I remember during a retail client visit to my company headquarters decades ago, when the buyer pulled me aside. He said, “Karen, I think you should look at your packaging. It is a bit outdated.” This wasn’t just any customer. It was one of our top five clients. And even though he was “just a buyer”, I sensed he was speaking on behalf of his company, and his boss.
Some people would be offended to have their branded packaging criticized. But that was probably the best, most honest, and helpful feedback I ever received as CEO. Instead of trying to justify my current packaging, I called a meeting of my marketing team the next morning and we had an honest conversation. It was a bit of the “king has no clothes”. My team hesitated to admit that our client was right. Frankly, our packaging sucked.
I knew well that my competition had just done a “rebrand” with their packaging and it looked fresh and sharp. They had hired a professional agency to develop their new look, and it stood out. And I knew deep inside it was time for me and my company to get more professional with our brand, our packaging and all that is involved with that.
My marketing director was slightly excited, yet apprehensive because it is a big undertaking. Lots of money for an updated website, new collateral materials and of course, tons of obsolete packaging materials would result. Staff time to coordinate all the moving parts. Oversight and approval of the CEO every step of the way. **When you do a rebrand or any big marketing initiative, the CEO should always have final approval and be involved in each stage of the process. Brand is part of strategy.
As it turns out, my company, Frieda’s Specialty Produce, did a rebrand and refresh of our brand strategy, the look and feel of our packaging and all marketing materials about every 7-10 years. Each time we did this deep dive, we ended up hiring a new agency. I just knew that to have fresh ideas, you need fresh eyes.
Yes, it can be a significant investment of dollars to change the look of your company’s visual assets, but chances are you will have a positive ROI (return on investment). So, be sure to set expectations on what kind of ROI on your financial investment you want.
If you are going to invest $20,000 on consumer insights (critical to understand what the consumer wants), $50,000 on new brand visuals and assets and $30,000 on packaging design – what kind of increase in sales volume and profitability should you expect? Before you start redesigning all your packaging, evaluate how your product portfolio is performing and “cut the tail” (as one of my clients says): discontinue your poorest sellers. Don’t be fearful of discontinuing some of your legacy products.
Back to client feedback. If you are bold enough to ask your client for feedback on any of your products or services, be specific with your ask. Don’t say, “What do you think about our packaging?” Try: “We are getting ready to do a redesign of our packaging and are looking for input from key stakeholders like yourself. If you were going to change 2-3 things about our packaging, what would they be?” And then, when they tell you, be sure to ask them follow-up questions to show sincere interest and then let them know you are asking several of your key clients and are sharing these insights with your marketing agency. That allows you to not imply that you will be adopting de facto your clients’ suggestions.
While you are asking them for feedback, ask them about their thoughts on discontinuing poor selling products, or changing pack sizes to focus on the most profitable sellers. Often, by involving your clients this way, it becomes easier when you announce new pack sizes, discontinued products or new products, as you can reference their earlier feedback.
With all this being said, the most dangerous approach when doing any type of change is to keep all the input internal. What I mean by that, is don’t let your internal team decide on the direction without any input or insight from the ultimate consumer. Sometimes I see packaging at the grocery store and I can tell that the owner of the company really likes their last name to be the most visible image on the package. That’s okay if you are Campbell Soup or Harley Davidson Motorcycles. But not all names are household names with universal name recognition.
Get an independent view of what will help you grow your product sales, what’s trending in your product category and who your consumer really is.
And, when someone offers you feedback, even if it is unsolicited, remember: There is always a bit of truth in everything. (*** On a personal note – when I showed a business friend my company “brochure”, she told me it was nice, but that it doesn’t say anything about my previous CEO experience. I was not defensive, and I asked her to tell me more about what she was thinking. She then gave me 2-3 suggestions, which I plan to implement when I reprint my brochures later this summer. Thank you Colette!).
Is client feedback a good thing? Absolutely it is! Don’t dread it – welcome it! The Bonus: It can create more of a connection with your client.
Onward and upward,
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