From the kind of music being played in the background to the colors of the interior walls, there are lots of elements that comprise the entire customer food experience other than the delectable food and quality service. In fact, the design of the interior affects how customers perceive your venue, and it can also influence their willingness to pay for the meals and service you’re offering.
Learn more as we’ll talk about the psychology of restaurant interior design to drive profits in today’s blog post.
The Intangibles That Influence Customer’s Decision-Making
Apart from the food and service, hospitality is another factor that drives customers to pay and makes them want to visit your place once again. That is why most successful restaurants hire hospitality managers to take care of this area in their businesses. But if you lack the means to hire a hospitality manager now, then don’t fret as we’ll provide you some tips on capitalizing intangibles to drive guests to pay willingly and become repeat customers in the future:
1. Music – This plays a crucial part in setting up the tone of your place. In fact, most studies have determined that listening to the right music impacts the customer’s restaurant experience and boost sales performance. Likewise, the pacing of the music also affects how the diners eat because it was found out that slow-tempo music generates higher revenues due to people wanting to stay longer and order more drinks.
Moreover, certain tunes enhance the flavor of the dish. For instance, ocean sounds make seafood dishes taste better while acoustic and country music makes eating BBQ meals more enjoyable.
2. Color – According to psychologists, colors affect our appetite as warm colors like red, orange, yellow stimulates diners to eat more, while dull colors like black and brown suppress appetite.
To be specific:
(Strong Stimulants):
Red – Increases heart rate and blood pressure which causes the person to feel hungry.
Orange – Increases mental activity and makes a person want to eat healthy foods.
Yellow – Makes a person happy, which makes them want to order more food, especially when they’re dining with another person.
(Mild Stimulants):
Green – Projects a feeling of abundance and the urge to have a healthy diet.
Turquoise – Makes a person feel carefree and happy
(Suppressants):
Blue – Produces a calming effect on people.
Purple – Often associated with unpopular food choices like purple cabbage and eggplant.
Brown – Reminds a person of well-done or burnt food.
Black – Causes a person’s appetite to diminish.
3. Smell – Like colors, the smell of the place can also attract or repel patrons from coming back after their previous visit. And various scents trigger different reactions from your customers that help them create a memory about your restaurant:
(Strong Stimulants):
Vanilla – Reduces anxiety and stress
Lavender – Helps a person relax
Chamomile – Relieves depression
Baked Bread – Stimulates a homely and comforting feeling
(Mild Stimulants):
Peppermint – Makes a person alert
Talcum Powder – Makes a person feel secured and stimulates nostalgic feelings
Citrus – Makes a person feel refreshed
Apple And Cucumber – Makes a person think that your interior is larger than what it actually is
(Suppressants):
Barbeque Smoke – Makes a person think that your interior is smaller than what it actually is
Mixed Smell Of Cooked Food – Diminishes a person’s appetite