Product sample packaging offers an often overlooked opportunity for compelling customer communications. Nearly all food ingredient companies send out product samples to their customers and prospects. The most effective companies are the ones using their product sampling as customer communications programs.
Whenever we talk to a new food ingredient company, I will always ask them to send me some of the product samples they send to customers. What I get back is an array of plastic baggies and jars, mostly in brown cardboard boxes. Many have poor labeling, or none at all, and they almost never have a company logo or identity added to the sample containers.
This is a missed opportunity to communicate directly with some of your most important customers and prospects—especially when you’ve managed to get your product into your customer’s hands. Design your product sample packaging with your company logo, and utilize targeted sales messaging to reinforce your identity and the value of your product.
We’ve seen several food ingredient companies have great success with this type of sampling program. Some have extended their programs to include e-mail follow-ups and online sales campaigns that create ongoing customer communications. You can see an example of one of these programs here.
Targeted customer communications, like these product sampling programs, are a great way to get your customers engaged in a dialogue on how your ingredients can add value to their products. We’ll continue to share examples from other food ingredient companies in our blog posts.