As an internal department, operating to support the goals and expectations of the larger organization, functioning without a strategy that aligns with management goals is a recipe for failure.
Effective organizations set goals and objectives that flow down from the top and affect the guidelines of your packaging department. You have to understand how your actions and operations impact your business’ overall success. For example, an organization that makes sustainability a top priority requires its packaging department to develop systems that consider the environmental impact of the packaging development process.
Developing a packaging strategy is not a simple or easy task. It must encompass several goals that your management team may set. Redesigning your packaging for marketing purposes is an important responsibility, but it is far from the only one. Sustainability, efficiency, and profitability are just some of the important focus areas of many product companies. But how do you create a strategy that incorporates many complex objectives?
The Basic Steps to Developing Your Packaging Strategy
The risks to the consumer and to the people on your plant floor will have a strong influence on your packaging objectives
The technology and design needed to meet objectives; e.g., maintaining and extending produce freshness throughout its shelf life
The ease of opening, re-closing and disposing of packages
The degree to which your packaging must be differentiated from competitor packaging
The degree to which your packaging is relied on to promote your product
The importance of brand recognition through packing, such as with shape or color
The messaging that your packaging must communicate to consumers
The packaging you go to market with needs to protect your product throughout the supply chain, maintaining presentation and longevity in the different environments it will be subjected to on its path to the consumer and beyond.
Keeping budget in mind throughout each department involved in your product line is important! Understand the packaging material costs and total cost of production of each finished good, and the expected return from each campaign, promotion and initiative.
