Premium Packaging Pays | Ep. 7

A $5 cookie feels normal in the right box. A $12 cookie feels normal when the unboxing turns into a whole experience. That’s the uncomfortable, powerful truth behind premium packaging, perceived value, and why great design changes what people are willing to pay.

We walk through real examples you already know: Crumbl’s recognizable presentation, Last Crumble’s sleek black box and individually wrapped “named” cookies, and even the way Instagram can make an average restaurant feel like a luxury destination. Along the way, we unpack the psychology behind brand perception, why consistency builds trust (hello, Starbucks), and how context sets price expectations before a customer ever compares features.

Then we bring it home for small business owners who don’t sell cookies. We share practical, budget-friendly ways to make your brand look more premium, from upgrading fonts and simplifying layouts to using white space, stronger contrast, and a tighter color palette. We also talk about “digital packaging” and why your website is your storefront window, plus when DIY tools and AI site builders help and when you’re better off hiring a pro to improve conversions.

If you’ve got real value but your brand isn’t signaling it, this conversation gives you a clean path forward. Subscribe for more branding and design strategy, share this with a business friend, and leave a review. What’s one touchpoint in your brand that needs a premium upgrade right now?

Thanks for listening to Brand Currency, where we have honest conversations about branding, business, and what it really takes to build a brand that people trust.

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Transcript

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Welcome To Brand Currency Podcast

Speaker 0:00

Welcome to the Brand Currency Podcast, where we break down branding and design in a way that actually makes sense for your business. My name is Charles McGill. I'm your host, and my co-host is Hi, I'm Jonsi

Speaker 2 0:10

McGill, his wife and business partner.

Speaker 0:13

So glad you guys are joining us. So today we're going to uh dive into the power of premium packaging and how people will pay more just because something looks good. What did you think about that, Meg?

Speaker 2 0:27

Well, first, that was a whole lot of alliteration. Was it? It was. I really can't. Okay, okay, got it, got it, got it. But yes, I think this is a very important topic because, you know, you want to be able to present yourself in a way that not only looks good, but converts for your business, right? Because it's all about the way something is presented to your audience.

Speaker 0:51

Yeah. But see, here's the thing though. The the question is, or the thing that we're gonna talk about is why people pay more just because it looks good. What's the psychology around that, right? So, I mean, let's be

Cookie Prices And The Pink Box

Speaker 1:02

real. We think about like um, like for example, Last Crumble. So if you guys don't know, Last Crumble is a cookie brand.

Speaker 2 1:09

Mm-hmm, it sure is.

Speaker 1:10

And if you know anything, listen, we like cookies, right? And so we like cookies. I forgot I consider myself a cookie connoisseur, right? I mean, I've been I've been I've been on cookies for a minute. Um, you know, I I would say back in the days from like Miss Fields, right?

Speaker 2 1:26

I don't know if you see, I thought I knew cookies, but it wasn't until I met you that I understood that there was levels.

Speaker 1:36

There's levels, yes, yes. So cookies can range anywhere from like your, you know, Oreo Chips of Hoy cookies that you get from the store, right? You know, they I don't know, $3, $4, you know, for a whole bunch of them, right? And they're hard and they're kind of stale, right? They have a taste. Yeah, I don't mess with those cookies. Yeah. So then you can do like your homemade cookies, your Pillsbury or Nestle or whatever, and you scoop it out, you can bake it. That has its own flavor as well, right? And then you can actually get like a bakery, right? Somebody who actually knows what he's doing and can bake you some cookies. And there's so many varieties of that. One of the best that I was growing up when I was younger was Miss Fields. When they used to bake them, right? When they used to actually have a storefront and they would bake them, those were slamming.

Speaker 2 2:25

See, I thought I knew cookies because there was a spot. See, I'm from New York. Okay. So I grew up in New York. Yep. And there was a spot in uh downtown Manhattan called the Gourmet Garage. There you go. And they had these giant cookies that were so delicious, but they were like six bucks a pop or something like that. Yeah. But they were so, I mean, they were just so delicious.

Speaker 2:50

Yes. Well, I noticed something you say you said gourmet. Right? So that already signaled to me that it was gonna cost a little bit more.

Speaker 2 2:56

Yes.

Speaker 2:57

Right? So cookies have evolved, right? So now the most popular ones, it went from being something like a Miss Fields, now it's like crumble cookies is kind of your more popular one. It comes in that, you know, that that that uh pink box, you know, that's really recognizable. Those cookies aren't inexpensive, right? They're I don't know how much crumble cookies are. We don't buy them too often.

Speaker 2 3:19

No, we had to stop.

Speaker 3:20

Yeah, but I think they're like, man, I think what was it like 30 bucks a box or something like that? It's like roughly that. It's roughly that. I could I could take a look real quick. Okay. Well, just because I don't want to be inaccurate when I'm when I'm saying this.

Speaker 2 3:33

Okay, go ahead and look it up then.

Speaker 3:36

Mr. Internet at fingertips. You know, we gotta have the internet at our fingertips.

Speaker 2 3:41

But you always have to be accurate as well.

Speaker 3:43

Yeah, it's about five or six dollars a cookie.

Speaker 2 3:45

Okay.

Speaker 3:46

So roughly about five or six dollars a cookie.

Speaker 2 3:47

I like those cookies because they're all they're the presentation is pretty. Like they all have the little swirly frosting. Yeah, and they all have their own different little personality in the box.

Speaker 3:58

Exactly. I think like if you if you were to like say, okay, like cookies also range from like even like Girl Scout cookies, right? You can get cookies from like the outside outside of Walmart or outside of you know a store, grocery store, Kroger's or Publix, there's people out there selling cookies, right? And so when you look at the box, you look at the packaging, and also in the setting, you know, I don't know how much you're expecting the to be to pay for those cookies, but I wouldn't I would venture to guess no more than four or five dollars for a box of cookies, right? Just based on kind of like the setting, right?

Speaker 1 4:28

I don't know.

Speaker 4:28

But fundraiser cookies are different. Really? Mm-hmm. But fo but but if you go to uh like crumble cookie, you're talking about five dollars per cookie. Now I know if any kind of random, like if you're in a really any other random situation and somebody said I'm selling cookies and they say, Well, how much can I get for one cookie? And it's like five dollars. You'd be like, What? Five dollars for a cookie? However, crumble does it in a certain way because of their setting. When you walk in, it's like really clean. They got the display, the the website, the app. They're just showing you different variations.

Speaker 2 5:03

And all they sell is cookies, so you expect to pay more. So like that's the only thing you're gonna get is some cookies, and you know they're gonna be tasty, so expect to pay a little bit more.

Speaker 5:13

That's right. And so you're cool with it, right? Because of the the packaging and the experience. But then there's this other cookie.

Last Crumble And The Luxury Unboxing

Speaker 5:19

This is what actually, you know, will cause a little bit of uh not say controversy, but cause people to kind of raise their eyebrows. It's called Last Crumble. This particular cookie costs about what is it about a little more than $12 per cookie? Something like that.

Speaker 2 5:35

I just remember the box was like $140.

Speaker 5:38

$160 or something like that? $100 and something for some cookies. 100 and something, right? For a dozen.

Speaker 2 5:44

For some cookies, yeah.

Speaker 5:46

However, how was how is it delivered to you? Like how what what's the experience? Do you remember?

Speaker 2 5:51

Yeah, the presentation is amazing. I mean, like the box is sleek. So I've never actually had these cookies. I saw them at a conference last month, okay, and people were going bananas for these cookies. I mean, because of the box alone. I only think they knew what was in the box, yeah, but they were just excited about the box.

Speaker 6:16

So the box was like that dope. Like I don't understand.

Speaker 2 6:19

The box was, yeah, because it's like black, it's very sleek, it looks trendy. You don't know what's in the box, you just know that the box looks expensive. Okay. So you think the thing inside is gonna be amazing.

Speaker 6:33

And I do, I do, I do know that when they uh finally get the the cookie. Well, when you finally open the box, the cookies themselves are like individually wrapped. Right?

Speaker 2 6:43

And they each have a name too.

Speaker 6:45

They each have a name, they have a story behind them.

Speaker 2 6:48

Yes.

Speaker 6:48

There's like this, all this, like, you know, the presentation, the experience, is like this whole thing, just to eat some cookies, right? So, but all that intentionality and all of that like around the cookie also lends itself to what? To charge more. Because you're not just getting um, you know, luxury, you're getting experience. So luxury is not just about cost, luxury is about the experience. Right? So if you're trying to charge more, oftentimes it's about the experience, it's about the packaging, it's about the you know, the presentation of it all that makes it feel like it's worth

Luxury Is Experience Not Cost

Speaker 7:29

it. You know, I think about also like when you go, you know, like if you're gonna go find dining, right? Um, or you, you know, you could go to a place where, you know, they got the, you know, it's it's it's when you walk in the lobby, it's all, you know, kind of the the core is is crazy.

Speaker 2 7:46

There's this meme going around of this young lady who is talking about how, you know, you don't have to spend $2,500 on a date taking me out to dinner. We could just go to Outback, we can go to Longhorn. Okay, it doesn't have to cost all that. You know, I don't care about the fancy and all that stuff. And I was watching and I was thinking, like, but I care about the experience that I'm getting. Like she was like, I don't care about the waiter, you know, lighting some stuff on fire. It's just fire. But, you know, for me, howsome ever, yes, I care about the experience that I'm having along with the dish. Like, I want to be able to taste the flavors. I want to be in a nice setting and just like enjoy because you know, we work hard. Yeah. So I want to be able to enjoy my meal and feel, you know, a little different, like have a different experience with my food.

Speaker 8:39

Yes. And so with that difference feeling, you also are aware that you'll be paying more. Right. And you're okay with that.

Speaker 2 8:46

I'm okay with that.

Speaker 8:47

So so she's probably saying she's not okay with that.

Speaker 2 8:49

She's not okay. I mean, I wouldn't be okay with 2500. I don't know about that, but I'm willing to spend a little bit more, you know, then outback for a better experience.

Speaker 8:59

Yeah. Well, and I think it's I think it's all relative, right? In terms of like, you know, where you're trying to, like the experience you're trying to have and also what you're trying to spend. But the point is, is that the experience often will allow you to charge more. So if we put this like, you know, for small business owners, if you're if you're trying to think of ways to increase your pricing, what you may want to do is increase your experience that will justify the higher price.

Speaker 2 9:28

Because you can't just be willy-nilly raising your prices for no reason.

Speaker 9:32

Nah, if you out here giving Applebee's experiences, expect people to want to pay you Applebee prices. But if you're given a, you know, an experience of a fine dining restaurant, you know, that's upper scale, you're getting, you know, instead of you getting some cookies from the lady at the church, you know, versus, you know, you going to last crumble, what's got the the crazy box and the individually wrapped, you know, those experiences are going to often determine the price that you're gonna pay. And so when it comes to small business owners, we got to be thinking about that.

Speaker 2 10:05

Okay, let's break this down. Why does premium branding make people spend more, make them want to spend more money?

When Branding Overpromises The Meal

Speaker 10:13

Yeah, I mean, because it's the it's the it's the power of perception, right? We often think just because something looks better, that it is better. And that and that that that may not always be the case. I'm sure there's been a lot of situations where we can we can attest that we've experienced where something looked like it was gonna be really great and it wasn't. And we paid more. And I hate to say it because we live in Atlanta. Listen, I love I love my ATL folks, but we done been to a lot of overpriced restaurants. Who glory I mean, we done been in restaurants where we thought just because like yes, we saw Instagram.

Speaker 2 10:49

Because everybody's like, oh, you should go here.

Speaker 10:52

It's delicious. Instagram, listen, those food influencers, y'all do y'all do some work. Y'all do some work, man. They they make that stuff look like it is amazing.

Speaker 2 11:00

I know those camera angles be getting you.

Speaker 11:03

Man, all of that, right? The camera angles, the commentary. I'm like, man, we gotta try this spot, right? And then we go there, and then the customer services lacking sometimes. You know, they got you waiting for some arbitrary reason. They're tables open. Tables open. They got you paying for parking for ridiculous amounts of money.

Speaker 2 11:26

Like, it's like Please validate the parking.

Speaker 11:29

It's a whole lot of like the experience is is is not given, right? I mean, like what you think you you were going to get. And then at the end of the meal, you get hit with that bill. Man, I'm yeah, listen. But the the reason why I even got there was because of the perception. I thought that it was going to be an amazing experience with on my palate.

Speaker 2 11:53

Yes.

Speaker 11:53

Because everything that I saw. But there's one restaurant, I won't say the name, but I told you there was a breakfast spot breakfast spot, a brush spot. And we, just for you, me and the boys, our two boys. I walked away spending $200. $200. I I was like, I will never, I will never again. Not that I will never spend $200 again at a restaurant, because we do, we have, but the experience and the taste of food, it was, it would, I didn't even want to bring more leftovers. It wasn't worth the. It wasn't worth it. So, but the thing is, but that's the power of the branding, though, and the power of perception, is that just because it looks a certain way on the outside, you automatically assume it's going to be great quality on the inside. That's the power of it. Um, you know, and and the thing about it is this thing is so powerful. This branding piece and the brow power of perception, it's got us paying extra for a whole bunch of stuff. It do you think it's like trickery? No, it's not tricky. It's marketing. Like it's it's it is, you know, but it's the that is. Is marketing trickery? I mean, to a degree, right? But but it's leveraging the power of what we already know, how people think.

Starbucks Consistency Builds Trust

Speaker 13:03

Like Starbucks, Starbucks got us willing and and and and looking forward to paying more than we should probably for coffee.

Speaker 2 13:12

I know, but it's so good, and I just can't make it like they're.

Speaker 13:15

It does taste good, but it, you know, if you talk to people who are really like coffee drinkers, like coffee drinkers, like that, there's other smaller mom and pops that can make coffee just as good, if not better. But because the Starbucks is the way it is, and the branding and the convenience and all the different stuff, we're willing to pay more for it.

Speaker 2 13:32

Yes.

Speaker 13:33

Routinely.

Speaker 2 13:34

Yes.

Speaker 13:34

Right? Um, I think I I I heard I heard somewhere that like the average lifetime value of a of a coffee of a Starbucks drinker is like it's thousands of dollars. I can imagine. It's like I think it was like 9,000. It was something ridiculous. Like basically like they know that once you start, you're not gonna stop. Right?

Speaker 2 13:52

The likelihood of you Do you think consistency is a luxury? What do you mean? Because their coffee, I mean, it's consistent, right? So I'm willing to pay more for something that I know is gonna be good. Like once I experience it, once I know it's solid, I'm willing to continue to frequent that spot. Like I like Starbucks. Yeah, I mean I'll go every day because I try to do the mushroom coffee at home now, but you know. Is there like a luxury in the consistency? Like you are willing to invest in something that you know?

Speaker 14:27

I mean, consistency breeds trust, uh, which you will, you know, tend to invest more in things you trust. I don't know if it means that it's luxury or even premium, it's just consistent. I think the luxury and the premium come with different things like how it's packaged, how it's positioned, how it's priced. That's those are all the things that kind of denote luxury and premium. But we talk about consistency, like a like for example, if you saw a chair in the middle of the room, right? If you needed a place to sit, where would you go sit?

Speaker 2 15:01

In the chair.

Speaker 15:02

In the chair, why?

Speaker 2 15:03

Because it's a chair. I know I can sit there.

Speaker 15:05

That's right, because you've had many experiences through the years of sitting in something that looks just like that. But the truth is you don't know, you don't know beyond a shadow of a doubt if that thing's gonna hold you up. You don't know if the legs are sturdy, you don't know if it's broken, you don't know any of that. But there's trust in the fact that you have done that repeatedly over and over and over again. So the fact that you keep going to Starbucks and you keep getting a similar experience, it breeds that trust. And so you're more likely to continue to go for it. But the same thing with McDonald's. Like, no matter where you go in the world, McDonald's is gonna look pretty much the experience in terms of the burger and the fries gonna be the same because you trust that you know what to expect. That you're there, you're gonna pretty much they can count on your dollars at some point, you know, when you're feeling hungry, right? Uh, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's luxurious or premium. Yeah. I hope that makes sense. Okay.

Why Kroger Cookies Feel Cheaper

Speaker 15:55

But the point is, uh, like one thing that I want to kind of bring us back to is like why we pay more for something that seems like they're similar. For example, you could look at crumble cookies, right? Or any other, like a cake brand. I don't know, like a cake brand, let's just stay with cookies. So crumble cookies. If you if you saw crumble cookies, right, and they had a certain cookie, and then you went to Publix or Kroger's, let's say Kroger's, and they had the same cookie, would you expect to pay more or less for the Kroger cookie than a crumble cookie? Less. Why?

Speaker 2 16:31

Because it's Kroger. That's like, you know, that's where you go when you want, you know, good stuff at a great price.

Speaker 16:37

That's right. You expect to play less because of how it's presented. Right. Likely it's not gonna come in no big pink box. Right. Likely it's not gonna have the whole expensive.

Speaker 2 16:47

And Kroger cookies aren't that expensive. They're well, I mean you get a box for what, like three bucks or four bucks.

Speaker 16:53

But I'm saying is even if they tried to make something that looked like crumbles, you would likely perceive it as lesser value.

Speaker 2 16:59

I would say Kroger done lost their mind with this cookie.

Speaker 17:03

Yeah, and they were trying to charge you exactly, right? So think about that when it comes to your like small business, right? People don't often think about that. Even like electronics, like we think about like Apple, right? Or headphones. Like I remember I went through this experience with headphones, remember? I was trying all these different headphones because I was like, I'm paying like $200 for these headphones, and I've and there's other headphones out there that are much cheaper that have like a very similar design. And I'm like, is it really that different? And I never was willing to try it because I consider myself a premium person, so everything I get, I try to get premium, right? But also not understanding that sometimes premiums doesn't necessarily mean that it's better. It just means that it's packaged better, right?

Speaker 2 17:47

And it costs more.

Speaker 17:48

And it costs more, right? So, but you know, I remember I tried some different headphones and I found that some of the cheaper ones were not that bad.

Speaker 1 17:56

Right?

Speaker 17:56

They weren't that bad. Like they they they were decent, decent enough for me to use them. But I'll tell you what, this full transparency. You know the reason why I don't rock the cheaper

Status Signals From Cups To Cars

Speaker 18:07

ones? Why? Think about me. Come on.

Speaker 2 18:09

Why would I you don't want to be seen out with There it is. Oh, that's it, the vanity of it all.

Speaker 18:15

Listen, hey, that's how premium works, though, and packaging works. Because it's not just about the value perception of what you think you're gonna pay for it, it's also the perception of value that others have when they see you. Right? Because what are you signaling to people? Remember, remember there was a time like I was Starbucks was was was kind of getting hot, like it wasn't like as as prominent as it is now, but you would you would you would come into the office with that Starbucks cup?

Speaker 2 18:42

If you were seen with the Starbucks, it was like That's right. I got my Starbucks today. What are you drinking? Oh the deli coffee. Exactly.

Speaker 18:50

You went to the gas station. Oh, that's that's I'm calling it. Quick trip coffee. Right? But that that Starbucks signaled to people that you had a little bit of money, right? And you was willing to spend it, right? I mean, it's it's like that with a lot of different things, right? Uh, we think about like, you know, the clothes we wear, right? The shoes we wear, right? Every kind of thing, the car we drive. Let's let's let's let's talk about it. Can we be real for a second? Uh-huh. Be real with it. Can we be real for a second? I mean, that's what we're here for. We're here to be real with it. What kind of car we got?

Speaker 2 19:20

We got a Toyota Sienna that I love.

Speaker 19:24

It is the XLE model, right? Right. So it's got the leather movie moving. It feels luxurious on the inside.

Speaker 2 19:30

And you know what? People who don't know about minivans, when they get in, they're like, oh.

Speaker 19:35

It's kind of nice, right?

Speaker 2 19:36

This is kind of nice. They weren't expecting it.

Speaker 19:38

But let's be let's be real, because we also live in Atlanta. Okay. And sometimes we be around people that got a little money. How we feel when we roll up in our minivan? When I roll up in the minivan. I'm usually the one driving if it's all of us. How do we feel when we roll up?

Speaker 2 19:52

I mean, I don't feel any type of way to you.

Speaker 19:54

Yeah, you're right. Because my bet, my wife, and like she ain't really, she ain't really like that. She don't really feel no type of thing. I really, I don't care. I feel some type of way. I'm gonna be honest. I'll be like, dang, I'll be like, I feel like we getting judged, you know what I mean, but lightweight, especially because of how it is. And so there's times that I think about, man, maybe I should, we should present ourselves differently, right? Because we we have a little success. And sometimes I feel like we should have a different car to signal some of the success to other people. But then I my rational brain kicks on and I think about the fact that we almost have this car paid off and it's been really good to us.

Speaker 2 20:28

And we don't want something flashy that might get broken into. Exactly.

Speaker 20:33

Not only broken into, but also break down and be an expense for us, an extra expense just because we try to look fly.

Speaker 2 20:39

See, thank you for being so conscientious conscientious with our money. Like thank you for that.

Speaker 20:44

But but I can't deny the power of perception and how it plays on me as well.

Speaker 1 20:50

Right?

Speaker 20:50

That's what I'm saying. I can't deny that I know that because we may show up a certain way, um, and because like if we're not like having the uh the kind of car or vehicle that represents us, you know, that we feel represent us, it may signal to others that maybe, you know, we ain't doing as well as we are. But it works the other way too, right? It works the other way too, whereas um, you know, people will, you know, buy things and have flashy things to signal that they're doing so well and they really ain't. We know that about Atlanta folks too.

Speaker 2 21:26

Yeah.

Speaker 21:26

We've been hearing it a lot. We don't know no personally though, just let's just be clear, right? But we be hearing that people be saying that uh that we be hearing that people be saying uh that basically, you know, you know, they it look like they got a whole lot of money, but they really don't. Mmm. Perception. Perception and value, man. They go hand in hand.

Speaker 2 21:45

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Speaker 2 21:49

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Design Tweaks That Feel Premium

Speaker 2 22:44

So, as a small business owner, you know, um, who might be watching this, they might be thinking, that's cool in all the I don't sell cookies. So, how can people make their brand feel more premium without it breaking the bank and costing a whole lot?

Speaker 23:00

Yeah, that's a great question. I think that, I mean, one of the ways you can do that is through things like colors, through things like fonts, through things like your design, all of these things you can actually start to change and manipulate so that they uh you know present differently. That's your packaging, right? So simply sometimes just like every like if you if you have your brand established, you more likely have like a primary font and a secondary font that you use for your brand, right? People, if you you know, they should have a brand guide. If you don't have a brand guide, it's the foundational like document that you use to let all designers know how to make your brand consistent. So if your brand font isn't necessarily like a premium font or a luxury font, you can update that font. And just by updating that primary font or the headline font, you can actually start to signal to people in a subtle way that you're shifting more towards premium pricing. Um in your design, you can go with a more minimalist design. Um, instead of having things be are all like, you know, cluttered and like, you know, just like all over the place, you start to have a more minimalist design, which often gives people the feeling of luxury. If you think about like like these high-end brands like uh Chanel and Gucci and all these other ones, if you ever go look at their stuff, it's it's it's very minimalist. And what I mean by that is uh it doesn't have a lot going on in terms of layer and design. There's not a lot of like cartoon imagery or you know, it's like really like the image or the thing, and then like, you know, white space.

Speaker 2 24:36

A lot of white space.

Speaker 24:37

White space, right? And then like a font that is uh like normally like considered like a luxury font, but also there's like clear contrast, right, between like the white background and the black letters, or the black background and the white letters, right? So those kind of things that you can do um to kind of like you know signal to people, just like changing up the look and feel of your website, of your graphics, um, of your packaging to make it seem a little more premium, right? We actually going through this with Panic Commission.

Speaker 2 25:09

We are.

Speaker 25:10

Yeah, we have a site that is kind of dated, that we've been uh we've actually had the new site ready for some time. There's some things that we have to work on on the back end to make sure it's all working, but we purposely went with a more um a more um modern design, if you will, a more luxury font, more black and white contrast, and we kind of dialed in all the color and different things happening so that it gives a more premium look. And it's been working, right? We've been we have been doing focus groups really with our current clients, showing them the new site to get their opinion on it, and everyone loves it.

Speaker 2 25:46

I know.

Speaker 25:47

I'm really excited about it. Yeah, and everyone gets it, right? Too. They they're like, oh, I see what you're going with this, I see who you're trying to attract, I see you know what is signaling. So all that intentionality works, and people can do the same thing. Um when it also comes to their branding, um, think about experiences because once again, luxury is not just about cost, it's about experience, right? Yeah. So it's not just about raising your prices to tell people your premium. You could also include better experiences. You can send, like maybe a welcome letter, you know, when they join you. Maybe you create your own kind of welcome box, right? Maybe you do a thank you card or something like that. Maybe you uh do a digital version of that. There's certain things you can do digitally that have a pretty cool experience, like digital cards, uh, thank you cards, if you will. Um, you know, sometimes it's in your emails, like you know, you your email banner, your Facebook banner, you know, just little different things.

Speaker 2 26:42

All the different little touch points. These are all different touch points that have your customer experience your brand.

Your Website As Digital Packaging

Speaker 26:49

Absolutely. Right? Your digital packaging matters, right? So we think about physical packaging, because we're talking about, you know, the branding and the boxes and all that stuff, and the storefront, you can think about your website that way, right? Your digital storefront, right? What's the experience that people are gonna have when they come to my site? Are you even thinking about that? Right? Most times people are not thinking about that. They're not thinking about it that deep. They're like, oh, I'll just put some information out there, it's fine, you know, it's cool. That's all I need to do.

Speaker 2 27:15

And but they have to think about it. Like, if I had an actual physical store, if I just throw some stuff in there, are people gonna shop there? Exactly. Are they gonna look in the window and wanna come into the store? Exactly. Or are they just gonna walk right past it because it looks like a hot mess in there?

Speaker 27:30

Exactly. And that's the thing, it's it seems like people have an easier time understanding that in the physical, right? Because they're like, oh, if I had a storefront, I'd make sure it looked nice. I wouldn't make sure that, you know, I wouldn't just do whatever because I want people to I want to attract people in it. Well, your website's your digital storefront. Why do you think people have that disconnect?

DIY Tools Versus Pro Designers

Speaker 27:49

Because they've been they've been taught so much by so many different people that it don't matter, or that they can do it themselves, or that you know, they like because you know, like all these companies that have these platforms, they make a lot of money off you trying to do it yourself.

Speaker 2 28:05

That's true. They condition us to think like if I do it myself, I'll be proud of myself and I can just do everything.

Speaker 28:13

Yeah, yeah, and it's super easy. It's super easy, drag and drop, and you can do it all yourself. And then the thing is, most people will find that no matter how much they watch and listen and and try, it never looks like how they want it to look.

Speaker 2 28:26

Or the neutron now, like have AI build your website. Yeah, because AI knows your brand.

Speaker 28:32

We've seen how those turn out because AI don't know your brand. Exactly. It it, you know, like it will so people need to understand that you leverage these tools and use them as tools, but but they're not the end-all be-all. Uh, when it comes to your brand and establishing your brand and actually like making it like do what it's supposed to do, the the people who uh are at the top of the industry, they outsource that. They hire professionals, they hire people who are actually skilled in that area to say, hey, we understand how we can actually you know create a different experience for your clients uh or your prospective customers so that they can, you know, purchase more, convert more, right? Us thinking about it on our own and and using our own, you know, way of thinking and our what we're attracted to on our own is not the best way to approach it. Right. Because we're not designers and we're not thinking about it that way. Right. Most people like to your point, they don't even think about Well, you're a designer.

Speaker 2 29:30

I'm not a designer because I'm thinking I'm sitting here thinking, like, okay, I took Photoshop in college and I can mess around and do a little something, but I am not a trained professional designer that's been doing this for you know thousands of hours and have the skill and the background and expertise to create something that looks professional.

Speaker 29:52

And that's the thing, some people, because you could create something and you'll be like, oh, it looks cool, it looks good enough. And then once again, you go, you go ask your friends and family and they tell you it looks great. But then at the same time, you may be frustrated with the lack of sales you have, or why your website's not converting, or why people don't don't tend to, you know, be moved by it. But you're like, everyone says it looks good. I got compliments on it, that's cool, but it ain't converting because it doesn't have the look that it should have. Right? So because some people don't even notice, they can't see the forage from the trees. They made their own site to them, it looks amazing, but not understanding that it's not translating in the way that they think it is. They're too close to it. They're too close to it. It's somewhat similar like when people make their own music. You know what I mean? Like, you know, listen, you you ask your friends and family if you can sing, they might have you thinking you could be on American Idol. Right? You show up there and you you ready to you because you you like, hey, they they told me I sound just like Whitney.

Speaker 2 30:45

You get up there, and nobody turns around. Oh no, I'm thinking of the voice.

Speaker 30:50

You got up there, like they they'll do a whole like video montage of you singing and I'll be doing this and I be doing that. You and you be thinking, like, oh, this person's about to blow.

Speaker 2 31:01

Uh-huh. And then the and then no chairs turn around and you're watching it, and you're like, oh, this is cringy.

Speaker 31:09

And it's almost like well, so I can say with the voice. With a voice, they can sing, like most of the time they can sing. Uh-huh. And it's just not as polished as it needs to be. Right. So it's the trained ear of the musicians, like a John Legend or whatever. He's listening to it, he's like, uh, you know, there's a couple notes that were off. So you're not quite at the level that we need you to be at to be on this show because we we we have to work too hard to get you there. You can already come with that part done. I'm talking about back in the day, maybe I'm dating myself with American Idol. Maybe no people don't watch American I think. Star Search. Yeah, not that far. Stay with me, Johnson. You keep messing me up. American Idol, okay? So, American Idol, I remember back in the day, they would come on the show and go all through all the judges, all these different people, and finally get on camera and start singing, and they would sound crazy to the point where you would be like, How did you make it on the show? Well, they did it because they knew it would be comedy. They knew as soon as you opened your mouth, it was gonna be hilarious, right? And um, but you and but I seen people like really have an honest reaction and be like, Why did they say I sound bad? Like I had no they had no clue. That's sad. Can't see the forest from the trees, right? But the the truth is, like that's you know, so it going back to like your website and things like that, like sometimes you you really think it's fire, the stuff that you're doing, it really ain't. And the people around you ain't gonna tell you, but also you're gonna know because of your dollars. You're gonna know because of your your your transactions, right? And the lack thereof, right? And what people need to do is stop being so close to and stop being so bamboozled by all these companies that want you to spend money trying. Like they're of course they're gonna tell you you can do it. Of course they're gonna say you don't need to hire a professional, because they just want you to spend $30 a month with them. Right? They don't want you to go hiring nobody, but what do we find? Like, why are we in business? Because we find that people will do that, try that, keep trying, spend hours and realize because you're not only wasting like 30 bucks a month.

Speaker 2 33:15

I mean, which is not you know too crazy, but your time, it's your time that you're taking to try to do it yourself, staying up late, dragging the next day, being cranky because you didn't get enough sleep, and then you know, trying to do all this stuff in your business, like that one thing, yeah, if you ain't jiggy with it, just like don't do it.

Speaker 33:38

It's it's like and back to the storefront uh analogy. If you had a storefront, would you be spending all that time doing all that yourself? Maybe you would, and maybe that's all you had. But most people would try to hire some kind of designer, some kind of store. I don't know who that person is, but I'm sure there's people out there that get paid to make a store look like how it's supposed to look.

Merchandising Lessons From Retail Displays

Speaker 2 34:00

Yeah, merchandisers, like retail, like when I worked in retail, people don't understand the level of planning, of product planning, placement. They, you know, run through different scenarios, they test, you know, where products are placed, how they're placed, you know, the groupings, like people really don't understand the level of this.

Speaker 34:22

Yeah, I didn't you just said all this stuff. I didn't know. I didn't know, but I I assume that, but I didn't know to what extent. But I, you know, just meaning being a zone, I'm like, oh yeah, that makes sense. That intentionality makes sense. It's oh, similar to like, I mean, think about what people try to do their own home decor. Right? We be watching these shows, they'd be like, oh man, I'm gonna make it look just like that. Make it look just like that. No, you're not. But here's the thing. So the thing is, like, we understand the power of that premium design, that premium packaging, and sometimes we need to outsource that.

Match Perceived Value To Quality

Speaker 34:57

Because the thing is, it does work and it plays on us all the time. Right? We tend to pay more for things that look better. We're willing to pay more for things that look better. As consumers. As consumers. And we should understand that we have that power as business owners to also play on the power of perception so that we can, you know, increase our value, um, our perceived value. Um, obviously, I would suggest that your perceived value match your real value, right? It really should. It should, right? Don't be fooling people out. We ain't trying to tell you to fool nobody, right? But if you're if if something that's something you're struggling with, like you know you got the goods, you know that your stuff is quality and premium, but you're just not getting the looks that you want. Sometimes it's about your packaging that you need to change in order for you to get uh those types of you know, premium prices or premium give, you know, to get those premium clients. That's just the way it is.

Speaker 2 35:53

So pretty much the way your brand is presented, you know, directly impacts the price people are willing to pay.

Speaker 36:02

Absolutely.

Speaker 2 36:03

Right? Perception is power.

Speaker 36:05

Absolutely. Yes. And and also, you know, that uh one thing also to kind of think about is that luxury uh isn't about cost, but it's about the experience. Right? So if you can provide a great experience, then you often can justify the higher cost, right? It's not just about raising your price, right? So you gotta provide a good experience. And also, obviously, like you just said, the power perception, the packaging, it's not just in the physical, but we see it online as well. Right? Like your branding, your website, right, your graphics, your funnels, all these things play into how people perceive you and your value, and oftentimes can lead to higher conversions when you get that dialed

Closing Actions And Where To Follow

Speaker 36:51

in.

Speaker 2 36:51

So if you're ready to level up your packaging, you know, whether it's your social media graphics, your funnels, your websites, hit us up at Panda Commission so we can help you make that shift and level up.

Speaker 37:03

Absolutely. And I also want to encourage you guys to subscribe to our channel. If you haven't subscribed yet, subscribe to our channel, leave a comment. We'd love to hear your about your brand, right? Is your brand luxury, right? Are you are you going for premium? Are you struggling with that? Or is that something you've already mastered? Leave it in the comments, maybe even show us some of your stuff and we can you know give you some of our thoughts on that as well. And also make sure to follow us um on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at Panda Commission. Just Panda Commission, you can search that Panda Commission. Usually it's one word. Follow us. Uh, we love to get to know you and you can be a part of the Panda family.

Sponsor: Unlimited Panda Commission Design

Speaker 2 37:41

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