You might wish that shoppers would come to your product aisle, stand squarely in front of the shelf, peruse all the packages, and give you an opportunity to prove that your product is better than the competition.
That doesn’t always happen. Often, your package is seen at an angle from the corner of the shopper’s eye as she heads over to grab a gallon of milk.
How can you ensure that your packaging is as influential as possible?
- Make sure your color choices fit shopper expectations. If ice blue packaging makes shoppers think of soap, it doesn’t belong on your comfort food packages.
- Test packaging designs with a blur filter to make sure they will be recognizable as shoppers walk past. If possible, include competing products in your test to make sure your particular brand can stand out on the shelf.
- Think about how shoppers will use your packaging. Rick Dinsmore explained on Saturday Morning Meeting that the new Wet Nap packaging was designed to fit car cup holders, because consumers use Wet Naps in the car. Just as you think through your whole supply chain, think through the whole customer experience.
- Recipes, coupons, and information about the health benefits or environmental responsibility of your product are all incentives for consumers to buy your product again after they’ve tried it once.
- Your packaging can include an invitation to connect on social media or a QR code leading to video tutorials, recipes, or other product-related content at your website. This allows you to engage with customers between purchases and increase brand loyalty.
- Consider special packaging for the holidays. A product that is not strongly associated with the holidays can become a holiday purchase with a special themed package.
- If you package it like a gift, that will help consumers think of it as a gift. A big holiday bow on an otherwise utilitarian item can do surprising things.
- Holiday shoppers like to buy for themselves, too. Bundle your gift items with smaller gift specials the shopper can keep — you’ll tempt consumers with a “just for me” reward.
- If you go with special holiday packaging, you’re adding seasonality to your product. If it’s not usually seasonal, consider signing up for our Seasonal Supplier’s course. We’ll help you maximize the benefits and reduce the risks.
- Once you’ve gotten creative and thought in terms of marketing, get down to brass tacks and consider how your new packaging ideas might affect logistics and any other aspect of your supply chain.
