You’re starting a business and sorting out most things: secure funding, an excellent location to get started, and negotiating an affordable lease. You’ve created the visuals (your storefront, logo, etc.) and set up a web shop, Facebook profile, and Instagram account. You have an excellent marketing and promotion plan. You have reliable suppliers, and you have a decent and service-minded employee.
But just a few days before the grand opening, you realize you’ve completely forgotten about the music streaming for business. Doesn’t it sound familiar?As it turns out, music is a pretty important deal in retail stores. And getting the right tune is just as important when you’re starting a business as when you’re already running.
Role of music in consumer psychology
If the visual elements are the face of the store, then the music streaming for business is your voice. Music is much more than just entertainment for your customers – it’s the wood and spirit of your brand that lets your customers know who you are.
Western Kentucky University professor Ronald E. Milliman began research in the 1980s into how background music affects shopping behavior. However, ignorance about the impact of music in retail still prevails – even at the largest chains, even though music has proven to be just as influential in making purchase decisions as a store’s visual elements and branding.
Importance Background music in retail
The music streaming for business you play must match customer expectations. If you are the owner of a flower shop and people want to see roses, you can’t play Death Metal.
One of the most essential aspects of using music is to create the right atmosphere.
People will not feel harmony. They will be so stressed that they will not even see the products. They will quickly buy the flowers they want and then quickly leave. That means they won’t be delayed, and it means you’ll miss out on adding sales.
Experts’ Tips for Music in the Retail Store
- Control speakers. Find out what music you play and why.
- Don’t make random music choices. Do not shuffle the lists. Plan your music.
- Music is the voice of your brand. The music aims to live up to the expectations of the consumers. Your customers enter the store with the expectations created by ads and social media. You have to be more discriminatory in your support of other people. Advertising, visuals, promotions, and music all will work together.
- Don’t be stagnant. Unlike a logo that can last for years, you have to keep refreshing your playlist so that the music matches the sentimental values of your brand.
Music hits the emotional behavior of consumer
We all know that music streaming for business can affect the brain in many ways. However, unlike visual elements like fonts and colors, music is very difficult to judge. Is the music appropriate? Is this what my brand looks like? The answers are not immediately straightforward.
Music is more emotional than visual elements, and people have strong opinions. You may think that your musical tastes are paramount, but your passion for Post Malone doesn’t necessarily mean the best choice for your French bakery. The best way to approach a business is to integrate it from scratch, carefully considering voice recognition as visual recognition.
