What's That Smell?

I love the smell of fresh Play Doh and Crayola crayons. I am not as fond of the smell coming from my teenage son’s gym bag. When I smell lilacs, I am instantly a child standing in my Gran’s bedroom smelling her perfume. Funny, how a smell can immediately transport you to a different place and time. In his new book, “Whiff! - The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age”, www.WHIFFbook.com, C. Russell Brumfield states that each of us has stored a vast catalogue of imprinted feelings and responses to specific aromas. All kinds of memories are associated with the more than 10,000 smells we can each identify. We feel smell, but we can’t describe it. Brumfield uses the example of a dog. When it barks, we acknowledge its communication as a bark. When we touch it, we describe it as “furry”. What does it smell like? Most would answer “a dog”. What we smell we automatically feel, so we absently acknowledge that feeling and move on. often without ever naming it. So I ask you, where do the smells in your community transport your client? Where do they transport you? How might the smells be diminishing value perception? Think about it. Then act on it.