Many business owners believe they can find a solid station or playlist that appeals to their target audience group, then sit back and be done with it. And if that is the approach they are taking, they are only letting in-store audio do a fraction of what it is capable of. They should consider implementing a process called “dayparting”.

Dayparting is a term that originated in the radio industry. It is used to describe parsing the day into different, benchmarked times throughout and playing certain songs or content at a certain time of the day. You can read more about dayparting and its history in an earlier post here.

While radio is the origin, businesses also have good reason to consider dayparting as it pertains to their in-store audio. Understanding and catering in-store audio to a target audience is only part of the equation of making in-store audio work best for the business. The audio programing must be tailored according to what those customers do during different parts of their day (hence the term dayparting!).

First of all, the most important aspect, regardless of time of day, is knowing the customer. Market research indicates who the target audience is for the business, but understanding more about their habits and preference for the time of day can be the perfect added touch.

In order to take a closer look at how dayparting can help widen a store’s appeal to different audiences while also increasing sales, let’s take a quick look at how the radio industry parts its days. The work days, meaning Monday-Friday, are split into five separate groups for radio purposes by Nielson audio. Those segments include morning drive, midday, afternoon drive, evening, and overnight.

For this purpose, let’s focus on the categories most likely relevant here—morning, midday/afternoon, and evening. How can dayparting using these categories appeal to different audience groups?

The Morning Crowd

Let’s say the business in question is a popular coffee shop. The morning rush is often the busiest time. Likely, customers want to come in, grab their coffee, and be on their way to the rest of their day. And that’s fine with the coffee shop as customers lingering around take up valuable table space or create a more crowded ordering area. Playing more upbeat, higher tempo (but non-intrusive) music can move the customer along without them even realizing it. It also creates a nice, happy tone to start the day. These factors allow the shop to appeal to this particular, highly-prized demographic.

On the other hand, consider early morning grocery shoppers. This audience would likely appreciate a more relaxed tone. Maybe kids were just dropped off at school and it’s that brief moment of peace for a parent. Or a night shift worker is stopping in to get a little shopping done before heading to bed. Playing something that allows them to breathe and take their time will likely be welcomed.

The Mid-day Visitor

Again, determining what to play over the in-store speakers at this time of day depends on the target demographic and goals of the business. For example, if a restaurant is looking to do most of their sales during mid-day business meetings and lunches, that may be the best time time to play popular music and make more important on-air announcements. On the other hand, think back to the coffee shop example. Mid-day may be slower for the restaurant, or they may have a similar coffee meeting business crowd. If that’s the case, they would likely want to encourage patrons to stick around for a while with a slower paced, softer tone. And this mid-day time may be a chance to add some announcements voiced in a smooth, gentle tone.

The Evening Rush

When it comes to the evening rush, it’s important to, again, consider the business and the target audience. Take two different bars for example. One is a more upscale, cocktail bar. The other is a big, loud sports bar. These may have a bit of customer overlap in demographics, but think about what experience the audience is looking to have by walking in the doors. A customer walking into the sports bar expects loud music and maybe on-air game announcements or drink specials. The customer who walks into the craft cocktail bar would likely turn right around if they had that type of audio experience.

At the root of dayparting is a consideration of the customer experience. What does each audience at each part of the day want to hear? While the morning customer may be the same general target as the evening customer, are they really expecting an identical experience?

Dayparting allows businesses to create an audio experience that appeals to the particular customer at the particular time they walk through the doors.

Interested in learning more? Request a demo of Vibenomics today and learn how you can start creating on-brand music and messaging for your in-store customers.