What are the basic mistakes while packaging and how to avoid them?

Packaging has become an important part of business and marketing. It is considered a very important part of the whole marketing strategy. As it plays an important role in creating a memorable customer experience which could make a one-time customer into a loyal customer.

When it comes to acquiring new customers as well as retaining old ones, we cannot neglect the impact, good product packaging has on people. When used properly, it can increase our sales by many folds. Throughout the history of packaging, we can multiple examples of mundane products that became very popular and sold like hotcakes.

But if we look at the flip side of the same coin, we will find other packaging examples that have failed miserably because of poor product packaging and basic mistakes that could have been avoided. A simple mistake could be disastrous for a business.

In order to avoid them, firstly you must recognise them. In this article, we will talk about the basic mistakes that are done while packaging and how can we avoid them.

What are 8 packaging mistakes that should be avoided?

In the introduction of the article, we learnt about how good
packaging can be a plus point for a brand while a packaging error could send a product or sometimes the whole company into a failed attempt. Down below, we have written a few important things that are common mistakes that can be avoided :

1. Unnecessary packaging

In the 21st century, where people are getting concerned with the environment, climate and pollution. Overpacking is seen as a crime by customers. And why not? It is a waste of money, time and resources. While we understand the concern for protecting your valuable and fragile items. Overpacking products that don’t need special protection is an assured way to get into the bad book of our customers.

2. Poor designs

In this competitive market where we have to fight for our customer’s attention. Using poor or common designs to attract your target customer is not a great idea. It is important to stand out from the crowd. A poor design not only will fail to catch attention and even if it did it would not be able to sell. As well as, a generic product design fails you, in your attempt to make a valuable relationship with your customer.

3. Spelling mistake

Spelling mistakes on the packaging is a mistake that can be easily avoided with some proofreading. But if it is on your packaging then it can be responsible for ruining the whole customer experience. A little spelling mistake on your beautifully designed product will ruin the show. Not just some spelling mistakes but also silly grammatical mistakes also have a negative impact on customer experience.

4. Unreadable printing and labels

This is something that all of us have encountered ourselves. It is super frustrating when the print is too small to read or blurred. Many times a lot of information is printed in small fonts which makes it difficult to read, it can negatively impact the sales of a company as well.

For example, if there are small fonts on food packaging, which are difficult to read then many customers will not buy it as these days people like to read and know what goes inside their food. In order to give them a lot of information, you lost a customer.

5. Inappropriate packaging boxes

When we are designing our bags it is important to make it so that it serves the purpose of protecting the content inside it. Using boxes that don’t fit could lead to damaging the product and brand reputation. When a customer orders they want their product, safe and sound, but a damaged one will result in an angry customer and a return order.

6. Misleading packaging

This is the type of packaging that misleads the customer about the contents, looks or quantity of the product. This can be understood better with examples like the one in the picture, where are can see that there are only three pieces, but they are claiming to have 12 after cutting into 4 small pieces each. You might be able to sell the product once but then no second chances.

How to avoid basic packaging mistakes?

We have talked about the basic mistakes that can leave you with low sales. Here, in this section we will talk about how we can avoid such mistakes, down below we have listed a few points that you can consider before picking your packaging design, material and other things:

1. Impactful design
   Packaging is the first thing that your customer is going to notice about your brand. Even before they get their hands on the product, they will have to go through packaging. This is when companies use this to their advantage in building relationships with customers.
   
2. Use Quality material
   This is a simple thing that will help your brand to be perceived as a good brand with a good image regarding quality. If you use poor-quality packaging then it will come across as a cheap brand even if you are not a cheap brand.
   The material of the packaging should be of a fine quality like choosing good quality corrugated boxes which are made of high-quality virgin kraft paper the best part about these boxes is that they are perfect for customized boxes. Or you can try custom printed tape if you are not familiar with the concept of customisation.
   
3. Sustainable packaging
   Sustainable packaging means packaging which will not harm the environment as it can be recycled. If you have not considered using them then you should think about it as today’s customers are aware of these things as well as it matters to them. If you do not know where to start then you can with small steps like replacing your packaging tape with kraft paper tape which is the best alternative to traditional brown packaging tape as well as clear packaging tape.
   
4. Know Your Product
   Before everything else, you should know what your product is, its needs, its specification, its dimension, and many more things. It is a crucial part of designing product packaging. Because every product has different needs that must be cared for accordingly like the requirement will be different for fragile and high-end products or metal parts.
   
5. Use the right amount of packaging
   Too much packaging will result in over-packing and using less will result in damaged goods. It is important to use the appropriate amount of packaging that will keep the product safe as well as not waste resources, time and money.

Conclusion

We have reached the end of this article which was about the basic mistakes that are made while packaging and how to avoid them. Here, we learnt a lot of things about packaging mistakes with the help of examples and how to avoid them.

Hope that we were able to deliver what we promised and you enjoyed it.