How to Create an Exceptional Unboxing Experience for Your Consumers

There is more to running an online business than just setting up an online store. You should also provide an exceptional customer experience.

One way to do that is to make your customers excited to open your product as soon as they receive the item. This is where unboxing comes in.

What is an “Unboxing”?

Unboxing refers to when a customer unpacks a product they bought and document it, often through video. The rationale here is to share the customer’s excitement with their audience.

Before, unboxing videos were considered an online fad. However, brands turned this kind of content into a goldmine of marketing opportunities. That’s because such videos allow you to expand your market reach and create a buzzword around your brand.

This also explains why your handy product packaging design guide emphasizes the need for excellent packaging. That’s because packaging design is also part of the customer experience.

Your packaging should be pretty enough that your customers would want to share it online.

How to Create an Exceptional Unboxing Experience

Now that you know what unboxing is and its role in your business, it is time to find out how you can create an exceptional unboxing experience.

Choose your packaging material

Before you launch an online business (or any venture), it is imperative to consider how you would like to pack your products.

These days, customers are becoming eco-conscious. This means more and more are looking for businesses that include sustainability in how they operate.

So, opt for recyclable materials instead that don’t harm the environment or other small companions your customers might have at home. 

If you are using non-recyclable materials, your company or brand can be considered wasteful and can hurt your business in the long run. It can also give your customers a “negative” unboxing experience. 

Meanwhile, choosing environment-friendly materials can enhance your brand reputation and image.

Brand your packaging

The moment products arrive at your customers’ doorstep. You want it to be clear who it is from. Although plain boxes are relatively cheap, you’re missing out on the opportunity to create brand recognition. 

There’s nothing more appealing than an eye-catching box to build your customers’ excitement. 

Again, it would help if you differentiate your box from any standard package. To do that, you can follow these quick tips:

• The exteriors of the box should be printed with your brand logo and other illustrations that are relevant to your brand. 
• Use a dynamic QR code generator to create and print scannable codes to introduce media-rich features into your packaging design.
• It would help if you also used branded packaging tape to seal boxes. 
• Apart from that, stickers and other marketing inserts can be used to make your packaging more appealing. These freebies, albeit they seem insignificant, can make a customer feel that you value their loyalty. 

Arrange your products

Ideally, you want your products to look as if they’re carefully arranged and not being carelessly stuffed in a box. 

Usually, die-cut cardboard inserts are excellent in creating a clean and structured feel. 

Alternatively, you can also use a layer of tissue paper to hold products together. This also makes that gift-like vibe in your packaging. 

Make it personal

You need to customize your customers’ experience the moment they open the box. Think about the little things that they’ll appreciate. 

Think about the things that can make their day. Maybe you want to include a freebie or other product samples. The golden rule with free products or gifts is that these should make sense for your brand. 

You can coordinate free samples you’re giving out to the items they bought. For instance, you wanted to purchase a particular color of foundation. 

Then, you might want to include a primer that goes along with that color. Customers will likely buy the full-sized version later on. 

If you don’t have the budget for free items, you can still send a simple handwritten thank you note to your customers. A simple gesture like this can already go a long way in making your customers feel appreciated. Not to mention, this reinforces the human connection. 

It shows that another human looked and checked their order before sending it to them. This is a powerful reminder to your customers that there are real people behind your brand. 

Create a sense of excitement

Order and shipping confirmation emails have the highest open and click rates. This gives you a unique opportunity to get in front of your customers’ eyes. 

You can take this time to cross-sell products while your customers are waiting for their items to arrive. In addition, remind them to share their unboxing experience online and use your signature hashtag to do so.

That way, you can collect several user-generated contents that you can use to promote your products further.

Luckily, you can create such an email marketing campaign using e-commerce email automation. This marketing tool allows you to craft your email and schedule when to send the email to your subscribers automatically. You can also do the same to recover abandoned carts and boost your sales.

Insert a packing slip

Why not include a newsletter or brochure of a new product? Make it more fun by including stickers and a Thank You note that customers can use as a bookmark. 

Also, make sure that you add in other essential documents such as delivery notes and invoices. While this can be easily overlooked, you want to create the ultimate unboxing experience. 

Over to You

Here’s the thing: Starting a business allows you to earn income while you sleep. But to make that happen, one of the things you should consider is how you would want to package your products.

That said, creating the ultimate unboxing experience starts with creating a narrative. How do you want your customers to get your product? 

Overall, this is an excellent opportunity to expand your market reach and create a buzz around your brand. Hence, you are not only providing remarkable customer service. You are also adding a marketing trick or two to your arsenal.