Cardboard packaging has a large role to play in the success of your product. It does far more than keep things neat and tidy, and protect your items during transit. It helps potential customers to identify with your brand and make quick decisions about what to buy.
Some famous products have packaging that is so distinct and well-designed that it is almost more recognisable than the product itself. Items like the Pringles tin or the Ferrero Rocher gold wrapper are an essential brand asset. If Pringles suddenly started shipping their crisps in bags, or Ferrero Rocher came wrapped in clear cellophane, a lot of their customers would be very upset.
So why is packaging design so important?
A single point of contact
When looking for new products a potential customer only has one source of information: cardboard packaging. People can’t sit in a store un-boxing everything they might want to buy and comparing them. Nobody wants to spend their time standing in front of the shop shelf agonising between two competing products, especially when they only have a small amount of information to go on.
That information needs to present the right image. Imagine if you phoned a large company and the receptionist was rude to you. You’d come away with a bad impression of the company. You don’t know how any of the other members of staff behave, so you have to base your opinion only on the evidence you have. Everyone else, from the CEO to the security guard, could all be polite and courteous, but you only know about the rude receptionist.
Your cardboard packaging is a small window into your brand. If your customer can’t see something nice through that window, they won’t want anything else to do with you.
Split-second decisions
In today’s fast-paced world we have to be able to make decisions quicker than ever. We don’t have the time or the inclination to spend ages weighing up the pros and cons of two items. We naturally create impressions very quickly, even if we have little evidence to go on. You could have a fraction of a second to make a positive impression upon a new customer.
So your cardboard packaging not only has to be eye-catching, it also has to present key information you want your customer to know in a way that is easy and fast to absorb. Think of selling door-to-door: if you waffle on and on without ever getting to the point people are simply going to close the door in your face.
In a retail environment your customer has all the power. They can turn and walk away from you at any time. They need only the slightest reason to decide to ignore you and your products. Your cardboard packaging needs to be bold and interesting enough to hold their attention, whilst also presenting the right information in a way that they want to see, so that they don’t have any reason to turn their back on you.
Now you know why it is important to have high quality cardboard packaging. The next step is to source it: get in contact with us today for all your packaging needs.