How to Tell If Your Redesigned Packaging Is a Success

As your brand continues to grow in the marketplace, your company needs to consistently evaluate how each aspect of your marketing plan is contributing to or inhibiting your product’s success. While many companies focus on the product itself, the price point, its promotion and physical placement in a store, some do not pay enough attention to the product’s packaging. Product packaging directly impacts performance in the marketplace.

Packaging your product in ways that reach out and connect with your customers can increase sales. Research has found that a product can receive increased visibility, brand awareness and movement from the packaging alone. The psychology behind consumer purchasing patterns demonstrates that certain aesthetic features can have positive emotional effects on consumers. If you believe that your product’s current packaging is not effectively communicating to your targeted audience, you may consider a redesign.

Why You Should Consider Redesigning Your Product Packaging

As the fifth ‘P’ of marketing, you want to give as much attention and thought to product packaging as you do the product itself. Though it is important to design an initial product package that effectively communicates to your desired audience as it enters the marketplace, you must also stay aware of how that product is performing. If sales begin to decline, it would be wise to address all aspects of your product’s marketing plan, including its packaging.

There is a chance that your product’s packaging is negatively impacting your sales. Redesigning the packaging of your product could rectify these issues and allow your product to see an increase in purchases. If you’re unsure whether or not your packaging needs an update, ask yourself the following questions:

How long has your product been on the marketing in its existing packaging?

Although you may have introduced your product into the marketplace after receiving positive feedback from research and demonstration through the prototyping process, it’s important to periodically reevaluate the functionality and design of the packaging and determine whether or not it needs to be improved. This may include acknowledging and addressing common complaints consumers have about product packaging in general.

• One survey recorded the top five packaging issues that frustrate customers most: Over half all surveyed said that difficult opening the package was a significant annoyance. You want your product to be easy to locate and easy to use. In-between the purchase and the performance, however, you need to enable your customer to effortlessly remove the product from its case, bag or box. Utilizing packaging that is difficult to open places an unnecessary barrier between the customer and the product.
• Excessive packaging is another irritation. Although it is important that your product is safely packaged using durable materials that protect the integrity of the item, the overuse of these materials for excessive protection or additional design can be seen as wasteful in the eyes of your consumers. It also puts them in the position to need to discard the materials which may be frustrating if your packaging components are bulky, sharp or fall apart easily.
• Customers were also not fond of packaging that is easily damaged during shipment. In both the physical and digital marketplaces, customers can hold concerns about the integrity of their purchase if there’s a risk that the item will be damaged during shipping. This could lead to an inconvenient return process that delays the customer from fulfilling their needs and may encourage them to choose a competitor’s product out of convenience.
• Another important aspect of product packaging is whether or not its components were constructed from recyclable or environmentally friendly materials. There are plenty of ways to redesign your product packaging using “green” or recyclable materials. This focus on environmentalism and sustainability could increase the positive association you have with your customers while reducing the cost of raw materials used in packaging creation.
• Unattractive packaging was also unfavorable. Though this yielded the lowest percentage according to the survey, it is perhaps the most significant criticism. Packaging has a direct association with the company’s sales and overall appeal. If customers begin associating negative feelings towards the aesthetics of the packaging, it may diminish the perceived value of the company and their products.

Has your company rebranded or significantly changed branding aspects recently?

Consistency is critical to successful branding. From the delivery of their promises to the accessibility of their products, a brand’s ability to remain consistent across all of the interactions it may have with its customers is key. If your company has changed or altered the colors, message or other identifying characteristics of the brand, it would be wise to have your product’s packaging follow suit.

Has an element of your product been changed in regards to size, number of components or functionality?

Adjusting the quantity, size, shape or components of your product presents an excellent opportunity to reintroduce it into the marketplace with new packaging. Trimming excess space from your packaging can reduce packaging costs and give your product more room on the shelf. This may also speak to audiences that are attempting to limit their consumption of the product or reduce their amount of product waste.

You may also want to consider offering smaller quantities of your product in smaller packaging. Many companies in the food industry have introduced smaller versions of their products into the marketplace to combat shrinking sales or lack of product availability. Because consumers may react negatively when presented with a price increase on their frequently purchased items, these companies are instead shrinking their package size to offer less of a product at price points that still achieve overall profit increases.

Is your current packaging outdated?

How long has your current packaging represented your product in the marketplace? If your product has kept the same packaging without variation for an extended period, you may want to consider a redesign. Freshening up your packaging with improved aesthetics, a tighter form and a stronger message could potentially draw more attention to the product. In the digital age, attractive packaging that is appealing on social media platforms can encourage a virtually endless audience to investigate the product purely from an interest in its aesthetic.

Keep in mind, however, that older branding can be still effective in attracting consumer attention if the design is purposely “vintage” or “classic.” Nostalgia marketing can have a significant impact on sales. Using nostalgia-centric marketing campaigns that include modern relevance can engage generations of customers that already have an existing emotional connection to that previous style or era.

Is your company attempting to reach a new audience?

Everything from the color and design to the shape and size of a product’s packaging influences consumer behavior. The way a product is packaged will cause a customer to create an association between the packaging and the brand’s image. It’s important that this packaging not only accurately reflects the brand’s image, but also effectively reaches out and evokes an emotional response from the targeted demographic. If the packaging cannot successfully connect with the desired audience and influence their decision to buy, inventory will fail to move.

Is your company recovering from a public relations controversy?

The trust of your customers is one of the most critical brand assets you need to manage successfully. As your company upholds the values and message of the brand, this creates a bond of trust between the business and the consumers. This investment can lead to an increase in customer loyalty and spending, which ultimately increases sales. Though earning this trust can take time, it is a delicate relationship that can be harmed by a breach of consumer trust.

Every brand will likely experience a public relations controversy at some point. During the crisis management and recovery process, you may decide that this is a key time to redesign your product’s packaging. As your public relations team rebuilds the company’s image, reinventing your product’s packaging can show employees and consumers that your company is making deliberate and substantial efforts to make amends for the incident and move forward as a new and improved company.

Does your company need to minimize expenses?

The amount of money a company spends on product packaging increases the total cost to manufacture the product, thus narrowing the profit margin. Consider the packaging of any of your products — is there room to reduce the package size, configuration or components that would result in a decreased cost of materials? If a packaging redesign can more effectively showcase your product while reducing expenditures, it will increase the opportunity to maximize profit.

Was your product packaging designed using the latest technologies?

Once you redesign your product’s packaging, you’ll want to evaluate its performance as it competes in the marketplace. Look at the following factors when determining rates of success:

• Sales Performance: How has your product performed since the debut of its new packaging? When comparing previous to current sales, make sure you’re addressing all catalysts involved. This includes whether or not the price points, aesthetics, physical placement and brand-identifying characteristics are comparable to the original and redesigned packaging.
• Online Reviews: Though you may receive feedback from consumers through customer surveys or research gathered during the prototyping process, you can obtain a larger, and potentially more honest, account of the customer’s experience via online reviews. Nearly all online shoppers admit that product reviews significantly influence their buying decision. Eighty-four percent of online shoppers put the same confidence in reviews from strangers as they would product recommendations from personal friends. Staying aware of the customer’s experience with your product can help you identify flaws in your packaging.
• Returns in the Physical Marketplace: While customer returns will help you discover weaknesses in the product itself, returns from sellers can help you gauge the packaging’s effectiveness. How often was your company receiving refund requests from retailers because a product’s integrity was compromised due to flaws in the packaging? Along with attracting the desired audience, your packaging redesign should have evaluated and solved these structural concerns. A successful packaging redesign should limit the frequency of items being damaged on-route or in-store due to poor packaging.
• Returns in the Digital Marketplace: Just as damaged products that are returned from retailers should be tracked, you should also be aware of the rate in which customers return online purchases because the product was damaged in the mail. Packaging should be attractive, but it must also be functional. If your packaging redesign was successful, you should receive fewer returns that were damaged during delivery.

How to Avoid Product Packaging Redesign Failure

No company wants to waste their resources on a venture that is destined for failure. Though redesigning your product packaging can be an effective way to increase sales, certain circumstances could have the opposite effect. Some reasons why your company should not redesign your product packaging for risk of failure include:

• The rest of the industry is doing it. Following industry trends, especially those that you have no empirical data to support, is not a wise decision. Your customers may be loyal to your brand for the simple fact that you aren’t similar to your competitors. Reactively following the herd instead of strategically leading your brand in the right direction could cause you to upset consumers.
• Executing large changes that alienate your customers from the brand. Big changes can be positive, but they have to keep branding consistent. Customers trust the brands that they recognize and they rely on that predictability. If your company drastically changes the identifying characteristics of your brand, product or packaging, they may feel disconnected from your relationship and no longer feel that they can depend on your brand to deliver the outcome that they desire.
• Making small, insignificant changes that are inconsequential. Every decision you make regarding your product’s packaging should have the goal of increasing sales. If you’re going to spend the time, energy and budget on minimally redesigning a package that provides no benefit to the customer, all of that hard work could yield zero gain. All changes to the packaging should deliberately provide a function or serve a purpose.
• Not testing the packaging design. Putting your packaging through rigorous testing, review and demonstration can ensure that it will achieve all of your expectations. The package itself should be tested for structural integrity as well as durability concerning how well it protects the product inside. The functionality and aesthetic appeal of the packaging should also be addressed in the prototyping process.

Product Packaging Prototypes From Phase 1 Prototypes

If it’s time for your company to redesign your product’s packaging and boost your profits, let Phase 1 Prototypes help you achieve your vision. Our innovative technology, printing solutions and propriety substance development have made us the preferred mock-up and prototype packaging company for brands across a variety of industries. We can produce high-quality bags, boxes, wrappers, labels, shrinks, pouches and pop displays that grab your customer’s attention and accurately communicate your brand.

For your product to find success in the marketplace, it needs to have dynamic packaging that connects with your targeted audience and influences them to build trust in the brand. Phase 1 Prototypes is ready to assist you through every step of the package prototyping process until we bring your vision to life. View some of our successful creations and request a quote to discover how we can help your product find success in your industry.

With no minimum orders and same day turnaround, trust your packaging redesign to the experts at Phase 1 Prototypes. Contact us today or call Kristin Benna at (972) 362-4115.

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