FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Packaging - Reasons Why Good Packaging Matters

Good packaging plays a vital role in promoting your business. It can communicate your brand values, build brand loyalty, offer marketing opportunities and much more. Therefore, it is important that the packaging you distribute to the marketplace is well designed, well considered and well executed.

Consider your product. A lot of time and energy has gone into the design and production of that item, so it not only needs to serve a purpose, it also has to represent your brand in such a positive way that your customer will to continue to support your business for years to come. Brand loyalty and consumer experience play such an important part in your sales and marketing and therefore your packaging should be equally as important, as you do not want this last piece of the jigsaw to have any impact on your sales and brand awareness. A jiffy bag therefore is not the answer.

So why does good packaging matter? The following 10 tips explain why your packaging should be equally as important as the product it contains.

1. First Impressions

First impressions matter. Your packaging is the only part of your brand to reach 100% of your customers. If this is the first time they have come into contact with your brand, the experience is all the more important. Therefore, the packaging should be exciting and memorable for all the right reasons.

2. Sustainability

Being environmentally friendly is now more important than ever, so by using sustainable materials with a minimum of 80% recycled content will help to make a difference. Consider packaging that can be re-used, recycled or is biodegradable such as Kraft paper. Think about corn starch peanuts instead of polystyrene for fitments and of course replacing plastic, or if not possible, using biodegradable plastic to help with the worlds ongoing environmental issues.

3. The Reveal

The consumer experience is an important part of the overall brand experience. Opening the box, otherwise known as the ‘reveal’ is all about the experience that is created in the period between the initial purchase and using the product for the first time. In the world of influencer marketing, the reveal plays an important part of this whole process and therefore in all cases, the interior of the packaging should be equally as exciting as the exterior.

4. Added Value

Simple touches such as tissue paper or card wraps around the packaging contents can give an added value to the purchase. If the customer feels they got a little extra for their money, the whole experience will be remembered far longer than if the product was simply placed in the box with no thought behind it.

5. Helps Build Brand Loyalty

In a world of brands and global competition, it is important that your business stands out from the crowd. Reinforce your brand message and its values by having it printed on your packaging or including a card or in-pack leaflet to help support your brand and its values.

6. An Investment

Most importantly you need to persuade your customer to buy your product. Creating a strong brand statement with your packaging will help make it distinctive from your competitors. Complimentary colours, strong branding and consistent graphics will all help attract potential customers.

7. The Wow Factor

As explained earlier, as part of the reveal, creating a wow factor when the packaging is opened can all enhance the consumer experience. Maybe a strong contrasting colour, tissue paper, a seal or ribbon can all add to the customer enjoying something that wasn’t expected.

8. Brand Awareness

Your logo is your brand, and a brand’s success can be measured by the amount of interactions a customer has with you, your company and your products. What better way to promote your brand, both on and off-line, than with your packaging. A positive customer experience will all help to promote your brand values, and reflecting these with high quality, well designed packaging can only help encourage brand loyalty.

9. Marketing Support

Packaging can be used to reassure your customer that they have made the right choice by buying into your business. Your packaging could contain information such as your brands unique selling points, your commitment to the environment or even your support for charities. All this can make your brand special and unique, helping to reinforce the fact that your customer has made the correct decision to purchase a product from your business.

10. Functionality

Packaging is unique in the world of design as it is one of the few areas where form and function work harmoniously with each other. Packaging’s main role is to protect the product. If this fails, its role is pointless. However, it also has an equally important end role in presenting your product to the customer. Protection is function, the consumer experience upon opening the packaging is form. Therefore, this is important to consider when designing your packaging. The packaging construction should have as equal consideration as the artwork that is printed onto it.

In a competitive marketplace, having good well-designed quality packaging can create strong brand awareness helping you deliver a positive customer experience, translating into sales and hopefully resulting in continued brand loyalty from new and future customers.

Please note that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to any other group or individual. To ensure you are fully compliant with all current legislation, please take legal/professional advice and do not rely solely on the information provided in these articles.