The Fifth Sense: Taste
Today is the second in my six part series titled The Six Senses of Marketing, where we’ll be discussing Taste. The reason Taste is the fifth sense is because it is usually the final sense that can be experienced after all the others. One must hear, see, smell and touch something before it’s tasted, but that doesn’t mean that it is of any less importance than the others. I would argue that taste can be a very powerful trigger.
Marketing can often be extremely effective when it attaches itself to an already present thought within the mind of the consumer, and taste can often bring up a wealth of thoughts and memories. Grandma’s cookies are a great example. For me, my grandmother wasn’t the storybook baker, my mother has always wanted to know how she made her chocolate chip cookies so hard, even when they were served the same day she baked them, and I will remember that forever. If you could offer me a hard chocolate chip cookie, chances are they’d recall a childhood memory of being at grandma’s house, and while you might think that a hard cookie wouldn’t be a pleasant memory, for me it was. I was a kid at grandma’s house chewing on a cookie; I couldn’t care less that they were hard!
Unless you’re in the food and beverage industry, I expect that most companies completely disregard taste as a factor in your marketing. I hope to inspire you to change that. As I said in my previous discussion Feeling – The Sixth Sense of Marketing , to complete the entire sensory ensemble of your company, you must include all of the senses. Leaving one out only allows an opening for your competitor to offer a more complete experience.
So what can you offer as a taste if your product or service isn’t ingested by customers? Start by experiencing your company’s products or services for yourself. Is there any point in the process where you can offer something for them to taste? A complementary beverage or snack while they wait is usually employed by many companies. But what if your customers only deal with you remotely? So far, they haven’t been able to find a way to send a coffee via the internet. Well, what about a “Thank You For Your Business” basket of fruit or bag of your favourite coffee? Send something after the completion of your transaction that fulfills the “Taste” requirement if you can’t provide it during the process, it’s also a great non-business related follow-up that leaves a lasting impression!
“But my competitors offer coffee, how can I make my experience different?” How about offering root beer instead? It’s different, and has a very distinct taste. Do you have customers that wait a while , as in a mechanic’s shop or a doctor’s office? Why not offer toffee with a message stating “Since we’re experiencing some longer wait times, we’d like to offer you a refreshment that will last!”
Always keep in mind that we’re trying to create an overall “feeling” for our customers. One that is unique, pleasant and memorable. Ensuring we use all of the senses, including that of Taste, we can do our best to create an experience that is truly our own.
I sense that you’ll have an opinion on this topic and I encourage you to share it in the comments below.
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