Custom packaging is becoming increasingly more important to eCommerce businesses for generating positive brand loyalty among customers. While packaging plays an important role in how customers perceive your brand, it can also help to create amazing customer experiences.
If you’re willing to invest in custom packaging, you should think about how to leverage it in every aspect of the customer experience.
At Packlane, we believe good things come in custom packages. Whether it’s a custom mailer box or a custom shipping box, your packaging can make a world of difference for your customer.
Sure, your packaging is a vessel that helps get your product from point A to point B but when it’s delivered to your customer, will they have a positive experience with it?
Think about the last time you had a great customer experience with a business. You’ve probably gone out of your way to tell your friends about the experience.
Conversely, you’ve probably told them about a terrible customer experience you’ve had.
Which experience do you want your customer to have when they receive your product?
Going out of your way to create an amazing customer experience will lead to free word-of-mouth marketing from your customers. And at the end of the day, that means more sales and more revenue!
In order to create amazing customer experiences with your custom packaging, here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why customer experience matters
- How to design custom packaging
- How to create an amazing unboxing experience
- Examples of amazing custom packaging
Why customer experience matters
Customer experience will have a major impact on your business. It makes sense to spend time strategizing over creating an experience your customers will remember and tell their friends and colleagues about.
Companies that focus on customer experience have higher satisfaction levels among customers and this, in part, helps reduce churn and increase revenue.
In a report published in 2018 by the Temkin Group entitled ROI of Customer Experience, 88% of consumers who rate a company’s customer experience as “very good” are likely to recommend the company, compared with only 15% of those who rate a company’s customer experience as “very poor.”
Multiple factors impact the customer experience throughout every step of your customer’s journey. Some of these include awareness, discovery, service, and advocacy.
For eCommerce businesses, two of the most important touchpoints that help create the customer experience are product and packaging.
From the moment your customer orders your product, the customer experience begins. Do you want to deliver your product in packaging that’s boring?
How excited do you get when you receive a brown cardboard box in the mail? Probably not as excited as when you receive a custom branded package.
And there’s no reason not to take advantage of that excitement as you’ll soon see when your customer unboxes your product.
How to design a unique custom packaging experience
Let’s not jump the gun though. Before your customer can unbox your product, you’ll need to create your custom packaging. Luckily, creating custom packaging is easier than ever.
Since eCommerce businesses don’t have the opportunity for customers to get their hands on a product before purchase, creating unique custom packaging is vital.
Not only can your custom packaging give your customer a positive first impression, it’s a great way to market your product along the journey from your business to your customer’s home.
Choosing the right box is one of the first steps to getting started with custom packaging. At Packlane, we offer three box styles. Mailer boxes, shipping boxes, and folding cartons.
Mailer and shipping boxes are popular options because they not only offer fantastic product protection, they allow you to ship your product directly to your customer. Learn more about shipping your product and growing your business.
Once you know which box style you need, it’s as simple as using Packlane’s online box designer to create your packaging. You can design and edit your custom packaging in just minutes with little to no technical knowledge.
Just choose the size of your box, the box material, and the quantity. You’ll receive an instant quote and can design both the exterior and interior of your box using vector and high-resolution artwork. You’re able to add your logo or text and adjust your color all in the builder.
But if you don’t have time to design your box or the design skills, here are some helpful tips to find a designer for your custom packaging.
The unboxing experience
Now that you’ve created your custom packaging, it’s time to deliver the wow factor. The minute your customer opens your package, you want to ensure it will be an experience they won’t forget.
What’s inside your box will have a major impact on the customer experience. Think of small touchpoints to include in your box that will leave a lasting impression.
If you’re worried that adding extra items to your packaging will increase shipping costs, here are 3 tips to save money on shipping.
Examples are handwritten notes for customers, free stickers, small trial size products (cosmetic companies will often include a small sample of their products).
Using custom packing tape is another way to add a nice element to custom packaging and one more way to engage your customers with brand awareness.
Finally, give your customers a reason to share the unboxing experience. Create custom hashtags customers can use when sharing posts on social media to encourage sharing their unboxing experience.
Or use giveaways as an incentive to share the amazing customer experience your custom packaging has created. Learn more tips on how to increase sales with the unboxing experience.
Watch this video of Sundaily, a custom skincare company, talking about their experience with custom packaging.
Examples of amazing custom packaging
Still not sure if custom packaging will help create an amazing customer experience. Check out these beautiful custom boxes for inspiration on how your custom packaging could look.
Kookaburra Coffee uses dark and vibrant colors to make their box pop.
Sunski sunglasses uses a bright and cheery yellow to remind you of how their sunglasses can protect you from the sun.
Yes To, a cruelty-free skincare company, uses their packaging to drive home the message that their products are 95% natural and 100% real.
Final Thoughts
Custom packaging will play an important part in both product protection and brand perception.
Customer experience is, perhaps, the most important element in driving repeat sales and loyal customers to return to your brand and your product time-after-time.
Creating custom packaging that delivers an amazing customer experience is just one more step to helping drive sales and revenue. With the right design and an unboxing experience that delivers delight, your custom boxes can be more than just a pretty package.
Now that you’ve considered custom packaging as an important part of your business, turn to the experts to learn more about eCommerce order fulfillment.
Request a quote today to find out how to continue to grow your business while still saving time and money.
Mark Wilson is a creative writer at Packlane, an online printing company that makes the process of ordering custom boxes and packaging easy and affordable for brands of any size. Packlane offers low minimums, fast turnaround, full customization options, and free online proofs in 3D.
You’ve done everything by the book. Your Kickstarter campaign is almost ready to launch.
You made a great product. Built an audience. Set up a campaign page.
But how do you ship it?
We put this checklist together to help you get started. It's free.
