Packaging: 'selling off the shelf.' (guidelines for designing software packaging that bolsters sales)

"To put it simply," says merchandising strategist Seymour Merrin, "a package should be as subtle or cute as Attila the Hun coming over the rise." That point pretty well sums up a major transformation that's taken place in the look and feel of mainstream software packaging. In place of elegant, abstract box designs, the new packaging model is typically hard-selling, graphically strong, and designed (in Merrin's words) to "sell off the shelf."

There's no mystery about what's driving this packaging revolution: The new boxes simply attract more customers. For example, says Merrin, a packaging overhaul boosted sales of Seiko's Label Printer by "an immediate 40%." "Nothing else changed," he adds, "same product, same price, same spot on the shelf." Not surprisingly, strong packaging also helps brand-new products achieve quicker visibility--witness Hewlett-Packard's Dashboard utility, another Merrin-inspired package that racked up sales of 120,000 units in its first five months in the channel.

Merrin argues that the new packaging primarily reflects a change in retail demographics. "The average personal computer owner has used a machine for five years," says Merrin. "We're now overwhelmingly in an aftermarket." As a result, he says, buyers tend to be experienced and confident enough to make final buying decisions based in large part on information that a product conveys about itself--"just like in any traditional packaged goods industry."

Moreover, says Merrin, these buyers have been flocking in record numbers to retail superstores. "There are four million people every month walking up and down the aisles of computer stores, ready to buy something. Getting these buyers to see your package is usually the single best marketing investment anyone can make."

What makes a package "sell off the shelf"? Merrin says there are several critical guidelines:

* Include a strong, prominent "why-to-buy" message: A good package instantly communicates the product's primary benefit and positioning in a "succinct, catchy, and compelling phrase," says Merrin. "It tells a customer why he should buy your product and why your product is better than your competitor's." Often, the why-to-buy message is the most conspicuous graphical element on the box--for instance, Stacker's "Double Your Disk Capacity," Grammatik's "The Easiest Way to Improve Your Writing," and Quicken's "Fastest and Easiest Way to Manage Home & Business Finances." Good why-to-buy messages focus on the product's value to the customer, Merrin adds, not on features that the developer thinks should be important. Awards, special pricing, bonus features, and endorsements and other "value-enhancing" statements are also effective why-to-buy messages, he adds.