Smell is an incredibly strong sense. It can evoke memories and is actually stored in the part of the brain where psychology and biology meet. While the smell of freshly baked cookies or freshly mown grass can bring you back to a childhood memory, what kind of memory could rotting garbage bring back? That brings us to our question – what does the smell in your business say about you?
Bad Business Smells
- It’s Dirty: Rotting trash smells can be synonymous with being dirty. Your business can be completely clean, but that smell will put the thought in people’s heads that it’s anything but. That can turn people away and even those that do stay and purchase something, they will probably get what they came for and then leave quickly. All businesses accumulate trash. Routine pickups and keeping dumpster areas and trash chutes clean and disinfected can help but odors will still occur. You may think there’s no way to avoid it, but there are scenting units that can actually neutralize those odors. Not mask – neutralize to create fresher air to both smell and breathe.
- You Don’t Care: To both your employees and your guests, a foul odor in your business may seem like the higher ups or owners just don’t care. We know that’s not the case. You could be nose blind to it or not around it enough to notice. No matter the reason, the perception could be that you either don’t know or don’t care. Apathy may be the best perception. Not caring at all is definitely worse and could be what people think if your business has a foul odor.
- There Are Pests: If there’s anything pests love more than moisture and shelter, it’s rotting food. Even just the smell of it will make flies, rodents, cockroaches, and many other pests head straight for it. And their sense of smell is much better than yours or ours. So, the slightest whiff that may be imperceptible to you, is like a welcome sign to pests. Flies buzzing around your business or worse – a cockroach or mouse scurrying across a hallway or dining room can be a reputation killer! Neutralizing the smells can eliminate an attractant, making pests less likely to seek out your business for the other two things they need (moisture and shelter).
- Bad Brand: Scent marketing is a real thing. Hotels use it so that you feel happy walking into their lobby, and you remember that feeling long after you’ve left. Hospitals use it to induce calm in a stressful environment. There are scents that can do all of that! What could a foul scent do? It will be remembered as much, if not more, than a pleasant one. That can follow your brand for years to come. Negative reviews (even if someone can’t exactly pinpoint what they didn’t like was the smell) will come and will lead right into #5.
- Lost Profits: People will go elsewhere if your business smells. There’s just no way around it. Whether you have vendors coming in and out wrinkling their nose and telling the company they work for or employees that have to deal with the smells every day or patrons knowing they can probably get whatever you’re selling from a business down the street that doesn’t smell, you could lose sales, contracts, and good employees from the smells in your business. All of that can lead to lost profits. If there was ever a reason to neutralize the odor in your business, it’s lost profits.
When it comes right down to it, you want the smell in your business to say, “come in!” and not, “stay out.” It’s an easy fix. All you need to do is have a scenting unit installed that will neutralize the air around wherever you have foul odors. Such an easy way to solve a problem that can say a lot of negative stuff about your business.