Brands can boost customer loyalty with personalized packaging. This article describes how technology, storytelling, and market segmentation enhance engagement and foster trust
Making a close connection with customers is becoming increasingly important for all brands. Studies continue to point toward customers becoming more loyal the more a brand reaches out to them on a personal level. Here's a look at the different ways personalization layers can be added to the packaging of foods and other products.
Using Technology to Get More Personal
It's difficult to imagine personalized packaging on a mass scale until factoring in modern technology. Without databases and other digital platforms, such a feat seems impossible. But the convergence of several digital advances has led to a world where it's easy and seamless to track customers with elaborate data. Add machine learning into the mix and personalized packaging provides an extreme competitive edge over rivals that don't keep up with new technology.
Why the Package Must Tell a Story
One of the most subtle keys to personalization is storytelling. Engaging with people on a meaningful level requires a degree of useful content that connects similar minds. A brand has the opportunity to convey how it treats customers through storytelling on packaging. The content doesn't have to be too deep, it just needs to be a message to resonate with the consumer on an emotional level.
Consumers are most likely to have an upbeat view of a brand if it delivers personalized messages that tap into their values. The notion that the package has been customized in some way to make it special for an individual opens up channels that foster trust and loyalty. It's not necessary to make every package unique for each customer, since customers can be categorized into general market segments.
Storytelling on packaging should be somewhat concise so that all the text seems meaningful. But if there's a need to go deeper into what makes the product desirable, the packaging can provide a QR code that links to the brand's website with more extensive content. The code must be large enough for a consumer to scan it with their smartphone. Another reason to embed QR codes in packaging is to provide the shopper with coupons and other shopping choices.
Customizing for Specific Market Segments
Every market can be divided into segments that represent different groups of people with certain interests. In the food industry, for example, a producer might target a specific demographic such as 18-49 year old men and women. Within that target there are consumers who buy food according to taste.
Another segment of buyers might have stricter requirements for the food they consume, such as listing nutritional data. Then there's another segment that buys based on convenience while another segment makes pricing a top priority for purchasing decisions.
Thanks to smart technology, a brand now has the ability to communicate with each of its market segments at a low cost. Packaging designers can create different packages for each market segment with appropriate messages. The market segment that seeks nutritional value will want to see as much information as possible on the labeling about ingredients. Meanwhile, the person who is just buying food based on great taste wants to see visuals that remind them of the pleasure that flavors brings.
Planning for Personalization
A brand that wants to get more personal with its target market participants should start with investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. This software serves as a database that can connect with digital networks. It allows for a company to collect and store extensive data on customers that can be used to build one-on-one relationships.
A CRM platform is also a powerful tool to communicate directly with customers in ways they want to be reached. Adding machine learning software to the equation allows for brand managers to learn any given customer's history at a rapid pace. The CRM platform can include or integrate with an email marketing system that simplifies communication, allowing for messaging to be automated without looking generic or feeling robotic.
When a customer contacts the company for any reason, a brand representative can easily review the customer's unique profile, purchasing decisions and history of interactions. The brand can then work on building a closer relationship with the individual by learning about their interests and expectations. This engagement can lead to the brand learning the best ways to communicate with the person in the future.
Furthermore, digital technology that advances personalization can help the brand establish appropriate messages to place on packaging for each individual. The result is that the consumer feels the brand is addressing their needs directly, which contributes to long-lasting relationships.
