Help Your Customers Unbox Happiness
The best part of shopping online is that when the product finally arrives, it’s like receiving a present from your past self to your present self. It’s even better when you forget that you ordered something, until you check the mailbox or your front porch.
Ordering items from a small business is different from ordering from a giant e-commerce website (You know, the one that sounds like the world’s largest rainforest).
As a small business owner, you’ve packed a bit of your heart and soul in that box, with the product of course. You want the customer to fall in love with what they’re decided to invest in, and unboxing is the chance to sweep them off their feet.
The customer who has ordered from your business is also a customer to many other businesses. Hence, the unboxing experience of your product needs to be memorable.
Since you or your team gets to pack each product individually by hand, you have everything in your power to make this happen. You want to give customers more than just a product, but an experience.
Your customer may even decide to record or photograph the unboxing experience for social media, and that means more potential customers. Even in the offline world, your customer may share their new purchase with a loved one and remark on the packaging and other items that added to their experience of opening up your product.
There are many ways to enhance the unboxing experience for your customer, these following points will put you off to a good start.
Choose reusable or biodegradable packaging
Show your customers that you not just make things, but also encourage reusing things. California lifestyle brand, Botanic and Luxe re-uses packaging from their suppliers for their online orders, with an explanation on a card included. Their website also includes directions on how to recycle their products. Alongside removing a customer’s pain point, your business should also address the bigger growing global concern of what we’re leaving behind for future generations.
Pivoting to sustainable packaging will involve some research, and considering many options because the packaging needs to suit the tone of your brand, and ultimately protect the product.
For food-based companies looking for sustainable food packaging, check out noissue.
Make keepsakes, not clutter
I cannot tell you how many cute boxes I keep from packages I’ve opened, I display them around my office and room. They subconsciously remind me of the brand I got them from, even if the product is nowhere in my sight.
Your packaging needs to be sleek or eye-catching enough to appeal to both clutterbugs and minimalists to hold onto it and find a space for it in their houses. Think of the many ways your packaging can be reused and include a note (handwritten is even better) about the ways they can be reused or upcycled. Customers can even use your packaging as gift boxes or packets to eliminate the need for gift wrap!
Another type of keepsake I collect is thank you cards that are art pieces. Give your thank you cards a personal touch with a handwritten message. If you’d rather have them printed, have them carry a QR code that leads to your website or Google Maps site to leave a review. Maybe even use that space to showcase printed works from local and independent artists (with their permission).
From my print shop, I handwrite my thanks on the back of this specific design that I’ve made.
Stock up on stickers!
I am a big believer in working with what you have. There’s no point in stretching beyond what your capital allows. When you’re just starting out, investing in customized packaging can be difficult with minimum order requirements and costs. In this case, stickers help your brand make an impression that sticks (get it?) despite the conventional packaging.
Check out Sticker Canada’s vinyl stickers along with their other offerings. They price match and offer free shipping. Speaking of free, you can also include free stickers with your product, to make your customer feel like a winner when they unbox your product!
The Gift of Giveaways
Who doesn’t love opening up a package to find a complimentary item? (Another reason to order from Sticker Canada? You sometimes get free stickers with the one you ordered). In this world of pericetags, people feel a burst of positive emotions when they are given something with no charge at all. People associate this positive uplift with your brand and are likely to order from you again, subsequent freebie or not. Of course, once again work within reason, include a giveaway only if your inventory allows for it. Or if you notice a customer starting to become a regular one, you can include a freebie.
You can also include a card with a special discount code that they can use on their next order, or have a friends-and-family giveaway discount code.
Showcase your brand
Remember to keep the customer experience centred around your brand. If the customer plans to reuse your packaging, use your free stickers on their laptop, or post on social media about the freebie you gave them, ensure the product in question carries your brand name or brand colours.
Look at these cheerful subscription boxes by PYM. The brand colours are all over the boxes, and sort of uplift your mood, which is exactly what the product does.
Even though the customer has invested in your brand by placing an order, packaging and packing needs as much love and care as the product you’re delivering. It can speak volumes about your brand. The customer experience doesn’t end with the customer cashing out your products in their online shopping cart. The emotions your brand offers when opening up a product can build your brand’s identity and drive customer loyalty. It pays off when you make the unboxing experience a part of your brand strategy. Again, work within your means but don’t let your creativity be boxed up!
