Smart product packaging can sway a customer’s purchasing decision
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The ingredients or contents of the product or the popularity of your brand aren’t the only two things a customer considers when looking to make a purchase. The package, container, bottle, bag, or box a product comes in heavily influences a customer’s decision. You wouldn’t want to buy the best quality shampoo in the market only for it to come in a bottle that’s leaky or whose cap is hard to open. This is especially true for larger shampoo bottles. Customers would much rather prefer buying a shampoo bottle that comes in a pump bottle for easier release of its content.
This is why businesses must be perceived as a brand that focuses on enhancing the customer’s overall experience. This means that you need to give the product’s packaging and delivery method as much thought and effort as you did their ingredients or manufacturing. Only when you focus on the bigger picture can you provide extra reasons to a customer to ditch products made available by your competitors and choose to do business with you instead.
Smart product packaging makes customers feel valued
This might sound like an odd one but is actually quite simple. One of the most common yet inspiring examples of this is Heinz Tomato Ketchup. The very first bottles in which Heinz sold their tomato ketchup were simple glass bottles. A twister lid secured the mouth of the bottle and a simple label mentioned the brand’s name and the ingredients of the ketchup. This bottle design, however, was very wasteful. Owing to its thick consistency, the ketchup would get stuck to the glass bottle’s insides, and one couldn’t take it out as much as they tried.
After several customers complained about this, Heinz decided to look into the matter and do something different. They launched the upside-down plastic squeezy bottles. These bottles had to be turned upside-down and then squeezed for the ketchup to come out. Now, taking out as much ketchup as you wished without wasting any was possible. Heinz could have decided to do nothing about this matter and manufacture the same glass bottles; however, doing things differently helped them earn the love and appreciation of their customers. In the long run, this also provided them loyal customers and recurring businesses.
Smart product packaging can be an excellent marketing tool
Everyone remembers the iconic “Share a Coke” campaign launched by Coca-Cola a few years back. Coca-Cola flooded the market with bottles that had the most common names printed on their labels. They asked people to find a bottle with their name or their friend’s name on it and post a photo on Instagram tagging the company. Thousands of people took up this challenge and posted numerous photos of the Coca-Cola bottle. This not only helped the company sell an increased number of Coca-Cola bottles but also enabled them to generate a lot of engagement on their social media accounts.
If used smartly, innovative product packaging can help serve as an excellent marketing tool. Your target audience can be enticed to buy the product for some fun purpose and share the same on social media accounts. This spreads photos of your product on social media and reaches an even wider audience. The idea is to essentially create shareable content that people will be interested in showing to their followers. It doesn’t have to be all fun. Your product packaging could also offer the customers some added functionality that they would like to showcase to others.
Smart product packaging establishes brand recognition
When it comes to building a successful business, you must make space to create a brand that endures. Plus, you need to stand apart from your competitors and offer your customers uniquely inspiring value. This is where brand recognition comes into play – transforming your brand into something unique and eye-catching so that your customers can set you apart from competitors and recognize your presence right away. While there are several ways to establish brand recognition – innovative ad campaigns, regular social media updates, and more – smart product packaging is a stellar option that goes a long way.
We know that the Dove soap comes in a trademark cardboard packaging with the symbol of a white dove on it. Everyone knows what Coca-Cola bottles look like. There’s no denying the easy recognition of Vans or Puma shoes from a far distance. This is what smart product packaging can do for your brand. When your products are packaged in a unique, purposeful, and engaging way, you can establish solid brand recognition in the market. Your customers would be able to recognize your products from far away on a shelf in the supermarket. Your products would gain precedence over other products when someone is buying them from an online store.
