Ideally, a brand is associated with well-being or serves as a solution to a stressful problem. Today creating and maintaining a brand comes down to professionals who observe and understand the relationship between the brand and consumer. Here's a closer look at this relationship and how metal packaging attracts attention to a brand.
Creating Values Out of Brand Experiences
Brand experiences should give the consumer a sense of reward that's worth remembering. Value-based products are embedded with values that connect with large groups of people. The value of a food product, for example, is derived from the elements that attract the consumer. It might be based on taste, nutrition, prestige, or various other factors.
The values that are revealed from brand experiences need to be conveyed on metal packaging. These values can be communicated visually with a variety of factors that link images with emotions. It's essential for the packaging designer to understand the symbolism that's associated with the brand's core values. Through symbolism, the packaging can communicate messages to consumers who have had no prior experience with the brand.
How Values Play Into Brand Satisfaction
Customer brand satisfaction is usually not by accident or chance. A positive association with a brand is often due to the customer's conscious acceptance and seeing for themselves the brand delivers what they expect. When a consumer becomes an admirer of a brand, it's usually because the brand connects with their personal values.
A consumer who values cost efficiency is going to be satisfied with a brand that delivers better solutions at a lower cost than what competitors offer. Some consumers simply value aesthetics and are attracted to products that match their personal tastes in terms of color, shape, and size.
Metal packaging can remind consumers of their positive experiences with the brand, especially if the product relates to strength and durability. Metal is excellent for packaging perishable items such as food, so the packaging material itself is a reminder of the brand's core values of preserving and protecting food.
Keys to Developing Brand Trust and Loyalty
Brand trust and loyalty don't develop randomly, as the brand must provide some type of advantage for consumers to purchase. Many times trust and loyalty are built over several months or years of the brand delivering consistent solutions. One of the most important keys to developing brand trust and loyalty is for the product to deliver more than the packaging promises.
One way a brand can stand out from competitors is to offer unique features that deliver reliable solutions. Reliability is a major ingredient to trust when it comes to the relationship between consumers and brands. Raising customer satisfaction to the level of brand love can be quite challenging. But if a brand can reach the level of inspiring brand love, it can mean customer loyalty for decades.
For metal package designers, the key to facilitating and nurturing brand loyalty is to emphasize the protective elements of metal. Other ways to encourage consumer loyalty are through high-quality customer service and regular communication through email and online marketing.
References
[1] It Looks Like a Toyota: Educational Approaches to Designing for Visual Brand Recognition (2007), by Toni-Matti Karjalainen
[2] Investigating the Impact of Brand Image and Brand Loyalty on Brand Equity: the Mediating Role of Brand Awareness(2021), by Anas Zia, Sohail Younus, and Farhan Mirza
