9 Packaging Trends That Will "Connect" You With Consumers

Today’s consumer is a moving target. Choosing the right consumer and the right demographic to target is an important decision. Monitoring what is hot and what’s not can dramatically influence a package design’s success or failure. Package design is an integral way to connect with your customer. But do you clearly understand the needs and wants of these elusive markets?

Understand the customer is critical. The problem today is that one package may not satisfy the needs and requirements of all buyers.

There are many niche markets out there and each one requires specialized packaging. So if you are targeting one of those, do your research first. What works for one target market may not work for another. So....

1) Find out what package attributes appeal to the customer you are targeting. If it is a harried homemaker shopping for your product then convenience of use had better be at the top of the list. Those over 50 are seeking convenience too but issues like the size of print on the package and ease of use top their priority list. Make sure your package employs the characteristics that appeal to your target market.

2) Understand how the package will be used. Families no longer sit and eat a meal with everyone at the same time. There are special diet requirements or dieting in general in most households. It’s not uncommon to serve different meals to different individuals. Package sizes will vary accordingly. EX: People who travel a lot buy sample or trial size packages because they are small and easy to deal with

3) Know your customers current buying trends. Several years ago, we went through the supersized phase. There are still a lot of supersized packages; however, buying trends are changing to smaller sizes in general. To package smaller does not mean less profit, in many cases it means more. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for convenience, ease of use and a smaller quantity. Remember the three premium baking potatoes in a package cost almost the price of a 5 lb bag. If you live with just one other person, do you really need 5 lbs of potatoes?

4) Keep abreast of new packaging technologies. Creative, new products have the advantage in the marketing world even if their technology is not new. Several years ago, Metedent took the world by storm with the duel aperture dispensing mechanism. Recently hosts of new cleaning products have revived interest in this type of dispensing. Look for innovate ways to combine two products into one package.

5) Watch where people shop. There is a shift from traditional retailers to new and innovative store formats. The convenience store, once considered a low-end marketer, has now transitioned into store that provides premium products at a premium price. This evolved from the hurry up and go mindset demonstrated in today's shopping habits. Recent studies are showing that consumers no longer make one big trip and stock up but make several trips a week and get just what is needed at the moment at the most easily accessible retail outlet. EX: The grab and go cups of snack foods convenience stores are now offering. This category did not exist a couple of years ago.

6) Keep pace with "hot button" packaging issues. This includes legislation too. People do really care about the environment and the amount of excess packaging. There is a move afoot to expand the number of vegetable-based plastic materials used in food packaging. If packaging consumers give these products their endorsement, look for other new products to surface. Legislation can change packaging mandates overnight. There have been "bottle bills," surcharges and bans that prohibit the use of certain packages. EX: Several fast food companies are test marketing corn-based plastic packaging materials. Ex: Ban on juice boxes in Maine and aerosol cans in Chicago.

7) Security in packaging is becoming increasingly important. This will continue to come into focus as more people become concerned about product integrity. One major security scare could force everyone to change their packaging methods immediately. Look for new tamper evident and security devices that can be incorporated into your packaging. Cost efficiencies are now making many of these devices more affordable and will soon become mainstream.

8) Competition of various packaging materials is increasing. From the imports that are readily available to the merger and acquisition mania that is taking place, keep current on your chain of supply globalization. Certain products such as plastic bags that used to be the mainstay of American manufacturing have now gone offshore. Ethic diversity both her and abroad is demanding that all packaging be multi-lingual and people really don’t care where the product packaging is manufactured.

9) External influence of power players. The big box retailers are driving packaging procedures and policies at retail. Mandates from these companies such as RFID tracking are in their infancy. This type of requirement could become mandatory overnight. If you want to do business with companies such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart, you will need to include the design and selection of your packaging materials as per their demands and others will follow suit.

Remember, the customer depends upon you, the designer, as a resource. They expect you to keep up with packaging trends and technologies and provide the latest and greatest innovations the industry has to offer. If you cannot connect with the consumer through package design, do not expect your products to fly off the shelf.

6 Ways To Use Customer & Sales Newsletters

Sell More Higher-Margin Products
Businesses that find they're not earning much profit, despite strong sales, may have allowed low-margin products to become their mainstay.

A newsletter can emphasize higher margin products, among both customers and employees. For employees, reiterate the benefits (for them and the company) of selling a product or set of products with a higher profit margin. For customers, let them know these products exist, how to buy them, and outline the benefits of using them.

Go From Commodity To Branded Status
Control over pricing is one important advantage a branded product provides over a commodity. Of course, the process of moving a product to branded status starts with incorporation of some value-added feature. But once you add that value you want to make sure your customers know.

A marketing newsletter provides critical communication for the branding process. After all, increasing the cost of a commodity without explaining benefits could lead customers to switch to another supplier. Before the price goes up customers should expect the increase, understand the added value, and appreciate the extra benefits they receive.

Penetrate New Markets Or Territories
Often, sales people focus on existing customers and existing business. That's not surprising, but not necessarily in your best long-term interests. All businesses need at least some prospecting and new customers. The problem: rewards from prospecting and developing new business come slowly, compared to returns from current customers.

A marketing newsletter can be an effective first-line. Using lists prepared by your sales people, or representatives of the areas you want to enter, mail out your print newsletter and a response form. If you publish a free electronic newsletter, look for ways to find new subscribers in the target area.

The newsletter should make it simple for potential customers to contact you, to ask for information about your products, or to ask a sales person to call. Plan to send multiple issues of the newsletter, since repeat exposures are key to developing new business.

Internal Marketing
Marketing, for good reason, usually focuses on externally-oriented activity. However, one school of thought argues that internal marketing matters, too. Essentially, internal marketing helps ensure that everyone within your organization knows what you sell, and why customers should buy from you. And, don't forget attitude. Everyone in the organization should be a booster of the company‘s products.

Articles and other pieces that sell to external customers can also help employees. Articles in marketing newsletters should not be written for employees, but they should be kept in mind.

Reduce After-Sale Dissonance
After-sales dissonance refers to our natural inclination to wonder if we got a good deal after we bought something. A buyer who feels that he or she got a poor deal will probably not be a repeat customer, or cause other, costly problems.

You can reduce buyer dissonance by publishing the names of some prominent customers (with their permission, of course). That makes other customers feel secure by knowing that they're in good company. Also, consider the security-in-numbers idea, reporting on the number of purchases made in a specific period.

Customer Feedback
To think of the newsletter only as an instrument of outward-bound communication misses one of its most powerful possibilities. Use a newsletter to bring in customer complaints, compliments, and suggestions, too.

Some of the more important customer responses include:
 * complaints about product performance
 * ideas for improvements in products
 * ideas for new products
 * referrals to new customers
 * satisfaction levels
 * reports on needs or unsolved problems in the marketplace

These are just a half dozen of the many ways in much you might use a customer or marketing newsletter, demonstrating the power and reach of effective newsletters.

Brands- Logo Design

Brands are an important influence on our lives. They are central to free markets and democratic societies. They represent free choice.They also have a profound impact on our quality of life and the way we see our world. They color our lives. They reflect the values of our societies.Global brands can even embody the spirit of many nations, if not the spirit of an age.

Most importantly, strong brands bestow value far beyond the performance of the products themselves. Brands that do this possess an idea worthy of consumer loyalty.The more inspiring the idea, the more intense and profound the commitment. And the more the consumer believes in the brand, the more value the brand returns to its owner.

Good logo designers are not only able to design you a professional logo, but they will also make sure that your logo is distinct and unique so as to create a long lasting impression. Therefore the question that now comes to mind is, do we really need logo designers or can just anyone design a corporate logo? The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. While the obvious answer may be no, the fact of the matter is that we do need professional logo designers because they are specialists in their field and are able to produce quality work that is distinct and one of a kind.

In recent times the term 'logo' has been used to describe signs, emblems, coats of arms, symbols and even flags. In this article several examples of 'true' logotypes are displayed, which may generally be contrasted with emblems, or marks which include non-textual graphics of some kind. Emblems with non-textual content are distinct from true logotypes.

Logo designers therefore are of great importance to any business as they can help create logos with a powerful impact and reach. Think about Apple’s logo or the logo of Windows, besides the obvious there is more than just what meets the eye. These logos are not only powerful because they represent a company, but they are powerful because of what they stand for. Good logo designers know how to capture and depict the essence of a business in a single small image. They realize that a solid logo design communicates a company’s identity simply, clearly, and powerfully all at the same time.

At LogoSuite, we pride ourselves on keeping up to speed by improving our web design skills, developing new design styles, and searching for new typefaces and design ideas.

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