Businessmen put a lot of effort into finding innovative ways that could boost their companies’ sales. Most of them focus on sales incentive programs, upselling, customer tiering, reward programs or any other methods that are mostly related to making small investments and obtaining huge profits in return.
If none of these methods worked in your case, it’s time to turn your face towards elements that are usually ignored by entrepreneurs. One of these elements is represented by packaging. Have you ever thought about what your customers believe about the way you package the products you sell? Regardless of the industry that you work in, selling physical products involves delivering them in one way or another.
Improving the way that you are packaging your products could lead to a visible sales boost in a short period of time. The quality of the packages that your company uses, as well as the attention to details that employees should express when they are packaging a product, will determine customers to become loyal and to tell others about the great services of your firm as well. Word-of-mouth marketing is still effective in 2019 and it can skyrocket your sales through referrals. Even though it doesn’t seem relevant at first, the packaging is the one aspect that may change the game entirely. Think of brands that are known for their specific packaging – Starbucks, Victoria’s Secret, Heinz, Pringles, Chanel, Toblerone and so on. These colossal companies are highly appreciated for the way they package their products. See what improvements you can make in terms of packaging:
Customised labelling
Depending on the characteristics of the products that your company is selling, you may or may not be limited by space. Label design is linked to the shape of the product too. You need to get creative with designing a custom label so that it is easily remembered. There are a few elements that’s can’t miss from a label. These include:
- The name of your company
- The name of the product
- A logo
- Units of measurement
- Description (and ingredients, if necessary)
Generic labels do provide users with the required information, but they don’t stand out the way they should. The first change you should make is using better typefaces. Fonts are very diverse and each of them can send a message in a different manner. You can use multiple fonts as long as you know how to pair them. Create continuity through your labels, so that it fits the product packaging design. Keep them clean and stay away from design clutter. Pay careful attention to print quality. Slick gloss paper seems to be the most appreciated choice, but matte finish labels rapidly gain ground as well.
Gift wrap services
Many companies offer gift wrapping services for free or in exchange for a small free. This feature is highly appreciated, especially for companies that produce items which can be offered as gifts. Of course, offering such a feature involves making an investment in all the resources required – wrapping paper of different sorts, ribbon, glue, and other decorative products. A person who knows how to pack the items appropriately should be in charge of this activity. It’s not easy to implement such a service because you always need to keep the packaging supply organised and deliver the products undamaged.
To avoid investing too much money into gift wrapping, buy printed ribbons in the UK during sales periods. Buy them in large batches so you won’t have to restock too often. Offering this service for free might end up not being profitable at first, but once clients figure out how much attention you put into details, they will surely appreciate it and perceive the company as a professional one, thus returning for purchasing more. Keep in mind that this feature is not relevant to businesses in all industries. See if gift wrapping fits the types of products you are selling. If not, focus more on how you pack the products for delivery.
Sustainable packaging
A new trend in terms of packaging that emerged this year and seems to become the norm in 2020 is sustainable packaging. Several marketing studies have shown that customers started to make their decisions based on factors like sustainability. Since the raise of awareness in terms of environmentally-friendly practices changed the mentalities of people, they pay more attention to what they are buying. Besides the visual appeal that packaging has for purchasers, sustainability matters as well.
A worrying prediction says that the quantity of plastic in the ocean will be bigger than the one of fish by the year 2050. Most packaging is made out of non-biodegradable plastic and less than 15% of the generated plastic waste is recycled. Fortunately, the trends of the year refer to protecting ecosystems by switching to sustainable packaging. This could be a change that ends up being both profitable for the business and good for the environment. Because people are now preferring sustainable packaging over non-biodegradable packaging, turning customers into loyal ones can be done by adopting eco-friendly practices. The purpose of most companies at the moment (even though it is quite unrealistic considering today’s quantities of waste and use of plastic) is to reach 100% recyclability in business. Business owners should take into account the economic value of implementing sustainable practices in the way they package their products.
Manual packaging
In industries such as art, freelancers prefer to package all their products manually. This is a very appreciated practice, especially if the materials used for it are biodegradable and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. Many artists who sell their original pieces or prints of their artwork put a lot of effort in the packaging in each order individually, using brand-related colour palettes and details. For small businesses that don’t send more than 20 orders per day, manual packaging seems to be the most effective for boosting sales. Moreover, it offers the chance to be more diverse when it comes to orders. You can pack each order differently for a personalised experience.
