Our series on scent marketing continues with number 7 – Understanding your cost and the Return on Investment
It is important that you understand and define your needs before you even try to run the numbers on your scent marketing efforts.
• Do you need a signature scent (development cost: $25K – $125K)?
• How large is the environment you need to deliver the scent in? A point of Sale application requires a different (cheaper, $5 – $50 one time cost per unit) solution than large space scenting via the HVAC system ($100 – $250 per unit per month)
• How many units would you need to sufficiently deliver scent in one outlet? It is highly recommended that you figure this out before you sign a contract with any equipment manufacturer. The impact on your monthly expense can be dramatic. Multiply that by the number of outlets and you have your monthly “hardware” expense.
• Probe your supplier for installation requirements and service/support levels. How easy is it to replace the containers for the consumables? Can it be done by store personnel?
• What is your cost of consumables? Are they included in the monthly rental fee you pay to the equipment manufacturer or do you have scent delivered from a third party?
Answering these questions will help you set up your scent marketing budget. For a large brand the cost will be fairly insignificant, the challenge here will be to create and justify a new budget category. For a smaller enterprise, or if you are trying to promote sales of minor-ticket items, the cost factor may be prohibitive unless you make an effort to find an appropriately low-cost technology solution.
Numbers on the Return of Investment are kept very close by the existing scent marketers and are not publicly available. The Scent Marketing Institute has a database of current initiatives that can be exploited when making the case for a brand extension via scent.
Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Harald Vogt
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