Miltä brändisi kuulostaa, ja miksi siihen pitää kiinnittää huomiota?
A customer visiting your store may visit hundreds of different businesses throughout the year. What makes your store special and memorable? What does it sound like?
Building a brand is not just about logos or colors — it is a feeling that the customer takes with them. Sound and especially background music are powerful and often underestimated tools for building that feeling.
Standing out is challenging, but that is precisely why every detail that can make an impression is worth leveraging. Background music is one of the most effective and also cost-efficient ways to support your brand. However, background music chosen to match your brand is not just about creating atmosphere. It is a practical tool for improving sales and customer experience, which shows directly as a positive impact on your business cash flow.
A properly designed soundscape affects:
- how your customers feel
- how long they stay
- how much they buy
- and above all: how they remember you
Research shows that music directly affects customer behavior. Well-chosen music improves the experience and encourages customers to spend more time in the store — and the longer they stay, the greater the likelihood of purchases.
A personalized customer experience with branded music
Think about dressing up. You probably would not wear high heels to the beach or a bikini to a gala evening. The same applies to music: every environment requires sound that suits that specific moment and place. The background music you hear in different spaces is not by chance — or at least it should not be. The soft acoustic ambiance of a fine-dining restaurant is different from the energetic beats of a gym. If the music is wrong, it can ruin the entire experience, or at worst, even drive a customer out the door.
Imagine a candlelit dinner with heavy bass thumping in the background. The atmosphere? Ruined. The experience? A disaster.
Carefully chosen music is one of those elements that makes shopping at your store distinctive and unforgettable. That is why background music should not be left to random playlists or the radio. The role of background music is subtle, but its impact is enormous. When it works, customers do not consciously notice it — but if it is missing or off, they certainly will.
Read more on the blog: Soundscape creates a brand and creates a competitive advantage »
An unknown song is proven to be more effective than a well-known hit
It is a common misconception that popular hit songs attract customers. In reality, they can disrupt purchasing behavior. Why? Because a familiar song grabs attention on its own. Lyrics, melody, or memories pull the customer’s thoughts away from the store’s atmosphere and from shopping.
Research has found that generic, lesser-known music supports purchasing behavior more positively. It creates a background where the customer can focus on what they want to do — which is to shop.
Playing the radio = free advertising space for competitors
If your background music comes from the radio, you cannot control what is being played under your brand. In the worst case, your competitors’ ads are blasting through your speakers — in your store. Not an ideal situation, is it?
“If the background music comes from the radio, there will also be advertisements – and at worst, they will advertise your competitor’s offers in your store.”
Radio music is designed for the channel’s target audience, not your customers. In addition, commercial breaks break up the atmosphere, distract the customer, and introduce inconsistency into your store’s soundscape.
Hit songs can evoke the wrong emotions
All I Want for Christmas Is You. What a summer. These songs evoke memories – but not always the right ones. When the same song is played repeatedly in the wrong place, it can even cause negative emotions and avoidance behavior. If the customer’s experience is associated with an annoying song, they may not want to come back again. That’s why control over music is important. Background music is not intended to be entertainment, but rather to shape the emotional state and brand experience. When you choose the songs that play in your store yourself, you can create an atmosphere that is exactly in line with your brand. At the same time, you can leave out music that doesn’t fit your brand.
So don’t entertain, but create emotional states that support your business goals. When music doesn’t come randomly from the radio or well-known hit lists, but is carefully selected according to the customer and the situation, the end result is a strong competitive advantage.
See also how background music leaves a memory trace and influences purchasing behavior »
Savings without compromise: Teosto-free background music
Commercial use of music almost always requires a music license and separate copyright fees. In Finland, music copyrights are managed by, among others, Teosto. Separate licenses with copyright holders can be expensive. The price is affected by factors such as your industry, the music usage environment, the duration of music usage, and the number of customers.
For example, in a 1,000 square meter store, annual fees can be several thousand euros – and this is just the license fee, not including equipment, systems or design. With FirstView’s license-free background music service, you save money – every month. You only pay for music based on the number of square meters, and there are no separate licensing fees.
With the FirstView Music service, you get everything for one fixed monthly price:
- A large background music library free from Teosto or Gramex fees
- Customized playlists
- Manage background music, announcements, ads and digital signage content on one platform
- Option to schedule music
- If you want, we also provide equipment, installation and turnkey commissioning.
With FirstView Music, you get 100% control over what your customers hear about your brand.
Discover the different options for background music services »
Whether you have 5 or 500 locations, you can manage your music remotely. You can schedule different music for different times of the day:
- A soft and gentle start in the morning
- A more energetic atmosphere during the day
- A calmer, relaxing music in the evening
You can also manage announcements, campaign messages and advertisements on the same platform – all in a controlled way and in support of your brand.
Summary: You decide how your brand sounds
Background music is not random. It is a strategic choice that has a direct impact on customer experience and cash flow. Choose the right sound for your brand. Say goodbye to competitor ads, inappropriate hit songs, and extra copyright fees. Welcome to the world of branded music, where every note supports your business.
Contact us – let’s design a soundscape worthy of your brand together.
