3 Ways to Collect Consumer Feedback for Your Brand’s Packaging

Today’s leading brands understands the important role that consumer feedback plays in business. In fact, research shows that 79% of consumers say they want brands to actively demonstrate that they ‘understand and care’ about them before they make a purchase. 

Gathering feedback allows brands to get insight on consumers’ ever-changing needs. This empowers brands to make informed decisions when it comes to product and packaging design development to create the best possible customer experience. Brands who invest in gathering feedback may also find an increase in loyalty and retention, as consumers enjoy knowing that their opinions are valued.

Here are a few strategies that we recommend to garner consumer feedback for your brand:

Conduct Focus Groups

Brands have used focus groups since the early 20^th century in order to understand consumer attitudes and behavior. Traditional in-person focus groups typically consists of 8-10 participants, who receive some form of compensation for their participation. Participants are interviewed or encouraged to share their thoughts in an open forum. Brands can use focus groups to gather feedback during the product or packaging development stage. Group discussions can provide a wealth of information for brands in order to gauge the general perspective of their audience base.

While focus groups are a time-saving way to collect immediate consumer feedback, brands must be aware of the possibility of moderator bias. Participants may not always express their honest opinions about the topic at hand, so conducting multiple focus groups may be beneficial for data.

Launch an Online Survey

Many brands turn to online surveys to gather consumer feedback at a fraction of the price compared to traditional, in-person survey methods. These surveys can be sent to their email subscriber list or using a paid online survey site. Online surveys are easily accessible and convenient for participants to complete, while supporting anonymity. Another advantage is reach and scalability. Online survey platforms, such as SurveyMonkey and Typeform, allow brands to send a survey to thousands of consumers as quickly as they can send a survey to one participant. 

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Since there is less accountability with online surveys, the resulting data may not be as reliable. There’s a chance that participants aren’t accurately contributing their insights. Online surveys sent to a brand’s email subscriber list can also be deleted or ignored. When it comes to gathering consumer feedback on a product or product packaging, it can be difficult for respondents to participate without being to physically touch or see the object in real life.

Post Social Media Polls

Another strategy for gathering consumer feedback is to leverage your social media network. Before launching a new product or designing new packaging, some brands solicit feedback from their follower base through polling. Social media polling gives users the opportunity to be a part of the conversation, while also helping your brand appear more approachable and connected. Since your follower base usually comprises of a multiple audience, such as current customers, potential customers, and even critics, you may receive a wide range of responses.  

Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram all have polling features to help brands garner feedback. For example, Starbucks often uses Instagram Stories to post a poll for their followers — allowing them to decide between drinks, flavors, or other features. Some brands may choose to post a question directly on their newsfeed and request a comment response from users.

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Be cautious that gathering feedback through social media can easily go awry if left unmonitored. Also, this method is not efficient in covering maximum depth on a particular issue. Ultimately, social media polling offers more entertainment value rather than purposeful insight for consumer feedback.