Avoid The Returns Bin, Package Your Product On Purpose

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, but you’re clients are judging your product by its package.”

You know how it is, you are at the store, ready to make a purchase, but the package looks beat up, torn apart and wrinkled. The instant assumption is that the product inside is cheap or poor quality.  As consumers we make these assumptions all day long!  Whether we are buying cereal, electronics or a vehicle, the  appearance of the package dictates our choices.

When making purchasing decisions, we buy on both rational and emotional factors.  Rationally, we believe the functional attributes of the product will meet our expectations.  However, if the outer package does not appeal to our emotional needs of safety and trust, we simply move to the next available alternative.  Even if it is a generic substitute.

The consequences of these subconscious assumptions about the quality of the product has a real impact on brand loyalty and sales.  Often the products whose packaging is damaged or just doesn’t look and feel right, is placed directly into the discount bin or even worse, returned directly to the distributor and manufacturer.

To avoid the discount bin, three critical components to consider in your packaging system include: design, material and process.

Design
A package design needs to address both the rational and emotional needs of the end user, while supporting the attributes of the product.  The package structure speaks to the rational and the graphics, images and colors address the emotional aspect.

Materials
Choices of materials need to support the design structure, branding appeal and price.

Process
The packaging process created needs to consider the how material and product are assembled to create a package that is aligned with both functional product needs and appeals to the buyer’s emotional needs.  Additionally, the process need to be articulated with written work instructions, estimated time at each step and organized in the most efficient sequence.

The packaging system is a system, which means that each component affects the other.  It is possible to have the best design, use the best materials, but if the process is flawed it can destroy the efforts of the whole system resulting in costly returns.

A packaging system that accounts for each component of the system and incorporates both the rational and emotional needs of the end-user creates an intentional, purposeful package and the pay-off is brand loyalty.

ASAP is excited to roll out our new Process Improvement Consultation offer. Click here to learn more.