The Impact of On-The-Box Branding and Advertising on Customer Experience

It has been a common practice for many e-commerce businesses to sell ad space inside their shipping boxes. But only a few of them see printing outside the boxes as another opportunity. But major brands that uses this strategy prove that it can do something not only for their customers but for other retailers and organizations. Here we will discuss the wonders of branding shipping boxes and how it can be used by businesses not only to market but also to promote, send a message and most importantly, to create an experience like no other:

SENDING A MESSAGE

It is wise for a business to employ an omnichannel strategy, as it helps a lot in spreading a message to your target market quickly. But aside from your website, social media and billboard, messaging can also be done through shipping boxes. It is a good way to reach out to customers as it gives a more personal feeling. So somehow it creates a stronger bond. Plus, if you really want the message to be received by the customers, this could be a good idea because through the box, your particular customer can have a physical interaction with the message you sent them. So instead of using the box as a way to protect the product, then why not use it as a travelling advertising device which can help you communicate not only to the exact person you sent the box to, but also to others who will see it.

PROMOTING A THIRD-PARTY COMPANY

Cross promotion is also another exciting use of branding your boxes. It opens up an opportunity for you to tie up partnerships with other businesses that are offering products and services related to yours. Through your boxes you can boost your sales by promoting one another and your products. It will result to a shared integrity which is beneficial if both of you are good businesses and you wanted customers to trust you more. Even though they only know one of the brands, as long as their trust to that brand is solid, there is an increased chance that they will trust and become interested to the other company more easily.

SHARING OF FUN AND HELPFUL CONTENT

Using of on-box branding is not only for advertising and marketing. It is also be used along with customer data to share information that are relevant, creative and educational.

Depending on the nature of your business and products, you can either send recipes, tips, directions or facts that will add excitement or draw curiosity to your products.

It can also be used to promote charities or show support for campaign, whereas, can use this opportunity to donate unused space on your boxes to non-profit organization that you support.

Being able to appropriately and effectively use this strategy can lead you to stand out from your competitors, especially brands that ship their products inside plain boxes.

MAKING UNBOXING MORE EXCITING AND INTERESTING

You can go on this even further by supporting the trend of unboxing video popularized by influencers and vloggers. Give them a packaging that sparks curiosity and draws attention instead of sticking to the plain brown box which is now too boring. With visually appealing boxes and impressive, high quality products, there will be a momentum of hyped interest and memorable experience that will make you unforgettable to your customers. You can even use technology to mimic other materials and make your packaging a bit more extraordinary.

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Using Digital signage to Keep People Connected and Informed in the time of a Pandemic

In these trying times, where COVID-19 is spreading across different countries around the world and people are locked inside their homes by online digital signage and software can do a lot more than just promote brands and products. As investors and consumers panic over the disastrous and deadly effects of this virus, it is a good way for it to be used to enlighten and bring people closer together (though not literally). Read below for a further explanation on the importance of digital signages nowadays:

To Connect

Included on the list of establishments that were forced to shut down are schools. Though this is understandable as it is a way to prevent the further spread of the contagious disease caused by the coronavirus, we still can’t help but be sad because this means regular classes will be indefinitely stopped and the learning of students will be compromised. But with the help of educational digital signage companies, school won’t have to completely stop their operations. Instead, teachers and students can stay on their respective homes and schedule learning sessions and discussions through video calls and other platforms. There are lots of free software that can be optimized by schools for the benefit of their students including those who are struggling to have access to distance learning. This proves that we may have been caught off-guard by this pandemic, but this doesn’t mean we cannot cope with it before eventually overcoming it.

Use of digital tools has also become essential for the business sector especially due to the worldwide travel restrictions which prevents physical meetings from happening. So, it is important that companies are thinking of ways such as the use of technology to do business and continue communicating with their clients, partners, as well as their other stakeholders.

To Inform

Being knowledgeable about what’s happening not only in your own country but also around the world is important now more than ever. That’s why digital signage is playing a vital role in helping provide public safety information that will make people aware on how to protect themselves from the infection.

Digital signage when used to share important health and safety information will help save lives of employees and customers. It can be as simple as installing displays that sends out reminders about washing of hands or using hand sanitizer when inside a building. This way, employees will never forget practicing that important safety measure even while doing their jobs as usual.

On an outdoor setup, displays can be placed to provide health tips such as the recommended duration of hand-washing and other time-sensitive information about business closings.

A combination of providing good information and creating a positive and bonding customer experience should be the main priority for the use of digital signage during times of crisis. Not only will they help people to cope but also to encourage and prepare them to move forward once everything is over.

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Retail In-Store Experience in the Digital Age

Retailers all over different business sectors are in a race to integrate strategies that will give fresh in-store experiences. This includes physical screens installed within stores not only for branding and communication, but also to incite excitement, bring inspiration, and motivate engagement.

The rising popularity of screen-based content and advertisements is making it difficult for business owners to think of ways to make it impactful. The challenge for them is not just to promote awareness but to satisfy shoppers and keep them interested. Here are some tips on how to do that:

Capture the Heart by Telling a Story

Good visuals are not enough to make a screen content engaging. But what makes it outstanding is the story that it is telling to its audience. It should be something that inspires and brings the people closer to the brand. It can come through different forms such as short films, documentary, murals, or a creative map. Take note what makes it effective is how memorable it is for the customers.

Don’t Just Aim to Sell, Focus on Building Loyalty

Using for advertising and promoting is still an effective plan but a bigger opportunity is being missed out because the businesses who does this fail to provide what shoppers truly want, and that is the experience which online shopping cannot provide. Simply put, screens inside the store should be used not to sell, but to create a physical experience like no other. This can be applied not only through interactive display but also on social media as long as it effectively increases engagement.

Make it Relatable by adding a Taste of Local History

Consumes are longing for new experiences that will connect them better not only with a brand, but also to their friends and the community. So, one way to bring out the best out of your screen display is to find creative and educational ways to combine it with the local history and culture of the community that you are targeting. Local information that are up-to-date and useful can produce more engagements from in-store screen displays.

Paint a Bigger Picture

Interacting with experiential content such as in-store screen displays are the fastest way people can engage with your brand. So, you must optimize it and make sure it will tell stories that will persuade customers not only to purchase on that particular moment, but to come again another day.

The faster consumers get to know your brand better, the better the results. So, business owners must learn to limit the time customers are spending on it. Instead, they have to make every second meaningful and make sure their shoppers are having a deeper insight on their brand story. They can also include the role of workers, communities, and other partners. They should remember that what’s important is not the duration of the customer’s exposure with the story but the depth and the amount of it.

As long as it remains interesting and engaging, it will surely click with them. Making business more artistic and instagrammable is the key. So, it is those who are not afraid to take chances and push boundaries for the sake of keeping it fresh, who will succeed.

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Using the Power of Light in Providing an Unmatchable Customer Experience

Who would have thought that lighting will have a huge impact in the retail world as a marketing strategy used on physical stores? People becomes so hooked when brick-and-mortar shops use specialized techniques and technologies that online retailers find it so difficult to think of a better strategy.

Truly, it has become one of the reasons why people still choose to personally visit stores than shop online where they can find convenience because they don’t have to leave their homes. But maybe the experience of being able to feel and see the actual product before buying it is still irreplaceable.

That’s why shoppers treat the physical store set up (adequate lighting to see products, merchandise displays, signs, promotions and checkout lanes) as something they should never miss.

How it All Starts

Impulse buying is common to many people. But most consumers still need a certain level of persuasion to be interested into looking at something. This can be as simple as seeing an advertisement. Light also takes part on this ‘persuasion phase’. This is through outdoor window displays which aims to attract foot traffic inside the store where the more strategic displays await.

Again, many people including some retailers are often unaware of the real purpose of lighting and display. But in reality, they are positioned on a certain way to influence the thinking and behavior of customers. So, if you notice that some shelves have brighter or multi-colored lights that are different from the other displays, that’s because it was meant to be put that way. The usual reason is that these items that were given additional emphasis are either high-end products or new product lines that are being promoted. Amazingly, if you will observe, you can see that many people are being drawn to it. This strategy is based on the assumption that people are drawn to shiny things. There are also other tactics that can be used such as installing contrasting light to attract wandering customers and vertical or layered lighting for giving greater depth and urging shoppers to browse more.

How Light Affects a Customer’s Mood and Behavior

Another thing that makes light so effective on retail businesses is how it consciously and subconsciously affect how customers feel about the brand, a certain product, or their experience in general. This is composed of many factors such as color temperature, brightness, and setup that creates an impact on the mood of a consumer.

For instance, cool white light makes stores appear spacious, while warmer color temperatures create a friendlier impression because it gives consumers a feeling of smallness and familiarity. This prove that the warmth or coolness of a light’s temperature plays a relevant role.

Brightness on the other hand, affects shopping pace whereas brighter lights make people positive and energized so they tend to shop faster, while dimmer light makes people feel relaxed and calm which slows them down.

There are plenty of research saying customer retention is more likely for well-designed, up-to-date store compared to those with dull interiors. This is why it is considered wise for businesses to invest in the right lighting for their stores.

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Customer Data to Offer Right Incentives and Boost Your Business

Knowledge is power. All retailers are aware that this is very applicable in the business they are in. What better way to gain knowledge than to analyze data and take based on the lessons derived from it?

Customer differ in terms of their buying behavior. This is due to a lot of factors that influences them before and after they go in and out of your store. But based on their purchase history and personal data, you can extract valuable data that will let you know how you can incentivize your customers so they will continue to patronize you.

Understanding your customers and knowing what motivates them to be loyal to you will give you an edge towards your competitors and it can level up your service so you can boost the amount of revenue you are getting from it.  Follow our discussion below about tips on how to put your valuable customer data in good use.

Identify Your Store’s Busiest Hours

Only through data can you know what your store’s peak hours are. This is important as it is the period of time where it will be crawling with customers who will stand on long waiting lines. That seems like a good thing but it’s not, because it can delay your revenue or even lead to its loss if people are left waiting for too long without you doing anything about it. What you can do is to decongest your store during peak hours by incentivizing your customers to persuade them to shop at a different time.

Using your knowledge about your customers’ behavior can help you to improvise strategies such as offering discount and giving away rewards so it can change and you will be allowed to pave the way for a smooth flow of cash to your business. This would also give you the opportunity to create a better workflow for your staff and improve your services during your store’s busiest period.

Analyze the Performance of Retail Chain Stores

Part of owning a Retail Chain Business is knowing that different stores will have different performances. Some of them will be successful and patronized while some will be stagnant and ignored. But, gathering accurate data is not simple, especially without a fully integrated system that will reconcile data of different stores because only through it can you clearly and instantly see the performance of each store and analyze its weaknesses for you to know how to address them. Some good ideas include a discount offer at a particular time or an event for customers who have not been at that underperforming store for a certain period of time.

If you have a retail franchise business, then knowing what stores are included on the list of poor performers is even more crucial as it can help address bigger issues related to customer service or stock levels that are not easy to identify.

Know Your Customers’ Feedback on different Products

It is also essential to know what customers want and what they think about your products. This will also help you monitor and control the stock levels of your most bought products as long as you have strong data tools. But not just that, because it also helps you gain knowledge about market trends that you can maximize for extra profit for a certain period of time. Plus, it gives you a head start of the time when these trends need to be replaced after they become outdated.

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Turning Website Visits into Actual Profit Through Facebook Retargeting

Just like in the physical world, window shopping happens online; people who browse your website are not automatically buyers. Some of them may just be looking around if something will get their interest. But you don’t always have to just sit and wait for their decision because there’s something you can do about it.

With a strong retargeting strategy, your ads can effectively reach these people, sending them right message that can influence their decision-making process. You can base this strategy by looking into the user history of your customers and visitors. Being able to create a retargeting funnel will help you have a smooth interaction with your customer that will eventually lead to an ideal outcome, which is turning potential sales into actual purchases.

It would also help a lot if you think of a creative way to address their questions and concerns, social proof to solidify their trust on your brand, and a way for them to remember the products that they just viewed.

Aside from serving as a form of advertising to people who have already browsed through your website, retargeting can also be used with Facebook for you to reach potential customers who showed initial interest in your business or product. This can be monitored through their online activity such as liking one of your posts or going to your website and adding some items to their cart.

A huge amount of additional sales can be missed out without retargeting ads, imagine how beneficial it is for your part if your website traffic is actually being converted to your revenue.

But before you can take advantage of Facebook retargeting, you must first integrate Facebook pixel to your website. To understand further, here are the other benefits of Facebook retargeting:

It is a Promising advertising strategy that leads to immediate ROI

Since retargeting is about focusing on people who have already shown interest in your brand and products, it is more likely that you entice them to buy. Unlike using Facebook ads to those who are not familiar of your business which can only result to brand awareness and website traffic, but not necessarily sales.

Audience that are not that interested to your products are less likely to contribute to your sales and in order to change this, you will have to spend more time and resources first to build their trust on you.

It Allows You to Tap into Specific User Behaviors

Facebook Retargeting gives you the power to share specific ads showing relevant products that are interesting to potential customers. This is perfect if your business offers more than a single product.

For you to know which products a particular website visitor is interested into, you must know which pages and products he/she viewed. Then you can use retargeting ads that only shows the particular products that are in line to the customer’s interests.

It helps influence more people to complete a purchase

Studies show that only a small percentage of website visitors naturally ends up making a purchase on their first visit. But because you are doing an intervention through retargeting, there is an increasing chance of bringing more people back to your website to finish their transaction.

This works effectively for people who abandoned their cart of didn’t complete checkout. Retargeting ads will then do a final push to gain sales and drive your conversion rates up.

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Feeling Lonely? 5 Ways to Cure the Entrepreneurship Blues

When we think about entrepreneurs, it is easy to generalize them as ‘people’ persons; individuals who possess exemplary communication skills and rapport. After all, that’s what business sounds like right?

But contrary to this common knowledge— or assumption rather, experts say that doing business is for introverts too! That’s right. In the wide world of entrepreneurship, there are people who loves isolation as much as they love doing business.

But this doesn’t mean that it is possible for every one to thrive while living a solo lifestyle because there’s loneliness and depression too. Many people might still be unaware of it but these mental issues are real and even introverts can experience them.

These problems that cause loneliness have dire effects that affects lives even to a deadly extent especially when matched with the stress which is part of doing business. This is why business owners should also have mental health management plans too especially now that most of them are working from home due to the lockdown caused by the ongoing pandemic. It might be a radical change to have a different setting or routine so people need to cope.

In line with this, here are some work-from-home tips and tricks that will help entrepreneurs remain productive and not become lonely:

Take a Breather

Working from home is just a different setup but the amount of might still be the same. Meaning pressure remains. That’s why it is important that whenever you feel everything’s too much to handle and there’s no progress anymore, take short breaks to breath and empty your mind if this is what will help you focus. Don’t torture your mind and force it to think.

Another way to do this is by going outside momentarily (practice social distancing amid the ongoing pandemic) or by doing some tasks such as answering emails or talking to clients while at your garden or in a nearby café.

Regularly Check on Yourself

As an entrepreneur, your mind is your greatest asset. But it is your body that turns ideas into reality as it does most of the work. That’s why it is important that even when you are busy, check on your health and consider having a fit body. Perhaps you can use apps to track and monitor your physical activities or your diet. You can also join communities or group classes where you can learn a lot about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy food is also a must. Make some plans, ask some people, or do research about what your body needs based on your current lifestyle and condition.

Maintain Social Connections

No matter where you are in the world, technology always has its way to connect you with people. Especially because you are a business owner, one way or another you still have to connect with others. Distance is not really an excuse to cut off ties with important individuals and stake holders.

You can also do face-time or video call meetings if you really can’t meet personally. You can also send emails to one another to transact or discuss about ideas and proposals.

Joining online groups or attending seminars and forums would also help a lot not only for you to gain knowledge but also to widen your network. Being part of a community or going on several events increase your chances of meeting prominent personalities or key persons that will be essential to your business.

If you are running an online business, perhaps you can find a way to bring your shop into the real world. It can be through bazaars or conventions where you can meet not only customers but also other retailers that you can change ideas with.

You bring life to your business. It won’t succeed if you are not well with your personal life. So, mind your well-being and don’t just focus on what’s going on with your business to the point that you don’t care about what’s happening to you anymore.

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