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Brand experience

Posted by Pip McConnel-Oats on 3 February 2012 | 0 Comments

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In the retail environment creating the ultimate brand experience is a complex challenge.

A retail brand experience can no longer be managed without considering the difference between the in-store experience and the online experience; even if a store doesn’t have an online presence, that brand will be competing with brands that do. The customer is often in different buying modes and will have a different set of expectations when shopping online as opposed to shopping in-store.

In-store the brand experience can be created through all 5 senses using touch, taste, smell, sight and sound. When designing a store or retail environment we must consider those 5 senses and how best to influence customers with the core brand messages:

Visually: This one’s the easiest for us to work with. We create logos and other graphic elements such as signage, point of sale and storefronts. We consider typestyles, as well as the color scheme, we choose images to influence mood and messages to influence thought.The brand experience is created through the mind's eye.

Sound: Certain sounds can be associated with a brand experience through repetition and correct message match. Think about the sounds that accompany any presentation of the Intel logo, you recognize the noise as soon as you start up Windows. Music is a powerful tool for influencing emotions, thoughts and behaviour, if you drink coffee for instance, your favourite cafe is likely to play your favourite music in the background influencing your mood. How service staff talk, the words they use is important as well in particular the words of welcome and the affirmative approval of your purchase.

Smell: This is obvious when you walk into a restaurant but what other types of brands can use smell? I read an article not too long ago from Brand Strategy Insider about this very topic. Here’s what they had to say: “Smells evoke memories and appeal directly to feelings without first being filtered and analysed by the brain, which is how the remaining four senses are processed.” The sense of smell can be a very powerful influence on memory. Think about the influence smells have on you; the smell of a mango evoking the memory of childhood, the smell of a woodfire a feeling of family and sharing.

brand experience instoreTouch: How do your products feel when they are in your customer’s hands? I love the iPhone packaging for that very reason. I love the way the matt celloglazed coating on the box feels as you are holding it. Every detail of the inside has been carefully executed to enhance the experience as you embark on a journey of discovery to find the product within. Again the Brand Strategy Insider cited online clothes shopping as one of the industries that was slow to take off online. People want to feel how the clothes fit before they buy them.

Taste: Obviously this one is easy for businesses in the food industry, but how can you leverage this sense in other brand experiences? Do you offer clients drinks when they come in? Maybe a mint, a lolly? Cold water, iced tea…

Utilising all five senses in your retail brand experience takes commitment to implement but our senses can trigger powerful thoughts and memories and this can be a great way to create positive, memorable experiences for your brand and business.

Online the brand experience is created mainly with sight and in some applications sound. Online the experience is felt through interface design, functionality, search speed, information that is relevant to the user. The information online can be more extensive and go further in influencing the purchaser's decision to buy. Online primarily the brand must gain the customer trust, it is important to provide consistency between the offline brand and the online brand, yet the online experience has to have a unique aspect to the brand experience to differentiate it.

There may be different customers that prefer to shop online than shop in store, and there are 4 core reasons that people decide to use online shopping:

1. Convenience of shoppping from home, in fact anywhere

2. Lower cost, prices must be competitive and are usually cheaper than in store

3. A wide range of products, clearly represented and easily accessible, often giving access to products from all over the world without stepping outside your front door.

4. Interactive, building an online relationship where the store remembers the visitor and tailors the content to their needs.

brand experience onlineThe brand experience must address all 4 of these core needs online. Most importantly online shops must be easy to use without too many steps impeding the checkout process. Clunky processes and multiple click throughs will damage the brand experience and discourage return visits.  Have a look at these well known examples of great online stores, and note how they influence the core needs of the online shopper.

  1. amazon  www.amazon.com
  2. shopbop www.shopbop.com
  3. bonds www.bonds.com.au

Lumino specilaises in integrating the brand and its values with the retail environment.

Have a look at a couple of our projects:

Protecting the brand experience drives our creative approach in all our built environments.

 


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