Many managers, owners and business operators tend to overlook a very important detail of operating a retail store, restaurant, hotel, spa or any business where atmosphere and environment is important.  The overlooked ingredient is – music.

An image is conveyed to guests and customers through sound as well as the look.  We’ve seen, too often, owners and operators spend time and money on lights, chairs, painting, decorations, menus, clothes (the look) and then plug in any-old-music as an afterthought.

Here are 10 tips to help you evaluate the music service in your place of business.

Is your music mix unique? Or is it the same music service that’s getting plugged into any type of restaurant or store in your town and across the nation? Who picks the music? Whether it’s the manager’s iPod or a satellite music service, do you trust who’s picking the music to always reflect your mood and brand? Can you talk music with them? Does every song fit your energy, theme and vibe? A few “wrong songs” in the mix that keep getting played can dampen the unique atmosphere you’ve worked so hard to create.

Is the music consistent?
Customers expect consistency with the product, service, atmosphere and, yes, consistency with the music each time they visit.  Consistency with multiple locations is important, too.  Is the music consistent or is there a different mix or different service in each location?

Is there enough variety in your music mix?
Sure, you want a consistent sound, but it doesn’t need to be overly predictable or boring. A skilled music programmer can weave in a lot of songs and styles that fit the sound of your brand giving your playlist depth and variety.

Is the music too stale or repetitive?
Hearing the same songs way too often? Does the playlist never seem to change? Customers may not always notice this, but employees and staff sure do. Happy employees leads to happy customers.

How’s the audio quality?
Is there consistency in the volume level from song to song? Does the music sound thin or muddy, compressed or dull? Are you having to turn it up or turn it down?  Make sure that the music coming into your business matches the high audio quality of the products and service.

Do you have a say in what’s played?
Find a music service company that takes the time to understand your business and offers personalized service with ongoing music recommendations and request capability.

Do you have all the options you want?
Live internet streaming; the ability to see what songs have been played recently; custom messaging that doesn’t interrupt the music or the mood; all copyright licensing fees covered.

Does your music service go beyond the walls of your business?
Take advantage new mobile and social media strategies, such as an online channel and branded media player, so you can connect with your customers when they’re not in your store or restaurant.

Take time to listen to what’s playing inside your business and hear the sound of your business as your customers and guests hear it.  Custom Channels can help you score a perfect 10 on this 10 tip evaluation.

Tagged: Restaurant music

One of the ways we make our music channels truly customized for our clients is with custom messaging between songs. That way, what’s playing for the customer in the store, restaurant or retail space becomes more than just an iPod or satellite radio stream – it becomes that brand’s own medium for music entertainment, promotion and imaging.

Messaging can be done in several ways: it can be recorded by a professional announcer; it can be read by an owner, manager or employee; or it can be actual comments from guests and customers.

For Whole Foods Market Radio we use the voices of team members and store team leaders (that’s how Whole Foods employees refer to themselves) to give WFM Radio the personal, human touch. We’ve been producing Whole Foods Market Radio for several years and often visit Whole Foods stores to gather audio messages.

“Team members love being part of WFM Radio because they see it as “their channel”, not somebody else’s piped-in music” says Josh Keesy, Custom Channels Director Of Operations. “Whole Foods employees really have fun while they’re working so having their own music channel with occasional colleagues’ voices welcoming and thanking shoppers adds to the unique Whole Foods atmosphere. It’s not canned and corporate.”

Here’s some photos of Josh on-the-job at Whole Foods in Westminster, Colorado recording voices of Whole Foods team members.

New digital technologies have made it easier than ever for businesses to get their employees involved in their channel. For example, promotional messages, shout-outs, and even birthday greetings can be recorded on an iPhone or call-in phone line with voice mail. The recording (wav or mp3 file) is emailed automatically to Custom Channels. It’s quick, easy and it sounds great. Of course, we also offer an array of professional audio production and pro voice services to create messaging as well.

Custom messaging is one of the many things that Custom Channels does to improve our client’s music service and to “go beyond background music.”

Church’s Chicken has the right idea.  They were looking for a new music provider for their fast food restaurants.  They decided on a company that could provide messaging between the songs. “To me, that was the clincher. Instead of music being just an overhead cost, Eos makes store music a sales tool” said Tom Coppola, a sales manager for Applied Media Technologies Corporation in a press release *.  Coppola says, “Church’s stores are enthusiastically embracing the concept. They’re using the messaging to promote high-margin sides and desserts, along with things many customers aren’t aware of, like catering.”

That’s exactly the kind of philosophy Custom Channels believes in with music and messaging.  Any business can play Sirius/XM satellite radio, but there’s no customization of the music mix combined with powerful messaging.  And many businesses play music from ipods or CDs, but again, there’s zero messaging that can be of interest to the customer and increase sales. Custom Channels designs in-store and on-line music channels complete with messaging. It’s like a business having it’s own customized radio station playing in every location.

* AMTC distributes Eos under an agreement with Eos Music Corporation.

I was eating at an Italian restaurant recently and got to experience local FM radio as the soundtrack to dinner.  It wasn’t an enjoyable experience and really detracted from the atmosphere.  It was the local AC station playing Delilah at Night.  It wasn’t that the music was so bad.  Most of the mellow AC tunes were palatable and didn’t completely detract from the mood, if you don’t mind hearing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ and Janet Janet Jackson’s Let’s Wait Awhile while you’re deciding on fettucini and chianti.  It was the talk and commercials that really bugged our dinner group.

At one point it was about 8 minutes between songs as Delilah talked, many commercials played, and Delilah aired a phone call with a lonely person.  The radio wasn’t low and in the background.  I heard most every word of the sad-yet-inspirational phone conversation along with details of Macy’s 10 to 15 percent off sale, Just Brakes special, the excited Netflix offer, an overly enthusiastic car dealer urging me to “get in here today” and even a commercial for anotther restaurant…iHop. The worst ad was for sink stain remover.  Ugh.  Pass the garlic bread, please.

This restaurant is not fast food or even fast casual – this is a nice restaurant charging from teens to well over $20 per entree. They have a good visual atmosphere inside, well-themed, covered with Italian sports posters of soccer stars and logos.  It’s not a stand-alone place – they operate three Italian restaurants under the same name in town. The waitstaff is professional and well dressed, and the wine list is large and not cheap.  So why cheapen the dining experience by playing a local radio station?

There are so many better options for in-store, in-restaurant, background music without talk and commercials than local FM radio. Local radio has its place and shines in many times and places, but not as the soundtrack to a restaurant.  Good food, good service, poor music.

If you’re restaurant owner using FM radio as your soundtrack, please talk to us at Custom Channels about new ways to get better, uninterrupted music to match the mood and theme of your restaurant.  Some of our clients include Lucille’s Creole Cafe in Boulder, Pita Jungle in Arizona and Roti Mediterranean Grill in Chicago.