The type of product a business sells often guides development of the company's branded packaging, and packaging today goes much further than a simple box or some plastic wrap.
Consider that packaging not only offers businesses the ability to showcase products through bags, boxes, and cartons, but that features like security labels and traveling cartons may also enhance visual recognition.
Boosting Recognition for Small Business
Small businesses often reduce their overall budget for marketing and feel that there aren't any low-cost options for expanding brand recognition; however, creative packaging is one of the best ways to stand out on a store shelf. According to Entrepreneur:
Small companies may lack the marketing dollars and visibility of larger brands, but they can still stand out on the shelf by thinking outside the box—literally.
A small company that can't afford to purchase space on a billboard on a busy street or who must conserve marketing dollars with a small online campaign has another resource available: its packaging.
Sometimes, the "advertisement" of packaging from the vantage point of a store shelf is just as important as any part of the marketing process.
Stand-Out Packaging: The Design Process
A unique package in a retail environment will draw customer eyes as swiftly as any entertaining commercial or memorable marketing display. In fact, a pleasing exterior on a product might be the one thing a customer needs to be inspired to make a purchase.
Financial advice company InConcert Financial Group offers a short set of questions you'll consider while designing your packaging:
- Is the design a stand-out example of packaging?
- Does the packaging protect the product?
- Is the packaging legal under local law?
- Are directions, warnings, & guarantees part of the packaging?
Above all, the creation process for new packaging must consider buying from the customer's point of view. Thoughts on customer demographics like age, gender, and income are topics for discussion.
Tip: Customers like to see what they're buying. A window or photograph of the product on the package is important.
Stand Out with Sustainability
Not every product is organic and healthy, but that doesn't mean the packaging can't be something that makes customers feel good about their purchase. Using fair-trade, organic, and sustainably made packaging gives consumers a mental boost when they purchase a product.
Of sustainable packaging, newspaper "The Guardian" says:
Retailers, clothing brands and luxury goods companies are all getting behind the drive to develop intelligent and sustainable packaging.
Whether you're selling organic, locally-grown raspberries or you're selling double-chocolate cake, customers today seek out companies that use sustainable packaging. Additionally, investigating ways to reduce overall packaging is another way to stand out on a shelf.
Who needs a product that's been wrapped 5 times from factory to arrival? Extra packaging only annoys customers who must dig through layer upon layer of packaging. A simple and vivid approach to packaging is good for the environment, great for improving a company's reputation, and offers an increase in sales from environmentally conscious shoppers.
Reusing Packaging
An interesting project from Alameda County in California was recently launched to improve the sustainability of different packaging materials. Called the "Use Reusables" program, the plan aims to help businesses use reusable packaging for transporting goods, rather than using materials that are thrown away after transport is complete.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which helped fund the project:
Reducing the use of disposable transport packing materials can reduce solid waste and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Before your customers ever see the packages that hold your products, you can make changes to transport packaging, and those changes will improve many aspects of the company's bottom line.
With reusable packaging, a company can lower the cost of distribution, reduce its carbon footprint, and reap the reward of positive public sentiment by sharing these steps with customers through savvy marketing campaigns.
Create New Packaging for Your Business Today!
Market your company's brand through creative, sustainable packaging options from Howard Packaging.
If your business is interested in using modern packaging solutions, let us know! Find out what we can do for your business. Request a Free Catalog and Sample Kit Today!
