Packaging Design to Target Your Prospects & Demographics

Packaging design can make or break a product — even a great product — because your prospects can’t become customers if they never make that first purchase.

Identifying your target market is critical for designing the right packaging. This helps you communicate critical information about your brand, consciously and subconsciously. Send the right message, and you’ll be well on the way to making those critical sales.

Why Is Packaging Design So Important?

Decades of research demonstrates the critical role of product packaging in consumer purchasing decisions. Your company’s marketing efforts can help build brand identity, but your products have to market themselves, particularly at the point of sale.

Your target prospects are bombarded all day, every day, by retailers who want to earn their business. Consequently, you have to break through the noise to capture the attention — and patronage — of your prospects.

Today’s consumers are increasingly making their purchasing decisions based at least in part on product packaging. This is true in both brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce. Getting the package design right brings consumers halfway down the path to purchase.

How to Design Your Packaging for Your Demographic

Beyond the basic psychology of packaging and printing design, your prospects will respond differently to your product based on their demographic. In particular, the age and generational affiliation of your prospects matter when it comes to designing your product’s packaging.

For example, the millennial generation is rapidly becoming a major target market for many retailers. Characteristics of this demographic include a high regard for environmental issues and the overarching desire to engage with socially responsible brands.

Consequently, design to this demographic by focusing on an authentic experience and a genuine commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Understanding the Psychology of Packaging Design

Continuing with our millennial example, how do you design your product packaging to resonate with this demographic to provide that all-important level of authenticity?

Think about honesty, transparency and providing an accurate representation of your product. This demographic will see right through any attempt to sell them anything. They want to know the pros and cons of your product and make that decision for themselves.

Younger consumers are also notorious for bucking tradition. They don’t want to be the consumers their parents and grandparents were, and they will go out of their way to avoid any product they think might appeal to an older demographic or one that does not share their ideals. You can tap into this ethos by using non-traditional images, colors, fonts and layouts. Sustainable packaging is also important.

Trying too hard to be cool or hip will backfire, however. This is where authenticity comes in. If your company has a socially responsible mission — and if you can communicate this with your packaging — you’ll stand a better chance of making inroads with this important segment of the market.

Sun Print Solutions assists customers with all their digital and offset printing needs, as well as direct mail, kitting and fulfillment. We can even assist you with design to ensure you get the right message out to your prospects. Contact our Utah headquarters today to learn more about how we can help you capture market share with our personalized packaging design, printing and fulfillment services.