Welcome to the Sound in Marketing podcast. The Sound and Marketing podcast explores and defines sound on purpose, in marketing and in advertising. I'm your host Jeanna Isham, owner and founder of Dreamr Productions and Sound in Marketing Learning. I create, consult and educate individuals and brands on the power of sound in marketing. This season's title is Sonic Branding: Case Studies, Context, and Clarity in the race for brand attention. Sound on purpose makes all the difference.
Sound done right is a brand’s best friend. Sound done wrong is a brand's worst nightmare. This episode is about POS sounds. What are we trying to say about our brand experience, as our customers are literally checking out? Our story starts with a forward thinking retail company in Minnesota, determined to perfect the customer journey into a seamless experience. All the way to the final point- point of sale.
Cue the dream sequence. (SFX- harp glissando) SOTA, a Gen Z retail company in Minnesota, was all about mission. It was even in its name, an acronym for State Of The Art. All across the state, students knew that SOTA was the place to go to explore trending art. This included fashion of course, but also music and art itself. The walls were covered in local artists work, and the overhead speakers proudly played local artists. In certain sections of the store.
There were even TVs playing local art house films and documentaries. SOTA knew that what they stood for and were all about was brand experience. The only thing lacking in the seamless journey of inspiration and intrigue was (SFX: chip reader shriek) the sound of the chip reader. But let's not be too critical because honestly, everyone has skipped this part.
The absolute final stage of the transaction is when a customer hands over their credit card and pays a crucial moment when a customer is either happy or sad about their purchase. When they are deciding if they'll come back again, whether or not they'll leave a review or tell their friends about their experience. Well, don't just take my word for it. Here's Joe Sauer, a neuromarketing specialist and former senior vice president and marketing manager at Sentient Decision Science.
Of the billions of purchases that happen every day all around the world. Three out of four buyers walk away from the register, feeling some form of emotional distress. That highly important element of a brand experience is largely ignored. This is called the Peak End Rule. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. SOTA decided to take action where most haven’t and complete the purchase process in a fully branded tone, pun intended.
Although they didn't have an official Sonic logo, they felt that at this time the more crucial sonic element to focus on was a functional sound. They needed to replace (SFX: Chip reader shriek) with something more friendly. Their request for proposal was for a successful transaction tone for their store POS reader. It needed to match the brand's vibe and mission. It should be fun, friendly, not too busy and memorable.
It should transmit the proper intention that the customer had successfully completed the purchase, and was welcome and encouraged to return at any time. Dreamr Productions got to work. We proposed finding something minimalistic with electronic elements. This would keep the orchestration light and the feel modern. SOTA was on board. The next step was research and creation. To get a better sense of the experience, we walked the aisles of the store listening.
We listened to the sounds of the shoppers, the acoustics, the ambiance, the overhead music. We knew that tone and frequency were critical considerations, as there were a lot of competing sounds at play. The transaction tone needed to break through the noise without being too abrasive and pitchy. We decided to focus on three characteristics for the tone friendliness, happiness, and inspiration. Although we weren't creating a sonic logo, we did need to remind people where they were shopping.
It was the end of the shopping experience, and as we learned in the POS Retail's Weakest Link episode, the peak end rule matters a lot. We'll get more fully into that towards the end. Here is the result. (The Transaction Tone- sound) In addition, we crafted a couple more sounds a card removal sound (Card Removal Tone- sound) And a declined transaction sound. (Declined Transaction Tone- sound) Within all of these sounds. We also created corresponding haptic rhythms.
It sounds like a lot, but Dreamr Productions is all about preparing for the future. Next, we worked with a POS manufacturer to integrate the sounds into the POS system itself. These sounds could then be used for in-app purchases as well. Keeping everything uniform and seamless. Once the sounds were agreed on and downloaded into the POS system, SOTA brought in a focus group of in-store shoppers to try out the new experience. The results were great.
One shopper said she smiled without thinking about it when the friendly chirp indicated that she could remove her card. She thought it was hilarious that spending money could make her smile and leave her feeling happy. What a testimonial right? Another shopper said they never noticed the annoying default sound until it was taken away. “It was so nice not to feel like my card would be shredded if I didn't pull it out ASAP”, he chuckled. The employees had good things to say about it too.
One said, “usually we still have to prompt the customer to take the card out or put the card in.” Their theory was that the obnoxious sound was so annoying that customers had simply learned to tune it out as white noise. Because of this, the tones were useless. Funny how a sound meant to stand out fades into the background of noise. Now back to reality. (SFX; Please Take Your Seat) It's hard to escape noise. The world is inherently noisy, but with some purposeful decision making.
We can escape it from time to time. That's what my morning coffee is all about. And there's no better coffee companion than my make sound on purpose mug. Have you heard about it? (Background Noise) Sometimes sound is too much, but the right sound can be perfection. That's when I turn to a warm beverage in my go to mug. The Make Sound on Purpose mug is that perfect reminder that every strategically placed word matters and every purposely positioned sound. Is perfection.
A big thank you to sound in marketing, learning and Dreamr Productions for centering my day. It's a nice reminder that taking the time to make sound on purpose matters. Get yours today. Links can be found in the show notes. Back to you, Jeanna. In real life, POS sounds beyond the basic (SFX- chip reader shriek) and the more generic (SFX- checker beep) are largely overlooked. Why? Those basic and generic sounds do nothing for the personality of a brand.
They are not reassuring or satisfying, and most importantly, they do not wrap the shopping experience up into a perfectly seamless bow. POS sounds have always come across as an afterthought, something the software designers hurriedly agreed on. 3 or 4 out of the box sounds so they could move on to more important UX design. I know that I am obsessed with sound, and because of that, may be more sensitive to it than others. But am I really?
When you truly think about that part of the shopping experience, do you think that those sounds are the best that they could be? If you were to choose between this sound (POS chip reader shriek) and this sound, (The Transaction Tone- sound) which makes you feel your experience was successful and productive? Mastercard and VISA have actually invested in this conversation. Both credit card companies have developed a branded tone for payment. In case you haven't heard them.
Here's Mastercard (SFX- Mastercard payment tone) and here's VISA. (SFX- VISA payment tone) You know what card you've just used, that the transaction has gone through, and that you can move on. But the difference here is that the actual purchase purchased or the store shopped at has had no part in the end transaction. I may know what credit card I used, but I am not aurally prompted as to which store. I've just used that card in. Is this a lost opportunity?
Now, before you say you have heard other sounds, give me a second. I'm getting there. I bring you. Trader Joe's. This grocery store has played on and off with the idea. Several years back at Thanksgiving, you may have heard. (SFX- turkey gobble) Or during Halloween. (Toccata and Fugue) As I'm not a Trader Joe's shopper, I have not personally heard this happen. However, upon reading about it, I thought, hey, what a fun and quirky idea. It seemed to truly fit the grocery stores personality.
I tried to find out what others had thought of the experience. I dug into a Reddit strand and found it wasn't as perfect as one might think. Some customers liked it, but others found the sounds to be annoying or off putting. Some said they were dumbfounded, staring at the clerks or wandering through the store trying to figure out where the heck that sound was coming from. One person said it inspired them to bring cash next time.
These sounds, although fitting for the brand's personality, were not on brand. They were on season. Case in point other stores like the Dollar Tree and Panda Express have done the same sort of thing in the past. Coca-Cola, the Masters of Experience, even had a limited run happy beep sound at checkout. (SFX- Happy Beep) Although I really like Coca-Cola’s, it was only as a campaign activation. So again, not a mainstay situation.
This might convince you that messing with anything at all is pointless. As I dug further into the Reddit comments, I found someone who held my own sentiment and I quote, “I don't like the approval sound “most readers make. “It sounds more like an error sound.” (SFX- chip carder shriek) And herein lies the problem and the opportunity. POS sounds play a big part in the Peak End Rule. Here's Joe Sauer again.
Our memory of an experience is largely dependent on what we're feeling at the extreme or peak moment of the experience, and what we were feeling when the experience ended. In a 2022 research study put out by Sentient Decision Science, the Peak End Rule was considered when it came to sound. In an era where most CEOs and CMOs are struggling to establish, much less sustain, meaningful and relevant connections to their customers.
No company can afford to ignore the impact that well-designed and thoughtfully integrated sound can have on how their brands are perceived. Starting with something as simple as the payment experience. Seeing as that peak experience will wildly differ between customers, the end experience is something we can more easily control. Will these sounds be perfect out of the gate? Probably not, but you have to start (SFX-Chip card shriek) somewhere.
Trader Joe's is a great example of a company whose clientele might really appreciate a strategic check out sound. As I did my research on the company, I found more and more hints at sound and music prompts already implemented within the stores. As I spoke about in the last episode, The Ultimate Playlist, their overhead music is very personality driven. Focusing on quirky but friendly. Beyond that, they also use a Bell System.
This Bell system tells the workers what is needed without interrupting the experience, like a PA system announcement might. Here's a clip from the Inside Trader Joe's podcast where they interviewed a new employee about the sounds. One bell means you need a another cashier. Two bells mean you need someone to find an item. And three means you need a manager. Maybe their transaction tone could be indicative of those maritime bells?
Who knows, music could quite possibly play into both their end and peak brand experience. Can you imagine if music played into both sides of the Peak End experience? What kind of market share power could that lead to? Bookending experiences with purpose and personal touches is always a gold star in the brand playbook. Every step we make towards meaningful experiences brings more humanity to a product and a company. And the more human a thing can be. The more humans can relate.
And when we relate, we come back. Our heart and gut run the show 99% of the time. If our gut tells us that Trader Joe's is our top choice, then that's where we will shop. Sound on purpose is a sound choice. If you've gotten this far and still can't decide if a short sound less than two seconds long and as insignificant as a transaction sound could make you feel one way or another. Try this. Place an order on the Taco Bell app.
Just as you complete the purchase, you hear this? (SFX- Taco Bell Gong) Tell me that that didn't make you feel nostalgic and excited to eat your taco pronto. How about this one? Open your MacBook. (SFX- Apple start up sound) Didn't that make you feel excited and eager to be productive? You're checking out at Target. You slide your credit card into the chip reader. Your transaction is done, and you hear. (SFX- chip reader shriek) Sound must be made on purpose.
Sadly, we have reached the end of this episode, but fear not. There are over 100 episodes of the Sound In Marketing podcast to dig into and binge, and more are always on the way. Don't forget to subscribe, share and rate. Want more sound in marketing? I gotcha! Here are a few more episodes to get you started. POS; Retail's Weakest Link. Dig into this study on the effectiveness of POS sounds. The World's Loudest Chips Bag.
SunChips made a completely compostable chip bag, which was great, but it was loud. Too loud. Sound In The Shopping Experience. Interac, a Canadian debit card company, used sound to help their customers shop more mindfully. Another big thanks to Sentient Decision Science for providing this preliminary research on POS sounds that helped inspire the episode, as well as others. I hope to see more and more studies to come.
Thank you also to Artlist.IO and Pixabay for being such a great musical and sound effects resource. I also referenced an episode of the Inside Trader Joe's podcast, a fun branded podcast to check out if you're feeling Trader Joey. If you like the transaction tone or any of the other episodes, please follow and give a share. More people should know about this stuff. I know you know that now. All links will be provided in the show notes.
Let's make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more and more on brand.