[NL] What are the benefits of personalised packaging?

Packaging is the first physical point of contact between companies and consumers. This is precisely why they do so much more than protect products. They also function as a powerful marketing tool for your brand. With personalised packaging, you not only tell your customers a story, you also reinforce your brand’s identity… which offers numerous advantages. Curious about the benefits of personalised packaging? Let’s dive into the details together.

1. Why choose personalised packaging?

Acquiring new customers… It is a headache for many companies. ^Research1 shows that it is 5 to 25 times more expensive to bring in new customers than to retain existing ones. Moreover, existing customers are not only more likely to buy your products, they are also more likely to emerge as brand ambassadors. And you know: what the heart is full of… So these customers provide a lot of free advertising to friends, family and colleagues.

Statistics show that personalised packaging encourages repeat purchases. Management consulting firm Bain & Company states that a 5% improvement in customer loyalty triggers a 25% increase in sales. Designing and introducing personalised packaging will indeed cost you some money, but the investment is worth it and will pay off, they argue.

Designing personalised packaging is very simple. For example, use a carrier bag in the colour of your corporate identity and you will immediately see a positive effect on your customer experience.

2. How does personalised packaging boost purchase behaviour?

How do you make sure consumers get to know your brand? You do that by making your brand stand out, preferably everywhere. Packaging that stands out is then a handy and inexpensive tool. In any case, it is cheaper than an expensive media campaign on TV or radio.

Often, offering a great product is not enough. The customer wants to be blown away by a creative, fresh and above all unforgettable concept. If your package looks like any other package, the customer is not going to remember it.

Our tip: offer the customer something he has never seen before. Be different from the competition. Only then will you leave a lasting impression and reach ‘top of mind awareness‘. Personalised packaging is a simple and indispensable tool for this. Because there are a lot of marketing techniques behind personalising packaging.

► Perception makes the difference

Research shows that 72% of consumers automatically associate beautiful packaging with a quality brand. With personalised packaging, you show that as a company you are proud of your brand and that you take the trouble to ensure a beautiful finish. Give your boxes or carrier bags your own touch and you will find that trust in your brand increases.

In another research³, an interesting observation appears about the relationship between packaging and customer perception. Products with premium packaging are considered as much as 45% more valuable than those with generic packaging. Moreover, premium packaging receives a higher trust score than generic packaging.

Personalised packaging provides just such a premium feeling and creates a higher product value in the process. Therefore, it is best to opt for appropriate visual packaging designs, paying extra attention to an excellent unboxing experience. After all, quality and trust create a positive perception of your product.

► To recognise is to acknowledge

If you think about it, we know some brands much better than others. For example, we instantly recognise some brands by their logo, house colour or packaging design. A well-known example of packaging design is the Apple brand. Apple designs its packaging simply, cleanly and directly in a minimalist white box for all products. So you don’t always have to use bright colours to stand out. Apple is just proving that understated but stylish packaging can set it apart. Easily recognisable packaging is an effective marketing tool to stand out, get noticed and enhance your brand identity.

► Colours and emotions through personalised packaging

Humans are emotional beings and our emotions also play a major role in purchasing decisions. Packaging can therefore be an important subconscious trigger. Do customers experience a positive emotion with your personalised packaging? Then you are planting the seeds for their next purchase. Colour psychology plays an important role here.

For instance, did you know that we subconsciously associate certain colours with specific emotions? For example, red represents passion and sociability, while blue inspires calmness and confidence. So choose a colour that consumers may associate your house brand or products with.

As the famous saying goes, “A picture says more than a thousand words”. The image on your packaging can also evoke a certain mood in customers. For example, a brand that wants to convey a ‘relaxed feeling’ uses an image of a meditating person in a serene blue environment.

► Anticipation and luxury packaging

Personalising packaging goes even beyond perception, recognisability or colour. In fact, anticipation is also an important aspect of personalised packaging. Luxury brands in particular capitalise on this for a positive customer experience. For instance, they wrap the product with gift ribbon to slightly delay the unboxing.

This makes for a slower unboxing experience, but this is how you build ‘delayed gratification’. With this, personalised luxury packaging gives a powerful emotion during unboxing, which is very different from modern ‘instant gratification’. Like Christmas morning, where a child cannot wait to finally tear open his or her Christmas presents.

Small nuance: anticipation does wonders for luxury product unboxing, but there are limits. Unnecessarily complicated packaging just backfired, with customers frustrated to open their personalised packages. As a result, you give consumers a negative experience and discourage a follow-up purchase. So always try to package in moderation.

3. Compose your own personalised packaging online

Are you looking for an overview of all types of personalised packaging? Boxes, tape or carrier bags… almost everything can be personalised and printed. Just add a pop of colour and your packaging material instantly looks much more attractive.

Personalise customised packaging here

4. Take inspiration from these examples

Not sure how to get started with personalisation? Or are you just looking for something innovative? Then get inspiration from brands that have taken personalised packaging to the next level.

► Boxes with a touch more

Everyone is familiar with the colourful packages from Zalando, Bol.com or Coolblue. Their colours and design make them stand out immediately. Other big retail companies have been following this packaging trend for years. Their brand recognition has come about in part because of their eye-catching packaging that is memorable to consumers.

► Packaging as a mirror of your personality

A customer is more likely to buy a product he feels connected to. It is therefore good to know exactly what the target audience of your company or product is. Customise your packaging based on age, gender or personality. Gender-specific packaging is a clear example of this. It uses a certain colour palette and gender-specific images and figures. And this works! Research shows that almost 37% of women are more likely to identify with gender-specific packaged products³.

► Turn your personalised packaging into a collector’s item

A lot of big brands have already taken this step and now offer their customers personalised packaging. This can be done in both targeted and non-targeted ways. You probably remember the successful Coca-Cola campaign a few years ago: everyone was looking for a bottle with their name on it. This campaign is a clear example of a non-targeted campaign. Bottle sales actually went up by 2% after years of sales declines.⁴

Nutella’s campaign probably also sounds familiar. Back then, customers could either put their own sticker with their name on a jar of chocolate spread in the shop or design a completely new concept online. This was an example of a targeted campaign. Each jar of Nutella was an original piece.

These examples show in what creative ways you can add a personal touch to your packaging. Your packaging will soon become real collectors’ items!

Sources:
¹ https://www.invespcro.com/blog/customer-acquisition-retention/
2https://www.pregis.com/globalassets/white-papers-and-case-studies/2019—updated/white-paper-parcel-packaging-impacts-perception-2019.pdf
³ www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/gender-divide-on-personalised-packaging-says-research-28-04-2014
4www.wsj.com/articles/share-a-coke-credited-with-a-pop-in-sales-1411661519

This blog article contains some AI-generated images.