Packaging: Silent Salesman

The status and role of commodity packaging in modern marketing activities is increasingly eye-catching. In the marketing academic world, some scholars call the Package the 5th P in parallel with the marketing 4P. In marketing practice, companies use packaging to dress up thousands of products colorful and attractive.

　　 After a thorough market survey, the marketing staff of the world’s largest chemical company, DuPont, invented the famous DuPont law: 63% of consumers make purchase decisions based on the packaging and decoration of their products; they go shopping in supermarkets. Housewives, because of their exquisite packaging and sedative attraction, often purchase more than 45% of their purchases when they go out. It can be seen that packaging is the face and clothing of a commodity. It enters the eyes of consumers as the “first impression” of a commodity, and hits the psychological balance of whether the consumer purchases or not.

(A) Undeniable facts - heavy costs, expensive tuition fees

　　 Due to the fact that our country’s enterprises did not pay enough attention to packaging and the packaging technology was backward, the annual losses caused to the country amounted to several billions. According to statistics from the China Packaging Technology Association, China’s annual economic losses caused by poor packaging are above 15 billion yuan, 70% of which is caused by transport packaging. For example, the percentage of broken cement is 15% to 20%, and 3 million tons are lost every year. The average glass breakage rate is 20%, and the annual loss is 450 million yuan. According to the statistics of the foreign trade department, due to the backward packaging of export goods, the country will at least reduce foreign exchange earnings by 10% each year.

　　 The painful lessons of "first-class quality, second-class packaging, and third-class prices" in domestic and international marketing are too numerous to mention.

Case I: China's traditional export product, 18 lotus tea sets, made foreign investors make a lot of money because of packaging problems. The 18 Lotus tea sets themselves are of good quality, but because they are packaged in simple corrugated boxes, they are not only easy to break, but also unsightly. It is difficult to discern what the goods are and give them the feeling of low prices and low prices. Later, after a savvy foreign businessman bought the product, he only added a refined art package to the original packaging and tied it with a ribbon to make the product look elegant and luxurious. A set of 1.7 pounds was raised to a set of 8.99 pounds.

Case II: As we all know, ginseng is a valuable rare medicinal material and it is expensive. However, prior to the reform and opening up, the relevant units of our country, when exporting ginseng, bundled ginseng like dried radish, and packed it with sacks or wooden boxes (10 kilograms). One can imagine that this "straw-wrapped pearl" packaging method cannot help but skeptical of the authenticity of its products, but also greatly reduces the value of ginseng. In this case, although the price is low, the sales are still poor. After the market gave us a vivid "marketing" course and foreigners made large profits, our relevant units finally changed the packaging strategy wisely - using small packages (one or two), accompanied by silk Brocade box, or the use of a wooden box cover cellophane cover, such a "pretty" elegant and generous, so that the rare ginseng noble fully demonstrated. As a result, not only sales have opened, but the price per ton has increased by 23,000 yuan over the past, making the profits of commodities double.

Case III: When Sichuan people sold their "fist" products - pickled mustard, they started selling their products to Shanghai people with big jars and big dumplings. The savvy Shanghainese mustard was dumped in small jars and exported to Japan; In the case of a bad market, the Japanese merchants sold the mustard they imported from Shanghai to Hong Kong businessmen. The Hong Kong businessman, who was fond of his brains and was innovative, divided the mustard into pieces, pieces, and silk. After being packed in a vacuum pouch, it is sold back to Japan. From the “travel” process of mustard picking, it is not difficult to see that all businessmen make money, but it is still Hong Kong merchants who make “big money” by packing. Now, although most enterprises in China have the concept of “selling a piece of leather”, while attaching importance to the protective function of packaging, they also attach importance to the promotion function and value-added function of packaging and acknowledge the “silent salesman” of packaging. However, after all, they paid a heavy price and paid high "tuition fees."

(2) Three stories that give people inspiration - "The new solution to the "buy and return to beggars", Maotai Liquor "Nomination to the Gold List," and the brandy "Glory to the Sun"

Story I: “Han Feizi’s Foreign Reserve says Left” records a story about “Buying and Returning the Pearl”: A Zheng Guoren bought a pearl from a merchant in Chu that only had a beautiful wooden box and left the box. The pearl was returned to the Chu merchants. The reason is that the box “for the Mulan” and then the “grilled with cinnamon”, and the “jewels” beautiful box (椟) “cover up” the brilliance of the treasures in the box. No wonder that Zheng did not love treasures and loved them. The original intention of this story is to satirize the stupid behavior of Zheng people, but today we can understand the story from the perspective of marketing: in the marketing, we must always pay attention to the packaging of goods, we must be good at using "fine With the magical packaging effect of “beads and beads” to please buyers, attract customers and achieve the goal of “love and bead” to expand sales of goods.

Story II: At the Panama International Exposition in 1915, China's famous wine, Maotai, was rough and unsophisticated. It made foreigners look down and failed to enter the pre-selection. At this “important” juncture, a businessman from China’s exhibitions was eager for wisdom. “Inadvertently” tossed a bottle of Maotai to the ground, suddenly overflowing with scent, attracting all people, conquering the hearts of the judges, and making Maotai "Golden List nomination" and "Smirk International Market". This story shows that at the time, the “Moutai Man” lacked the overall concept of commodities and only paid attention to the inherent quality of the goods, but ignored the external quality of the goods. It tells us that in modern marketing, it is necessary to grasp the inner quality and the outer quality so that “good horses must be equipped with gold saddles”. Good products must have good packaging. If we continue to stick to the old concept of "as long as the quality of the goods is good, there must be a market", we still insist on the "gold and jade ones, which are riddled with riddles" and the result must be the same as that of Maotai.

Story III: The French company Maldile, famous for its production of the Cognac brand, produced brandy exclusively for the Royal and Grand Hotel banquets from 1715 onwards. In order to make such treasures not reduce their worth, the company has given corresponding packaging. The best-selling brandy they produced, the XO, was packed in crystal glass jars, which were packed in exquisite boxes printed with Jinyu; another brandy was better than XO, and the outer packaging was velvety. It can be opened like a jewelry box. Such packaging and packaging also in turn set off the value of brand-name goods, which greatly increased the added value of the product. Its purpose is to make people feel that it is a rare and wonderful wine, and those who are seeking brand names and pursuing luxury are those customers. In addition, in order to make customers familiar with and like their products, in order to retain customers, the company has maintained its traditional packaging for nearly a hundred years, insisting not to change its packaging strategy.

(III) Tips for Winning Packages - Consistent with Each Other, Adaptation, Psychological Strategy, Skillful Use of Color

Tip I: Like a table. It is necessary to establish a correct view of commodity packaging. It is necessary to prevent the phenomena of "gold and jade, which are riddled with blunders," and it is also necessary to prevent the behavior of "deteriorating from the outside." If you use the "embroidered pillow" method to deceive customers, then at the end of the day it is "moving a rock to your own feet." Please be aware of the advice of the marketing experts: “One bite by the snake, ten years are afraid of the rope”. The last time the customer would not be on the second time, “At the same time, the customer will be dutiful.” Acquaintances say bad things about the product; satisfied customers only say good things to three people."

Tip II: Expedient Strain.

　 1 The packaging should be different depending on the use of the product itself. The famous French perfume industry has a famous saying: "The beautifully designed perfume bottle is the best salesman of perfume." The French perfume is divided into five fragrance types, each perfume with different fragrance, and its packaging bottles have different shapes. If there is a fragrance for men and women whose flavor is similar to forest and wood, its packaging bottle is designed to be tall and tall like a tree, and it is also equipped with an original thin strip carton that can be reminiscent of wood; another is called "Alpine". The perfume, the packaging bottle was designed to rotate to ascend style. These unique and imaginative packaging can naturally stimulate the desire of customers to buy.

　 2 The packaging should be different depending on the sales method. If your merchandise is sold in supermarkets, chain stores, and convenience stores that are sold on shelves, and the customers choose from the shelves themselves, then the packaging of the goods should be emphasized in the following two aspects: First, packaging should attract people. Let the customer pay attention to it when passing by the shelf, want to take it from the shelf and take a look; second, because no one sales, so the product specification must allow the customer to understand at a glance, can read to use, otherwise , Customers can not understand how to use, which dare to buy?

　 3 Packaging should be commensurate with the value of the goods. According to the value of the commodity, it is divided into three levels: high, medium, and low. It uses packaging materials and packaging that match its value to meet consumer needs at different levels of consumption. We advocate proper packaging of goods and oppose over-packaging and opposition to small packages. Appropriate packaging can reflect the value of the goods, which will greatly increase the added value of the goods;

Tip III: Psychological strategies. The different preferences of consumers on the packaging of goods directly affect their purchasing behavior. Over time, they will form an inertial buying psychology. Therefore, in the aspects of the shape, size, weight, color, and pattern of the packaging of goods, efforts should be made to meet the consumer's individual psychology. In a coincidence, the coordination between packaging and commodities in the mood is achieved, so that consumers can understand the characteristics of the goods in certain images. For example, women's products should be soft and elegant, elegant and unique, artistic and epidemic. Men's packaging should be vigorous and rugged, bold and unrestrained, highlighting practicality and science; children's products should be vivid and vivid, colorful, highlighting interest and knowledge, to induce children's curiosity and thirst for knowledge; Youth supplies packaging to be beautiful , New and unique, outstanding epidemic and novelty, in order to meet young people seeking new psychology and seeking different psychology; old product packaging should be simple and dignified, safe and convenient, outstanding practicality and tradition, try to meet the old people's realistic psychology and habits .

Tip IV: Using Colors. In the packaging design of goods, the use of color is very important, because different colors can cause people to have different visual reflections, which leads to different mentalities.