well-matched for its brand and makes a positive impact on customers.