Packaging is not merely about good graphics, but effective one. Its the in-depth research which takes us to the right kind of packaging and hence entice consumer to buy the products!
Packaging is not merely about good graphics, but effective one. Its the in-depth research which takes us to the right kind of packaging and hence entice consumer to buy the products!
The product package is the first thing your customer notices when making a purchase decision. The primary marketing principle always revolves around the customer and building trust among them.
50% of Consumers recommend your brand’s product if it comes in branded packaging.
It plays a more crucial role for your brand & customers and has a functional role in marketing, sales, and creating brand awareness. The simple change in product package from the old to the new one can change the outlook of your brand and make it more appealing to your customers.
It has an enormous impact on a brand’s success, so the product package design attracts attention, tells the brand’s story, and positively influences customers. That’s why companies need to invest in qualitative product package design research early.
However, many companies lack consistent, consumer-driven processes and either forgo research or misuse it. As a result, companies fail to invest in packaging systems that might improve sales.
Let’s start with some basics-
Packaging research is the study and analysis of package design and its effectiveness in marketing a product. It can encompass everything from understanding how people view and interact with packaging to studying what packaging can communicate about a product.
There are various factors that come into designing the perfect package. However what is more important is understanding the market to ensure that you will attract consumers to the product. You can do this through packaging research--a great way to optimize your overall customer experience and marketing campaign.
Good research can help businesses to create effective product package designs. It can also involve consumers testing new designs. By understanding what consumers want and need from packaging, companies can create designs that are more likely to appeal.
Which are the critical factors in developing and evaluating product package design? Let’s go back to the very basics of the process, the packaging design phase.
When you consider designing a package for your new product or redesigning the old one, it should begin with qualitative research to better understand consumer motivations, knowledge levels, and perceptions. Insights about the customer’s shopping experience and brand choice can influence package design decisions.
Qualitative research provides a deep understanding and insights into customers’ behavior, needs, and motivation to optimize the design of a new package or redesign an old one. It involves small-scale respondents up to 50 and applies a broad range of approaches to the researcher's objectives.
It involves methods like-
Packaging acts as a visual signpost and triggers the consumer decision-making process. Shape, color, size, design, or material creates instant appeal on the shelf and attracts customers.
The first impression always matters.
It becomes essential to put participants in a realistic situation to observe the actual situation in a physical store. Shelf tests help you identify the design elements that influence customers' buying decisions.
Eye-tracking is yet another powerful method in packaging research. It can feel the gap between what customers think and what they say you think.
In short, eye-tracking provides data about how buyers' attention is spread in real-time. Many brands lean on eye-tracking studies to improve their sales, which leads to exploring issues in packaging design. There are four different ways you can use the eye-tracking method to gain insights-
The eye-tracking method can help you measure which elements in a package design attract customers immediately and which are ignored or never noticed.
You might have a unique packaging design idea for your product, but it’s always crucial to study the ideas of your competitors.
The best way to determine the practical quality of your product packaging design is by evaluating your target method and how it stands out from your competitors. Your packaging design differentiates your product from your competitors and communicates your product’s unique value.
You can ask numerous questions in your packaging testing survey like-
You might collect the responses and evaluate them compared to your competitor's design,, if your goal is to differentiate your product in a highly competitive market, you might consider providing more uniqueness and functionality to the design.
Take notes of the brands placed beside your products, and see what kind of style they have used, material, and size. Knowing the competitors using the survey market makes you feel intimidated and inspired to make it more unique.
It is always important to know about the product you’re designing around. You might have some great ideas, but do they make sense for the product?
The ultimate goal of your package design is to influence customers to buy it.
You can twist the package design to make it fit better and provide more functionality. The more creative your design is, the more it will stand out on the shelf or in the e-commerce store.
For example, consider a cereal box; it has to be easy for both children and adults to hold onto and pour cereal out. If you have a better idea that can improve it more, go for it!
Here are some factors to consider-
Functionality is a crucial part of the quality and packaging design of your product. Take a small survey with a small group of customers to know how they use the product and what can ease their use.
Research is a crucial part of anything, whether making a purchase or designing a new product. For example, if you want to buy a mobile phone, you might do some basic research about the phone and then choose from numerous options. The same goes for the product packaging design; it might go wrong and turn into a mistake.
Here’s a list of mistakes that might create an enormous impact on your product packaging design-
One of the biggest common mistakes in packaging research is not testing in a real-life situation. Designing an attractive packaging becomes crucial to studying all the related aspects of the industry, business goals, and customers’ views.
If you are designing with no research data, it might not attract customers or fulfill their requirements. Testing can help you understand how your targeted audience would perceive their design and collect honest opinions and reactions to improvise it before the final edit.
However, it might be challenging to consider that all shoppers and customer groups behave differently depending on the category, channel, location, and situation. Without testing your design or collecting the data, you might risk making costly mistakes, whether the new design might work or not.
The primary function of any packaging is to keep the product safe.
Imagine you ordered food online, and the food is ruined when delivered to you. The packaging wasn’t airtight and came out of the container. Would you ever buy it again from the same restaurant? You might not!
The selection of an inappropriate material can drain all your design efforts and eliminates customers' trust in your brand. Low-quality material can cause severe damage to the product even before getting delivered, especially for e-commerce products.
Customer convenience, wastage, production cost, competitor analysis, product safety, and expert advice are factors to consider while selecting a suitable material. You might need to research the pros and cons before deciding on the material.
A few things might point out your hilarious mistakes in packaging design, and one such thing is Typography. It can create an impression of unprofessionalism and ignorance.
The customer rarely pays their money to purchase from a brand that can’t get simple packaging details right.
The final product has the maximum visibility chances, so everything written on it should be aligned, in the correct place, with attractive fonts and colors, and clear to attract the targeted customer.
The famous quote “Less is more” is best suited to the packaging industry. The less complicated your packaging is, the more attractive it will be for your customers.
Excessive product packaging that adds no functional value can increase the cost of the product and severely affects brand reputation. If your product packaging has too much unnecessary space or features, it can disappoint your customers.
Adding unnecessary layers of packaging can contribute to wastage and is unsustainable.
Packaging is one of the most important aspects of any product. It is the first thing consumers see, and it can make or break a sale. Packaging Research is one of the most important aspects of product design. It is the first thing customers see, and it can play a crucial role in influencing their purchasing decision.
Our team has designed and developed a process that helps our clients create delightful product packaging designs. Contact us today if you are interested in learning more about our process or want to start creating your packaging designs.
We are Desworks, the design arm of Bizongo. We design brands, packaging, products and have delivered 85+ successful projects in the last 5 years of our existence.
Our winning formula for brands, packaging has a mix of aesthetics, functionality, and experience.
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