Introduction
The purpose of this report is to create an overview of how scent marketing works in businesses, its growing commercial demand, and its application in the healthcare industry. Scent marketing can be defined as the planned use of a specific fragrance at client contact points. Research has pointed out that the presence of scent marketing in any business of whatever kind promises a looming improvement in net income. A scent is a powerful tool since it reshapes the customer’s experience. Research reveals that healthcare providers have leveraged scent marketing since it reduces anxiety among staff, patients, and visitors, creates positive emotions, and offers a positive sanitary impression (Van Niekerk & Goldberg, 2021). Other reports have claimed that scent marketing strategy is growing in popularity across the globe due to its enhancing brand identity and impacting customers purchasing decisions. Hence, this report aims to provide the audience with the necessary information on scent applications in the healthcare industry.
Background
This report focuses on scent marketing in Los Angeles in the United States. Los Angeles is a major city in the US located in California state. With a population of over 3.8 million as of 2020, it is the second-largest city in the United States after New York (Chang, 2018). According to American Survey Community, the city is approximately 469.5 square miles, with 8,463 persons per square mile. The survey further indicates that approximately 2 million are employed while over 200,000 are unemployed. The city mainly comprises Whites and Hispanics; however, it is worth noting that other races are still present in the city. The city’s revenue is mainly earned from property sales and the hospitality industry. Entertainment, transportation, fashion, and healthcare industries are part of the commercial activities in the city. There is also scent marketing in many commercial spaces in the city of Los Angeles including in the health care industry.
As this report is aimed at scent marketing, urgent care centers are concerned. Chang (2018) defines an urgent care center as a walk-in health center that delivers urgent outpatient care services. These service centers mainly offer services like handling conditions requiring urgent attention. Still, they are not life-threatening, for example, minor injuries like burns, stings and bites, and broken bones, among others. Urgent care units are meant to divert patients from going to accident and emergency units, however, if it is necessary, patients may be transferred to those emergency departments (Rathee & Rajain, 2018). Research reveals that most urgent care centers are owned by doctors or physician groups, while others are by corporations and hospitals.
Research and Recommendations
As earlier mentioned, Scent marketing uses strategically chosen fragrances in customer touch points in commercial spaces, targeting customers’ sense of smell. Research reveals that the right choice of fragrance will communicate a clear and pleasing brand identity to customers (Errajaa et al., 2021). As a marketing initiative, scent involves branding the image for excellent customer experiences. Studies have pointed out scent marketing has been incorporated into the healthcare industry.
Scent marketing is used in health care due to its effectiveness in promoting positive effects on patients in health care services and eliminating bad odors. The scents in medical contexts tend to moderate stress and reassure emotional and psychological states that align with treatment (Van Niekerk & Goldberg, 2021). Healthcare providers pick scents whose effects match with care and treatment goals. Scent marketing in healthcare concentrates on the aromatherapeutic features of certain oils and fragrances. Research reveals that in most cases, medical facilities use scents like lavender, vanilla, and citrus. These fragrances are common in many medical facilities adopted for scent marketing for better patient experiences. As scent is tied to memory and emotion, medical facilities use scent marketing for patients to enjoy their stay in the facility.
As discussed earlier in this report, scent marketing is widely used in medical contexts. For this kind of marketing to be effective in urgent care centers, the choice of scent is an important matter of concern. Studies found that there are several types of scent marketing. For example, there is ambient scenting, which involves introducing an attractive scent to enhance customer experiences (Van Niekerk & Goldberg, 2021). Scent branding is another marketing technique that forms a signature scent associated with a certain brand, making a strong bond with customers, and thus becoming part of the company’s brand identity. In the context of urgent care centers, for example, ambient scenting would be recommended as it benefits both the staff and the patients by reducing stress, providing better care, and motivating staff.
The recommended choice of fragrance in Castle urgent care center is lavender since it brings relaxation and to creates a general feeling of trust in patients. The use of vanilla scent is another marketing strategy that would be important to Castle urgent care center(Chang, 2018). According to research reports, vanilla scent in medical settings reduces anxiety in patients while receiving treatment. Other studies concluded that pleasing scents increase the perception of good health and mood.
In urgent care centers, particularly for a facility located in Los Angeles where there is a looming use of scent marketing, the application of scent is recommended in the entire facility. Since these facilities may not need large premises, applying scent in all sections of the facility will not be a hard task (Chang, 2018). The moderate fragrance is to be applied in urgent care facilities. Cleanliness is a vital aspect for some patients when choosing the quality of urgent care facilities to visit; hence, monitoring patient experience in every care room will be an important move for Castle urgent care. This calls for an appropriate choice of fragrance in every room where patients are likely to receive services. For instance, wound dressing rooms and birth centers may require an appropriate scent that may not be used in other sections such as hospital check-ins. Following these recommendations on scent marketing and application, Castle Urgent care center can be a competitive entity in the healthcare industry in Los Angeles.
Conclusion
This report aimed to identify and present an understanding of scent marketing and its role in the healthcare industry. The report states that scent marketing has been adopted in medical facilities worldwide. According to this report, it can be concluded that the scent marketing strategy carries the same weight as any other essential marketing strategy in an entity. The choice of an appropriate scent is another issue for any organization wishing to include scent in its marketing plan. Studies per this report reveal that the right choice of fragrance will communicate a clear and pleasing brand identity to customers. According to this report, lavender and vanilla scents are common in medical contexts since they reduce anxiety in patients as they receive treatment. Further, the studies claim that these scents form a motivated team of caregivers. Therefore, this report recommended the application of the same scents in Castle urgent care center since it will greatly benefit a growing entity.
As this report points out, scent marketing is gaining popularity across the globe as it is a way of enhancing the identity of a certain brand and impacting customers’ purchasing decisions. Having noted its growing acceptance in the healthcare industry, the recommended scent marketing in this report will impact patient experience in several ways. Scent marketing at the urgent care checkpoints heightens perception, and therefore patients will be delighted to receive services since they expect to get good services.
Furthermore, scents in urgent care centers create a brand in patients’ memories, making them unforgettable. Patients may decide to visit the same urgent care center in the future to the memories they hold about it. The use of scent in medical centers attracts new customers/patients since the brand is recognizable. Finally, the scents recommended in this report can reshape the patient experience. The stay at the health care facility will be enjoyable since patients have no hurry to leave due to the attractive fragrance in their waiting and service points. This kind of consumer experience will help inspire brand loyalty. Reports claim that scent marketing in any business promises a looming improvement in net income. Therefore, the recommendation of scents in Castle urgent care center will be of great relevance.
References
Chang, I. (2018). Scent Basics: What is scent marketing, scent branding and ambient scent.Reed Pacific Media.
Errajaa, K., Legohérel, P., Daucé, B., & Bilgihan, A. (2021). Scent marketing: linking the scent congruence with brand image.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33(2), 402-427.
Rathee, R., & Rajain, P. (2018). Power of Scent Marketing to Influence Consumer Behavior. Indian Journal of Marketing, 48(9), 26.
Van Niekerk, C., & Goldberg, R. (2021). The influence of scent marketing on consumers’ approach and avoidance behavior in the high-end fashion industry. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 12(4), 12. Web.