Thinking Outside the “Box”: How to Optimize Buyer Retention with Improved Packaging

25th Oct 2018 –
One way to stand out, be seen and remembered, is to use custom product packaging to add value to your products.
Once you’ve overcome that hurdle, take a look at your:
Not only will they buy from you again, it’s easier to get them to do so, and they spend on average 67% more than first time buyers.
PPC advertisements, retargeting, SEO, content marketing, it all focuses on getting the attention of someone that’s never heard of you.
It’s unexpected, and it makes them feel important. Your customer see’s that you care about your brand and that you’ve gone the extra mile.
Inside the shoe, you can see a tag with the size – and a logo.
When you buy a pair of Nike shoes from a store, you get the shoes, with a logo on them.

By making your product feel more expensive than what your customer paid, you delight them. Plus, you make them more confident that choosing your product over your competitors was the best option.

Does your brand focus on sustainability or slow living? Keep it simple and use a plain cardboard box with your custom design printed in black.

Wait..product packaging?

Of course you don’t.

To focus on product packaging means keeping your customers loyal, and having them buy from you time and time again.
Find a customer that has a problem, put your solution in front of them, and let them do the rest.

And it’s probably where your business is missing out.

Imagine your customer has 2 instances of your product. One in a branded box, one in a plain cardboard box.
The box.
Your customer will also be delighted when they feel they got a bargain.

• Increase the perceived value of your product
• Ensure your brand name stays in your customer’s mind
• Activate your customer to stay engaged with your brand

And as you walk out of the Nike store (with the logo above the entrance) you’re carrying your new purchase inside a plastic bag with a logo.
Competition is fierce, you don’t need to be reminded about that.
But a consistent brand experience is more than just throwing logos on everything.

Custom packaging increases your branding strength.

So, consider this for a moment:

Your customer would (more than likely) put a higher value on the one with the custom packaging.
88% of online buyers do their research before buying something online.

This means that every single person that buys from you will touch, see, feel hold and interact with your product packaging.
But these buyers will only buy from again if you’ve provided them with a buying experience that’s out of this world.
They’ll do this before even seeing what they paid for.
Good product packaging comes in many shapes and forms. Obviously, form must follow function.
Anyone that’s done any kind of marketing can tell you that most strategies are focused on getting new customers.
Why?
Product packaging is the only piece of marketing space that reaches 100% of your customers.
There’s no point using a certain kind of packaging for aesthetic purposes if it doesn’t hold your product secure.
If you’re able to provide that same buying experience to that customer that you provided to your influencer, you’ll have made a loyal follower.

As you’ve seen, using branded packaging will not only add value, but it will ensure that your name stays in your customers head long after the transaction is complete.
What’s not to love about that?!
Buyer retention has always been an overlooked part of marketing.

Product packaging and the user experience

We’ve all had those cheap, impulsive one-off eBay or Amazon buys, only for the product to arrive in a plain cardboard box and wrapped in bubble wrap.
Imagine a customer buys a product from you on the recommendation of an influencer.

And what since front and centre in an unboxing video?
The fact is that people who have bought from you in the past are 27% more likely to buy from you again.
And when a customer is loyal, they buy from you again.
The branding is strong and the brand experience is consistent. What’s in the middle of this branding experience?
Because their branding is strong. Their logos are everywhere, tone of voice is consistent and the visual design is engaging.
Do you remember your last good experience through Tiffany or Nordstrom?

With a few dozen, hundred, or even thousands of loyal brand advocates, you can sit back and enjoy the benefits marketing that almost takes care of itself!
If reactivating buyers for a second purchase is often overlooked, using quality packaging to improve buyer retention is unheard of.

Product reviews & unboxing videos

If you’re interested in designing your own product packaging, there’s nothing stopping you.
This echoes the ‘form follows function’ principle. Make sure your packaging does the job it’s designed to do, first. Only then think about design. If you’re reselling shoes that are already in a box, consider something like a branded poly mailer bag.
Brands like these echo their branding on to their product packaging and the result is a consistent buying experience.
Custom packaging increases the perceived value of your product.
Do you remember the name of that company?

If you’re using influencer marketing as a way to get your product seen, then branded boxes should be high on your priority list.
On the shoe box are even more logos.
Straight away, that customer is already more experienced with your brand than, say, a customer that found you via a Google search.
More and more YouTubers, influencers and vloggers are using ‘unboxing videos’ as a way to showcase not just a product, but the initial product experience.

So what does good product packaging look like?

Use Packhelp’s custom packaging designer to create product packaging that your customers will remember you buy!

Which one is your customer going to feel is worth more?
This person has seen your unboxing video and, as a result, is more aware of what buying from you should be like.

Design assets & branding

Of course you do.

Brand image & morals

Their branding isn’t strong. It’s pretty much non-existent, to be honest.

Product dimensions

The value of your product is not the same as your product price.

Over to you

If you’ve already got strong branding and access to your design elements, you’re halfway there. Be sure to use these assets in your packaging design.
There are many more benefits to using custom packaging, but these points go a long way in making your buyer stay loyal to your brand.
Inside the box is tissue paper with a logo.
And the first way to do that is with product packaging.
These online buyers will base their decisions according to many other user reviews, but also unboxing videos.
Hanging on the side of the shoe is another tag with the logo.
This, in turn, increases the likelihood that they’ll buy from you again.