Company Marketing Strategy Should Include Packaging

In today’s competitive marketplace, packaging must be designed to give its contents the best possible chance of being selected by the consumer. To accomplish this effectively, packaging must be included as part of the company marketing strategy and recognised as a vital promotional tool. When the consumer is hovering between two competing brands it is often some aspect of the packaging that finalises their choice.

For a packaging strategy to be effective, it should meet six specific criteria. All six seem quite obvious at first glance, but incorporating them all into great promotion packaging is challenging. When it is done well, it is a major contributing factor to a company’s competitive advantage.

Unique and Functional – the First Two Criteria

Firstly, the packaging must be unique. This is especially true when the product is almost identical to its competitors. Take a basic food product like cheese, for example, which is stocked in any supermarket under several different brands. With readily identifiable packaging, a consumer is less likely to become confused and select the wrong brand.

Secondly, it must be functional. It must protect the contents from the time it is packaged to the moment the consumer opens it. There is a whole range of decisions to be made to ensure that the product does what it is supposed to do, once it is opened. Being functional also includes keeping any instructions intact in the process of opening it. The consumer must always be able to read and follow any instructions on the packaging.

Safety and Ease of Access – Sometimes Challenging

Safety is absolutely paramount when designing packaging. There is no greater destroyer of a product’s reputation than packaging that fails the safety test. It must be tamper-proof against deliberate interference, child proof if the contents are unsafe for children and made from materials that will not contaminate the contents. Dabron Packaging put safety at the top of their list when manufacturing packaging materials for their many clients.

The challenge in designing safe packaging is that consumers quickly become frustrated with a product when they are unable to access it quickly. The elderly are at a particular disadvantage in this instance. Loss of strength in their hands and fingers makes opening some types of packaging very difficult. It helps if the manufacturer gives some guidance, for instance, arrows pointing in a certain direction or a ring-pull action being two examples.

Benefits and Brand Recognition – Final Criteria

Packaging that satisfies all of the above requirements, but does not promote the benefits of the product fails another important test, that of persuading the buyer of its superiority. If it has more active ingredients, works faster or has some other unique benefit not found in a competitor’s product, it should be on the packaging.

Finally, it should reinforce the entire brand. Consistently using things like the same colour, font and logo become so familiar to a consumer that they pick it out while scanning the shelves. If your current product packaging is not meeting all of these criteria, go along to www.dabron.com.au and see how Dabron Packaging can help your company improve their competitive advantage.