Are You Missing the Point (of Sale)?

Companies spend millions of dollars on television, radio and print ads to drive customers into the stores to buy their products. But did you know that up to 80% of purchase decisions are made at the point of sale?

Major brands are starting to pick up on this reality and realign their spending accordingly. A recent study for the Grocery Manufacturers of America showed that some brands are spending more money on point of sale, or shopper marketing, than on digital marketing. In fact, there is a whole new specialty called shopper marketing, that asserts that companies should focus first on what goes on inside the store and then work backwards from there. Large ad agencies, such as Saatchi & Saatchi and WPP are getting in the game as well. WPP just purchased Los Angeles based POS marketing company Lunchbox, whose clients include Unilever, Walmart and Kimberly-Clark.

What does all this mean for scent marketing companies? A lot! Both ambient scenting and scented packaging are highly effective point-of-sale strategies. Work on getting new business by targeting these specialized shopper marketing agencies and making your case for adding scent to the mix.

Five Ways to Become More Competitive

To be a successful scent marketing solution provider, you need to offer a variety of quality products, provide excellent customer service and quote competitively.

The Independent Aroma Group helps you in all of these areas and more. IAG only accepts one distributor member from each country, so contact them to see if your country is still available.


1. Save Money

• Buy direct from manufacturers of fragrances and equipment - no middleman
• Pay less for product - IAG vendors sell at guaranteed lowest prices to distributor members

2. Source Quality Products

• IAG vendors have each passed a thorough review of their products to ensure that they are of high quality
• Easily add new product lines to your offering to meet customer needs and give you up-sell and cross-sell opportunities

3. Provide Superior Customer Service

• IAG vendors have excellent customer references and are sound financially, so you can be sure they will stand behind their products and provide timely support when needed

4. Quote Competitively

• Because IAG vendors sell to you for the guaranteed lowest price, you have the flexibility to either pass the savings on to your customer or add to your profit margin
• IAG members in different countries cooperate in different deals to their mutual advantage – Sometimes, using a local provider to fulfill an order in a country outside of your own can make more sense.

5. Cooperate and Get Support

• IAG distributor members each have their own territory that does not overlap within the group, so it is easy to cooperate and share strategies without worrying that they will use it against you
• As an IAG member, you have access to our sales tools, including Powerpoint sales presentations, sell sheets and an extensive scent-related photo library

Ready to become more competitive? Join IAG!

Sales Are Depressed When Consumers Feel Pigeonholed…But Scent Can Help

A recent study from the University of Minnesota, Yonsei Universtity in Korea, and Concordia University, Montreal found that when consumers are concerned about feeling stereotyped, they buy less. Consumers who are members of a group that are subject to a negative stereotype hesitate to buy from those company representatives who are outside the group.

The study focused on women as the group and brought up the stereotype “women aren’t good at math” before the subjects were to meet with a financial advisor. Sales were lower when these women met with men as opposed to with women. The researchers found that the subjects did not even have to believe in the stereotype themselves, but merely be aware that there was one that they might be judged by.

The experiment was repeated with auto repair and auto purchases with the stereotype of “women don’t know about cars,” with the same result. Subjects reported higher anxiety when meeting with a sales person outside of their group (females), and were reluctant to purchase.

Interestingly, the presence of a soothing scent, in this case vanilla, relieved the subjects’ anxiety and neutralized the anxiety caused by the anticipation of being stereotyped.

The lesson for companies trying to sell to people who may feel pigeonholed? Be proactive and calm their anxieties using scent. You’ll see a big boost to your bottom line!

Dos and Don'ts of Selling a Scent Solution

Although research has shown over and over again that scent, used correctly, produces a marked increase in sales, the use of scent for branding and enhancing the retail experience is not yet commonplace. The general lack of knowledge about scent marketing makes it important for scent solutions companies to approach prospects in the right way, or risk turning them away from using scent in their marketing at all. Here are some tips.

Do listen to the client. What kind of experience is the client trying to create for its customers? Ask questions about the client’s positioning like “ Is X Company firmly established in its market or is it a newcomer?” and “When your customers think about X Company, what emotions do they experience?” “Do you want them to continue to think of X Company in this way, or are you looking to arouse different emotions and experience in the customer?” “Do you want to use scent to brand X Company or to instigate certain behaviors such as buying more, relaxing or becoming more alert?”

Do consider the capabilities of the person operating the equipment. The last thing you want is for the equipment to break because of user error, so find out who will be using it and make sure that the operation and care of the equipment is in line with that person’s technical ability and position. Provide training if necessary.

Do educate the client about the optimum intensity of the scent for their space. Abercrombie & Fitch, one of the most well-known companies using scent marketing, was picketed by consumers angry about the high intensity of aroma in their stores, which they claimed made customers and employees sick and dizzy. One sure way for a scent marketing program to fail is by having either too intense or too faint a smell.

Don’t fall in love with one solution. Every client is different, and they have different needs. Even if you believe that one equipment line is the best, be open to the client’s budget and specific requirements, and give them the solution that works best for them.

Don’t ignore the other players. The company paying for the solution is not the only people who have to be on board with your proposal. Right up front, ask your contact at the client company who else should be involved and include them in your pitch from the beginning. There may be an advertising agency that wields significant input into marketing decisions, or with product companies, there may be retail chains that you should invite to your presentations. First, present the available research on the effectiveness of scent marketing to establish that scent should be used, and then engage them in choosing the scent. This will make them feel like they have a voice in the process and turn them into your advocates instead of your adversaries.