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What is marketing? If you were to ask most business owners, they’d stay along the lines of things relating to advertising such as social media, blogs, videos, commercials, print ads, and more. While these are all valuable marketing sources, the realm of marketing does not stop there. Any good marketing professional will tell you that marketing encompasses everything relating to the sale of a product or service – from the design and implementation right down to the packaging and presentation.
Product packaging is a crucial part of the marketing process. It acts as a mini advertisement that each consumer will see on the products as they browse the storefront or receive the packages in the mail. As a result, every business owner should be looking at efficient ways to improve their product packaging to drive more sales. With companies like QuickLabel providing affordable labeling solutions for your packaged products, improving your product as a means of increasing sales should not be an issue.
How Packaging Influences Purchasing Decisions
There is essentially an emotional aspect to making any purchase. While there are many emotions that can drive a purchase decision, impulse happens to be at the top of the list. Since the packaging is often the first thing that customers see (in brick and mortar locations), what they see will spark certain emotions which can be key indicators of whether or not they’ll make the purchase. A well-designed package related to the company’s brand and consumer’s needs can increase the possibility that customers will be interested in making a purchase.
There have been studies conducted to determine exactly how the brain works when customers look at various packages. In general, the studies concluded that products that are inside attractive, vibrant, and relevant packaging cause brain activity to become more intense. Whereas packaging that is dull, plain, or irrelevant can cause negative reactions in the brain, thereby evoking negative emotions.
How to Improve Your Product Packaging
In order to determine where changes are needed it becomes important for you to look at your packaging through the eyes of your customers. When you look at the package your merchandise comes in, are you engaged, interested in making the purchase, neutral, or do you get a negative vibe? Getting the opinion of your customers or staff can help you to draw more effective solutions. Once you know where the issues lie, you can begin to make the necessary changes to improve packaging and your brand. Below are some tips:
Clearly Labeled. At the very basics of packaging, you need to ensure that you’ve clearly identified the type of product and the brand name on it. Other product relevant information like the size, color, or ingredients should also be clearly labeled. A customer who has to guess “what’s in the box” will ultimately look elsewhere to get the products they need.
Provide Protection. Your packaging should provide protection for the merchandise enclosed. Whether this is in the form of Styrofoam and bubble wrap or a neat plastic storage container that they can use after purchase, you should ensure that your products are protected thoroughly. A customer who finds the merchandise to be damaged as a result of poor packaging protection will ultimately be dissatisfied with your product.
Honesty is the Best Policy. As you’re labeling your packaging to attract your target audience, be sure that everything you disclose is accurate. Labeling products with misleading or false information can ruin your reputation and decrease sales.
Convenient. No customer wants to have to fight to get their merchandise out of the packaging materials. As you’re designing your package, be sure that it's easy to access and convenient for customers. Adding handles, easy to tear seals, and so forth can go a long way in impressing customers.
Unique. Finally, your packaging needs to be unique. In other words, it needs to stand out from the competition. If your packaging, labeling, and branding look similar to other companies, you’re essentially blending in and decreasing the chances of the customer making a purchase with your brand. Finding out-of-the-box ways to make your packaging different colors or have different functionalities than that of your competition can put you ahead of the game.
There are tons of new marketing trends in China and across the globe that business owners can take advantage of. Remember, marketing goes well beyond the scope of flyers, social media, and blogs. Your product's packaging can make a significant difference in whether or not you make a sale. Therefore, evaluate your packaging and take the time to make the above mentioned improvements to help drive sales and increase brand reputation.
Written by Jane Brown
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