Product packaging is increasingly becoming one of the strongest selling points for a product. You can have a great product but if it isn’t marketed and packaged well, you’re bound to lose a huge chunk of your sales. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that one of the biggest mistake marketers make is failing to understand the benefits of effective product packaging. The mistakes don’t stop just there though. Even when you want to invest your time, effort and money in coming up with great packaging, there are a number of things you have to do correctly. To create great packaging, here are 5 of the biggest packaging mistakes you must absolutely avoid!
1. LEAVING PACKAGING DECISIONS FOR THE VERY END
When you are in the initial stage of planning, designing and developing your product, packaging decisions might seem like a distant consideration but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Your product packaging can help make or break your product so there’s no sense in ignoring it till the end of the process. There are so many material and vendor choices to be made that it can overwhelm you if you put it off extensively. Therefore, start planning your product packaging as early as possible.
2. NOT DOING RESEARCH
Packaging decisions are never as simple as “Let’s just put our product in this box”. Depending on your product type, there are both good and bad packaging choices. It’s always a good idea to venture out in the market and do some research about the packaging options for your product type. You can get information by researching your competitors, suppliers, distributors, retailers and customers. Remember that the same type of material, look and feel can not be applied to all types of products- after all you wouldn’t package ice cream and hair extensions the same way!
3. CARELESSLY CHOOSING THE MATERIAL
Quite possibly the most important packaging decision, your choice of material for your packaging is crucial to the success of the entire initiative. While there are some obvious popular choices (like plastic bags or cardboard boxes), picking just the right shape, size, quality and type for YOUR product isn’t simple. And while you can just choose the same material that your competitor uses, you still need to consider how you would make your packaging stand out.
4. DOING IT ALL ON YOUR OWN
Packaging in itself is a big industry- and for good reason. There are so many excellent material suppliers and packaging designers out there that your choices are endless. So don’t try to do everything yourself if you think your product would benefit more from professional input. Also, even when you are making and pursuing your own packaging decisions, you should always be open to suggestions from your colleagues, employees, industry people, family and friends.
5. NOT BEING REALISTIC AND FLEXIBLE
Your packaging decisions must be strictly in line with your overall business plan. You need to consider your finances, production quantities, industry and customer trends, and the possibility of creative new ideas. Therefore it’s always best to start small and always allowing for change. In practice, this means that you should not order 10,000 boxes for your product packaging when you only plan on manufacturing 4,000 units of your product in the first batch. After your first roll-out, the feedback you will obtain will be highly valuable for future packaging decisions.
Packaging is one of the most important aspects of your product. By smart and careful decision making, you can avoid the biggest packaging mistakes.