KNOW YOUR MARKET. How to design your product packaging for better results.

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1 KNOW YOUR MARKET How to design your product packaging for better results.

2 5 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR PRODUCT PACKAGING DESIGN (1) Know Your USP, the Unique Selling Proposition What truly makes your product unique and better than the rest? Your product s USP is what your entire business model should be based upon and in the long run your product packaging and package design must highlight and magnify your products Unique Selling Proposition. Think of the USP as the one or two things that your product offers, that no other product can match. Whether your product will be standing on a shelf, hanging on a rack or sitting in a display case Your package MUST assist in getting your Unique Selling Proposition across to the potential buyer. You only have seconds to catch an eye and engage the brain of the potential buyer so you need to make sure it s design enables you to overcome objections and clearly states your product s purpose with a clear, confident, winning USP.

3 (2) Know Your Customer You might be surprised to know that the majority of new products introduced by smaller companies are done without research on the target audience. In order to maximize your chances of success you need to know as much about your target buyer and product user demographics as possible. Take age for instance Children s products are best placed at eye level with bold graphics and very little text whereas older age groups packages are designed with larger typefaces for easier reading. It might seem like a small thing but it s the understanding of the user group and then incorporating that understanding into the packaging design that s important for your product success. Your customer isn t just someone They are a specific individual with specific needs and the overall design needs to speak to those needs and answer the important questions at the right time.

4 (3) Know Your Store, First-Hand, With a Research Tour If you re new to retail, it s strongly suggested you visit the store where your product will be sold. There is no substitute for a first-hand research tour because of the knowledge you ll gain. This is the only way to learn exactly where your product is likely to be placed. Will your item be placed on a cluttered shelf, an end-cap, or will it be placed on the check-out counter and sold as an impulse buy item? Where your product will be positioned must be considered when it comes to package design and ideally, your design should allow for it to be placed within any location in a store. Your package must be designed to work within the physical space, stacked on a shelf, or hung from hangers. None of this can be accomplished, if you don t know exactly where it will be sold and exactly what your competition s packaging looks like. When designing your packaging it s important to know as much as possible at the beginning to maximize your chances of obtaining shelf space such as the fact that retailers have certain needs that must be met in order to consider your product. For instance, products in a grocery store or hardware store, must be able to pass the bump test meaning they need to be stable enough that they won t tip over or become disarrayed when customers jostle them on crowded shelves. Before your product can be offered to the consumer, it must first meet the needs of the retailer. Your package design must meet their requirements. No retailer is going to redesign their store space to accommodate your product, so your product must meet their fixed requirements which is why an in-store visit is crucial. Once physical store conditions are met, you can work towards making your product stand out from the competition with packaging that generates sales from an eye catching design and a clearly stated Unique Selling Proposition.

5 (4) Paper or Plastic, Big or Small, Know What Works Plastic can be molded in an almost infinite number of shapes and sizes but the startup costs are generally higher than paper (cardboard) packages. Some products, depending upon their dimensions may be packaged in pre-fabricated stock plastic packaging. A complex package does not guarantee sales. Great graphics, a great logo, eyecatching color, and a clearly stated USP matter more for product sales than what that box is made of or complexity of design. Even though your product might be small, that doesn t mean the package needs to be small as well. Your package needs to be large enough to be noticed, as well as large enough to convey necessary product information and your USP. (5) Know Your Colors and Your Competition s Designs Color, graphics, and fonts; all work together to give packages their distinct brand look. Color is particularly important, everyone knows that one particular soda is marketed in bright red cans with wavy white stripes, you know the brand without being told the name. As your company and product line develops its brand, you are going to want your package design, colors and graphics to be as obvious and memorable to consumers as the brand of that red can. All of the design elements of your package should stand out from the competition and should feel as distinct as your Unique Selling Proposition. Know your market, know your options and their impact on consumers and put that information to use for maximum sales impact by translating that into your packaging design.

6 What to Do Next? Packaging is the final point of contact before your customer makes a purchase. It s where all of your marketing and business plans come together. Your package is the last opportunity to convert the sale. It s worth doing right, it s worth taking the time to consider all of the aspects and it s worth trusting a company with decades of experience in packaging design from a consumer perspective. Contact Blackbourn today so we can bring your product to life tomorrow