It’s the attitude of a lot of business owners that packaging really doesn’t matter that much. After all, it’s the product inside that matters, right? Well, yes and no. A poor product can completely destroy your business’s reputation, but without decent packaging no one’s going to buy them and see how great your product is! You don’t have to spend a fortune on presenting your products, but you certainly can’t neglect packaging altogether. Here’s why packaging is so important.
By Xingenious (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
First of all, it sets your product aside from others. Unless you’ve invented something completely revolutionary, there’s going to be countless other products on the shelves competing for your customer’s attention. Packaging plays a large role in the customer’s decision to buy a product, so yours has to stand out among all the other options if you want to see any healthy sales figures. Take Captain Morgan’s “Canon Blast” rum. The bottle is almost spherical and black; shaped like a cannon ball. The marketing guys at Captain Morgan really hit the nail on the head here. The name of the product is relevant to the brand, and the packaging is a lot more eye-catching than many of its competitors.
Another big reason why packaging is so important is that it helps with brand recognition. Think about some of your favourite brands, with no particular category. No matter what the product is, you’ll notice that they all have one thing in common; they’re more memorable than their competitors. Another common element is that they stay true to their formula. Take Coke, for example. Over the past decades, they’ve changed the style of their packaging in countless minor ways. However, they’ve never strayed too far from their original bottle motif, and you’d be able to recognise almost any bottle of coke from the 20th century. By the same token, some brands have completely overhauled their packaging, and suffered greatly for it. Bear in mind that you don’t need completely customised packaging to stand out. Many commonplace styles can be made more memorable with some clever graphic design. Find CL Smith here for an example.
Finally, choosing the right packaging can be a great way to cut unnecessary costs. You may not think it, but when you’re selecting your packaging you’ll have a unique opportunity to save some valuable capital. The ecommerce niche has really driven this point home. A lot of online stores have found incredible ways to make their cheap packaging come off as stylish and personalised. I remember coming across one Etsy store which sold hair accessories, and had enjoyed remarkable success considering it was run by only three people. The bows they sent to their customers were of a decent quality, and came attached to a cheap piece of cards with a chic pattern and a stylish font spelling out the name of the piece. By spending peanuts, this entrepreneur managed to give all her customers a potent sense of luxury. Not to mention saving masses of money which she could use to grow her venture!