Have you ever strolled into a supermarket, searching for a pack of sugar? Did you instinctively reach for the first one that caught your eye, bypassing the others? That's the power of standing out.
The truth is, no one likes to be left on the shelf. Being overlooked often boils down to poor brand design (aside from price). Bad design can drastically impact sales in various negative ways. On the flip side, great designs compel customers to grab your product and make a purchase.
So WHAT constitutes a bad design?
Bad brand design confuses your customers.
In a podcast interview, I showed the host a shampoo bottle designed as if it was a healthy smoothie drink, and it had a warning sticker on the lid stating, "Do not drink." but that kind of design is not enough especially if there are kids in the house.
Bad packaging design makes unboxing difficult.
Unboxing is part of the brand experience, and you don’t want your customers to have a bad one. Customers want protective but easy-to-open packaging for the products they buy.
Bad design makes customers say “huh?” instead of “wow!”
Plain packaging with no instructions on how to use the product leaves customers wondering. Even if your product is a common one, don't think that you don't need to explain things to your customers - there will always be the one person who is new to your product.
Bad design creates more waste.
Brand owners think that sustainable packaging is more expensive than plastic, but that’s a myth. Some eco-friendly materials can actually be cheaper! More consumers these days prefer to support brands that care about the environment and if you can upcycle, even better.
So, how does bad design affect your sales?
Gives a negative first impression: Poor brand design gives an immediate negative impression of your brand, they’ll skip your product and choose better-looking products - even if your product has better quality. This is when people will say “it’s not worth it for its price”.
Loss of Credibility and Trust:
One bad product experience will stop customers from buying your products even if you've made your products “better and improved.” Your brand will be associated with poor quality because of the previous bad experience.
Lack of Brand Differentiation:
People will perceive your brand as a “brandless” generic product and/or you look exactly the same as your other competitors.
Loss of Potential Customers:
These days people post things on social media - and the next one may be your product. When they take a video of themselves unboxing it as if trying to solve an engineering question, that’ll be a turnoff for viewers.
Wondering if your brand design is up to par?
It might be okay, but what you truly desire is greatness. To determine if your design is bad, okay, or great, consider booking a call with me for personalized insights.