Dan Martin
Editor
Background music is one of those elements of marketing that is highly underrated and often unnoticed. Its effects, however, can have a huge impact on both your employees and your customers. This is because music can have a powerful effect on the mood and emotional state of those who listen to it. This makes music a very powerful tool in marketing your business or institution, while also helping to create a better environment for your employees and customers.
Here are some of the effects that music can have on your employees and customers. Read each one and consider adding background music to your financial institution.
The effects of playing music in banks and other financial institutions. Source: unsplash.com
Effects of music on employees
If you own a financial institution, you most likely want your employees to perform at their best and feel good while doing so. While it’s easy to track and monitor the productivity of your employees, it might not be as easy to figure out how to help them be more productive in the first place. This is where background music can help. Consider the following effects that background music can have on your employees.
Improves performance and accuracy
One of the biggest ways that playing music in your financial institution can help your employees is performance. Research shows that 88% of employees are more accurate and productive when listening to music while they work. This supports the idea that music can have a small yet significant effect on your employees’ performance. Though it’s not clear exactly what kind of music is needed to achieve this result, it’s evident that playing music has a positive effect on your employees than not playing any music at all.
Increases focus and productivity
Music is such a powerful tool for increasing focus and productivity, that anyone conducting a task that requires concentration can benefit from listening to music while working. Research data shows that playing music can increase concentration and improve listener attention. However, the key point here is whether the listener enjoys the music being played. This means that playing general music such as royalty-free relaxing music is the safest bet.
Improves emotional well-being
Another big effect that music has on listeners is emotional. Depending on the music you choose, you can soothe and relax someone, or you can cheer them up and boost their energy and motivation. This gives you the chance to help your employees’ emotional wellbeing by setting background music that not only helps their productivity but also their state of mind. This can increase their mood, boost motivation, as well as help their performance in the workplace.
Effects of music on customers
The same way you care about your employees, you also care a lot about your customers and how they feel when they enter your financial institution. For this reason, you should consider incorporating background music inside your financial institution. Just as it can positively affect your employees, background music can also have a positive impact on your customers’ experience and perception of your financial institution.
Changes decision-making
One of the main benefits of playing music in your financial institution is found in how it impacts your customer’s decision-making. Data shows that background music can affect everything about customer behavior, from “the amount which customers are prepared to spend, the amount they actually spend, the products they buy, their memory for advertising, and the amount of time they wait on hold.” This can have a positive impact on your business numbers, as customers are influenced to use your financial services to a higher extent.
Improves mood
This is one of the more obvious and direct ways in which music can affect your customers. As previously stated, music can have a big impact on a listener’s emotions, helping them to feel relaxed or soothed, depending on the music chosen. Give this information, it’s fair to assume that music can help improve your customers’ moods, removing some of the tension usually associated with being inside a financial institution. Relaxing music can ease some of that tension, while upbeat music can lift your customers’ mood. Choose music that helps achieve your desired result.
Changes perception of time
Finally, this is a very important benefit of having music play in the background of your financial institution. One of the biggest points of anger and tension inside a financial institution is related to the long lines and even longer wait times your customers might have to deal with. Music can not only soothe the tension and relax your customers but it can also help to change their perception of time. If the music is good and enjoyable, the time your customer spends waiting in line can feel much shorter, reducing the likelihood of high tension and discontent.
The type of music matters
There is one important factor to keep in mind when considering background music in your bank or financial institution: the type of music you choose matters. Research supports that having background music can help improve the performance and productivity of employees. It can also improve your customers’ mood and perception of time. What research does not show, however, is what kind of music you should use to achieve the desired results. This is because it all depends on the context of the situation.
The music you would play in a clothing store for young adults is not the same type of music you should play in a financial institution. As such, you need to experiment with different genres of music and see how your employees and customers react to each one. Upbeat music might help lift the mood of both employees and customers. Soothing music might decrease the tension usually associated with being in a bank. Test out different genres and use the one that works best for your institution’s needs.
Key takeaways
Music is an important part of creating a good environment within your financial institution. Whether the desired effects are aimed at your employees or your customers, playing music can help you in a variety of ways. For your employees, playing music in the background can increase productivity and focus, as well as help improve your employees’ state of mind and emotional wellbeing. For your customers, music can impact their decision-making, improve their mood, and even change their perception of time. This creates a positive environment where business is conducted in an effective and relaxed way.
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