Imagine a customer walking into a clothing store to buy a piece of clothing. The shopper narrows the choices to three: Item A is in super bright colors, Item B is simple but elegant, and Item C is overly bedazzled. The visual perception of the three options will significantly affect the customer's decision, but the final choice rests on how the store promotes the product to cater to the buyer's preferences.
Indeed, marketing plays a significant role in consumer behavior. It encompasses customer needs, how a product or service satisfies those needs or falls short of them, how society views the product or service, how it differentiates itself from the competitors, and how the company that manufactures it engages with its clients. These factors are all part of the four Ps in the marketing mix.
The 4 P's of Marketing
The four P's of marketing are product, price, placement, and promotion. These four elements influence consumers' decisions on whether they will avail of a company's product or service.
- Product
Product includes the details of the item or service, such as its color, size, appearance, packaging, function, life cycle, price, and other relevant information. It is vital to thoroughly define this part of the marketing mix to give your target market a clear picture of why they should get it or what they will get from it.
Whether the product is a new concept or not, a thorough understanding of its features and capabilities will enable your marketing staff to promote it to prospective or existing customers effectively. Your team of marketers will be able to highlight what makes it necessary for consumers to buy or why it is a better choice than your rival companies.
- Price
Price is the amount customers are willing to spend on your product or service. Here, it would be best to consider the prices of raw materials, labor costs, seasonal discounts, prices of competing brands, and retail markup. That is on top of your product or service's actual and perceived value.
It's worth noting that some companies increase their prices to give their product or service a more upscale or exclusive quality. On the other hand, they can also reduce costs to encourage more customers to purchase. You might want to offer discounts to increase sales, but it also might make your product seem less appealing or valuable than it is.
- Placement
Placement is related to the product's accessibility. Effective placement refers to making a product visible and accessible when a customer wants to purchase it. It considers the product's availability in physical and online stores and how to display it.
Placement also concerns marketing a product in the appropriate media to attract customers. For example, luxury cosmetics manufacturers may sell their products in upscale stores where the rich and the famous typically shop. Obviously, business owners aim to position the products they offer in front of customers who are most likely to purchase them.
- Promotion
Promotion convinces consumers that they need the product and that the price is fair. Part of promotion includes PR, advertising, and other media that lets you communicate your marketing message to consumers.
Your marketing team could combine the aspects of placement and promotion to reach your target audience. These two variables are equally important in the digital age, that's why.
For example, your business's website or social media pages might represent where customers can see your products. Meanwhile, promotion may refer to specific search terms that you use to show targeted product or service adverts.
Product Packaging and Its Purpose
Although packaging falls under "product" in the four P's of the marketing mix, it deserves more attention because of its role and importance. Product packaging refers to the presentation of a product before a consumer buys it. It covers the design, production, and materials you use to sell a product.
Specific packaging types may be necessary for the safety of some products, like food items. Others may use packaging to appeal to customers since packaging can influence buying behavior. As such, designers capitalize on the emotional aspect of buying a product through exciting presentations.
Compared to neutral packaging, attractive packaging promotes more intense brain activity and stimulates the parts of the brain linked to rewards. In contrast, unattractive packaging enables the sections of the brain linked to negative emotions. Again, how customers feel about a product's presentation influences their purchasing decisions.
Tips on Creating a Unique and Valuable Packaging Strategy
- Research - Packaging-sales goals and tactics require extensive research. Compare sales data with the packaging strategy to determine which approach contributes to sales revenues.
- Choose colors wisely – Consider the colors you use for product packaging vis-à-vis your marketing objectives. For instance, you might have to package children's products in colorful designs to capture shoppers' attention. On the other hand, white is a common hue for cleaning items, while black, silver, and gold are typical for luxury products.
- Try branded packaging – Customers connect a brand's packaging with its reputation. Notice how technology items are typically in sleek and unique packaging, which helps communicate a company's innovative image. Meanwhile, beverages may come in distinctive bottle shapes. Your product's packaging should promote a distinct personality to set your business apart from rivals.
- Go for green – Using sustainable packaging gives customers the impression that you're doing your part to address environmental problems. In addition, using recycled and biodegradable materials for packaging helps boost positive feelings about the product. Eco-friendly wrapping and minimalist designs are two of the top packaging trends.
- Consider unboxing – Unboxing of products has taken on a new meaning, providing customers additional value beyond the actual product. Here, you could explore packaging trends such as illuminated packaging and personalized boxes with notes to add a wow factor.
Wrapping It Up
Indeed, packaging can enhance products, making it vital to stay in the know about e-commerce trends and styles to remain ahead of competitors. In addition, an effective product packaging strategy leads to positive outcomes for the business, including increased sales and customer satisfaction.
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