When it comes to the consumer market and the products they prefer over competitors, one of the most important factors when determining which product they will pick is the packaging which contains the product. Strong packaging can be the make or break in terms of a consumer choosing your product over the surrounding competitor products.
While you might think that you have the best packaging to ever be seen in the consumer space (almost every company thinks this about themselves), your idea of proper packaging can be skewed from the consumer opinion. If that is the case, this will lead to declined sales and a shut-out in the market.
Here at Leapin’ Lizard Labels, we strive to provide services and custom-created product labels, stickers, and banners to small businesses that are dedicated to pushing their product to the market. Our customers are fellow entrepreneurs, and we are determined to help them succeed in their own ventures. Read on to learn more about A/B testing and how it can propel your product’s packaging to the top!
What is A/B Testing?
A/B testing is a process in which one variable is changed between two options to compare for results, Sample A versus Sample B. This type of testing can be very useful in many aspects of business, but especially when it comes to packaging and design.
When a new entrepreneur is creating their business or product, they tend to create one version of packaging that they think is “perfect.” While it may be an attractive design, and possibly even the design they should use, they tend to often forget that their opinion is irrelevant when it comes to the consumer space. This is why A/B testing is so important when exploring various design options. The entrepreneur’s vision or association of the design to the product can be immensely different from the opinions of the consumers, who are the ones that will either make this venture profitable or a complete failure.
A/B Testing Your Own Designs
When it comes to implementing an A/B test to your packaging designs, it is important to note that this type of test should be specific and be driven around a singular variable. Because this is a direct comparison, the variable should be specific and measurable. For instance, if you are figuring out which fonts, colors, or imagery will be on your product’s packaging, A/B testing will only work properly if you are picking only one of these variables to test. If you try to change two or all of the variables at once, it will be nearly impossible to figure out why the one sample brought in better results than another. A/B testing can be an inexpensive method to test out various options, but it is not completely free.
There are a few ways you can go about your A/B testing methods. One way to help save money, time, and resources is to set up blind testing with a specific focus group. By doing your testing in this manner, you will not have to make large quantities of each of the designs, but rather a few for each of the testing groups. After picking out your specified demographic or target market for the test, simply show them each of the designs with a questionnaire about what stood out, why it stood out, and improvements they see fit for the winning design. This will allow you to get feedback on some of the other components you wanted to learn about in your testing, without having to create numerous revisions to your sample packaging.
Another way to administer A/B testing to your consumers or potential target market is to prepare two designs upon the full release of your product. This method is more costly and risky, as you will have to essentially create two full stocks of each of the samples. Once that is created, release the two designs to various outlets (competing stores or neighboring geographic areas) to view the buying behaviors that consumers show towards each of the two designs. By measuring the purchase tendencies of both options, you will get more clarity as to which design seems to outshine the other. The problem with this costly tactic is that if you sell out of one option, but the other option is hardly picked out, then you have a lot of dead stock waiting to be swooped up and repackaged in the winning design, increasing cost and turnaround time.
Measuring The Results of A/B Testing
Measuring the results of A/B testing can help you make conscientious decisions related to the packaging choices you need to make when rolling the full product release to market. Measuring can be as simple as reviewing the notes and answers to questions administered throughout the blind testing. Because you should be hosting these blind tests with target market consumers, their opinion should carry some weight behind it. If they have additional opinions about other aspects that can be improved upon, you could continue your A/B testing with the other aspects to hone in on the perfect design. This will come with additional costs, but will still be cheaper than rolling out a failing package design.
Measuring the other method of A/B testing, in which you roll out small samples of the two designs to small markets, can be somewhat more challenging to measure. Generally, you will see that one design sells off the shelves quicker than the other design. That’s great for an overall knowledge of success versus failure, but it doesn’t explain the reasoning behind why that version is more successful. Because you only are able to measure the outcome of the experiment and not able to get into the minds of the consumer, you will not know if there are even more iterations of the design that can cause the product to sell faster or stimulate repeat consumers.
Because of that, we find that the best A/B testing format for your company is the administration of small sample size blind tests, as you seem to gain more information on a smaller budget.
Product Packaging With Leapin’ Lizard Labels
Here at Leapin’ Lizard Labels, we specialize in helping your business brainstorm, develop, and implement designs into logos, branding, and overall business health. We pride ourselves in creating a relationship and community with our clients, in which we can be respectful and optimistic, while still being honest about our feelings on your packaging designs. If you are in need of branding and labeling for your entrepreneurial venture, be sure to contact us to get a quote and bounce ideas back and forth. We hope to speak with you soon!
