Lady centralling managing in store muisc playlist for multiple stores.

The Benefits of Centrally Managing In-Store Music for Multiple Stores

What does your brand sound like?

You might know what your brand looks like by examining the colour scheme of your business’s logo or the graphic design of a website. You might know what your brand feels like to a customer – maybe your brand aims to evoke feelings of revitalisation or excitement. It’s not often that we think about what our brand should sound like to a customer.  After all, how big of a role can music really play in your business?

If you look at the visual components of your store, like the paint on the walls, the décor, or the front door signage, as the ‘face’ of your brand, then music is the voice. Similarly, visual marketing – from the Instagram ads to the storefront displays – show your customer who they want to be; audio marketing sounds like what your customer wants to be. Have you ever walked into a store that did not play any kind of music, or conversely, played music that was too loud or unpleasant? It likely felt uncomfortable, unwelcoming, and encouraged you to leave the store faster than you might have otherwise. Music is just as influential as visual elements and branding when customers are making a purchasing decision.

Creating the right atmosphere through colour, light, and sound, invites customers to stay longer in the store, which increases the likelihood that they will find new products. In-store music can benefit employees as well. Some research shows that an effective music strategy can boost staff morale, concentration, and productivity. 

What’s Your Voice?

In other words, what is the best kind of music for your store? Generally, the best retail store music is music you won’t remember. It should create an inviting and pleasant atmosphere, but otherwise stay under-the-radar. However, this is not the only factor that you should take into consideration when deciding what the best kind of music is for your store. Other factors to consider include what it is you are selling and how you want your customer to feel when buying the product or service.

If your business sells pianos, then it would make sense to customers that the music you choose would highlight the piano. This could look like classical music, but this could also include instrumentals of modern pop songs, or even jazz. Even without one genre, there are numerous choices, each of which can impact your brand image. Rachmaninoff is energetic and exciting, but it can also be incredibly dramatic; does that make his music ideal for selling pianos? Debussy is relaxing and more romantic, but could his music be putting your customers to sleep? Your brand’s voice should be shaped by the type of experience you want to provide for your customers.

Optimise Customer Experience

Centrally managing in-store music is especially valuable when your business has multiple retail locations because you will be able to optimise your customer’s experience. For example, suppose you own three cafes: one is by a local university, one is in the core of downtown in a major metropolitan city, and one is in a more suburban neighbourhood just outside of the city. By managing the music selection from a central location, you can ensure that the University location plays music that suits the demographic being served, which would likely look different from the demographics being served at the Downtown or Suburban locations.

Centrally managing in-store music also takes operator error out of the equation altogether. If previously the staff at each of your retail locations was expected to coordinate the music, this means that there were likely technical issues, inconsistency in brand representation, and problems arising from staff intervention. By alleviating your staff members of this responsibility, they can spend more of their time focusing on their essential work.

Licensing & Software Issues

By utilising a service that is specifically designed to provide high-quality music for your business, you can be certain that the music you play in your retail locations will be licensed. Playing music in your business without the appropriate license may mean risking a fine of several thousands of dollars per song, per play. That expensive issue can be avoided by using a centralised management software and often with the assistance of a specialised company in this area.

A specialised software or service can also enable you to schedule what music is playing, when it is playing, and to receive tailored recommendations for similar music. You can also create playlists to suit different needs – perhaps your business needs more relaxed music in the morning and early afternoon, but more energetic and up-beat music towards the evening. Special playlists before you open when staff are setting up, all the way to themed promotional playlists for events including Halloween or Valentines day are all possible.

Immediate Implementation and Efficiency

Centrally managing in-store music is also more efficient than alternatives. Before the internet was common place, retailers and businesses relied on CDs or curated discs to play music. Not only was it difficult to ensure that staff were playing the music designed for the brand (as opposed to their own music), but staff may not have remembered to change the CDs – resulting in a repetitive and boring experience for the customer. Refreshing music selection is incredibly important to the consumer experience. No one wants to hear the same five songs every time they come into your store – including your staff!

On the other hand, centrally managing in-store music allows you to automate music updates across all the stores. For example: instead of planning for several weeks to put together a CD of holiday classics, shipping the CDs to the stores, and hoping that the staff plays the music, a digital playlist allows you to automate music updates across all stores. One of the greatest benefits of central management is that it affords you the flexibility and ability to immediately implement any new changes: adding or scheduling overhead announcements over the internet can be used to punctuate well-tailored marketing plans.

Contact Evolved Sound Today

What kind of music are you playing at your stores? Whether you are totally new to introducing music to your brand or if you are looking for someone to freshen up your playlist, contact Evolved Sound today to set up an appointment. Evolved Sound can help you with customer experience, audio marketing, and marketing strategies. That’s our business!

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