The Importance of Product Packaging in Marketing
A product’s packaging is an important marketing tool of a company. A memorable presentation can go a long way into affecting a consumer’s perception for a good first impression and securing brand loyalty.
Most customers will be intrigued by a persuasive and appealing package, and the way the package looks matters in the same way as the product itself.
The Importance of Product Packaging
Product packaging is just as important as the product, since it is a consumer’s first interaction with your goods. An important marketing and communication tool that can do many things for your business, from how it can be useful to your clients to your organization’s ethos.
Protection
The primary purpose of product packaging is to protect the product inside from any damage. It should be sturdy, dependable, and should keep the product in good condition from the manufacturer’s warehouse up to the time the buyer opens the package. Many companies provide seals and locks to avoid tampering.
Promotes the product
Important information should be displayed on the packaging. These are the texts describing the ingredients and nutritional values of food products, or instructions on how to assemble and use a product. Buyers are more likely to purchase a product if they understand what it is. Some packaging drops wordy instructions and uses transparent packaging to let the product speak for itself.
Attracts buyers
Once a consumer is attracted by your product packaging, you are ahead of the competition. It is important that the packaging design engages the possible client through sight and touch; it is a way of putting your product into the customer’s hands. The proper choices of material, pattern, color, fonts, and graphics should tell the story of the product inside. The details must educate the consumer about what the product is, how to use it, who should use it, and if you need to buy it or not.
Differentiates your brand from others
With numerous products on the display rack, your product packaging should stand out from others. A stylish, stunning packaging will do just that. With all the products having the same size and form, your product should have a different design. The color tone, text types, and style in your pattern must be different from the competitors. Some companies use transparent plastic boxes to catch the consumer’s attention to set them apart from the rest.
How to Design Packaging That Makes an Impact in Marketing?
Putting money in a great packaging design is a good investment. It requires meticulousness and a sense of brand identity. A design that sticks out will catch the customer’s attention and can boost sales. It takes more than a good eye to come up with a beautiful packaging design. Consider these elements to increase the visibility of your brand.
Clarity and simplicity
A buyer uses up at most four seconds to check out any product on a display shelf. You need to be clear about the product and the brand.
A packaging design that falls short of describing the item as to contents, application, or brand personality will not do well in a store. There are products with a good-looking shell but fail to describe what’s inside. Some products identify numerous benefits without a visible brand name.
Honesty
Presenting an item in a way better than what it is, deceives and eventually frustrates the customer. This will result in a poor brand image and lost sales.
Keep in mind that customers want their money’s worth and don’t want something entirely different from what was presented in the product packaging. Remember, clients need to be treated right.
Authenticity
In the heart of every great packaging design are originality, appeal, and brand recall.
With hundreds of products in the market, the only way to get noticed by the consumer is to be distinct, authentic. Assess the market, then apply an uncustomary design that goes against the flow with strong visual attraction.
For instance, if most competitors are using vertical designs, go for horizontal ones. If most designs are trying out contemporary patterns, reach out for retro with an emphatic appeal. Get inspiration from spirit labels for your chocolate packaging design.
Shelf impact
From a consumer’s perspective, products on shelves are bunched together and certainly not in great detail. Everything appears to have the same pattern made of different materials until a certain product attracts attention and the buyer takes a closer look.
This uniqueness and allure of the item, when placed on a display rack, is what retailers term as “shelf impact,” and it has a tremendous effect in generating sales. You need to include shelf impact in your plan to appraise and investigate the effectiveness of your package design. Do this by mirroring the arrangement in a real store with your brand alongside competitors’ products. The more striking it appears, the better it sells.
Types of Packaging in Marketing
Packaging keeps the product from breakage, and a strong design stimulates a consumer’s interest to help in improving the company’s bottom line. There is a range of possible packaging alternatives to improve product engagement and enhance the customer experience.
Paperboard boxes
Paperboard is lightweight and can be shaped into different forms and patterns making it ideal for personalized packaging. Solid bleached sulfate (SBS) is useful in packaging medicines, cosmetics, liquid products, and more. Companies who prefer the natural and environmental look of reused paper opt for coated unbleached kraft (CUK}.
Paperboard boxes will make your brand look expensive sans the high-end price.
Plastic boxes
Plastic boxes can be recycled and are more sturdy than paperboard boxes. It does not break easily and food can be stored under extreme conditions. The transparent feature of plastic can showcase the product inside without opening the package. Plastic is cost-effective, recyclable, and takes less energy to produce.
Chipboard packaging
The materials used in manufacturing chipboards are made from recovered paper stock and a cheap option for packaging. Industries that use chipboard packaging are electronic, medical, food, cosmetic, and beverage.
Polybags
Polybags are one of the most commonly used types of packaging in the market and made from flexible, thin, plastic film material. Since it is simple to make, it can be easily tailored according to the size, structure, and pattern and still be cheap. To make the polybags secured and attractive it is provided with safety attributes, attachments, hanging holes, and grip handles.
Foil sealed bags
Coffee and tea bags are packaged in foil seal bags. It keeps the product fresh to maintain the flavor, keeps it from contamination of germs, and improves shelf life. Bedding and clothing items also use foiled sealed bags. Oxygen is emptied from the bag to avoid fungi and bacterial growth.