The importance of customer experience
It’s going to be an odd Christmas for everyone this year, just to top off the full 2020 experience. It’s been a tough time – we’ve had to grasp at joy wherever we can. I know that I’ve been appreciating the simple things in life a lot more than I used to… getting to know neighbours whilst clapping for the NHS on the doorstep, the random “hellos” from strangers on lockdown walks around the block and the joy of hearing children return on their school commutes, filling the empty pavements with laughter and life once more.
But it seems we still need our retail fixes too – the nation turned to online shopping to fill the gap of in-store retail experiences with a vengeance. How many times have you read or heard the phrase “unprecedented” demand this year?
Not even a world-wide pandemic can take away the thrill of buying and receiving a shiny new item. It’s been the height of excitement to receive an overly zealous courier knock at the door and find a parcel sitting on the doormat as they respectfully back away…
At Macfarlane Packaging we’ve always talked about the importance of customer experience in online retail – in the absence of an in-store encounter, your packaging is there to convey the brand experience to your customer. From the moment you see that parcel on the doorstep, the anticipation of unwrapping it begins… it’s not just our own direct anticipation either, YouTube is full of unboxing videos, there are even channels dedicated to it.
What makes a great unboxing experience?
Making it easy for your customers is the first rule – easy to open, easy to remove from the packaging, easy to recycle. We’ve all broken out in a sweat wrestling with packaging, attacking it with whatever comes to hand from the kitchen drawer then wondering how we’ll manage to accommodate the copious amounts of packaging in a bin that gets emptied once every two weeks… it does somewhat detract from the overall unboxing experience.
Give them something to smile about with some informative or quirky in-box messaging –tell them about your brand values or ethos. One of my favourite unboxing experiences was with FEELUNIQUE, I remember pulling back the box tear strip to reveal a message that read “almost there….” It really made me smile. A printed message on the inside of packaging can delight customers unexpectedly.
Presentation is everything, it reflects the value of your brand. When you spend a lot of money on an item, you want to feel like your money has been well spent.
Convey that in your unboxing experience. Investigate attractive protective products – coloured tissue or interlayered paper protection like Geami is a great way to make your products feel a little more “high-end”.
Macfarlane Packaging work with clients to help improve their customer experience, why not contact us today to find out how we can help?
