Our Head of Music Curation – Hi Ben!
What music is right for your business? It seems everyone has an opinion! Your staff, your customers, your distant aunty…
Finding the right soundtrack for your brand is a tricky thing to perfect. That’s why at Ambie we leave it up to the experts. Like Ben Yates. As our Head of Curation, Ben is a music and brand guru – and an all-round nice guy. So nice, in fact, he’s shared his top 5 tips for curating music for your business below. (Which you’ll find in infographic form here!)
1. Know the PURPOSE of your music
As a business owner, you know the importance of getting everything right – from decor to logo, and everything in between. Music is another key piece of that branding puzzle, whether you’re a one site restaurant or 100 site fashion brand. And businesses are becoming increasingly aware of how music can create positive, lasting associations with what they do. Music can be used to drive sales, increase dwell times or simply provide customers with a more pleasant on-site experience.
‘Music is another key piece of the branding puzzle whether you’re a one site restaurant or 100 site fashion brand’
2. Know your CUSTOMERS
Whether curating music for a restaurant, a bar, or even a private party the first thing to ask is: ‘who are your customers?’. If you are a popular, commercial brand targeting millennials, it might be worth looking at some of the best tracks working their way around the Radio 1 or Capital FM playlists. If you’re a private member’s bar with an older clientele, the selection could sound more timeless and well-worn. Music can be a powerful way of engaging with your customer’s values and tastes.
3. Know the ATMOSPHERE you want to create
Think about your day-to-day trading patterns in your business, and build your playlist around a selection of ‘moods’. Do you want to create a buzzy, lively atmosphere in the morning? If so, you might want to keep the tempo higher to brighten your customers moods as they begin their day. Just need something to help quieten the volume in the space? Perhaps some more mellow, acoustic tones might work better. Tailoring your music to trading patterns doesn’t only enhance customer experience, it can maximise sales.
4. Know the SPACE you’re trying to fill
One of the biggest challenges for Ambie is working on briefs remotely without seeing the space we’re curating music for. We get past this by sending over a list of questions that help us get a sense of how things will look and feel on site. You probably know your business space inside and out – so you’re a step ahead! Your role as the music ambassador is to help articulate your brand objectives and turn them into a great set of tunes; one that will bring a space to life and create a great day-to-day guest experience too.
Think about your day-to-day trading patterns in your business, and build your playlist around a selection of ‘moods’.
5. Know what FEEDBACK your music receives
Balancing the needs of staff and customers is one of the trickiest things in managing the music in businesses. You want to ensure your music consistently reflects your brand’s core values, but you also want it to help your staff stay focussed and motivated to perform at their best. To do this, try to keep your music fresh and limit the number of repeats within the same shift. Take employee suggestions on board – as a stakeholder in the way the business is run, they may have some creative ideas themselves. Likewise, listen to your customers. If many of them feel the music is negatively impacting their experience with you, it might be worth revisiting the creative direction.
Ben oversees the curation of all Ambie playlists. If you’d like to hear what he’d curate for your business, request a free music sampler here today.
