The impact of product packaging

Within each industry, there is a great amount of competition. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of businesses each competing to hold and grow their market share. There are of course many, many factors that can influence each company's success - but one factor that is often overlooked, and more importantly underestimated is product packaging.

So, let's take a closer look at the impact that product packaging can have on sales…

Information

What better place to give potential customers all of the information they might need about your product, than on the product itself?

When people are unsure whether or not to purchase a product, they will often pick it up to inspect the packaging and learn more about it. They're looking for something very specific - information that confirms whether this is the right product for them.

In short, they're looking for a reason to commit to the purchase. So, your packaging should communicate exactly what the product is, instructions for use, ingredients, where it was manufactured, how the products should be stored, use by dates etc.

Customers feel more confident about their buying decisions when they know exactly what they're buying. And if your packaging covers this information clearly, a customer is more likely to make a purchase. And if you opt not to include this information, it is likely that you won't be able to convert a good number of those potential customers into sales for your product.

Branding

It goes without saying that branding is an important component of product packaging - but why?

If your business or brand is already well established and well known, the brand name and theming will carry some weight and could help to sway a consumer to purchase your product.

They already know and trust your other products, and automatically assume given their past experience with your brand that this product will be equally as useful to them. Or at the very least that it is worth their time to purchase and try the product.

But of course, branding is more than just a colour palette and a logo. A good brand identity will give an accurate representation of your brand and core values, to those people who may not yet be familiar with it. Therefore, packaging should always be designed with customers in mind.

Additionally, it is important to ensure that the overall design looks good. Surprisingly, many products fail to achieve this. Your packaging needs to be visually stimulating, engaging and most importantly appropriate for the product and in line with your branding.

Because in a crowded marketplace with a number of direct competitors, all with very similar, and in some cases near identical products - these features will help your product to grab the attention of potential customers. And if you don't convert potential customers into a sale, your competitors will.

Pricing

Financially speaking, you might think of packaging as nothing more than a cost. But did you know that it can be an important factor in how to price your product?

A well designed, well executed and high-quality packaging will reassure buyers that the product is also well designed and high-quality. And of course, a higher quality product can easily justify a reasonable increase to the price point.

But if your packaging is not up to scratch, there is a good chance that potential buyers will assume that the brand, or even the product itself isn't good. Because if it was a good product, the company would surely have sufficient money to invest in their packaging…

The Power of Packaging

For many businesses, the packaging of their product(s) is an afterthought - especially when a product has been on the market for some time. But packaging can make a powerful impact on sales, and it's worth remembering that the impact is not always a positive one.

Great packaging can boost and sustain sales, grow a brand's reputation and open doors of opportunity to your business.

An interesting design and quality production will help to catch a potential customers eye, which in a crowded marketplace isn't always an easy thing to do. But bad packaging that is poorly designed or executed can not only fail to attract potential buyers, but it could actively put off potential buyers and damage your brands reputation.

If you are looking for support with packaging design, our friendly team of designers here at PHd Design can help.

We have 30 years of experience with packaging design projects and have a proven track record with most industries and products covering both new product launches and also for brands looking to improve their existing packaging. If you would like more information, please email info@phddesign.co.uk and a member of our team will get in touch.