26 July 2023
How can you make your boxes stand out? Is it with the material? Is it with the finish? Is it with the graphics? Read on to find out, but we’ll give you a clue…it’s all three!
When you make a box for your product, you’re not just going to be happy with a basic, unbranded cardboard box – are you? No, because that box wouldn’t sell the product you have. You want a box that is more than a box, you want a box that not only sells the product but also your entire brand. How do you do that?
Let’s break these five elements down.
Make Your Branding Iconic
The best way to stand out on the shelf is to make your branding iconic. Make it visible, make it recognizable – make it an exciting part of your customer’s shopping experience. On average over 1 in 4 are happy to spend more than 11% extra for environmentally friendly packaging. This doesn’t mean that you have to make your packaging environmentally friendly, (although 68% of consumers said they were more likely to buy something in a paper or cardboard packaging if given the choice) it means that you can do anything you want with your packaging so long as consumers believe that the price is aligned to the brand. Make your brand iconic so that consumers believe it is aspirational. The more aspirational your brand is, the more visible your packaging becomes. And the more likely it is that consumers will be happy to pay more for your products. So long as the packaging is aligned with your brand and its perceived value.
Make Your Box Visible
On average, consumers make 35,000 decisions per day. What does that mean for your packaging? First of all, it means that your target customer may be experiencing decision fatigue, (for more on the impact that decision and ad fatigue has on your target customers check out the article on the BPAK blog Too Much Choice: Beat Ad Bombardment). Decision fatigue will impact your potential customer’s judgment, their ability to differentiate between what they want and what they need – and their patience will be severely affected. How do you make their life easier? Make your box packaging visible. No matter how tempting it might be to bland your way into the background of your competitors – you’ve got to make it as easy as possible for your customers to find you. So make your packaging the most stand-out part of the shelf, (in an appealing way, of course) – whatever your brand is about make sure that your packaging says it loudly. Are you about the environment? Say it loudly. Are you about aesthetics? Say it loudly. Make everything about your product packaging visible, remember, consumers begin to interact with a product from 12 feet away.
Make Your Product Desirable
As great as your product is, it’s got to sell from the outside. The term ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ really doesn’t apply here. Consumers will judge your product from the packaging you use. Bad packaging is like turning up to a first date in an unwashed tracksuit with bedhead…you’re not going to get a second date from that. And that’s because in the world of packaging, finding your true love in terms of customers is akin to being on a dating app. Your customer swipes up and down the aisles, bookmarking the ones they swipe right on and instantly forgetting the ones they swiped left on. Then it’s down to how they look on closer inspection. How does the material feel, is the font attractive – what about the palette? 67% of consumers agree that when selecting which products to buy, they’re often influenced by the material they’re packaged in.
All of this matters, and of course there is the chance that they will see a piece of packaging or a brand they love so much that the bookmarked list is instantly forgotten and that single brand makes its way into their basket. Yes ethics and brand stance matters, but on the shop floor, it’s the packaging that’s going to get swiped right.
Make The Inside As Good As The Outside
So, your customer has got their brand new product (your product) home. They have parted with their hard-earned cash, they have trawled down the aisles to find the one, the only product that just so happens to be yours. Now they’ve got it home, they’re getting ready to unbox it. Now, you know when you get a chocolate selection box through for Christmas or a birthday, and you get all excited – you’re sitting there with a blanket, a good movie – you open the box, take out the little menu card and find…they are all whole nut fat free nuggets. There is not a single praline in there, not a single triple layered caramel stuffed disc in sight. What do you feel? Probably disappointment, anger, regret and – above all – the creeping notion of being ripped off. It’s the same with your product’s packaging. What’s the point of making the outside look amazing if the inside makes a bargain basement pack of hair-tyes look incredible? You don’t have to line it with ermine, but make it attractive and aligned with your brand in some way. Don’t be a box of whole nut fat free nuggets.
Add Something Unexpected
In a good way. Definitely don’t hide a trick spring in there, or anything that might scare your customers away. Make the experience one that keeps on giving with an insert or extra product. This doesn’t have to be over the top or even really expensive for your brand, it can just be a discount coupon for the customer’s next purchase, a product sample or a laptop sticker, or even just a thank you card. It can be anything, just make it a nice surprise – and if you can make them feel like they’ve got something for free…even better! Bear in mind that 20% – 50% of purchases are driven by word of mouth reviews; what better way to build your brand than showing your customers you care about their purchase and want to make them feel valued.
If you are looking for ways to take your packaging to the next level, get in touch with the BPAK team today to find a box product packaging solution that is perfect for your brand. Don’t leave your product on the shelf, give it the attention it deserves with bespoke solutions that will have your customers coming back for more.
