Product Packaging for Customer Appeal Incentivizes Sales at Little Cost to You

Product Packaging for Customer Appeal Incentivizes Sales at Little Cost to You

When deciding how to present your business’ offerings, a "packaging approach," where you sell an item or service grouped with other complementary items or services is an effective method of making sales. Packaged items or services often are perceived as - and indeed are - more valuable to the customer than a single item or service, making them a more enticing offer. The goal is to add significant value and appeal to an offering with things of little or no cost to you, so as to maximize both customer appeal and your profit.

Types of package add-ons

Much of what you can give to customers for "free" in their package represent opportunities for them to use your product or experience your service more or in a deeper way, providing more reliance on and interaction with your brand. The benefit of that more in-depth involvement with your business is greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, which in turn means more repeat customers. (I’ll reiterate my mantra here: It is far more cost-effective to retain a customer than to court a new one...)

Tangibles - these are things that can be perceived or directly experienced by the customer which include:

• Related "extras" - Include an attachment, accessory, storage case or cover with the purchase of a product. For services, extras could be "priority" or access to more types of support, a yearly assessment or progress report.
• Refills - If your basic product comes with 6 of something (let’s say razor blades or coffee pods), throwing in a couple extra could sweeten the offer. To bonus a service, you could add an extra session, extend the length of sessions, or extend the sessions over a longer period of time.
• Resources you already have - Think about the valuable informational and time-saving resources you’ve already compiled to share with customers. Compile templates, how-tos, recipes, tips, best practices... into a useful "strategy guide" for customers.
• Discounts on other related items and/or services - Here is an opportunity to incentivize an upsell to an already engaged customer. Offering a discount on items the buyer may need or want to try related to the current purchase may help you make an additional sale.
• Training/coaching - The product or service may require the buyer to learn how to get the most from it. Including a lesson (or beginner’s class) with a new instrument is an example of this. Alternatively, a discount could be offered on the price of an instrument when a music class is purchased.
• Bonuses for upgrades - Determine what action you would like to encourage your customers to take and offer an appealing bonus for acting. Want them to put their makeup order on auto-renew? Offer a compelling gift if they do. Want them to continue after their first year of your lawn care service? Give them a loyal customer discount or a free additional service.
• Samples - This is a sure way to get the rest of your product or service line experienced by customers. Offer samples of your other products so that customers can get a taste of what else is available. A free trial of a different service - or a limited-time upgrade to their existing service - can incentivize them to make the arrangement permanent.
• Buy one, get one free - Giving customers two for the price of one ups their perception of the value of the offering, while it may cost you very little to double the amount of what you provide. This is a particularly useful tactic when you happen to have an abundance of inventory on a particular item.
• Your time - Time is a highly valuable resource due to its finite nature so offer it as a bonus prudently. Offering one-on-one time to customers is a highly motivating bonus but remember that even a little of your time is precious; offer it as an incentive in small doses so as not to overextend yourself or your high-level employees.

Intangibles - these are things that leave a strong impression on the customer and contribute to the overall perceived value but are of ambiguous and variable value which include:

• Satisfaction guarantee - Offering to do everything possible to ensure a customer is satisfied with their interaction with your business is a highly motivating factor in customer decision-making. The fact that you care that they are satisfied assuages a fear that they could be making a mistake by purchasing from you. Do consult a legal expert to help you craft a guarantee that is clear and fair to both you and to customers.
• Extended warranty - Likewise, your willingness to back your product’s quality and performance above and beyond speaks volumes to your customer about the quality and your company’s reputation.
• Bring a friend for free - This incentive of free admission is enormously inviting to your customer while managing to get a new set of eyes and ears on what you offer.
• Lifetime access to resources - The fact that resources to which a customer has access won’t go away when their engagement with you ends is highly motivating - and it costs you nothing to leave them with the ability to refer to them in the future.
• Community - Social media has allowed for companies to foster community around their brand. Access to "customer-only" groups for sharing and communicating about your goods and/or services is highly appealing and valuable to customers, while giving you an engaged community in which to introduce and talk about your offerings.

Packaging your offerings is a highly effective means to incentivize sales. As is evident, most of what you can add to your product packaging is beneficial to both your customers and to you. When you package for customer appeal, sales are easier to close.

How do you package your offerings to maximize customer appeal?