How to Personalize Customer Experience with Smart Tags

Global shopping trends are evolving in new and innovative ways. As of now, customer demands are entirely different from what they were a decade ago. Customers are now more interested in engaging with the products they intend to purchase and learn more about the brands that produce them. 

Customer loyalty has become more about how brands treat their customers rather than the features of the products they offer. Statistics show that 86% of buyers are okay with paying more for an exceptional customer experience, and more than two-third of the companies worldwide are competing solely based on customer experience. 

Clearly, it has become imperative for businesses irrespective of the industry to offer memorable shopping experiences for their customers to stay afloat in the competitive market. If the overall shopping experience that a brand provides turns out to be unsatisfactory then the customers may shift their attention to the brand’s competitors’ products.

While there are numerous digital resources available to improve consumer engagement significantly, perhaps the most popular and effective method is the use of smart tags (such as QR and NFC codes) to smarten product packages. 

What are Smart Tags? 

Smart tags allow brands to make their product labels scannable for customer benefit. Customers can simply use their smartphones to scan the code provided on the smart tag to access detailed information regarding the brands and their products. In general, customers can unlock product provenance data, brand stories, ethical information and so on using the smart tags.

Why are smart tags trending right now?

Brands worldwide are adopting smart tags to improve their customer service efforts for a number of reasons, including that:

• They are relatively easy to implement, even for brands that are not comfortable with using a lot of digital resources.
• The cost involved in setting up smart tags for products is minimal. 
• They offer high convenience for both brands and their customers.

How can a smart tag be used to personalize customer experience?

In a business world cramped with mass produced goods and limited personalization in customer approaches, brands can stand out by using smart tags to capture customer loyalty. Studies that have been done so far in relation to the popularity of smart tags have generated positive results. For instance, statistics show that 86.66% of smartphone users had scanned a QR Code at least once in their lifetime. As the majority of customers tend to be active users of smartphones, it is highly likely that they would depend on smart tags to access information about the products they intend to purchase, rather than taking the time and effort to reach out to the brand itself.

Moreover, 46.81% of respondents admitted that QR codes make life easier in a touchless world, and 38.99% of respondents want to see QR Codes used more widely in the future. It is therefore a fantastic opportunity for businesses right now to tap into the endless possibilities that smart tags offer to improve the customer experiences they offer. Customers themselves are demanding for a rise in the utilization of smart tags by brands to improve their shopping experience, and doing so will certainly boost brand appeal and reputation. 

The following are the ways in which smart tags can be used to improve and personalize customer experience:

• To highlight the ethical, humanitarian and sustainable activities pursued by the brand:

Customers are more likely to make their purchases from brands that make their supply chain activities transparent than those that don’t. Brands can reveal their ethical motives, humanitarian efforts and sustainable practices through smart tags to boost customer appeal towards their products. 

• To reveal engaging stories related to the brand to customers:

Brands can make use of smart tags to conveniently project their unique stories to customers, and consequently increase customer interest and loyalty. It provides a sense of personalization that customers actively look for in their shopping experiences. 

• To avail valuable customer insights based on scanning patterns:

There are companies that produce detailed and accurate analytics based on customer scanning patterns, which brands find extremely useful for boosting customer loyalty and engagement. The insights are not intrusive of consumer privacy, but at the same time help brands understand customer needs better. 

• To empower customers to engage with their purchases without external assistance:

Customers want their shopping experiences to be as convenient yet enriching as possible. Smart tags provide the best of both worlds by empowering customers to engage with their products in the easiest way possible using their smartphones. It helps them make informed decisions regarding their purchases without having to experience unnecessary hassles. 

How can Authlink help brands employ smart tags?

Authlink helps brands create unique digital identities for their products that store relevant provenance data in a tamper proof manner. The data can be accessed by customers when they use their smartphones to scan the smart tags provided in the product packages. Authlink also generates customer analytics based on scanning patterns which brands can use to improve their customer engagement efforts in the future.

Does employing smart tags seem like a good idea for your brand? 

Find out more about our services at https://authlink.com
Schedule a free demo of the Authlink platform here, or sign up for the beta version here.