This article first appeared on February 16th, 2012.
There are lots of things that can make the difference between a sale and a fail.
The customer might not like the look of the product, the store or the salesperson. They might be put off by damaged goods. They might be attracted into a store by great music or a clever display.
The point is, the five senses – touch, taste, sight, smell and sound – are important when we are closing a deal, even in a small way.
We’ve usually got sight, taste and touch covered. Taste is pretty specific to certain products, but food and beverage businesses usually have this covered.
But what about smell? How often to do use this sense.
According to a great little article I was reading on Inc.com the other day, Americans are big on using smell to create a buying atmosphere.
At Christmas, the smells of “pine, cinnamon and mulled cider” help bring out the Christmas spirit, but I am sure there are other examples.
If you sell beach-related products, could you use a smell that reminds customer of the beach? Could the smell of freshly-brewed coffee or baked goods help give your meeting rooms a different vibe? Are there other seasonal smell ideas you could incorporate?
It’s a bit leftfield, but every advantage is worth striving for.
Get it done – today!
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
