Product Packaging: The Silent Salesman
People don’t often make first-time buying decisions based on the product itself – unless they’ve been convinced from a previous experience. Perhaps the product was recommended to them by a friend, or a nice demo lady (or man) was at the supermarket handing out free samples. Otherwise, people simply gaze over their choices on the shelf, pick up a product or two, and then ultimately decide on one product to try out for the first time.
You may think we’re all simply “drawn” to our product of choice, but here’s another thought: being drawn to a product is accomplished by product packaging, and it’s called the “silent salesman” for this reason. Here’s why:
Packaging communicates your product
On a fundamental level, good packaging design communicates what’s inside the packaging, which helps the consumer understand the product they’ll be purchasing. While this may sound like a no-brainer to some, it’s important to remember that packaging can be deceiving. People don’t like to be deceived, and they won’t buy a product they don’t trust. Creating a false expectation of your product greatly reduces customer satisfaction, which makes you lose a greater number of customers in the long run.
Your product’s packaging should communicate your product, as well as its quality, origins, health benefits, and any other information in an honest and straightforward way. This helps build trust with your customer.
Packaging communicates your brand
Now that we’ve discussed the basics, we’ve come to the fun part: making your packaging communicate your brand. While branding and brand strategy is an entire area of its own, product packaging reflects the ideas that your brand as a whole wants to represent.
Simon Sinek, famous author and organisational consultant, had this to say about why some companies are more successful than others: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
This same adage applies to products on the shelf. Your product packaging should reflect why your brand exists in the first place, and what it wants to accomplish. Does your packaging design evoke a sense of innovation and quality? Is it sustainable? Does it represent your brand’s sense of professionalism or playfulness through the use of different fonts, colours and imagery? Why does your product exist in the first place?
Product labels and designs should reinforce the quality and message of your brand as a whole to create strong connections with consumers who believe in the same principles that you do.
Selling your product to the consumer
Packaging, in its most practical sense, is designed to preserve the product inside it. Convenience packaging in particular makes handling and storing your product easier throughout its journey. But because there’s no actual salesman stationed near the shelves to talk about why your product is great, mere convenience doesn’t communicate what’s inside the packaging itself, while good packaging design does.
Good packaging design is sales-driven and shouldn’t make people think. Because the complexity of a design should fit its medium, you only have a small amount of space and a short timeframe to impress people enough to make a purchase. Packaging design that incorporates the right images, style, colours, and even typeface, all help to create a mood that a consumer is attracted to, triggering the ultimate decision to put your product in their basket.
Packaging Design Experts at Onfire Design
Ready to smoke the competition? The Onfire Design team here in Auckland specialises in creating powerful packaging design that gets your products through to checkout. We want to create the opportunities that will make customers get to know, love, and recommend your product and your brand.
Contact us at 09 480 2036 today!
