Image: Charbonnel et Walker Valentines Day heart shaped box Now that Christmas is over, I felt it was necessary to discuss the importance of packaging your product beautifully to not only meet the demands of the season but to also meet customer's demands for beautifully packaged goods on a year round basis.
Maybe you have a product that could be purchased as a gift for almost any occasion. For example, if you are a luxury chocolates business, you are likely to have sales all year round (people purchasing for birthdays, anniversaries, get well presents...) and then find you have spikes in sales around Valentines Day, Easter and Christmas. To stand out from your competitors on the shelves, why not customise your packaging to to the season? You can continue to stock your standard packaged products alongside your promotional stock, but keep in mind people will most likely buy a product in the appropriate packaging for that celebration over other packaging options. Take Valentines Day for example (which you should be thinking about and developing packaging for now that Christmas is over) - you could be the best chocolatier stocked on the shelves in your local boutique chocolate shops, and your loyal customers might buy your chocolates on a regular basis....but come Valentines Day, those same customers could grab your competitors product over yours if your product is not presented the best packaging design on the shelf, or if your product is not packaged for the season at all! Not only that, as a luxury product supplier, you would be expected to package your product for the season. Remember to also keep in mind your product packaging should be beautiful all year round - not just during Valentines Day, Easter and Christmas to secure sales. People love giving beautifully presented gifts that are packaged beautifully and in a professional way. People also love to receive beautifully packaged gifts. It makes them feel special and valued if the gift looks expensive. Take some time to think about your packaging, and compare it to others on your 'level'. If you are a luxury chocolatier, are all your competitors using rigid boxes with their brand colours and logo printed on the lid? are you only using flat packed boxes with a sticker on the lid? maybe your customers are buying your chocolates for themselves to eat, but go to the competitors when they are buying gifts for friends and family, due to your packaging not being perceived as luxury packaging. As with all changes, do lots of research before, during and after you trial something new. A lovely quote to finish off: "Everyone loves a pretty package. Unwrapping, opening, unfolding – customers enjoy the experience of receiving a package almost as much as the product itself. Your product packaging is your best way to make sure that your customer’s first impression of your business is a good one." Dionne Christiansen Reference: http://meylah.com/meylah/the-whole-package-how-creative-packaging-can-set-you-apart Image reference: http://www.chocolate-hearts.co.uk/heart-shaped-chocolate-boxes
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A successful conference will have many components, but I have listed some of the elements I think are most important in my experience of attending conferences:
Engaging content: I cannot stress enough the importance of engaging and relevant content. If you want to hold a conference, the most important element is content. You need to understand your audience, you need to be able to communicate clearly and on their level, and you need to engage them. You want to make sure that you are not using industry or technical language that only people from your industry would use, if you are talking to a group of people who are new to your topic. Don't try to sound too clever. You will only end up alienating the people you are trying to impress! You need to make the content interesting, and at all times (when possible), use real life examples. People connect with real life examples. It can help put otherwise technical or hard to understand concepts into real life situations. The last thing you want is for people to leave your conference feeling negative or leaving with no confidence because they feel they haven't understood anything! If you can help people learn something that they didn't know before, and it was taught in an interesting, positive and engaging way, the deleguates are more likely to view you in a positive light, feel more confident to engage with you, and feel grateful to you for your time. Invite: Your invite needs to explain very clearly: - the main topic(s) - who should attend - what will be covered in detail (topic points) - date, time and venue - if any catering will be included (if not, you can just say tea and biscuits provided); because this should be provided at the very least. People are very time poor, so make sure you attract only people you really want at your event, and make sure you don't glaze over what you are really going to talk about, so that attendees see you in a positive light after the event and feel like you have covered the topic they came to learn about. Catering: Getting the food and drinks right is important. As previously discussed, you should have at least tea, coffee, water and biscuits. However if you want to make an impact, I suggest you have catering. You don't need to be lavish. Some wraps and muffins can do the trick. However, it does need to be tasty, so I suggest you ask the catering company if you can have a sample delivered, or at least ask around your corporate friends or family to find out which companies they use. Venue: Pick a venue and location that will suit your brand. If you are a funky, alternative brand, why don't you have your conference in a funky office, or if that doesn't exist, or is out of your price range, try finding a space in the suburb that fits your brand the most. For example in Sydney, that could be Newtown. If you're a serious business, then a Servcorp office space for example, could be a good idea, because it's corporate and upmarket. Remember everything you do is marketing and branding. Make sure you are using brand consistency when holding your conference. Conference bags & promotional giveaways: If you have a conference of any size, offering your deleguates a bag of promotional material and also a promotional giveaway is always warmly received. Make sure your bag is custom printed with your logo, and custom made to the right size, colour and design for your professional look and brand image. Your event bags should contain the promotional collateral and giveaway item snuggly. A bag that slightly too big or too small can just look wrong. Prize giveaways: collect names Make sure you collect business cards so you can follow up on those who attended. Not only should you do this to thank them for attending, but also so build a rapport, so they know you are friendly enough to approach in future if they want to engage your services. You can also ask them if you can send them a montly newsletter, to keep your company top of mind. This way, you will hopefully get a ROI from your conference in the long run. If you think you are going to have difficulty asking each guest for their business card, instead ask your guests to place their cards in a glass bowl to go in the run to win a prize. People will be more forthcoming in giving up their business cards in they are in the chance to win! Networking opportunity for your deleguates: If you are holding a conference that concerns small business owners, a timeframe before or after the conference to formally network is always welcomed. Many small business owners would like to meet others that they could possibly assist and/or do business with, or just generally expand networks. This is just a small summary of the most important aspects of a conference. There are more elements that you may need to consider. Holding a conference can be fun, it can help you gain more business, expand your networks, and can position you as a leader in your field! The Atout France seminar bags that we supplied Chances are, if you are a small business owner, you are a professional in your field. You may have forgotten that you hold a wealth of information that most people don't know. It's easy to think that after years of being immersed in your profession, that what you know is just common sense. It's only when you start talking to people outside your industry, do you realise that you are more capable and knowledgeable than you think!
Lets look at example of an Accountant (you can replace 'Accountant' with what is relevant to you). As an Accountant, you may think the 5 most crucial aspects of accounting for small business is just common sense! But you can be assured that people thinking of going into business, and those in business, might not have any knowledge of accounting. In fact, there is so much information out there, that people might be missing the basics, due to the overload of information they are given. As an Accountant, you can break it down and people will love you for it! Everyone in business knows something on a subject that others know nothing about. If you have the opportunity to teach people about a subject that will benefit them (and ultimately benefit you), go for it! To set up an event you need to consider the following: - figure out what people want to know: as a professional, you might find a common question amongst your clients or even Googling your industry, you might find people asking the same questions. If you answer these common and important questions, in an easy to understand manner, you could be seen as the professional in the field, that people needing your service will feel comfortable approaching you, because you know your stuff! - content: make sure you deliver valuable information. Although you will want to advertise your services and drill into people your points of difference over your competitors, make sure that at seminars, you introduce yourself and your business in a quick introduction, then get onto the content that people have come to see you about. Make the content interesting, easy to understand, educational and to the point. - invite: state clearly what you are giong to teach at your semiar. A good idea is list how many things they are going to learn. Example: "5 accounting basics that all small business owners need to know". Here it outlines how many bits of information - if it just said 'accounting basics' people will think they are going to get overloaded with information, and may be hesitant to attend. 'Accounting basics' is the topic - here you are clearly indicating what people are going to learn about, and 'for small business owers' - so people know that the content will be relevant to them. Otherwise, if you dont explain what it's for, people could think its for individuals for their tax returns, so you may get the wrong audience. - location: if possible, if you are a local service provider (eg Accountant), have the seminar in your office. This will mean people in your area and surrounds (your target market) will find it easy to attend. If location doesnt matter to you, try and find a location that is central (ie city CBD). - time: think about the time that would be most convenient for your audience. Would straight after work be best? you dont want it too early, so they have to leave work early, but you dont want it too late - otherwise people will go home then might not have the energy to venture out again to attend your seminar. - catering: even if you dont have the budget for a spread, at the very least, ensure tea, coffee and biscuits are available. People may be coming straight from work and need a little pick up. It will also show you are caring. The last thing you want to do is look stingy! - giveaway: it's important that your attendees go away with something - whether it's a flyer with your call to action, your contact details and even a summary of your teachings. A voucher for your service will also be well recieved. Even a promotion - like 'refer a friend and get 50% off your next service with us' can create more customers. Giveaways that are well recieved, especially in a branded bag. Everyone loves goodie bags! To make your seminars and your business look even more professional, you can brand your event bags with your business logo or even a call to action. By hosting an event, you will be seen as a leader in your field. As long as you structure the content right, and teach your adience valuable information, your generosity is bound to pay off. People attending your event where you generously share information, will see you as the go-to person / the proffesional in your field who they can rely on to give them the correct information. They are most likely to refer you onto friends and family too. Good luck! Our event bags at a Networx Marketing seminar It's clear that everyone loves to receive a goodie bag at an event.
Make sure that you don't disappoint your excited delegates, by including a fun giveaway in your event bag! No one wants a bag full only of flyers and brochures advertising your business. People love getting a product that they can use or eat. Make sure your giveaway product ties in with your brand if possible. If that's not possible, then choose a product that people will use or consume, or anything that will get people talking, and always ensure your have your logo and or message printed. Think about your target market and what their needs would be; then figure out what an appropriate and fun item would be, that they would be grateful for and excited to receive from you. There are hundreds of promotional items companies out there and there are hundreds of great gift ideas that you can find that might relate to your product or service, or might not, but some of the giveaways I have found in my goodie bag, that I have loved are: branded chocolate cookie, handbag sized foldaway umbrella (very useful!), handbag sized sunscreen, picnic friendly wine glasses, wine bottle holder in the shape of a stick with a loop at the top which got people talking and discussing at the event. Even if you are offering a discount voucher, people still like to have something they can use or consume. And of course, you need to have a quality, beautiful goodie bag to give it away in. No matter what size your event - whether its a 100 person seminar, or a 3,000 person event, you should always offer a quality, beautiful, custom branded bag. All the best with your event and branded goodie bag giveaway! Image: bags we supplied for the Air France conference There are several elements you need to consider when designing the perfect bag for your conference or event. Size It is important you think about what you will be placing in the bag. You don't want the bag to be too big, nor too small. Your variety of promotional flyers or magazines and promotional give-aways should fit snugly in your bag. You should stack all the elements (magazine, flyer, giveaway)in a pile, then measure around them. This includes the gusset (side panel). Weight If you plan to give away a bottle of wine, a heavy magazine or other items that mean the deleguate's bag will end up being more than 1kg, you need to consider re-inforcing the handle holes and base of the bag, so the bags don't rip apart with the weight. Message / Printing After all the time and monetary investment you have made into the conference or event, a simple way to get your message accross and advertise, is on your bag. You could even put a call to action on your bag or advertise a competition that your deleguate can enter into by using the details on the bag. That is sure to make them remember you. Remember you need to keep in mind your overall branding colours and fonts, but you can have fun with the messaging on your bag to stand out. Colour You need to stick with your branding colours and colour palette when ordering bags - just like any other printing. Make sure your bags tie in with your brand by using the correct colour code. Shape The classic boutique bag style is very popular for conference paper bags style. If you want to make a statement and stand out from the crowd, you should consider having an unusual shaped bag. For example, a Zoo in the US have paper shopping bags at their zoo store, in the shape of animals. People will notice and talk about your bags. Here they are below: Look and feel
If you have a luxury product you should go with a thick gsm (to show quality), and a beautiful finish - such as matte or gloss lamination. If you are a budget brand, you could go for a kraft paper bag or something similar to keep in with your brand image. Timing Lastly, you need to remember to order your bags well in advance of the event. Designing, proofing, manufacturing and the delivery of your conference bags is not a last minute decision. Your conference bags need to be carefully considered, and that takes time! Hopefully these points will not only give you knowledge of what you need to remember for your next event, but hopefully they will also inspire you to have fun and think outside the square, with your next order of conference bags! Image: Our bags at the Atout France conference To run a successful event, there are many elements you need to get right. Of course organising and running an event has many elements, and whole books have been written on this subject, however I have picked out the 4 elements that I consider the most important.
Content There's nothing worse as an invitee to an event, than turning up, having taken precious time out of the day to arrive at the desination on time, knowing you are putting time aside to learn something new and interesting, where the content is skimmed over and it turns out it was more of an advertisment for a company's new product and a networking event for the hosts, than educating the audience. If you send out an invite to an event, and it clearly states that attendess will 'learn about x' then take at least 10 minutes to teach about 'x'. If you intend to skirt over the content and just spend 5 minutes advertising your new product or service, don't mention in your invite that you will be teaching anything. People do turn up with the desire to learn - so if you have no intention of teaching, some of your attendees will go away with a negative view of your business. There's nothing wrong with inviting people to attend your new product launch, with networking. In conclusion - don't decieve your potential clients in your invitation. People will see right through it. Catering Even if you dont have a large budget for a full spread, the least you should do is provide tea, coffee and biscuits. It leaves a bad impression if people think you are too tight to even supply the basics! If you are offering a breakfast, lunch or cocktail spread, make sure you get it right. Food is very important. People will comment on the food more than the content of your seminar or conference. If both the content of your seminar is educational and interesting, and the food is great - you will have made a great impression on the attendees. Giveaways Everybody likes a give away - especially food! Biscuits or a packet of chocolates with you logo on, or a useful product - like picnic flutes or a small umbrella with your logo on, are always well recieved. Also a small brochure or flyer that ties in with the event, with a call to action and your contact details. Depending on your product / service, even having a sample of the product or a voucher for your service, is a great idea. That way people will sample your product or service, which may lead them to become repeat customers. Bags Your custom printed bags should tie in with your event. To make your event really unique, you should invest in event bags for that particular event (even if it means doing a short run for a small event). You could have a call to action printed on the bags, a fun message about the event, or even key learnings - so that your deleguates will remember your event as well as your brand. Custom printed bags that are customised to that particular event are more effective than the standard logo branded bags. Unusual and fun is memorable. Make your bag unusual or fun (or both), whilst keeing with your brand personality. We hope these tips will help you hold a successful and memorable event for your current and potential customers! Photo credit: rebootproduction.com It's important for your start-up business to have a marketing plan because you need to market your product or service consistently right from the very start.
All branding and marketing should be carefully considered and decided on before you launch your product to market. Some considerations you need to think about when writing your business plan include: Branding guidelines: amongst other things, these guidelines will include the font (or fonts) and the colour palette you will use in marketing communications. Different fonts evoke different feelings or thoughts - so it's important to choose wisely. I would suggest you spend time researching fonts and playing around with them (even in Word) until you feel comfortable you have found the font that suits your brand. Or work with a Graphic Designer to find the right font for your brand image. Like fonts, different colours evoke different feelings and ideas. We have written a few blogs on the power and importance of colour, so I would suggest you spend time researching the colours that suit and 'speak' your brand as well. Business name: Depending on the image you want to portray, you need to think of an appropriate business name. If it's a service business, it could have your service in the title - so that when people search for you or see your logo online or in advertising, they know what you do straight away. For example, we got straight to the point and called ourselves our exact service. If it's a luxury retail brand, think of names that evoke luxury or quality (or that have the ability to become luxurious sounding names because of your brand). Logo: You need to create a logo that will evoke a particular feeling, and/or explain what you do (or both). For example, a university would probably want its logo to have a coat of arms, with classic, dark, serious colours, and probably something written in Latin in the logo. These elements will evoke the feeling of an established and serious university. The logo is a very important part of your business so you need to do extensive research and talk to a Graphic Designer about the image you want your logo to evoke in people's minds when they see it. Like packaging, it can make or break a business. People are visual and will immediately think your business is shoddy if you have a bad or unprofessional looking logo. Domain name & business email address: You should purchase a domain name for your website. You should get the same name as your business. At the time of thinking of your business name, you should try out a few internet searches and check if the name is available before deciding on and registering you business name. You really need to get a business email address too. It's unprofessional to use a gmail or hotmail account for your business. Having a professional business email address creates trust and people will think you're an established business. Your business card: You need to decide on the fonts, colours and designs you are going to use for your brand, and decide on your logo, before printing your business cards. That is why it's important to get your marketing plan right (and the branding decisions made) before launching your business and spending money on marketing materials or advertising. Your business card is a marketing tool that can tell a lot about the person and the business in a second. Make sure you use good quality photos, the correct font for your brand, your branding colours, and ensure the quality of the card matches the quality of your business. You don't want to be giving over a flimsy, cheap card if you are advertising yourself as a professional lawyer or accountant, but you also don't want to go over the top and look like you're frivolous with your clients money by giving out over the top luxurious business cards. Website: You need to have a website, even if its a one page website, with opening hours information, your logo and a picture or two of what you or your business does. People are visual. You need to show them what you do - don't just tell them in words. You don't need to spend hundreds or even thousands on a website. Weebly, Wix, and countless other template websites could do the job for free or for a small yearly fee. Social Media: Nowadays you need to have a Facebook page, Twitter account, and join up to any other social media site that will be of use to your business. But I would say Facebook and Twitter are the main two that you need to join. Check the rules, check what others in your industry are doing, and see if you can do it better. Make sure you take an hour out a week to update your Facebook page or Twitter account. You don't need to do something everyday - but make sure you do something on a weekly basis! That will give your prospective clients the indication that your business is active. Before you go posting anything on social media pages, make sure how you write, relates to your brand. If you are a fun, young, hip brand - people expect you to have energy, say fun things and be boisterous. Keep to your brand character at all times. In your business plan, you need to decide what your brand image is, and what character your brand will have, so you keep to that character in all social media communications. Packaging: If you have a product that needs to be packaged, you need to think about the packaging shape, colour and artwork design. Packaging is important as it is the difference between whether a customer will pick up your product when it is sitting on the retail shelf next to your competitors, or not. Your packaging is a mini billboard - and needs to tie in with your branding. You should contact a Packaging Designer, or at the very least Google packaging designs and find the type of packaging style you want, then talk to a Graphic Designer about the printing / design you want on your packaging. Remember the packaging design / materials / graphics need to tie in with the brand image you want to portray to your customers (which you would have written up in your marketing plan). Ensure you're using your brand's fonts, colours and 'look' on your packaging. Just because you love a beautiful package that you've spotted in your Google search, doesn't mean your customers will. 4Ps - Price, product, place and promotion: Price - you need to figure out the price point you should sell your product compared to your competitors, and to figure out your profit margin. You need to think about the product itself. Is the product superior / different in any way to your competitors? if so, you need to make that very clear in your marketing efforts. Place - you need to think about where you're going to sell your products, (or if you are offering a service - where that will be located), and promotions - what marketing / advertising vehicles are you going to use to get your messages across to your target market. However there is so much more to these 4Ps than I have written here - this is major! Entire books have been written on each of the 'Ps', which brings me to my next point... Research: I can't emphasize enough how important research is. Along with traditional research, using common sense, asking people in your target market what they like or don't like and why, researching what your competitors are doing, seeing what your competitor's customers complain about, downloading reports or research about your industry that is usually readily on the web, are all ways you can research. This is definitely NOT an exhaustive overview - this is just a few of the basics! Marketing is complex and important, but a lot of it is common sense too! Everything you do is marketing. From the way you answer your phone, the way you dress and present yourself to your clients, the packaging of your product, where your product is sold or where your service is located. Make sure you get it right because every element matters. That's why it's important to write up a marketing plan before your launch, so that you have time to write and re-write your ideas, to hone your colour palette and your brand's character, and make a final decision on all marketing and branding elements before you invest in business cards, packaging or any other advertising materials. Best of luck with your new business venture! Photo credit: Sensational Colour When working with your Graphic Designer / Packaging
Designer to create your product packaging, you need to understand the importance and power of colours. First and foremost the colours you choose will communicate your brand image to potential buyers in an instant. Your brand colours should reflect the image you want your product to portray. Do you have a classy or luxury product? Do you have a fun, flirty, young product? or do you have a natural, earthy product? These 3 different types of products would require completely different colour palettes. Branding includes choosing a colour palette that suits your product, to position it (e.g. as a luxury product or a natural product) in the minds of consumers, and to attract your target market. Packaging is your in-store mini billboard - you need to ensure your packaging reflects your overall branding. Colours create feelings (subconsciously and conciously), and can create an ambiance. Think of daffodil yellow – how does it make you feel? What images do you have? Sun, fields, flowers, happiness, energy, summer, fresh…? how does a blood red colour make you think of.. Love, romance, roses…? As we couldnt explain it better, we suggest to anyone wanting to understand the power of colours, to visit this website by 'Empower Yourself with Colour Psychology', and read their take on 'Packaging Colours' and the pyschology behind it: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/packaging-colors.html Also, check out our previous blog (January 2013) on colour and packaging for more information on this crucial subject. At Custom Printed Bags & Boxes we understand the importance of colour and how it communicates your brand image, that’s why we don’t stock standard products in standard colours. We allow our customers to custom make to their desired CMYK colour code. References: Photo reference: http://www.sensationalcolor.com/liveinfullcolor/christmas-by-colour-take-two/ Article reference that we direct you to: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/packaging-colors.html Photo credit: Dion Label If your sales are low and you find your once desired product is on a downward sales cycle, it may be time to take a look at your entire marketing mix – including your product packaging.
You should look at the people that you are targeting. Do you still have a customer database from 5 or 10 years ago, that you are still advertising to? Perhaps it’s a waste of time and money because they have ‘moved on’ from your product. Perhaps their tastes have changed? Perhaps they don’t have the money they once had? Perhaps your once loyal teenage customers are now buying more ‘mature’ age products and the advertising that worked for them, is not working for the new generation of teenagers. If you have a timeless product, maybe you want to keep your once loyal customers, but they aren’t buying from you anymore. Perhaps a direct or indirect competitor entered the market with a superior product, a lower price, a great advertising campaign and more attractive or overall better packaging. There could be a mix of reasons as to why your brand isn’t working anymore or why your customers decided to switch brands or just stopped using your brand or product. So you need to decide if you need to re-brand to get your customers back or if you need to attract new customers that haven’t tried your brand before. Or maybe both. It’s time to rebrand when you realise you are losing your current customers and potential customers to your inferior competitors. The colours, pictures and graphic design on your packaging that was really popular in the 80s or even 90s is not popular now. You need to research what the successful competitors on your level are doing, what their packaging looks like, and how they are communicating to their target market and customers. Maybe your fluro design on your packaging is not communicating that you use only natural products in your soap. Keep in mind, as you would with any marketing decision –marketing is about psychology. Many people are adverse to change, especially as they ‘mature’. So keep in mind that if you do want to keep your loyal customer base but want to re-brand, you need to communicate to them before you change your brand, you need to communicate to them during your new brand launch, and you need to communicate to them after the re-branding has taken place. Although this will still upset some people, you need to decide what is best for your company. You may lose 10 customers that can’t cope with change, but if you need to increase sales and attract new customers, and if the re-brand is going to potentially attract hundreds of new customers, then that is the risk you need to take. Never make decisions without carrying out a lot of research. Use common sense in your research, and ask lots of questions. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Why would they choose you (your brand) over a competitor’s product? Go and visit the shops where your product is stocked. Try to figure out why customers are reaching for your competitors products over yours. Take note of their packaging, their positioning on the shelf, their communication on the packaging, their brand image, their price points and advertising or promotional deals in-store. Be realistic. You might know that your product is superior to all the other brands on the shelf – but are you communicating that to your customer on the packaging? Is your branding shouting ‘superior product’? is your price point correct? If you are selling your product too cheap, people will assume it is an inferior product. But you cannot price it out of the market either. Again, research needs to be done into the correct pricing for your brand image and product positioning in the minds of your target market. Remember, product packaging is a billboard for your product. In the few seconds that you have to attract your customer when they scan the shop shelf, your packaging needs to communicate your brand image, what the product is, be interesting enough and desirable enough for the customer to take the time to pick your product up and examine it for a few seconds, then make the decision to purchase it. It has to communicate the solution to the problem that the shopper is looking for. People purchase products to fulfil a need. If you can communicate how your product can do that, showcase your brand image and be aesthetically pleasing, then you will be on the road to more sales with your re-branding efforts! Reference: Photo credit: http://www.dionlabel.com/blog-archive/tag/Rebranding%3A+Before+%26+After.html Please note, Custom Printed Bags & Boxes does not specialise in food packaging. Photo credit: www.guardian.co.uk Creating the right packaging design for your product is one of the most important decisions businesses of all sizes can make to increase their sales. If start-up businesses get it right from the start and invest in their packaging design, it can bring numerous benefits;
including establishing your desired brand image through your packaging, cutting advertising costs via traditional marketing vehicles and securing more sales. Why you should invest in product packaging: 1. More sales. You need your product (i.e. packaging) to be distinguishable and stand out from your competitors on the store shelf. You only have a few seconds to grab your target customer’s attention through your packaging design. Remember that most people are time-poor, and have dozens of distractions around them already – so you need a packaging design that will attract your target customer, and stand out from your competitors. You need to spend time researching your competitor’s packaging to ensure your packaging design is not going to blend in and be indistinguishable from all the other brands on the shelf, or be confused with an inferior brand. You need to invest in a great Packaging Designer and/or Graphic Designer to ensure your packaging design attracts your target customer’s attention and curiosity and quickly communicates to them what your product is. If you have a great product, a stand out package and a great brand image and identity, it should lead to sales. “Evidence confirming that the shopper appreciates and in fact explicitly wants to receive stimulation for the buying decision he/she is making when standing in front of the supermarket shelf, often even preferring this to other forms of communication. He/She is keen to be informed and inspired, tempted and pampered by surprising and persuasive functions, emotions and sensual impressions.”[1] The right packaging can increase sales, whereas the wrong packaging can destroy your brand and could mean few sales. “Packaging is one of those crucial steps that is often neglected in business. Ask yourself this question, would you buy a plain looking item or something excitingly packaged that makes anyone drool?”[2] 2. To attract and keep customers. Customers can have an emotional connection with packaging. It can become iconic which can increase sales, assist you to gain free publicity, and create a loyal customer base. Think about the classic Coca-Cola glass bottle. This has become iconic and people have an emotional connection to it – oftentimes it reminds them of happy times during their youth. Again, you should work with a good Packaging Designer and spend time looking at different packaging designs to form an idea of a packaging design shape and graphic design that creates the correct brand image for your product / company, that would attract your target market. Don’t forget you need to have a package that be appropriate to contain your product, and make it easy for customers to consume the product inside. (Remember the term ‘wrap rage’ – you don’t want your customers to get annoyed by the packaging before even getting to your product!). “Through the right mix of art and engineering, your product packaging can be used as the protective barrier that will keep content in great shape and make sure that it will still have the same quality upon reaching the customers”[3] 3. Cut advertising costs. Beautiful and unique packaging can assist keep your traditional advertising costs down. You can showcase your packaging on your website, Facebook page, Pinterest and so on. If your packaging is really beautiful or unique, people may comment on it online and to their friends, desire it, and you may even get free publicity. 4. It establishes your product positioning. Your packaging is the first thing people come across – so make it ‘speak’ your brand. “Packaging plays an important role as a medium in the marketing mix, in promotion campaigns, as a pricing criterion, in defining the character of new products, as a setter of trends and as an instrument to create brand identity and shelf impact in all product groups.”[4] If you are a Fashion Designer for example, and are sending your clothing in apparel boxes to your online sales clients, when they open the courier satchel the first thing they will see is your apparel box, containing their purchase. You need to ensure your apparel box ‘speaks’ your brand. If your customer receives an ugly, cheap looking box, they will immediately have negative thoughts about your brand / clothing quality before even reaching your product inside! If you have a beautiful, quality, branded box, it will become a pleasure to your customer’s eyes and they will see your brand in a positive light before they have even reached your product! If your packaging is on a store shelf, it is your advertising ‘billboard’. You need to invest wisely in your package design – both shape and artwork. Again, it needs to ‘speak’ your brand and be of good quality. People make assumptions on first appearances. You may be selling the best quality, most beautiful candles in the world, and your competitor’s products may be inferior, but if your candles are boxed in a sub-standard or ugly package with a terrible design, people will not even take the time to look at (or pick up) your product to take a closer look. 5. Packaging will help create your brand image and identity. This is especially important for start-up businesses that are taking their product to market for the first time. You can create your brand identity by making the right packaging design decision from the start. It is time consuming and difficult to re-brand so make sure you have your packaging done correctly from the start. Make sure the shape of your package and the design and wording on your package portrays the brand image you want for your business. If you are an already established business and your sales are low, it would be a good idea to review not only your product, but your product packaging – and maybe even carry out focus groups with your target market to get their idea on desirable package design, and why they would chose a competitor’s product over yours. You may find out that your target customers prefer your competitors package design over your outdated one. Or maybe they are not even noticing your product on the store shelf because it blends in too much with all the other brands. 6. Great packaging will add value to your product. If you have a great product, then great packaging will compliment your product and add value by confirming in your customer’s minds that the product they bought is a good quality, beautiful product. Check our Contact Us page to connect with our 2 great Packaging Designers who can assist you to create the right package for your product. Good luck! References: 1. Interpak www.interpack.com/cipp/md_interpack/custom/pub/content,lang,2/oid,7773/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/Product_packaging_plays_an_important_role_in_the_marketing_mix.html 2. David Kam http://marketingdeviant.com/the-importance-of-packaging/ 3. Envoca http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/reasons-to-invest-on-product-packaging-6155052.html 4. Interpak www.interpack.com/cipp/md_interpack/custom/pub/content,lang,2/oid,7773/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/Product_packaging_plays_an_important_role_in_the_marketing_mix.html |
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August 2021
AuthorClara Cassidy, Founder and Marketing Manager of Custom Printed Bags & Boxes, is a marketing professional with years of experience in branding, promotions and events. Categories
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