Sunday, August 1, 2010

Businesses need to fine-tune their musical strategy if they are to strike a chord with customers. Tom Daly reports
Music teacher and master pianist Michael Griffin read a feature dubbed ‘Not music to the ears’ in 7DAYS at the end of July - and took it as his cue to speak out.
The article’s main message - that the music played in Dubai’s retail outlets leaves a lot to be desired - resonated with Griffin, who has studied the psychology involved in background music very closely. It’s clear to him most store and restaurant managers can’t say the same.
A member of the UAE Philharmonic Orchestra, Griffin used to play piano in hotels and restaurants, but has recently started offering his services as a musical consultant, helping businesses select the songs that will sharpen their profits.
“I started thinking what the best way to maximise the return for the restaurant would be,” Griffin tells 7DAYS, recalling his evenings spent entertaining Dubai diners. “Sometimes managers don’t realise the purpose of background music is not to keep guests entertained, it’s to maximise their return.
“They want people to spend as much as they can on a dish. If I am playing in a restaurant, for example, at that time of the evening when people have menus in their hands, I might get the Mozart out. I might play some of the posh stuff, so to speak. There’s a good chance they might buy that more expensive bottle of champagne.”
I suggest the maestro should get commission on the bubbly sales for his efforts - but there is also a serious point to be made. Highbrow music, says Griffin, is associated with high-end product. He cites an example of two wine stores playing contrasting tunes  - one classical, the other chart music. Studies show a person intent on picking out a bottle of plonk for dinner will spend more in the ‘classical’ store every time.
“Why aren’t jewellery shops using this?” he asks. “You pay the earth for what they’re selling.” He remembers being offered a glass of champagne while choosing his wife’s engagement ring. Did it work? “Well, I spent more than I wanted to,” he admits. Perhaps a bit of Schubert to go with the champers would have seen him part with even more of his cash.
Product can certainly be enhanced for the senses, but crucially, the sight, smell or sound chosen must be in total harmony with the product - whether it’s the conservative, chic or cutting-edge crowd you’re targeting - as anyone familiar with Gestalt psychology will tell you.
“If you buy sunscreen, it smells like coconut. It fits the atmosphere - people associate that with the beach and the sun. If you put lemon fragments in there, it would not fit,” Griffin explains. “It’s the same with music. If you play Chopin in McDonald’s, it seems stupid… like playing Kylie Minogue in Tiffany’s.
“It’s about getting the right fit. People view their atmospheres holistically. If they think that one thing doesn’t fit, they will switch off because it seems fake. All the bits and pieces of that environment - sight, sound, smell and taste in some cases, need to fit together.”
All senses, yes, but Griffin says the impact music can have on sales and marketing strategies is unrivalled - and vastly under-exploited over here.
“Music is the most emotional sensory stimulus,” he says. “Nothing moves people more. Smell and sight are wonderful stuff but they generally don’t make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is music that people associate with product more than everything else.
“But there is such a focus in Dubai on the visual. It’s got to look great or ergonomically comfortable - they are forgetting about the aural sense.
“Some places don’t have any music. That sends a very clear signal to the buyer that the place is dead. Nothing is happening - it is as clear as that.”
You may be sceptical about the effect music can have on your buying habits - but that’s because it’s a very clever sub-conscious motivator. Studies have proven music affects pulse rate, body temperature and blood pressure, which explains why it is attracting so much interest from the medical profession today.
“Pulse rate determines how fast we walk, so music can slow down in-store traffic,” says Griffin. “There is a direct correlation - the more time spent in a shopping centre, the greater the spend that occurs. Particularly for speculative shoppers, music can help them want to stay in the shop.”
Unfortunately, store managers tend not to use any research-based methodology but go on their own gut feeling or leave it up to their staff. While some people have better musical intuition than others, Dubai stores and - Griffin says - a fair few well-known hotels too, usually get it spectacularly wrong.
The Hyatt chain is an honourable exception - but they do employ an expert to set the tone for them.
“He travels the world, eating in restaurants, listening to what’s going on and perceiving the environment,” says Griffin, who has even advised car showrooms on how various products can be targeted.
“One thing I’ve encouraged companies to do is experiment,” he says. “You can always go back to the status quo. If the status quo is nothing, you can’t do much worse than that.”
But doesn’t he suffer for his art... “Everywhere I go now, I think about it,” he admits. That’s bound to be a bit of a nuisance on a night out.
For further information contact griffin@musiceducationworld.com