Spend hours considering your products and how to increase your sales. But do you pay as much attention to packaging? It seems that for online trading, product packaging is the last thing to think about. After all, your product does not stand on the shelves of stores, where you need to compete for the attention of customers. It is tempting not to waste time packing, but to send the order in a simple cardboard box when sending the goods.
This approach is fundamentally wrong. Yes, the interaction of customers with the brand begins in your online store, but emotions manifest themselves completely when the product is in the hands of the customer. And packaging is an integral part of those sensations that affect our behavior much deeper than rational factors. If you ignore the packaging, then your store will be a little less effective.
Create positive emotions
Experience of using a product is a whole range of sensations that customers experience when they come into contact with a product. It all starts with advertising and continues until the buyer gets to know the site, gets feedback and actually buys. At each of these stages, the image of the brand is formed in the head of a person. And packaging is an integral part of the formation of perception.
The first real familiarity with the product happens when a person takes something that has not yet been unpacked, which has previously seen only virtual. This is a great opportunity to earn customer loyalty already at the packaging stage, You should not declare that the brand is premium or promise pleasant emotions from a hand-made product, and then simply place the order in a cardboard box, wrap it with tape and send it. This will allow you to place your logo and distinctive colors on the envelope so that it guarantees you greater recognition and advertising.
Tell your story
The trend of the last decade in marketing is storytelling. Or just a story. For business, for a product, for you – anything that evokes emotions and is remembered for a long time. Buyers, especially Generation Z, like to know that they have purchased not only a T-shirt or perfume, but that behind the product stands a story with real people and their own characteristics that distinguish it from others.
Customers who place an order know part of your story. They must have read the “About us” section, the product description, and maybe even asked a few questions about the store. With the packaging you have the opportunity to tell them even more.
Imagine a man who just got an order from your store. At this point, you fully possess his attention. If you add gratitude to a beautifully executed card or other pleasant or useful surprise, they will definitely pay attention to it. Use this as an opportunity to shape the desired image, increase customer loyalty and ultimately persuade them to order constantly from your store.
You don’t have to use words. Use visual storytelling – that is, reinforce the brand image and history by selecting packaging materials and additional investments. For example, if you position yourself as an environmentally friendly business, wrap your product in recycled paper or add plant seeds as a compliment.
Your packaging is a blank piece of paper that you can use to tell the story of your brand.
Answers to the following questions will help you decide on your packing style:
- What are the core values of my brand?
- What will find the greatest response from customers – complex packaging or minimalism?
- What materials are suitable for my business? Which packaging is better for the more expensive and cheaper items in my store?
- Do most shoppershave specific requests, for example, to order as a gift?
- Many customers prefer packaging that they can use repeatedly, such as advertising bags with a reinforcedhandle.
The packaging may not attract as much attention as the product itself or its price, but it is still an important gear in the marketing mechanism. As well as helping your product stand out from others, great packaging also serves as a marketing tool, helping you to mention on social media and improve shopping with your business.
