Sensing the scent of service success

The intangible character of services makes it difficult for customers to evaluate a service offering before consumption. Scent offers a powerful means of making services tangible. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to the understanding of how scents can be used for services marketing purposes.

The paper presents an overview of studies, mainly from the area of retailing, indicating how scents can be used in services, and this is followed by a number of examples of such applications.

The paper finds that, although there are examples of service providers utilising scents to tangibilise, enhance and differentiate services, this area has been relatively neglected in marketing literature.

By adding the component of scent to their offerings, service providers have the opportunity to create a competitive advantage. When using scents in services marketing, managers should consider the aspects of presence, pleasantness, congruity and memory of scents.

No other paper with a specific focus on scent as a tangibiliser, enhancer and differentiator of services has been found in marketing literature. This paper provides important insights into the use of scents for services marketing purposes.