Make your delivery a small but memorable experience.
As we all know on line sales and deliveries are booming! Numerous businesses have ‘pivoted’ (jury is still out on the phrase...) and moved to direct to customer deliveries, even large businesses are focusing on direct to consumer opportunities, with the likes of Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo and most recently Nestle delivering directly to your door. It’s great to see resilience and re-purposing but now is the time to also really make an impact and build brand loyalty.
In the 2008 recession, brands that continued with their marketing campaigns and consumer engagement came out the other side with significantly stronger growth, no doubt a result of retaining loyalty. During this pandemic, in contrast to 2008, brands have seen a 4% increase in sales, but with a future focus from consumers on value for money there is likely to be a shift back to retailer private label ranges. In addition, consumers will have different priorities – convenience, availability, price, authenticity and probably most importantly brands that have been seen to be doing ‘the right thing’.
So, what might consumers be looking for from brands that will help capture and retain their loyalty?
Increasingly consumers are seeking experiences over ownership, and these experiences can be difficult to obtain in the current environment, whether that be because of limited availability, disposable income, social distancing or closed restaurants, pubs, entertainment and so on. Lots of people talk about the lipstick phenomenon – when money is tight, times are hard, something small like buying a new lipstick makes you feel better. But it’s not just the lipstick, it’s the packaging, the communication, the enhancement of your lifestyle. There are numerous food brands that help convey a lifestyle, that like to ‘chat’ to you and have some really beautiful product packaging. Both Dorset Cereals and Clipper do a great job.
I have to admit I love unwrapping a delivery and have taken advantage of receiving a number of them during lockdown. Non-food brands are definitely way ahead in the ‘experience’ focus and food brands can certainly learn from them. No doubt there are some food and drink brands embracing the opportunity to promote their brands through this rapidly growing channel of direct delivery but on the whole, so many boring brown boxes, faceless wrapping and just a degree of disappointment!
Business costs need to be considered and every penny could count for company resilience in these difficult times, but do consider how brand loyalty could be improved with some little changes
a thank you card
a recipe
some branded tissue paper
a free sample of a new product
a money off coupon for the next order
a donation to a charity on certain products
and maybe, no more boring brown boxes!