Success! A customer visited your parts website, liked what they saw, and made a purchase. You’ll soon fulfill their order, package it, and ship it out. All that’s left is to hope they’re happy enough to shop with you the next time they need to buy.
But will they even remember you or your brand? By adding a little flare to your packaging, you can remind customers about your parts website when their ordered part arrives on their doorstep.
Does it actually work, though? Look at some of these stats surrounding how important your packaging is:
- 72% of Americans claim that product packaging influences their buying decisions. (IPSOS)
- 30% of businesses report an increase in revenue after updating their packaging. (Packaging of the World)
- Sellers who use premier or branded packing see 30% of their customers return to make another purchase. (Dotcom Distribution)
Introduce Your Brand
Isn’t the entire end goal about helping customers remember your brand? The straightforward and professional approach to this is to do just that—show off your parts website.
#1. Business cards – Do you have business cards for your parts website? This is one of the easiest things you can do to show your customer that there’s a person behind the computer screen. It also makes it easy for them to contact you in case they have questions or concerns and, as a result, helps you build trust with your customers. You can even write something personal like “thank you!” or “Questions? Call me!” on the back of the card.
#2. Professional packing slip – It’s standard to include a packing slip with your shipments, and 63% of people want one. Instead of a plain version with barebones order details, you can create a version with your logo in the corner. By the way, shipping is really easy to do if you have shipping management software like the USPS shipping feature on the RevolutionParts platform. It gives your parts website some authority as a professional parts seller.
Slip in a Little Gift
What’s more exciting than free things? Your customers will remember the thrill of excitement when they realize they’d gotten a little freebie. Of course, this can add cost to your sale, so you must be careful about implementing your strategy.
#3. A coupon – How about a promo code for a discount on their next order? We all know that customers like saving money, and 37% of people say they would like to see a coupon included in their package. Including a discount encourages them to shop with you again next time. Click here to get some coupon ideas!
#4. Something small – Perhaps you want to try tossing something small, like a pen or bumper sticker, into each shipment. You can order these things in bulk for fairly cheap but can remind customers about their purchase. They may just think about your parts website every time they use that pen! It’s a fantastic way to stay at the forefront of their mind.
#5. Something special – You can reward customers with something a little more substantial for high-value orders. How about a T-shirt or license plate frame? This can also encourage a word-of-mouth promotion if your customer wears that T-shirt around… which can be a powerful way to let others know that you’re online and ready to sell them the parts they need.
WOW Them With The Packaging
How about making an impression before they even open the box? Even though the customer has already completed a purchase with you, the arrival of their package cements the deal and leaves a final impression on them.
#6. Professional shipping label – Similar to a nice-looking packing slip, you can also make your label stand out. It doesn’t have to be anything extreme. Something as straightforward as your logo can add a nice touch. Again, this is easy to set up when you have shipping management software like ShipStation or ShipRush.
#7. Slap on a sticker – Spice up that plain brown box with a splash of color. You can order stickers with your logo for fairly cheap. They’re fast to apply, so you don’t need to worry about adding time to your shipping process, but they’re an easy and effective way to stand out. Check out Uline.com to see some options.
#8. Colored tape – How often have you ordered from Amazon.com? If you’ve noticed, they get fancy with the tape and don’t just use a standard packaging tape. It’s their way of instantly standing out from other types of packaging. While you don’t need to go as far as custom-branded tape, there are plenty of places to buy colored tape (again, like Uline), at least. Tape your packages with your brand colors, or change it up to match the season. (Like red/white/blue for the 4th of July and red/green for Christmas).
#9. Custom-designed box – Although it can be a pricier option, you can order custom-branded boxes to make your shipment instantly recognizable. You can always use custom boxes for high-order shipments but stick to standard packaging when a customer is only spending a few dollars.
Add a Touch of Personality
#10. “Thank you!” – A handwritten note adds a special touch to your packaging. Customers see you as a human being who took the time to write out a note. Whether you write it on a business card, on the packing slip, or straight on the box itself, a quick “thanks!” can bring a smile to your customer’s face.
#11. A short note – How about adding an additional slip of paper with a special thank you to your customer? This doesn’t have to be handwritten, and you don’t have to create a new one each time. Type it up once, print out a stack, and add one to the box along with the packing slip. Just write a few sentences thanking the customer for choosing you, inviting them to contact you with questions or give some feedback about their experience.
Bottom Line
Customer loyalty and repeat customers can hugely influence your business’s success, so this is an easy way to remind customers that it was YOU who sold them that part. It was YOU who gave them a smooth and enjoyable customer experience.
Of course, many of these options involve a little cost, whether money or time. But loyal and repeat customers can become the core of your customer base and a reliable source for sales.
You can also make a profit by shipping OEM parts. Download our free guide How to Profit Off of Shipping OEM Parts to learn how!
