Product design is the way that a business presents its goods and services to customers. Many companies use design elements to establish, promote, and differentiate their brand. A Nike Swoosh on a pair of sneakers, Apple’s unique iOS, and Levi Jeans’ unique stitching are all examples of product design created with marketing in mind.
This underrated marketing strategy is one of the best ways for brands to attract new buyers. Taking the time to engage designers in product development, testing, and release yields real results. Customers find value and satisfaction in using a product with high-quality design. Designers can also help businesses enhance and promote their brand while standing out in oversaturated markets. The following guide will show you how improving your product’s look and feel will boost your marketing strategy.
Product Design Adds Value
Suppose that you have two products in front of you. One is attractively packaged, sleek, and user-friendly. The other has sloppy packaging and appears clunky. Which product would you assume is more expensive?
Most people will presume that the better-designed good is the more expensive one. When someone sees good product design, they automatically ascribe value to it. Psychologically speaking, humans do judge books by their covers, and they associate certain qualities (e.g. neatness, cleanliness, attractiveness) with being better or more expensive. A designer should therefore understand how people ascribe positive qualities to certain aesthetics and use that information to appeal to consumers.
A neat and polished design gives the impression that your product is thoughtful and of high quality. In a value-based pricing model, you might notice that upgraded design elements increase the perception of your product’s value to customers. This enables you to charge more for your product and, in some cases, position it as a premium offering.
Quality Design Boosts Sales
Not only will solid design elevate your product’s perceived value, but it will also lead to increased sales. Consumers often make purchasing decisions on superficial factors. In fact, you can probably think of a time when you made a purchase based on the packaging, color, or comfort of an item alone. Simply put, if your product is sitting next to a similarly-priced one, the customer is more likely to choose the one with a better look and feel.
You should therefore ensure that your product has a superior design to increase your sales. A well-designed item will capture consumers’ attention on the shelf and place it above the competition in purchasing decisions. Attractive packaging can also entice customers to make impulse purchases based on the look of the item. By influencing customers’ attraction to and perception of products, design can help your company increase sales by generating interest that translates into purchases.
Designers can also create repeat customers by creating a positive user experience. Your product’s interface, instruction manual, and operating system are all part of its product design. Apple, for example, has cultivated a massive base of repeat buyers through this strategy. On the other hand, problems like hard-to-read instructions or an unclear set-up process will turn users away from your brand.
Design Supports Branding
Product design can also strengthen your brand with consumers. Apple is one of the best-known companies that incorporate their branding heavily in their products. Each computer, tablet, and cell phone carries the company’s logo, and all of its products share the same sleek look and color scheme. Apple’s branded product design even extends to its software, which carries its own operating system.
Using this example, you can find ways to incorporate your brand into your product design. Your product should reflect the lifestyle and ambiance that your brand intends to establish. An eco-friendly brand can enhance their perception by using reusable packaging. Similarly, a minimalist brand should keep their product design as simple as possible. You should therefore use the design of your products to apply your branding vision to your consumer goods.
Product Design is Free Promotion
Many brands capitalize on product design as a way to promote their products. Designers for athletic brands like Nike and Adidas frequently feature logos prominently in their clothing. So, when one of these companies sponsors a sports team, they take full advantage of the promotional opportunity. Strategic logo placement turns users into walking advertisements for your product.
High-quality product design can also create user-generated promotion through word of mouth. If people are excited about the look and feel of your merchandise, then they will share it on their physical and digital social networks. Likewise, users may generate passive interest when they have a well-designed product in public. If your product captures customers’ attention, then you will sell more of it.
Creative Products Help you Stand Out
In saturated markets, standing out among your competitors is half the battle. Success in highly populated industries requires you to make a product that stands out. Creatively designed products can help you do that. Tide, for example, reinvigorated the market for laundry detergent by releasing Tide Pods. The brand found a way to differentiate itself in the highly saturated market for household goods.
Unique product design can also attract sales from competitors. Samsung, one of Apple’s main rivals in the smartphone space, increased its market share when it released flip phone designs. By offering a creative product different from its competitors, Samsung demonstrates how product design can help the underdog win market share against major firms.
Good Product Design Increases Customer Satisfaction
The end goal of any sales strategy is to create repeat customers. So, with the design of your product, you want to create a user experience that makes customers want to continue to buy your brand. A user’s buying process should be smooth from start to finish, including using their new product.
Even if a product is aesthetically pleasing, it will fall flat if its user interface is clunky. User-friendliness is the element of product design that plays the largest role in customer satisfaction. If a customer becomes confused by your interface, they will become frustrated and dissatisfied with the item. A well-designed product should be easy for your customers to use even if they are unfamiliar with it.
For more information, please refer to the following pages:
- Guide for Retail Product Marketing With SEO
- How to Make Money in Retail With Social Media Marketing
- How to Create a Data-Driven Retail Product Marketing Strategy
- How to Use Inbound Marketing in Retail Product Marketing Strategy?
- Retail Product Marketing Strategy & Account Based Marketing
- How to Market Your Product Locally
- All About Outbound Marketing for Retail Product Marketing Strategy