If that “new-car smell” doesn’t do it for you anymore, perhaps something a little bit more flavored will make it easier for you to fork over some cash for a new Land Rover.
Walk into the showroom at Land Rover South Dade in Miami and you’ll be greeted with subtle scents of cedar, vanilla and violet, a colorful mixture which the dealership’s general manager Mark de la Cruz calls “My Way.”
“This store needed a cultural change,” he said. “We had to change our style of customer service, and aroma became a big component of that.”
The smell is introduced via the ventilation system and then spreads from ceiling panels located above the sales pavilion and service department, as reported Autonews.
“It puts customers into a different frame of mind. There’s a lot of apprehension about making a large purchase such as a luxury automobile,” added de la Cruz. “The combination of scents and sounds makes the experience more soothing for them.”
According to scientists, when people smell, olfactory nerves near the top of their nose send an input to the amygdala, which is linked to memories. This creates a connection among smell, memory and emotion, one that this dealership hopes to use in its favor. Car shoppers in scented surroundings tend to linger longer or believe they have spent less time in the showroom than they actually have, says Farah Abassi, owner of the scent marketing agency that designed LR South Dade’s custom smells.
So what does this mean for the Miami-based dealer in terms of sales? Unfortunately de la Cruz declined to share any official “before and after” sales figures, but he did state that if somebody is planning on spending money, a pleasant atmosphere can make the customer feel more comfortable and therefor, more willing to buy.
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