Make Your Product Look Good
You may have developed a brilliant and innovative product; but it could be of no use if you fail to introduce it to your consumers in the right way. With the competition getting tougher by the day, perfect launching of your product becomes crucial.
If you have thought about saving the packaging of your product for the last minute, think again! It is not as easy as you think. You may require a lot of time, what with the hunts for vendors, the redesigns and the delays.
The main thing that introduces your product to your target audience is your packaging. Not only does it explain your product and its usage, it also keeps it safe and protected. While creating brand awareness, it also helps you establish the kind of brand impact you desire.
The wrapper or box that you took for granted till now is actually crucial in driving the decisions of your consumers. It is high time you start looking at this decision timer as a point of inflection, a plot point.
Many businesses end up thinking it is only their sales promotion and advertising efforts that drive their customers into making their purchase decisions. Obviously this is where all the debates and discussions happen. While all these efforts get the customers to take a look at the product, it is the package that actually gets the product sold.
So, it doesn’t matter how much time, money and efforts you put in to promote your product and make sure it gets listed on to the key retail outlets, if your package doesn’t look good enough to deliver at the point of sale, it is an absolute waste. It is not any more about the product that you come up with; it is about whether or not it stands out from the rest. Only a great packaging design can make this possible.
So then how do you make your advertising and promotional efforts worthwhile?
What do you have to do to make consumers reach out to your pack on the shelves?
Here are a few strategies that can help:
Go Minimalistic
Great packaging design does not have to be complicated or expensive. It can be simple and inexpensive as long as your consumers know what they are buying. A little bit of face lifting should do; but it should be relevant to the product it holds. Misleading your consumers by giving them a different picture of your product is a strict No-No. This can only lead to disappointment and poor sales performance. Whatever you do, you cannot violate the expectations of your consumers. The last thing you would want is to create a bad image of your brand. So, embrace a minimalistic packaging design and say no to false advertising.
Try and be unique and different
Before you start working on your packaging design, it is important to look at your competition. If there is a sea of busy packaging out there you may want to choose something that is starkly simple. If it is all black and white you may want to add in some color. If every product on the shelf looks square, you may want yours to appear a little rounder. Any significant variation, be it in color, shape or design, is sure to attract the eyes of the consumers. It increases the chances of your product getting picked up from the shelves. That’s not all! You also need to make sure the point of orientation on your package, communicates the essence of your brand proposition to the shoppers. Your brand should be the signpost that draws the consumers towards the category.
Keep it Complimentary and Product-Friendly
The product and its package should always be complementing each other. The package has to be exclusive designed for the product it contains. If it is not product-friendly it won’t sell. For instance, People always found it to use Ketchup since they came in glass bottles. Heinz came up with an upside-down, compressible package which hiked the sales of its ketchup by many folds. If you think in terms of complimentary packaging design, you are sure to come up with many creative and product-friendly design ideas for packaging your product.
Launching special editions might help
Impulse buying could be a bad habit of consumers; but as a seller you can benefit by promoting this bad habit in them. See what is trending in the market and come up with some limited edition of packaging that relates to that trend. For instance, during the IPL season, you may want to launch a limited edition of cricket-related packaging. This way you can promote impulse buying among cricket fans.
Break Rules if Need be, but in the right way
There are some pre-defined rules in every industry. For instance, toothpaste always comes in a tube and for every pair of shoes there is always a carton box. If you want to break any such rules you can go ahead by all means. It will get your product noticed alright. But make sure you do it in the right way without ruining the complimentary aspect of the design. You may want to use something other than white and green to package your organic food item; but making it black will kill its purpose. So try and understand the logic behind these rules and stay conscious.
Be Aware of the Market Trends
A product-friendly packaging design always works; but if it is trendy it works even better. Stay on top of social media and learn about the latest trends in packaging. Incorporate those in your packaging design and boost your sales. Should you come across any hype created by media or movies, try and use it. All these are ways to attract your consumers to your product and they work if used in the right way.
Plan everything thoroughly
Design is an asset; and an investment that is worth a lot of money to your business. You can make use of this asset only if you have a perfect plan. Think about the entire process…the cost of packing…the storing…the shipping…and even the visual appeal it is supposed to create when placed on the shelves. Focus on the practicality and functionality of your packaging design, without ignoring the aesthetic part. It is not only about creativity; it is also about its effectiveness. If it is not effective enough it will not sell.
Follow these tips next time you design your package. Share your comments on how effective they were. If you have any more ideas, don’t hesitate to share them with us.
