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Packaging insert ideas can be hard to come up with, especially if you’re new to eCommerce or you sell a unique product. There are many options out there to choose from, but you want yours to stand out among other eCommerce stores using a similar strategy. So, what are your options? How do you give your customers that sense of importance without doing what every other company is doing?
Packaging insert ideas are a dime a dozen, but finding good ones that line up with your brand strategy can be a challenge. You could use stickers, free samples, coupons, or other items, but whatever you choose needs to align with the reputation you want your company to have.
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Let’s back up a bit. A packaging insert is a fun surprise that you can include in eCommerce orders before sending them out for delivery. These are things such as small gifts that your customer did not order and will not expect, but will be happy to receive. Packaging inserts are an important marketing strategy, and although not having them isn’t going to hurt your business, including personalized inserts in eCommerce orders can take your overall marketing strategy to the next level.
eCommerce Packaging inserts are one of the most cost-effective ways of including a personal touch to each and every package. It’s a nice way to make your customers feel valued and important to you, which is great for brand loyalty.
The goal with packaging inserts is to form deeper relationships with customers, to improve an existing customer’s loyalty to your brand and to encourage a repeat sale. The personal touch will make your customers trust you more, and they will in turn feel more comfortable buying from you again.
Additionally, receiving a fun surprise in a package could prompt people to talk about your company online, giving you some free social media promotion. That promotion could end up attracting new customers and leading to more sales, for a relatively low-cost investment on your part.
Packaging inserts come in all shapes and sizes, and the ones you choose to use could depend on the kind of business that you run. Obviously, not every option is going to work perfectly with every type of business. However, you could also choose to use more than one option, or to rotate different inserts out to keep it surprising for repeat customers.
Here’s a short list of some creative packaging insert ideas to inspire you, and to help you find the right solution for your business.
Coupons are an obvious first choice for many eCommerce businesses. After all, there isn’t much that’s better at getting customers to buy again than a discount. Including a unique discount card in the customer’s package could encourage them to make another purchase soon—especially if the coupon has an expiration date.
Who doesn’t love free stuff? Sharing product samples of other popular items could encourage the customer to purchase their own the next time they are on your website. This is a great way to get customers to buy more products from you, but it can get expensive. If you are worried about the costs of this one, you could only include free samples in orders that exceed a certain dollar amount, so you can ensure that you are only giving the samples to your most valuable customers.
People love stickers, and they can really be the gift that keeps on giving. Many people decorate laptop cases, water bottles, notebooks, and various other items with stickers, so if you have a clever design, you could take advantage of that. Including a small website URL, logo, or slogan on an otherwise cool sticker could mean that your brand gets carried around wherever that sticker goes. That’s a great organic way to increase brand awareness. Imagine how many potential customers would see a sticker on the back of a college student’s laptop!
Thank you notes are especially effective if they are handwritten. That shows a level of care and personalization that can personify your brand. People will get more of a sense of the person behind the company, instead of it just being another nameless eCommerce store. Handwritten notes can make your customers feel valuable, no matter how many other customers they assume you have.
However, things can get a little difficult here if you do have a large customer base. You might be way too busy to hand-write every single note, in which case a printed card, or even a business card, could work too. That lacks the personalization of a hand-written note, but it is still better than nothing. However, if that is a concern, you may want to include another insert along with it.
Candies are a sweet way to surprise your customers when they open their package. It is a relatively inexpensive way to brighten someone’s day, and it can create a playful association for your brand. However, you should keep your inserts in line with your brand. If you sell men’s razors, candy might not be the best choice for you.
If you’re ready to outsource fulfillment to save yourself some time, you might be worried about how you’re going to keep up your packaging insert strategy. Well, fear not! Modern fulfillment centers utilize a strategy known as “pick and pack” to fulfill eCommerce orders.
Pick and pack works by keeping everything separate in the warehouse until an order is made. Workers then pick the individual items off the shelves to pack them into the same box. No matter how many things a customer orders, their products should arrive in a single box. Since the fulfillment center workers would already be picking different items off the shelves to pack together, it would be no problem to have them include the packaging inserts too.
Outsourcing any part of your business can be a challenge when you’ve spent so much time in control of every aspect. However, at a certain point, you have to accept that you need to let go a bit in order to grow. R+L Global Logistics is here to make that process easier for you. Our pick and pack fulfillment services are second to none, and we will treat your business as if it was our own. Fulfillment is an important part of running an eCommerce store, and we can say with confidence that we will not let you down. We also know how to reduce eCommerce shipping costs.
When you’re ready to implement any of these packaging insert ideas in your fulfillment strategy, give us a call at (866) 989-3082! We can help you personalize your orders with no additional effort on your part with our streamlined pick and pack fulfillment strategy.
