Cookies or Anesthesia: Smell Affects Your Business

Stacy Strunk Companies are becoming more aware of the importance of good air quality to
the health and well being of their customers and employees. But air quality
and smell can also remarkable influence on the emotional and cognitive
processes of the people within a building as well.

EFFECT ON CONCENTRATION

Indoor Air Quality has been shown to have a dramatic affect on the
concentration of people within an office setting. One such study of clerical
workers, which appeared in Indoor Air 99: The Eighth International
Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, showed IAQ effecting typing
speed by 6.5 percent, typing errors by 5 percent, basic math by 3.8 percent
and scores on reasoning and logic tests by 3 to 4 percent.

"Scent is an important indicator of good air quality," said Mark Wincent,
director of development for Sparks Technology, Inc. "Usually indoor air
quality issues are first identified through complaints of a stale or stuffy
odor."

Ambient odors can also have an effect on concentration and memory tasks. In
fact, memory for odor is markedly resistant to time, easily accessed and
tends to be characterized by a high degree of emotion, clarity and
vividness. Memory recall tends to be better when the subject is exposed to
the same odor at encoding and at recall than in a situation that had no
odors.

"We understand the power that scent has on cognitive ability," said Wincent,
adding that, as a filter company, Sparks is concerned with removing smells,
not adding them. "Scents can also be associated with negative memories. A
building owner has no way of knowing what type of memories a buildings'
occupants associate with specific smells."

EFFECT ON EMOTION

Scents can be manipulated to create and eliminate emotional responses as
well.

There are an estimated 30 to 40 million people who are so afraid of dental
treatment that they avoid it altogether. A large number of these people
report that their anxiety is heightened (or triggered) by the smell inside
of their dentists' offices. Removing the smell may be one way to help
dentaphobes deal with their anxiety.

A recent study by the neurological Clinic at the University of Vienna, used
an ambient orange odor in dentist waiting rooms. The study looked at 72
patients between the ages of 22 and 57 and discovered that those that were
exposed to the orange odor had a lower level of anxiety, a more positive
mood and higher level of calmness, than those who were not exposed.

The use of smell as a marketing tool is not new. Manufacturers have long
enhanced their products with "new spring fresh scents" and the like.

"We've all baked cookies or simmered potpourri just prior to showing our
home to potential buyers," said Wincent. "This is the same concept behind
the so-called 'atmospheric' studies which look at the effect environment has
on shopping."

Results of studies that look at the effect scent has on a shoppers
experience are mixed. In general, however, research has shown that smells
that are considered both pleasant and complimentary to the products and
environment promote a more pleasant shopping experience and increased sales.
It is a simple logical extension that removing unpleasant or conflicting
odors would have a similar effect on buying habits.

"In short," said Wincent, "you never know what memories or emotions certain
scents evoke in your customers. Your safest bet is to remove any unpleasant
odor, so it doesn't harm your business."

About the Author

Stacy Strunk is marketing manager for Sparks Technology, Inc., a small
filter and filter system manufacturer near Chicago, Ill. The company Web
site is http://www.sparkstech.com.