What we hear makes a difference.
Music has a profound effect on the human brain and behaviour, and businesses can use this to their advantage by carefully selecting the audio experience they provide for their customers and employees.
By choosing the right music and in-store messaging, retailers have an excellent opportunity to connect with their customers on a deeper level, cultivate greater engagement and grow loyalty.
Music not only enhances the in-store vibe and elevates customer experience but can be used to create a unique brand identity.
From a technical perspective, music is a great tool to control operations by impacting the speed of footfall. Finally, there is no secret that music can help to reach business goals and boost sales.
Manipulative? Perhaps. But different music tempos, volumes and moods differently affect human behaviour.
Spellcasting from coffee grounds about what music does and can is a history. Music professionals working with background music for retail have the know-how, and the music vibe in their daily tasks is an outcome of science.
Shoppers move faster or slower, spend less or more, purchase cheaper or more expensive goods, stay longer, return or never come back; all this can be partially controlled by strategic music placement in any location.
Here, we set out six rules to make background music highly effective for your retail business.
Rule 1 – Business goals and KPIs
The first thing to consider choosing background music is to stick to your business goals.
There is no one size fits all answer. Even if studies show that a slower tempo leads to more time in the store and can increase sales, low-beat music is not proper when shoppers pop-in for small daily purchases.
Buying daily customers are not willing to spend ten more minutes on milk or apples.
Rule 2 – Demographics
Coining a perfect background music playlist is impossible without an elaborate evaluation of the target audience.
Younger people like louder music, and if a business targets demographics of different ages, the music volume should not be too loud.
Classical music is a very effective sales tool for adults, but it not for teenagers in stores with affordable pricing.
Rule 3 – Operations
Morning, afternoon, evening, Monday or Sunday? Everyday time carries different goals, and every day of the week links to different habits and actions.
Perfect music playlist in every location must match operations. We do not play Christmas music in summer or supper slow music in the morning unless we want crazy customers or less productive employees.
Rule 4 – Technology
There are minimum technical requirements to play music in one location business.
The owner of a small business is often on site and can follow footfall and the mood of customers and accordingly change the playlist with several clicks on a smartphone.
Background music solutions for large retailers with locations in different towns or countries requires customised in-store radio infrastructure with remote access to the premises.
Otherwise, it is impossible to make the best of music and in-store messaging and to create an unforgettable audio experience.
Rule 5 – Music provider
Music platform for personal use is not an option when we talk about the legal way of using music for commercial purposes.
Businesses should be very cautious in choosing streaming providers and music libraries. There is no free music for business, and royalty-free music is not free.
Rule 6 – Avoid DIY
Background music for business does not fall into the category of DIY.
Music for business has nothing to do with our personal preferences, and it is always recommended to seek professional advice. On top, it saves money and time and allows us to employ music perfectly.
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