Pop quiz. What’s more cost effective: keeping your current customers or acquiring brand new ones?
You probably immediately knew the answer—retaining your existing customer base is far more cost effective, which is why successful businesses put such an emphasis on keeping “proven buyers” happy.
If your business ever ships a product to your customers, you’ve likely experimented with package inserts. A package insert is a dirt-cheap way to increase customer retention if utilized properly… which is why we’re about to discuss how to craft a highly effective package insert. If you do it right, you can dramatically increase repeat sales and customer loyalty.
Let’s begin with a seemingly-obvious yet deadly important fact about package inserts:
Your Package Insert HAS to be Noticeable
Understandably, when someone receives a package they tend to be eager to get to its contents right away. The “extra stuff” in the package, like receipts or invoices and so on, tend to get left in the box or tossed aside… unless they’re super noticeable.
As with pretty much any style of marketing, the first step to success is getting noticed. If your package insert looks like just another bit of that extra stuff, it’s far more likely to get tossed.
Make sure to use bright, highly visible colors and consider switching up the paper stock.
Your Package Insert Needs to Offer Real Value
While it’s fine to express gratitude to your customers for being so—and you should—your package insert should be more than a simple thank you note. An effective insert is going to offer some kind of real value for the customer.
The most obvious choice is to offer a discount on their next purchase. If the product is consumable, the discount could be for the same product, but things get really interesting when you offer an incentive for a complimentary product, i.e., something else they’re likely to need in the same product category.
If applicable to your products, you can step things up a notch by including small product samples with the insert. Samples are rarely overlooked by package recipients, and pairing them with a discount offer is a powerful combo.
Personalize Whenever Possible
Unfortunately it isn’t always feasible to include handwritten notes with every package your company sends out (although if it is, go for it). Instead, you might consider using Xerox’s variable data printing technology, which would allow you to automatically print inserts with the recipient’s name and other personalized details.
Putting it All Together
Let’s combine everything we’ve discussed so far. Imagine you received a package that had a bright red insert with your name printed on it in big, bold letters. Below it was an unexpected free sample. The insert thanked you for your business and offered you a discount on the sample product.
Wouldn’t you feel like the insert added huge value to your package? You betcha.
Create Powerful Package Inserts In-House With Xerox Technology
As you’ve hopefully learned in this post, package inserts can be a powerful marketing tool… if you use them correctly. The key takeaway from the advice in this post is this: if your customers get a ton of actionable value from your insert, it’ll work.
Package inserts are just one of the many powerful marketing tools at your disposal to produce in-house when you have the right Xerox equipment. Our team of experts have been professionally trained to answer all of your questions and provide you with business-minded guidance, whether you come visit us in Phoenix, Flagstaff, or Lake Havasu.
Learn more about what it’s like to work with us or request a quote now.
