Overhead messaging allows you to share critical information with customers at a key moment. They’re inside your facility and ready to spend money. Your messages can encourage them to act. 

While the power of messaging is clear, you can’t tap into the benefits unless your ads are developed and executed properly. Following a few basic rules can help. 

At Pandora CloudCover, we specialize in helping brands integrate key messages with their overhead music. We can share information gleaned from hundreds of thousands of clients. 

And if you need help, we’re here for you! We can even create messages for you that are tailored to your brand and goals.

1. Ensure Optimal Volume Levels 

You want your customers to hear your overhead messages and music. However, you don’t want the sounds to overwhelm the shopping experience. Balance is critical, and it can shift from one type of business to another. 

Analysts say customers expect loud music in fashion retail stores, but they want quieter sounds in grocery stores. Using the same volume settings in both environments could be a mistake. 

Expected volume levels can also shift throughout the day. For example, your customers may expect louder music in the evening when the store is crowded with people, but they may want quieter music during slower mornings.

Savvy business owners walk through their facilities often and search for problem signs, such as the following:

• Customers complaining
• Staff members raising their voices to speak with shoppers 
• Feeling the music (such as thumping in the chest) in addition to hearing it 
• Inability to listen to the music or messages

Customer reviews and staff interviews can help to set proper volume levels as well. Asking people for their take on the music is an effective way to ensure things are going well. 

Pandora CloudCover provides remote volume control, so you can raise or lower the sounds throughout your enterprise from one platform. We can also offer recommendations to help you find the right sound balance. 

2. Balance Music & Messaging 

After working so hard on your messages, it’s reasonable that you’d want to share them often. However, your customers may not want to listen to the same advertisement repeatedly. 

In studies, 66% of customers said they wanted fewer marketing messages. If they hear the same ad repeatedly, they can develop ad fatigue and stop hearing what you say. They may even choose to spend less money with you overall due to their irritation. 

Ensure that you play more music than advertisements. Start by determining how long people spend in your store, and play only one ad during that time. 

For example, you might determine that your customers spend an average of 30 minutes in your grocery store. You should only play one ad per 30 minutes. 

Pandora CloudCover offers an online scheduler. You can use this system to schedule your ads at time frames that work well for your business and your brand. You can also change your schedule as needed from your online dashboard. 

3. Consider Professional Voice Talent 

Some companies try to save money by asking their staff members to record voice messages. This isn’t always a smart idea. 

Amateur recordings can sound unprofessional. People with no training may make mistakes like the following:

• Muttering 
• Using filler phrases like “um” or “ah” 
• Mispronouncing words 
• Rushing through the script 

‍In surveys, about 70% of respondents say they consider audio a key element of a brand’s identity. If your audio recordings sound unprofessional and amateurish, your potential customers may think the same of you. 

Look for voice talent that sounds like your brand. For example, if you mainly serve younger customers, your voice talent should be young as well. Also, ask your talent to review your script carefully and work through it with you. 

At Pandora CloudCover, we can help you ensure that your messages align with your brand. That means we can work with your staff if you have hidden talent on the payroll. We can also find actors that could work for your ads. 

4. Regularly Test & Update Messages 

‍In studies, 32% of respondents say in-store ads that tell them about a promotion or sale are the most likely to capture their attention, and 21% like ads that introduce them to a new or unique product. 

Research like this suggests that your ads should always change. Just as your products and services shift, so should the ads you share inside your shop. 

Your ads can cover timely topics, such as the following:

• This week’s promotions 
• Special sales happening in the store right now
• This month’s coupons you’ll accept 
• Seasonal content, such as products you only sell right now 

You can also use evergreen content for your messages. That can mean discussing your return policy, friendly staff, or brand promise. 

Testing can help you ensure that your ads are working. Create two versions of an ad and track the sales that happen when both versions play. This type of A/B testing can ensure you’re using a method that works and not wasting time and money on one that doesn’t.

At Pandora CloudCover, our system allows for easy updates and scheduling. You can roll out a new ad to all of your locations in minutes. You can also adjust schedules if your ads aren’t working. 

Enhance Your In-Store Messaging With Pandora CloudCover 

If you’re looking for a partner for background music and in-store messaging, choose Pandora CloudCover. 

We offer a robust library of thousands of songs, curated into stations by expert musicologists. Our solutions also include overhead messaging, including help with content creation. You’re never on your own when it comes to crafting what you need. 

Manage the music and messaging at all of your locations from one platform. That includes turning the sounds up and down. You can also schedule different music and ads throughout the day

We offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Terms and conditions apply.

References

The Science Behind Grocery Store Music. (September 2021). Youth Time Magazine. 

66% of Consumers Want Fewer Marketing Messages: Optimove 2023 Consumer Marketing Fatigue Survey. (February 2023). PR Newswire. 

Audio Boosts Memorability and Engagement of Advertisements, Voices Study Finds. (June 2024). PressRelease.com. 

‍3 Ways Retail Media Networks Can Navigate the Tension Between Ads and CX. (March 2023). eMarketer.