Packaging

Packaging is selling your business after you made the sell. It’s an important step in the process of establishing business relationships with your customers, by helping them confirm they made the right decision in doing business with you and will want to do so in the future. Here are some essentials to ensuring your packaging works in your favor. 

Packaging

When choosing your packaging, be sure to consider the type and size of your products. There are many different packaging options, but to be cost efficient and eco-friendly you can use recyclable paper boxes. You can buy these in bulk from Amazon, eBay or even your local Dollar Store. If you are selling fragile material such as glass or jewelry, you should consider the use of padded mailers. There are even options to buy them in bulk and in your brand color. Don’t be tempted to just throw your product into any type of box. Take care in selecting the appropriate means to get your products in the hands of your customers safe and sound.

Labeling

Labeling is an underrated part of your packaging process as it may be more extensive than you thought. First there are shipping labels. Shipping labels, especially if you are doing your shipping at home and not the post office, can include more than just a name and address. It will also display the weight of the item and any handling instructions that are key to ensuring the product gets to your customers safely. There are also labels inside the package. Labels can include ingredients for your product or instructions on how to properly use the item. Labeling is easy to do and design especially using online services such as Canva and your at-home printer, if you aren’t ready to invest in a label printer yet.

Invoice & Packing List

Don’t miss out in providing an invoice or packing list, or even both. Including a well-organized packing list gives your customers the opportunity to verify what’s supposed to be there is actually in the package. The invoice will allow the customer to confirm what they spent on the product and shipping costs, which they can keep for their records. If you are looking to be eco-friendly with your packaging you can provide these documents digitally by sending them to your customer’s email address.

Tape & Thank You

How you tape your packages say a lot about your business, so you should neatly wrap up the package and seal it up with packing tape. Take your time with this step. A poorly wrapped and taped package can make it seem it has been tampered with and it won’t give your customers the confidence they need to continue doing business with you. Before you tape it, there is one more nice touch that you should consider, and that is a handwritten thank-you note.

A personalized thank-you note is your business’ opportunity to make your customers feel special and appreciated. They can go a long way in turning one-time customers into life-time customers.

As much love and care as you put into developing your product, give that same attention to your packaging. Your time, effort and professionalism put in your packaging is part of your brand identity and can give your customers that satisfaction that they chose right when choosing to do business with you.