Scent: Another touch point of a brand

Although I don't drink coffee, but I cant resist the aroma that awakens my senses every time I walk pass the coffee shops. Every time I go to the local shopping mall, almost immediately as I get off my car, it seems as though I am smelling the coffee even before I get anywhere near the shop.
This happens because our sense of smell has a direct link to us being able to recall events, people and places quicker. More insight on why smells has such a powerful effect is explained on the www.uniliver.co.za website: The reason scents work is the fact that your olfactory nerves connect directly with your brain, where scent impulses create virtually instant memories.
With this knowledge, is there an opportunity for brands to use scent as a way to make their consumers remember their store or experience with the particular brand, even though the brand is not necessarily a cosmetic brand? In order for brands to leverage this touch point which is one of our senses: smell; the brand will need to ensure that the scent/smell becomes part of the brand experience, and not just the smell in the shop. There is almost a series of steps and a well defined plan on how a specific scent will be used to be part of the customer experience. Almost a total or complete strategy that focuses in the touch point of smell will have to be formulated. Beginning with the brand identifying the kind of smell they desire the brand to be associated with, doing some research on what moods different smells can bring to people, and, if consumer will like the particular smell. If the brand has different stores, how will all the different outlets, stores maintain the same uniform in the look and feel, including the smell, that will make consumers have the same experience even if they happen to be in different geographical locations but find the same store.
Although smell may appear to be a menial and unimportant aspect of the brand, if used correctly it has power to be part of the signature and definitely influence the decision making of the consumers.
Aromatherapy has been in existence for a long time.

Anthropologists speculate that as early as 7000 BC, man anointed the body with fragrant ointments from oils and plants. The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Chinese all used essential oils not only for bathing and perfume, but for healing as well. Today, we refer to the power of scents on our mental and physical well-being as aromatherapy.  

Design Thinking: New way to market research

Design Thinking is a structured method with clearly defined goals over a periodic/specific timeline. Design thinking focuses on the people more than anything else. Whilst business models seek to solve problems, design thinking takes a few steps backwards and seek to understand the problem first before attempting to solve it. Design thinking focuses on the following pillars: observations, interviews, brainstorming, prototyping. And this is were research takes a major role in the beginning of the process of design thinking.
It may be true to some extend that not all business problems would be solved using this methodology. However, we cannot doubt the impact that design thinking will have in re-shaping the thinking of strategist and researchers of organisations moving forward.
Since design thinking is human centered, this approach could shape the thinking of researchers, making them more focused, customising their research tools to be in line with the intended goals. And as a result, allowing them to have research finding that have more value and feed into the strategy as it provides meaningful insights.
This approach makes sense as the purpose of many research undertakings are to find solutions to customer, or products that altimately will be used by customers. So, everything comes into full circle, to the HUMAN, who is at the centre or reason of research.
However, good research that is human centred does not translate into design thinking, there are more elements that complete design thinking as listed earlier (observations, interviews, brainstorming, prototyping).
Design thinking may not be easy to be used as a model in corporate organisation or large business. This is because they often have a different focus as mandated by the shareholders and board of directors. And this design thinking may be found pushed to the marketing department or communications department of the organisation, where the probaly not even enough people who understand the process of design thinking. What I am advocating is that, there is always a place for consultants/agencies in business, for reasons like producing results using design thinking and helping influence organisational strategies.

Innovation the key driver to business success

To be called an innovation, an idea must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need, this is according to businessdictionary.com.
We often use the words "creativity" and "innovation" interchangeably, however, creativity is about coming up with ideas while innovation is about "bringing ideas to life." While individuals may display creativity, innovation occurs in the organisational context only, by bringing creative ideas to life.
Innovation is linked to performance and growth through improvements in efficiency, productivity, quality, competitive positioning and market share. It typically adds value by changing old organisational forms and practices. Organisations that do not innovate effectively may be destroyed by those who do.
A 2007 Booz Allen study illustrated that the one key characteristic of successful innovators is that they had a rigorous process for managing innovation including "a disciplined, stage-by-stage approval process combined with regular measurements of every critical factor, from time and money spent.to the success of new products and services in the market."
From Booz Allen's study, it is very clear that innovation does not often happen by accident, it is a planned and well defined deliberate process. However, with this said, there still remains two challenges when it comes innovation. 1- most organisations do not have suitable key indicators that may be used to measure innovation. 2 - No strategic approach to innovation.
More often, innovation is seen as an add on, and not a key driver in most businesses. Without a proper strategy and key indicators that would measure innovation success, it is almost impossible to view innovation as a key function and tool to the business.
For innovation to be a priority in bussiness, it needs to be treated as such, only then will the results of innovation come. Organisational leaders need to champion the cause when it comes to innovation. That way, all organisational members will feel the freedom and need to come up with more creative ideas that may be translated into innovation.