Best Promotions Tip for a Food Business?

(Nurhafihz (BBA, Marketing) is the guest writer for abangabu.com for Marketing Mondays)

In last week’s article, we touched on the number 1 secret in promotions . Today we’ll discuss the food business in greater detail. If you own a stall, make business selling Burger Ramli at the pasar malam, or are thinking of how to increase the next sales during your next Ramadan bazaar, this article is especially for you.

So you’re going to set up you stall. Time to print the posters? Wait! Here’s the truth some marketeers won’t tell you:

Marketing is not just visual marketing (posters, flyers, websites, ads, brochures…)
The more power marketing, according to the latest research, is sensory marketing.

Sensory marketing??? Huh? That’s marketing of the senses of the other senses, especially sound and smell. Some of the outrageous things happening out there already:

A particular potato chips giant spends tons of money just to make sure that when you open that can, that opening sound your hear is just the right "fresh" segar sound.
A particular fast food chain spends alot to ensure that when you put that straw into the drink, your straw garises or makes that friction sound with the side of that plastic. Welcome the sound of contentment.
Fast food chains too spend thousands developing "cheeseburger perfumes", "breakfast perfumes" and etc. So come breakfast? That perfume dispenser releases that nice breakfast meal you just love to order (even though it’s the most expensive too).

Okay, so they do that. I’m just a kuih seller you say? Don’t worry, here’s my tips for you:

Invest in a few powerful fans. You heard me. Fans. Especially those that can blow in a concentrated form. Put these where the food smells best (often that barbeque smell if at the pit, or the smell of fresh bread perhaps), and blow them towards the stream of incoming customer traffic.
Placement is key. If possible, locate your stall near the entrances, exits or junctions of traffic. It is no incident that in some shopping centres, the first thing that greets you is the smell of fresh bread at the entrance. These shopping centre managers are aware that the smell of bread can actually induce customers to shop for other things later with a more pleasant feel. No kidding.
Invest in vanilla smelling scents. It is no accident that of all flavours, coke chose vanilla as its latest variant taste.

So the best marketing tip for the food business in summary?

Get smelling.

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