Did you know that the purchasing decision of most people are based more on emotion than logic?

Well, it’s true.

People make buying decisions based on emotion and then use logic to justify those purchases. After all, they don’t call it “impulse buying” for no reason.

As a marketer, it’s important you think out-of-the-box when it comes to some of your marketing techniques.

With so much competition out there vying for your customers’ business, you have to market your brand in ways that not only stand out from the crowd but cater to people’s senses too.

If you’re looking for new ways to promote what you’re selling to your existing customers and expand your reach to a broader audience base, check out these sensory marketing tips and tricks.

What is Sensory Marketing?

When you market your products and services to people and attempt to appeal to one or more of their five senses, you’re conducting sensory marketing.

Aiming to influence people’s buying behavior, grab people’s attention, and instill a sense of trust, sensory marketing targets taste, sight, hearing, touch, and smell.

Of course, utilizing the power of sensory marketing is much easier when done in person.

After all, you might be wondering how a digital marketer is supposed to market to people’s sense of touch or taste online.

But the truth is, with a little creativity, anyone can use sensory marketing in their overall marketing plan and appeal to all five senses.

So, let’s take a look at how this trend in marketing is being used and how you might be able to tap into your customer’s five senses too.

1. Taste

You are probably well aware of the impact that taste samples in grocery stores have on overall sales.

After all, people love free stuff.

And when they get to try something for free, and end up loving it, the natural next step is to purchase said item.

Giving people free samples of your edible products is beneficial in many ways:

• People get to try firsthand what you’re selling and make a decision without investing a dime
• It instills the idea in customers that you care about what they think and aren’t just after their money
• It’s a great way to get feedback from actual customers about your products so you can make improvements
• You can also cater to people’s strong sense of smell with your samples and boost your chances of securing a sale

Of course, if you don’t run a brick-and-mortar shop that sells edible products, marketing to people’s sense of taste can be more challenging.

But that shouldn’t stop you from trying. You can always offer free samples to customers that subscribe to your email list (a great marketing tactic) or for those that make requests.

If you can increase sales by absorbing the costs of sending out some free samples in the mail, it might just be worth the trouble.

2. Sight

Having a visually-appealing website, and attention grabbing content to complement it, is half the battle when it comes to promoting your brand and encouraging people to convert as customers.

And the great thing is, as a digital marketer, appealing to people’s sense of sight is one of the easiest and most cost-effective strategies on this list.

Here are some of the best ways to appeal to people’s visual nature:

• Use bold color contrasts, especially on call to action buttons, so people will take action
• Add high-quality, one of a kind images to your site that catch people’s attention and interest them enough to want to know more
• Include a variety of product images on your product pages so people can get a clear idea of the products you’re selling
• Add video content for those that prefer to watch over reading blog content
• Structure your site so that it’s easy to scan, navigate, and even read

If you’re having trouble with creating one-of-a-kind images on your website, you can always use the free online tool Canva to help.

Choose from dozens of pre-made templates and customize your images’ text, color schemes, icons, layouts, fonts, and more to create unique, eye-grabbing images for your website.

In addition, as a way to appeal to people’s sense of sight, be sure to buy a domain that means something to your brand.

You want to go above and beyond having a simple domain that relays to people what you’re selling.

In fact, you should aim to make your domain name unique, easy to remember, and keyword rich, so you rank well in search results.

Once you find that perfect balance, you’ll find more organic traffic coming your way, as well as repeat customers.

3. Sound

Sound is another sense that you can easily appeal to digitally. After all, over 500 million hours of video on YouTube alone are watched daily.

Think about it.

All those times you got a jingle in your head, watched a product demonstration, or viewed an interview of a company’s CEO you were taking part in sensory marketing.

The key to sensory marketing and appealing to people’s sense of hearing is to imprint a memory of your brand on people’s minds using sound.

That way, the next time someone needs a product that you offer, the sound you had them listen to in the past pops into their mind, and they’re drawn to visiting your eCommerce shop over the competition’s.

Need a little inspiration? Think of these great jingles and remember how you feel every time you hear one:

• Kit Kat’s “Give Me a Break” song
• McDonalds’ “I’m Lovin’ It” slogan
• Huggies and their “I’m a Big Kid Now” campaign
• Folgers Coffee and “The Best Part of Waking Up” (you know the rest don’t you?!)
• That annoying “Meow Meow Meow” song that reminds you that you need Meow Mix for the cat

As you can see, companies have been investing their marketing efforts into sound for a long time now as a method for driving traffic, boosting conversions, and generating sales.

And for good reason; it works.

4. Touch

Using touch as a marketing technique is also a long-time marketing technique that many businesses have been using to generate sales and promote their brand.

Although a little more challenging to do as a digital marketer, if you get creative, you too can tap into people’s sense of touch and secure more sales:

• When passing out business cards, use a thick, heavy cardstock because it gives off the impression you’re more professional and trustworthy
• Use high-quality materials in all clothing items, so people remember how their new t-shirt felt right out of the box
• Add creative materials such as foil, tissue paper, or smooth plastics to your packaging that people have to touch before getting to the product

One of the best examples of a retail store using touch as a marketing technique is Hanes.

Not only does their slogan boast “comfort” and their web design routinely reference that concept, their commercials aim to remind people that comfort is their ultimate goal.

All of these methods are great for leaving a long-lasting impression on people long after they’ve purchased from you.

And if your marketing efforts stick, the next time someone needs to make a purchase, they’ll remember the way your products felt physically and how they felt emotionally and come to your first.

5. Smell

Remember the good old days when magazines added a scratch-and-sniff section with women’s perfume to the pages?

If so, you understand the power that people’s sense of smell can have on a retail shop’s ability to convert customers.

That said, appealing to people’s sense of smell online proves much more difficult to do.

However, as with the other marketing techniques, so long as you take a creative look at what people want from you as a brand, you can achieve this type of sensory marketing too.

For example, you can add seasonal smells to your product packaging to tap into people’s nostalgic memories.

Or, spritz perfume scents on romantic gifts people send their loved ones on holidays like Valentine’s Day.

No matter how you plan to market to people’s sense of smell, the key is to make it memorable so the next time they want to buy something, your business is one they come back to.

Final Thoughts

In the end, sensory marketing is one of the unique angles all digital marketers can afford to try when trying to drive traffic, boost conversions, and increase sales.

And while appealing to all five senses in a digital world may seem near impossible, the truth is, appealing to one or two, no matter your industry, is doable if you put a little thought into it.

Sometimes in order to gain an edge over the competition, you have to think outside the box. And sensory marketing may just the answer you need when it comes to beating out your biggest competitor.