What Does “Packaging Is a Silent Salesman” Mean?

If you sell a product that comes in some sort of packaging, you may or may not have heard the phrase “packaging is a silent salesman.” Have you wondered at all what this phrase means? It turns out there’s a lot to it. This blog will discuss what this means for packaging, how it affects your business, and how PPT is here to help. 

Packaging is an Essential Decision

The phrase “packaging is a silent salesman” is referring to the fact that despite how much money you invest in advertising or how popular your product is by word of mouth, the packaging works as a silent salesman because consumers form their first impression of your brand by looking at your packaging.

When a customer walks down the aisle of a store and is browsing for a product that will satisfy their needs, they are forming that decision based on what they see on the packaging. According to a study by IPSOS, 67 percent of people surveyed reported that they are influenced by packaging when buying a product. 

We all know that packaging may appeal to certain audiences. Still, it is fascinating how product packaging can motivate a consumer to choose a product over another based on looks alone. Despite a majority of people admitting they are influenced by packaging, it’s evident that it affects almost everyone’s buying decisions, as there are deep psychological connections between the consumer and a product. 

There is a lot of competition in the selling process, so packaging is more important than you might think. According to the Food Marketing Institute, the average grocery store carries just over 30,000 products on average. This means your product needs to stand out against thousands of others.

This doesn’t need to be intimidating but rather motivating to find a new way to market to your audience through packaging. And, despite how important design is, the type of packaging is a huge component in motivating people to choose your product. 

People Are Motivated By Innovation

Despite colors and logo choices, customers are also motivated by the type of packaging used. The film and its operation are a considerable element of the customer service and experience. Take dog food, for example. 

It wouldn’t be very helpful to the customer to package dog food the same way you would pack a bag of potato chips. 

To guarantee freshness, package designers can address this through different packaging barrier film technologies, or also add a  reclosable zipper to lock out contaminants. The packaging design can incorporate a  flat bottom so it can be stored easily. 

This is a prime example of packaging that works for the consumer, and it might motivate someone to opt for your product over a competitor’s. Your packaging can sell itself when it provides higher quality products and convenience to the consumer’s life. 

Packaging Allows You to Appeal to a Specific Audience 

For example, let’s say you feel compelled to focus on buying products that are good for the environment. You want to buy a trail mix but don’t have a specific brand in mind. As you’re scanning up and down the aisle, you see a wide variety of trail mix brands to choose from, but you remind yourself you want a brand that is environmentally friendly. You notice a bag with a small note that says “made out of post-consumer recycled materials ”. 

So long as it meets your appetite requirements, a product packaged in recycled materials will appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. This is just one example of how packaging might motivate someone to purchase a specific item. Choosing sustainable packaging for your product is a way to reach an audience of environmentally conscious consumers and better your brand’s reputation. 

Another example of appealing to an audience is by demonstrating what your product is or what it does through high-quality graphics and the use of color on the packaging. 

Let’s say you sell a healthy version of popular breakfast cereal. You wouldn’t choose bright colors and vibrant fonts that would look like other sugary cereal brands. Instead, you might opt for more refined font choices and neutral colors and allow the branding to speak to consumers who live an active lifestyle or follow a strict diet. Packaging graphics and color choices can be completely customizable to communicate the value of your product to the consumer. 

Packaging Goes Beyond the Store Shelf

If you engage on social media, it won’t take long before you stumble across a product unboxing video. The viral craze features customers opening product packaging for their viewers to experience the thrill of seeing the product inside. 

In this instance, good packaging serves as the perfect silent salesman, and it can motivate people to make a purchase. Does this seem like a unique selling point? According to Google, 55% of people say they will watch a video of someone using or unboxing a product while shopping in-store. This means there is value in designing a packaging experience that the customer values as something worthy of being shared with others. 

How Do You Know What Packaging Is Right For You?

When you are responsible for marketing a brand to consumers, you have an important choice; while the packaging is one of the most important choices, it shouldn’t be the hardest. Various packing solutions for different products are available to meet the specific needs of product content. If you are interested in learning more about what packaging might be the best for your products, PPT can provide internal experts that partner to make sure you have the right solutions. 

PPT Can Help You Get Packaging That Works For You

If the packaging is going to be a silent salesman for your business, it only makes sense to get packaging that speaks to the consumer. Plastic Packaging Technologies can provide you with a variety of different customization options and add-ons to ensure your packaging does all the work. 

Are you interested in learning more about packaging solutions for your business? Contact PPT today to learn more.