Smart Consumer vs Dumb Packaging
Smart, savvy, sophisticated, educated, intelligent and informed This is your consumer that will be buying your product. (we hope).
Dumb, stupid, difficult, idiotic, overpackaged or just plain dopey… This is the package that is supposed to persuade them to buy. Big gap between the two.
So how can your package “Connect” with a smart consumer? Let’s find out.
What is a package any way? It could be a box or a container or anything similar. We all know it conveys a product from point A to point B. Besides the obvious of getting it there undamaged or not broken, what’s a package supposed to do?
Consumers barely take the time to look at all the new product offerings. Most of the time they shop on autopilot and buy the same brands they always do, so the role of the package has changed dramatically in the last decade. The package has now become the “first moment of truth” at retail.
And now, especially the package is going to decide whether someone will buy your product, or not. So you better pay attention to not only what goes inside but what’s on the outside of the box.
Just because you have a great product doesn’t mean it’s going to sell. Or even if you have it in the right retail environment that it’s going to fly off the shelf. Packaging a product the right way entails much more than just creating a box or package to put your product in. Sure, you are going to get it there in one piece, we hope. But gone are the days of the box acting as only a protective shipping container. The box today IS the “retail” salesperson. The box or package is expected to provide the necessary information to help make an informed shopper’s decision since there is not a salesperson is available to answer a
question. So the package must be the silent salesperson to tell all there is needed to know. What should the package be saying?
“What is this product going to do for me?”
More importantly, how you convey the information about what is inside and how it’s going to help the consumer solve a problem. That’s an important factor to remember. When someone looks at your product in their minds they are saying, “What is this product going to do for me?” You know WIIFM, what’s in it for ME the consumer?
So think about your package from a consumer’s perspective and not a package designers or package engineers. Consumers are smart, educated and savvy about their product purchasing. Don’t get caught up in the notion about what has to be “ON” the box rather
what needs to be ON the package to pique or satisfy the consumer’s interest. Remember you have to get them to pick up the product first!
Hope you enjoyed this teaser. It’s only a small portion of my presentation at Cosmoprof NA. Smart Consumer Vs Dumb Packaging
Can’t attend this innovative session in Las Vegas? I don’t want to spoil all your fun in advance. Email me back to order the special report “Smart Consumer Vs Dumb Packaging?” or Does Your Packaging Speak Human?
Please feel free to use me as a resource when it comes to understanding what packaging markets are hot and what are not. Or what companies are developing the latest in innovative packaging technology.
