Know-How Exchange : Customer Behavior

How about the theme from Jaws?

A company like muzak (www.muzak.com) offers a wide variety of options with little maintenance.

Hi

Personally, I’d avoid Muzak as it drives both undiscerning and discerning “victims” bonkers. You could end up being sued for mental distress or you could flip a litigant into fomenting a riot.

As it is a public space, you will need to reduce tension and encourage positive thoughts. Playing light classical music has been shown (Proceedings of the Institute of Psychiatry) to reduce tension and levels of violence in public places such as railway stations and bus stations. OK some of the violent people don’t like Mozart, so they go somewhere else to kick people’s heads in, but the link with reducing tension has been proven in stressy places such as dentists and doctors waiting rooms.

The tone of the music – light and emotional – has also been found to be conducive to encouraging people to buy through engendering positive thoughts. (British association of retailers)

The play list can be put together by consulting the typical classic FM schedule. Also, don’t forget the fee to the Performing Rights Society.

As to choices for individual tunes – I’ll bet you that one of your partners is a classics buff. Pieces should be about 3 minutes long and you should have enough of them for your longest client-in-waiting not to be subject to repeats. Avoid whole symphonies / concertos / operas / chorals etc as this will upset the small % of classicists who will want to hear the end, but can’t. Have a play list handy with your firm’s details on it as a marketing aid to hand out.

I’d avoid pop as it tends to polarise listeners and needs to be played too loud for a reception area. With the classics, if people like them, they’ll enjoy it. If they don’t, they usually don’t notice.

Lastly, for a further marketing push, if space allows (I saw this in, I think, Stephenson Harwood’s City office once) get in a string quartet or a piano quartet and issue open invites with a buffet.

Have fun

Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions

Keep it Sweet & Simple,

Smooth light classical or light Jazz...That's it! Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

or

C-reating P-eoples E-ntertainment

heyy ya...

i think that classical is a good bet.. popular ones only.

and maybe also music from the background of Sims and other games like that, that have music... i think sounds would be a beter word... that are pleasant.

or like lobby music... or piped in toilet music.. haha.

cheers,
JuLeS