Gary Peeling, CEO at UK commercial print company: Where The Trade Buys, looks at enhancing delivery processes through print, to help boost brand awareness and repeat business.
Everyone has spent a greater amount of time in their homes this year and it’s fair to say, waiting for our latest package deliveries has become a pastime and perhaps brought a little bit of joy during the days spent working from home. The anticipation and experience of receiving a parcel has become almost as important as the product it contains. Adding value to your product is becoming increasingly important in saturated markets with stiff competition and ensuring that your customers will return to purchase from you again can be achieved through packaging.
This value can be added through print media, where your brand can be elevated with ease to a position of authority by making it recognisable for its quality, business principles, and ability to show good customer service. We look at the best use of print media in the delivery process and how it can help enhance your business.
Make a great first impression with printed packaging
First impressions are everything. After a digital transaction through a website, the first physical contact you’ll have with a customer will be on their own doorstep. Your packaging becomes the face of your company. It may be a small step in the process, with packaging discarded almost immediately when they get to your product, but it should never be underestimated.
Custom stationary can boost brand awareness quickly
Custom stationery can be printed to show the competency of your organisation and a preparedness to deliver good service in the future. Printed envelopes are an easy and affordable way to improve brand awareness on the outside of your packaging. A customer can anticipate your product from the moment they receive it.
Enhance your delivery process through print
Print can not only help to improve the quality of your packaging but also in processing the deliveries. The quality of this experience gives you authority as a professional company that will attract returning customers. For example, printed labels for deliveries can also help speed up your delivery processes; labels that are pre-printed with return addresses and other essential information can save you time in making sure each package maintains your high standards. Quick delivery is essential, with one survey showing that 40 per cent of customers would pay more for quicker delivery. With competition like Amazon Prime, the ability to speed up your delivery process has never been more important.
Go the extra mile and your customers will spend more
Print is part of your customer service experience. Figures indicate that 50 per cent of customers will increase their spending with a company after a positive experience of customer service. The delivery process may seem impersonal, but there are steps through print that can help you improve the customer’s buying journey and the chance of continual brand loyalty.
Show your customers appreciation with printed thank you notes
Thank you notes are increasingly used by small companies to add a personal touch to their deliveries. Of course, we’re grateful for every order, but explaining why the order was important can help drive understanding of your company’s values and culture. Whether it is to thank the customer for supporting small business, showing how the order contributes to charity, explaining how the product has been designed and made with care, an extra thanks beyond the order confirmation email goes a long way. You need your customer to know why it’s important to continue supporting your business.
Having these thank you and appreciation letters pre-printed on quality paper can add a premium to your product. It shows that your attention to detail is as great as your product. Adding a small signature to the bottom of the note can also show your personal approval.
Outsourcing a print company is worth the cost
For small and growing businesses, outsourcing can be a difficult step, especially when you’ve worked so hard to develop your product and service. But it makes sense – it can make your work more affordable and help to create returning customers and more revenue.
Using a print on demand company can help to create consistency and maintain quality throughout your products and deliveries. Plus, you save labour time by allowing a professional company to organise your printing needs. Additional costs are therefore saved by your increasing productivity in other areas of your business.
Increase your brand’s authority with high quality print materials
Remember, quality is key when creating the image of a premier service and product. Using quality print material can help portray the image of brand authority. Consider your costs as investments, and measure how it can help your profit. For example, using recycled material in your packaging may increase the cost of the delivery process, but you should know that 66 per cent of global consumers will pay more for sustainability. Even more, 73 per cent of millennials agreed to his idea.
Can increasing the cost of your product for the sake of quality print materials in delivery be worth it? These are important considerations but again helps to create a brand message. You don’t need to choose between sacrificing the planet or sacrificing quality. This can also be part of the thank you note that you leave – explain why this delivery is important, not just because it holds your product.
Attention to detail through print & delivery really matters
Printed media is the physical embodiment of your brand. Every letterhead, pamphlet, or box that shows your logo or company name represents the attention to detail and care that you put into every order. Think about the best delivery you have received and the best unboxing experience you can remember. Recognising the quality of a brand and product begins with the delivery. Using print can help elevate the intimacy between your company and the customer and lead to sustained loyalty.
Gary Peeling, CEO at UK commercial print company: Where The Trade Buys, currently producing PPE for UK education spaces, workplaces, hospitality venues, retail stores, charity shops, the NHS and more. The company has also been involved in manufacturing face visors for NHS essential workers in the fight against Covid-19.
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