Jeremy Kaplan
The average person interacts with some form of packaging every day. Packaging is so pervasive in our lives we seldom think about the impact it has or can have. Everything from fast food wrappers and bags to shrink wrap, gift wrap and more are types of packing. Understanding the potential impact of packaging can be helpful for businesses, especially small businesses. Below are five tips that can benefit any business looking to better package their products and better build their customer base at the same time.
The Right Package for the Right Product
We have all encountered, getting a package in the mail we were excited about and being almost unable to get into it. Oversized boxes, yards of wrapping paper or bubble wrap and other supplies that were bulky and unnecessary for the product. While annoying for the consumer, it can be a waste of money and valuable resources for a business. For small businesses where every resource is important, it pays to be mindful or preventing waste.
Include the Business Card
In a world where every company wants and needs to stand out, it’s important for businesses to be memorable not only to potential customers but to existing customers. This can be as simple as including a business card with all orders that reminds customers of your website and other vital information. Most business card suppliers allow printing on both sides of a business card, take advantage of this and use the other side of the card to print a message.
Don’t Forget to Say Thank You
Customers want to feel that someone appreciates their business. Consider ways to say thank you with your packaging. A popular way to do this is to include a postcard with a few lines and sometimes a coupon code to thank your customers for their repeat business. Other creative ideas for including thank yous include short handwritten notes in packaging and stickers.
Invest in your Packaging
This is a big one, especially for small businesses. Gone are the days of gathering friends and family in the garage to pack orders for small businesses. A great way to work smarter not harder is to invest in packaging machines to streamline your processes and minimize human error.
Besides packaging machines putting thought and care into packing materials can improve customer experience and encourage them to buy from you again. Unboxing videos and blogs are hugely popular. In these videos and blogs, people discuss the quality of packaging, the use of high-quality bubble wraps, coordinating wrapping papers, and including personalized notes or postcards. Customers pay attention to these things should business owners should too.
Consider Innovation in Packaging
Innovation in packaging is a multi-million dollar business that spans across almost industry imaginable. Everything from pharmaceuticals, luxury brands, food, water, and wine. There are conferences, classes, and other gatherings that focus solely on what’s new and upcoming in packaging. While it’s unnecessary to spend too much time or revenue on packaging innovation, it is important to keep an ear to the ground on what’s popular and what’s possible.
