Reasons Customer Feedback is Critical – and How to Use it

No matter the industry, the product, or the consumer, customer feedback is always essential. This is not a revolutionary concept – any smart business knows that taking customer feedback, both positive and negative, into consideration is the only way to ensure that you stay current and relevant.

Here are some of the reasons customer feedback is critical:

• Customer feedback is central to understanding your customers’ needs and developing your customer service strategy. After all, if you don’t know what they want, or what customers believe is working or not working, how can you improve on what you currently offer or deliver something that meets those needs?
• On that same note, customer feedback can help you to understand customer behaviour, and this personal and demographic data can give you the knowledge to assist in personalizing the customer experience and ensuring that people feel valued.

This is all great – but how do you use that feedback?

• Create fans! Social media has become an important medium when it comes to feedback about a company. Customers who don’t return because of a poor customer experience seldom communicate their dis-satisfaction to the company. They do tell many friends though – which can adversely impact your bottom line. Truly hear your customers’ message about their views, opinions and feelings about your services and products – and use that information. Respond to any comments quickly, especially those online!
• Develop loyalty programs. Don’t just collect customer feedback – thank those individuals and show your appreciation for that feedback through rewards or incentives - they are, after all, helping you out by providing it.
• Share that feedback with your team to ensure unification. Keeping everyone informed helps employees gain a sense of purpose and helps to create transparency within an organization. It also helps everyone remain on the same page.

In order to reap the benefits of customer feedback – both negative and positive – this feedback needs to be taken seriously, in a timely fashion. Take ownership of an issue and work hard to remedy it. In order to bring about change, you first need to know why and what those changes should be – otherwise what is the point – and you need to actually use that information to enact change.

The companies that realize the value of customer feedback, both positive and negative, and react promptly to these opportunities to enhance their customer experience will enjoy long term growth.

For more about customer feedback and making improvements, especially with regard to sustainable packaging, please contact Packaging Technologies Inc. by calling 1-800-303-5883.

Sensory Technologies and Point of Purchase Displays

With the immense amount of competition in the retail space, capturing a consumer’s attention is becoming increasingly difficult. Advertising tactics are changing every day, and companies looking to compete have to develop new methods to try and attract attention and garner sales. Point of purchase displays have come to play a major role in this task.

Point of purchase displays have become an effective way to influence shoppers in the aisle and at the cash register. These displays need to grab the attention of your target customers, and a well-executed display will not only draw interest, it can also go a long way as far as influencing impulse purchases – which can be important for both the sale of new to the market products and current products that need a boost.

However, a standard point of purchase display may no longer be sufficient enough to attract the notice of a shopper as they traipse down the aisle. At the most basic level, purchases are shaped and influenced by the experience of a shopper. This is where sensory technology comes into play – interaction, even just the addition of sound, can go a long way at drawing a customer’s attention away from their ‘usual’ purchase and convincing them to engage with your product.

So how can you achieve this interaction? Interactive touch-screen displays, ones that invite a consumer to interact, or even just sounds or moving images that draw on other senses all go that much farther at creating interest and enticing that individual to engage or consider your product for purchase.  By allowing a consumer to be drawn into the advertisement, especially with something inspiring or thought-provoking, means better ROI for you.

Experiencing more than just a standard visual cue can help to cement brand recognition and increase brand loyalty. Creating the mental reminder by creating a display that leads to positive memories can mean big gains for repeat purchases. Establish a strong initial, emotional connection and it will last longer.

Point of purchase displays have come to play a crucial role in many marketing campaigns, but like everything else in the marketing world, their usefulness declines if new trends and developments are not adopted. By introducing further stimuli in the form of sensory technology, your point of purchase displays can stay relevant and signify an important purchase-influencing tool.

For more about implementing sensory technology into your marketing strategy please contact Packaging Technologies Inc. by calling 1-800-303-5883.

Corrugated Packaging: A Sustainable Industry

The sustainability conversation is one that is being had in boardrooms across the county. Environmental consciousness has become quite the buzz phrase, especially when it comes to packaging, and more and more companies are striving to offer eco-friendly packaging, especially since consumer demands continue to require it. But what exactly is sustainability?

Some, mistakenly, understand it to mean packaging products in recyclable materials – even when those materials may not be recyclable everywhere, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.  Sustainable means far more than just offering recyclable packaging.

Sustainability starts with design. Before the manufacturing process even begins, design should consider how to minimize material but maximize performance. At the drawing board, designers should be looking at how to use less paper, recyclable labels, environmentally-friendly inks, etc. And sustainable packaging shouldn’t compromise strength. The entire design process should take into account how to use less and achieve more.

Sustainability means a focus on manufacturing that has less impact. From water waste treatment, to using flexo water-based inks, to ensuring all suspended solids remain well below government regulations, your supplier’s manufacturing process should consider all aspects of sustainability. Using less energy through a variety of different means also makes a huge difference.

Sustainability is about the materials used. Again, this is not just recycled or recyclable. Corrugated board materials should be 100% renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. Liners and mediums should also be considered – manufactured using recycled paper sourced from local mills.

Sustainability means continuing to recycle the same material over and over and over again. When a sheet of corrugated board is created, what happens to the leftovers? Are they just thrown in the recycle bin or are they reused as fibre for recycled paperboard, thereby cutting down on transportation waste? Even simple things such as this make a huge difference when it comes to sustainability.

The real goal of sustainable packaging is to protect and package while having the least impactful effect on the environment. To be truly sustainable though, this needs to be done with far more intent than just being sure that your materials are recyclable in most areas. Make sure that your supplier focuses on every aspect of sustainability – not just one.

If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint at the source, Packaging Technologies Inc. has you covered. Our focus on sustainability means big gains for you and the environment. Contact us today by calling 1-800-303-5883 or visit www.ptibox.com.

Lightweight Containerboard and Packaging Trends

We are always keeping an eye out for packaging trends and innovative new concepts in the packaging industry in order to provide the most innovative and effective technology and packaging solutions to our clients. One of the most exciting trends in the packaging industry is lightweight containerboard; it is predicted to continue to have some major impacts for companies in many ways.

Is this a new trend? No – there has been talk about creating lighter corrugated materials for several years, but significant inroads have been made in the last few – with European manufacturers leading the pack. But North America, until recently, seemed to be lagging behind as far as adopting the new technology to make this possible. North American corrugated producers seem to now comprehended the massive impacts of this trend, and are developing their own methods to ensure that their products meet the needs of consumers while maintaining the industry standard.

So, what is lightweight containerboard? In the most basic sense, lightweight is a lighter containerboard. It is a corrugated board with a base weight of less than 26 lbs/thousand square feet. The manufacturing of lightweight containerboard involves a different corrugating process than regular corrugated board. With lightweight, fibres are tighter together, resulting in a higher fibre content, but at a reduced weight. This means the same or greater strength, but a lighter container.

So what does this innovation mean for you? Is it just a new type of box? No, it is way more than that, and the benefits to your business can be significant.

Firstly, as mentioned, lightweight containerboard is lighter, but stronger – meeting the same Edge Crust and Mullen Test standards as traditional corrugated products. Performance should never be compromised by innovation, and with lightweight, it isn’t.

Secondly, there are significant cost savings to be realized with the use of lightweight containerboard products. Since it is lighter, and you pay freight charges based on weight, you save on shipping costs, without having to decrease the amount being shipped or pay more for labour.

Additionally, since less is used, and what is used is made from recyclable materials, lightweight containerboard products also contribute to your sustainability, reducing your carbon footprint. This is a major plus for both your business image and consumer demands.

For more information about the benefits to your business of lightweight containerboard products, please contact Packaging Technologies Inc. by calling 1-800-303-5883 or visit us online at www.ptibox.com