The packaging doesn’t have to be expensive but by thinking out of the box, you can make your packaging look special for your customer.
Packaging your products is an extension of your business. When working with a large budget having your brand printed professionally onto the box is a great way to carry your brand. Amazon, for example, has its name printed onto its packaging alongside its brand the big smile.
As a small business owner, you have to, of course, think about packaging carefully. On one hand, there’s what you would love to use and on the other hand, here’s what you can realistically afford. With packaging, an expense that can not be avoided, using creative packaging ways that look good but help you keep the cost down is always helpful to have.
Most products which are not flat like letters or poster sized are more than likely going to require some sort of box.
Question: Where is there many sized boxes to choose from, that are freely available every day of the week?
Answer: Your local supermarket or local corner shop. By simply asking them if you can have a few boxes is a good start to cutting costs instead of buying brand new flat packed boxes.
Now it’s not really fitting to put your products into boxes that are promoting Walkers crisps, chocolates etc. So to overcome those unwanted advertising images is to simply cover the box. I know you know this 🙂 However, the common material to do this job is to use brown parcel paper, a great option but which can become expensive, even though you could get a deal on eBay.
A creative alternative to brown parcel paper is to use wallpaper. Pop down to your local decorating store and check out their end of lines rolls. You can get some beautiful rolls for next to nothing and as you already know, wallpaper rolls are not small. Of course colours, textures, and patterns are going to vary a great deal but you can get a roll for at least £1.00 maybe even cheaper. If you can get colours that reflect your product colour scheme or your business brand then that’s a bonus.
When you are ready to cover your box with your choice of covering, use double-sided tape to stick the paper to your box. This will prevent your customer seeing the boxes old usage when they come to open your package.
Packaging Inside
Adding padding like bubble wrap is a way to protect your products while inside your box, its not very creative or cheap. However, there are a few more creative ways to present your products other than using clear plastic bubbles. One of the cheapest ways is to use the obvious which is newspapers or magazines. I would choose magazines over black and white inked newspaper sheets any day. Why, because magazines are more colourful and you can get real invented depending on what magazines pages you actually use. Of course, you don’t want to be using magazines that are sharing weird stories of any kind. Now the best way to use these magazines pages is not to tear or screw up the pages but to cut the pages into strips and surround your product with them. Another material which is a little lighter is to use tissue paper, which can be pretty cheap from your local craft store (look in the clearance section 1st) or a children’s toy shop in the craft activity section. Again cutting the tissue paper into strips is more pleasing to the eye than tearing or screwing it up.
Add Something Personal
Adding a personal note to your package saying “thank you for your order” is a lovely appreciation to send to your customer. Don’t forget to add at least 2 business cards also. Look after your customers and they will be more than happy to spread their shopping experience with other people they know.
Outer Labeling
Labeling your packages is the most important element. If the label is too small, it can be overlooked, miss read and sent to the wrong address. Keep labels containing your customer’s addresses large and clear at all times. Your return address label can be smaller but still needs to be clear and readable. Covering the entire label with clear cello tape helps to protect them if they happen to get wet. The last thing you want is for your labels to get smudged in some way which would make them unreadable.
