A little hardware muzak - Stores set mood with tunes interspersed with promos - Brief Article

Home Channel News, August 6, 2001 by Brae Canlen

Stores set mood with tunes interspersed with promos

NATIONAL REPORT -- Ever hear of Fatboy Slim, the Chemical Brothers or DJ Icey? Chances are most dealers haven't, but that doesn't matter. What's more important is their customers' musical tastes, which could run in the direction of "EuroStyle," an ultrahip mix of "hypnotic-techno" sounds available to Muzak subscribers.

Retailers have a number of options when it comes to music for their stores and telephone systems. Some rely on local radio stations, while others pay for a service such as Muzak. Although Muzak isn't the only purveyor of programmed tunes, Do it Best and TruServ both offer programs through the Fort Mill, S.C.-based provider. Co-op members can select from a variety of plans that includes generic or customized marketing messages. Some dealers choose to create their own music-and-message CDs, while others pay the local cable company for a musical feed. And then there are those who like the sounds of silence.

At Fillinger Ace Hardware in Milwaukee, callers on hold might hear the theme from "Shaft" or a Miller Lite commercial, depending on what the local oldies station is playing at the moment. But on the retail floor, storeowner J.R. Fillinger prefers to play nothing.

"It's too distracting," he said. "My [employees] end up listening to the music instead of the customers."

Ace Hardware offers a taped music and marketing program though a satellite feed, Fillinger said, but he believes silence also prevents employee bickering over what radio station to play.

Relying on radio music is a risky proposition, according to Muzak representative Matt Greven. Home Depot and Lowe's spend more money on radio advertising in a month than many hardware stores generate in revenue all year, he claimed.

"It's not in your best interest to have a Lowe's commercial playing on your telephone line," Greven tells independents. He also asks: "Would you let the manager of Lowe's walk through your store with a sandwich sign advertising his weekly specials?"

Scare tactics aside, Muzak allows dealers to court their customers with a variety of contemporary and classic tunes. The peppy elevator music that became synonymous with Muzak is long gone, according to Greven.

"That was a brief period in our history," he noted. In its place are 21 musical collections with names like "Urban Adult," "All That Jazz" and "Latino Pop."

For $45 a month, dealers get a satellite download that can feed both the phone and the audio system. Different channels can be programmed into a day's schedule to suit a changing clientele. The country music that greeted the morning contractors may not be suitable for the office crowd. Taking it to the next level, dealers can intersperse music with prerecorded messages: Do it Best's program features more than 40 DIY tips, product suggestions, seasonal reminders and even a help-wanted ad. And if those messages aren't specific enough, Muzak will record customized messages for individual stores.

Some dealers have figured out how to do this themselves. Bruce Ellis, owner of Do it Centers in Roswell and Artesia, N.M., hired a local radio personality to record 30 short messages on a CD. Using a Walkman he hooks into his phone system, Ellis plays the CD over and over. (No one should be on hold for more than 30 seconds, he reckons.) Callers listen to messages about store hours, weekend events, promotional items and whatever else Ellis wants to highlight. Every three or four months, he bums a new CD.

Virgil Cox also uses a recognizable "voice artist" from radio and TV. Callers to Cox Hardware and Lumber in Houston hear music and messages about the store's Internet catalog, newproduct offerings, and services.