I've spent my career in growth roles where one thing has always been clear: acquisition is only the beginning. In lifecycle marketing, in SaaS, in any business where repeat matters, the question is the same: do the dollars you spent to acquire a customer keep working after that first purchase?

When acquisition costs were lower, you could afford to treat every purchase as a reset. Spend to acquire, deliver the product, then spend again to win them back. That doesn't work anymore, given that acquisition costs continue to rise. Growth now depends on what happens after someone buys, i.e., when the product is already in their hands.

Customers spend far more time with products than with ads, websites, or shelves. The post-purchase experience determines whether your brand stays relevant or fades into the background.

What breaks in most experiences? Generic follow-ups. Someone buys an air fryer, and instead of getting recipes that actually work or tips to improve results, they get a generic promotional email that treats them like any other shopper. That kills trust. If I just bought an air fryer, send me air fryer recipes. Show me complementary products. Don't treat me like you don't know what I purchased.

Packaging cycles are slow. Marketing isn’t

For physical products, most of the post-purchase experience lives on packaging. And packaging moves on production timelines.

But marketing doesn’t move that slowly. Promotions change. Customer behavior shifts. If I want to highlight holiday recipes in December or push a new product feature in March, I’m not waiting for the next packaging run.

Dynamic QR Codes give you flexibility within that constraint.

The box stays the same. What happens after someone scans can change. You can update the experience without reprinting anything. You can align it to timing, geography, or what customers are actually doing with the product. You can test something new next month without touching the physical packaging.

But here’s the distinction that matters.

Everything someone needs to decide to buy still belongs on the package. Brand story, ingredients, what makes a product different, all of that remains visible upfront.

Treat packaging as a channel

As marketers, we invest heavily in optimizing channels like email, paid media, and lifecycle programs. Packaging is often treated as a static asset, even though it shows up at one of the most relevant moments in the customer journey.

After the purchase, it remains one of the few touchpoints the brand fully controls. Retail owns the transaction, and most of the customer data that comes with it, but packaging stays with the product. 

QR Codes make that channel usable to the brand. 

A scan creates a direct connection. Brands can support product education, setup guidance, reorder, and feedback without changing the physical package or paying to access retailer-owned data.

I’ve noticed this play out in different ways. Portronics, for example, uses QR Codes on packaging to link customers directly to setup guides and warranty registration. The scan connects the unboxing moment to practical next steps, without crowding the box.

Oats Overnight uses QR Codes to collect feedback on new flavours after the product has been tried. Customers know what they think, and the brand learns from real usage.

Dyson uses QR Codes on packaging to guide customers towards app downloads and product onboarding. The scan extends the experience beyond the physical product and helps customers get more value from it over time.

What these examples have in common is sequencing. Each interaction leads naturally to the next, based on how the product is actually used.

The math is simple

Let me put this in SaaS terms, since that's where I've spent most of my career. I pay for marketing. I do all the work to get someone in the door. They subscribe for $1,000 a year. First year, I'm thinking about customer acquisition costs versus that $1,000 in revenue.

If I stop there and only think about that first $1,000, I'm missing the bigger picture. Year two comes around. That $1,000 either goes away or it renews. My job as a marketer doesn't end with the first purchase. I have to think about how I get this person to continuously use my product and renew that subscription every year. Because then my acquisition dollars spent in year one work harder.

I translate that into consumer marketing the same way. I spent all this money for someone to understand, find, and purchase my brand. Then what? Do I just let them go? No. I continue to nurture them. I try to get them to purchase again. I try to get them to purchase more.

QR Codes enable that. They're not the only driver, but they enable it. And as a marketer, you're always thinking about how you get more from the customer you already spent so much to acquire. You don't let it end at the product sitting in front of them.

The bottom line

If a senior marketer told me post-purchase isn’t a priority for them, here’s what I’d say: Every dollar you spend on acquisition works harder when customers come back. Lifetime value offsets rising acquisition costs, and repeat purchases drive profitability.

Treating post-purchase as an afterthought means you’re overlooking a key metric. You’re measuring first-purchase conversion and neglecting second-purchase rates. 

You need a channel that reaches customers after they buy. You already have one. Packaging is an owned channel. The product is already in someone's home. Once the product is in someone's home, you've already paid to acquire them. The question is whether you let that investment end there or make it keep working.