Automakers new battle: Scent Wars?
Have you ever wondered how car makers manage to survive in the dog eat dog world of the automotive industry? Some strategies are time-tested: new products, features and designs which would be appealing to their target market. This applies to almost all business companies in different industries. Let’s say on ice cream: at first, a plain flavored ice cream placed in a cone… then, other product makers added sprinkles or mallows… then, another provided a wide variety of flavor combinations… all bringing something different to attract customers.
Car makers are no different. They woo customers by appealing to their interest, their needs and desires, tickling their senses with the way new cars feel, sound and even smell.
By fact, car buyers coming into car showrooms are now looking for comfort-enhancing features such as fragrance diffusers, color adjustable interior lighting and air-conditioned seats. Highly observant with such kind of customer interest, car designers and product managers tend to use sensorial techniques to make their products distinct from the others in the crowd.
Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis at J.D. Power, a major automotive consulting company, said, “Quality is still the main factor in customer-satisfaction surveys.”
“But a car’s appeal is becoming increasingly important. Auto manufacturers are trying to find ways to make their products stand out from the competition, for example by making it smell better,” he added.
According to an article in marketwatch.com, “The use of the senses as a development and marketing tool has long been a hallmark of the food and cosmetics industries. The French – who for centuries have been standard-settlers in gastronomy, high fashion, perfumery and other luxury goods that appeal to the senses – appear to be leading the new trend in the auto industry.”
“The idea is to introduce human factors as upstream as possible in the conception process, both as regards sensorial impressions and ergonomics, team leader Patricia Jonville, designers, developers and marketing, PSA Peugeot-Citroen design, research and development center in Velizy, near Paris, the Perception and Human Factors section.
Laurent Kirsche, one of the team’s “noses”, an expert on smells, said, “What’s important is their ability to describe what they experience.”
Moreover, Renault Technocenter, Sebastien Crochemore, has developed a “field of odors”, “a battery of 45 chemicals that give off odors grouped into six groups: fishy, fatty, burnt, sulfur, woody and sweet”. They have used it to evaluate a sample of air from a car interior, or the smell of a piece of plastic trim, which are just few of probable examples. They have patented this odor and tactile reference frames and sold them to other car makers, to create a system that both the developer and the other car makers can use when dealing with suppliers.
Crochemore said, “It’s a bit like a grammar book for a sensory language.” “That way each material is given its own sensory profile – with measurements for roughness, softness, shininess, slipperiness and hot or cool it feels to the touch – and odors are labeled precisely,” was implied.
However, some experts were doubtful of its necessity. Prof. Garel Rhys, head of the Center for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff Business School in Wales, said, “They have to be careful about trying too hard, and entering a world of absurdity where gadgets are given more importance than the vehicle they’re on.” “There comes a point where you’ve got to decide what’s useful and what’s simply irrelevant,” he continued.
Rhys believes that car makers tend to make their customers overlook the real value of the car because of the excessive features, mostly unnecessary, provided in the cars. He said, “At the same time, consumers have a perception of great value for the components they’re prepared to buy.” But, this doesn’t apply to all auto makers. There are also several who make it a point to provide what is actually necessary to their customers and to the environment as well.
Car makers are no different. They woo customers by appealing to their interest, their needs and desires, tickling their senses with the way new cars feel, sound and even smell.
By fact, car buyers coming into car showrooms are now looking for comfort-enhancing features such as fragrance diffusers, color adjustable interior lighting and air-conditioned seats. Highly observant with such kind of customer interest, car designers and product managers tend to use sensorial techniques to make their products distinct from the others in the crowd.Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis at J.D. Power, a major automotive consulting company, said, “Quality is still the main factor in customer-satisfaction surveys.”
“But a car’s appeal is becoming increasingly important. Auto manufacturers are trying to find ways to make their products stand out from the competition, for example by making it smell better,” he added.
According to an article in marketwatch.com, “The use of the senses as a development and marketing tool has long been a hallmark of the food and cosmetics industries. The French – who for centuries have been standard-settlers in gastronomy, high fashion, perfumery and other luxury goods that appeal to the senses – appear to be leading the new trend in the auto industry.”
“The idea is to introduce human factors as upstream as possible in the conception process, both as regards sensorial impressions and ergonomics, team leader Patricia Jonville, designers, developers and marketing, PSA Peugeot-Citroen design, research and development center in Velizy, near Paris, the Perception and Human Factors section.
Laurent Kirsche, one of the team’s “noses”, an expert on smells, said, “What’s important is their ability to describe what they experience.”
Moreover, Renault Technocenter, Sebastien Crochemore, has developed a “field of odors”, “a battery of 45 chemicals that give off odors grouped into six groups: fishy, fatty, burnt, sulfur, woody and sweet”. They have used it to evaluate a sample of air from a car interior, or the smell of a piece of plastic trim, which are just few of probable examples. They have patented this odor and tactile reference frames and sold them to other car makers, to create a system that both the developer and the other car makers can use when dealing with suppliers.
Crochemore said, “It’s a bit like a grammar book for a sensory language.” “That way each material is given its own sensory profile – with measurements for roughness, softness, shininess, slipperiness and hot or cool it feels to the touch – and odors are labeled precisely,” was implied.
However, some experts were doubtful of its necessity. Prof. Garel Rhys, head of the Center for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff Business School in Wales, said, “They have to be careful about trying too hard, and entering a world of absurdity where gadgets are given more importance than the vehicle they’re on.” “There comes a point where you’ve got to decide what’s useful and what’s simply irrelevant,” he continued.
Rhys believes that car makers tend to make their customers overlook the real value of the car because of the excessive features, mostly unnecessary, provided in the cars. He said, “At the same time, consumers have a perception of great value for the components they’re prepared to buy.” But, this doesn’t apply to all auto makers. There are also several who make it a point to provide what is actually necessary to their customers and to the environment as well.
posted by Patti @ 12:53 AM
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