Your custom box packaging may be doing great — until it’s not. If you stick with the same packaging and designs for too long, you risk being left behind when your products change or trends shift. Ditto if consumer desires flip-flop or technology advances. Let’s look at the top indicators you need to rethink your custom box packaging, branding, or design.
1. Sales Are Dropping
Oof. Decreasing sales feel like a punch right in the gut. They hurt big time. Of course, they could be due to many reasons. Box packaging or design is just one possible cause along with pricing, consumer mismatch, inventory, logistics, and other considerations. However, if it has been a few years since your packaging last changed, you are probably due for at least subtle changes. Think about a slightly changed font on your custom box, a refreshed logo, or a tweaked color scheme.
Focus groups are one way to help you determine if a drop in sales could be connected to packaging. For example, if group members say they love the product, then the product is probably not one of the culprits behind the sales drop. Packaging could be, though.
2. It’s a Special Time of the Year
If your product is sold in stores, a simple packaging or branding change during, say, Halloween, could work wonders. Even if it is sold online only, a seasonal design can attract more attention when shoppers browse online. This applies even if your product is not seasonal.
Further, holidays, important dates, and seasons give your company a chance to flex its muscles and experiment with design while not venturing too far into potentially risky territory. Do try to start on possible holiday designs more than a year in advance.
3. Your Product Is Changing or Has Changed
Some businesses don’t change the packaging when their products undergo modifications. However, a newer version of your product should come with updated packaging even if all of the dimensions are the same. If nothing else, consumers see the revamped branding and are curious to see if what’s inside is different.
4. Your Company Wants to Convey a Different Message, Is Rebranding, or Is Entering New Territories
Perhaps your company has tweaked its philosophy or overhauled it as in rebranding. Now the company wants to send a different message. That’s great, and the packaging needs to reflect the shift as well. On a practical level, say the company wants to emphasize how eco-conscious it has become. In that case, packaging that has a lot of unnecessary plastic or waste does not drive the message home. In fact, it undermines what the company is trying to do.
On a more abstract level, the company should add packaging designs more in line with the new concepts it is embracing such as unity, boldness, wildness, independence, individuality, or what have you. Older designs won’t fit in with the new company culture.
A similar idea holds if the company is expanding to new geographical territories. Some products and designs work well for virtually any region of the world, but at the very least, make sure your packaging works for the new areas.
5. The Packaging Needs to Be More Unified
Take a look at all of your products and packaging, and ensure they reflect brand identity. Businesses, especially newer ones, don’t always have unified packaging. Maybe their brand identity was shaky earlier or the logo has changed a bit over time. Their very first product packages could feature an outdated logo that does them no favors.
There are many reasons that a company’s packaging might be disjointed, but whatever they are, it’s important that shoppers be able to identify a product as coming from the company. In other words, it’s time to rethink your packaging design if you’ve firmed up your company’s brand identity, added many new products, or even streamlined operations.
Reconsider your packaging in the opposite case, too — if your packaging for different products is too similar. Product A should never be mistaken for product B.
6. The Packaging Should Be More Accessible and Inclusive
Accessibility and inclusivity come in many shapes and forms. For example, they could mean simply opening a box versus not having to cut through many layers of tape. Whether or not your company sells products designed for accessible markets (senior citizens, for example), the user-friendliness of packaging makes a big difference.
Many considerations go into product and box packaging. They include the season/time of the year, package materials and construction, the fragility of the product, the sustainability of the packaging, the product shelf life, storage and distribution, the company’s mission, and what competitors do for their packaging. At a minimum, it’s a good idea to look at packaging with fresh eyes every few years.