Product Registration: How Brands Can Provide a Seamless Process with QR codes

Introduction

The brand-consumer relationship is something akin to Love is Blind. 

For context, participants in the reality show try to find a match without ever seeing each other face-to-face. 

At the beginning of the shopping journey, customers rarely interact with a brand’s employees; instead, they get to know a brand by browsing its website and social media. Brands try to do the same with any information they have about their customers.

But as consumer data becomes more regulated, it becomes much harder for brands to know who their end customer is. This is especially true for brands who sell on Amazon, who has curbed brand access to key first party consumer data for sellers that use its fulfillment service. Amazon’s unparalleled market size is undoubtedly advantageous for brands who want to scale their business, but they bear the cost of not knowing their customers. 

How can brands regain ownership of consumer data and establish a direct line of communication with their customers? 

The answer is to give your customers a compelling reason to give you their information—and that can be done through product registration. 

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The Importance of Product Registration

Product registration is a process that gives you more from your product. It allows companies to communicate important information regarding product updates and recommendations, warranties, maintenance, and safety.

With high value items such as electronic devices, kitchen appliances, and home goods, product registration allows consumers to activate their warranty and learn more about product usage and maintenance. 

For brands, product registration allows them to capture their customer’s data and communicate important information directly. For customers, product registration allows them to hold brands accountable should they have any issues with their product. 

One of the most common reasons for product registration is warranty activation. Warranty activation provides an incentive for a customer to register their product. This benefits the customer in that if they ever have any issues with their product and it is protected by a warranty, they are able to either replace it or get it fixed.

 Shoppers expect their appliances to last a long time, and warranties give that peace of mind. When thinking about whether or not to activate their warranty, customers consider item cost, cost of repair, and how long they plan on using the product, and – most importantly – how easy it is to register. The most common appliances for warranty activation include refrigerators, microwaves, coffee machines, blenders, and washing machines.

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Benefits for the customer  

For the customer, registering their product is an investment in the product, and it’s a process that can save them money. In addition to warranty activation, product registration allows customers to:

• Learn about any product recalls or notices
• Access set-up and maintenance instructions
• Easily report any product issues or request repairs
• Access important product information all in one place

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Benefits for the brand

For brands, when customers register their products to activate warranty, they gain access to first-party consumer data, such as name and email, that is often lost when customers purchase their products from third-party retailers. 

Product registration is a powerful way to stay connected with their customers post-purchase. With access to first-party consumer data, brands can:  

• Personalize interactions with customers
• Streamline communications around product recall and repairs
• Inform better product design
• Shape future marketing campaigns

Hurdles in the Product Registration Process

Despite the value of product registration, the barriers in the process are high. In an era where consumer experience is highly valued, product registration is one area that has traditionally lagged behind others. 

“And the hurdles in the current product registration process have consequences for consumer engagement with a brand. A survey of more than 500 consumers conducted by the University of Michigan found that people want to register their products, but many don’t because the process is too inconvenient.”

Forty-four percent of people who rarely or never register products avoid doing so because it is too inconvenient.

Take the activation process, for example. Manufacturers often insert warranty cards into the package and rely on the receiver to follow the directions. There is usually no apparent reason or incentive for customers to give the card a second look. 

This process also often requires the consumer to type in a link from their warranty card and then input all their personal information, along with information about the product that is typically hard to find. Consumers need to locate their receipt and product information, call a service number, wait for an email, and wait some more. Some manufacturers are even having people manually fill out cards and send them back via snail mail! The process is slow, frustrating, and fraught with complicated terms and conditions. 

Imagine how much simpler this process can be if brands already had some information about the product and the customer. QR codes provide a frictionless way to power mobile product registration.