Should You Charge for CPG Packaging Design Discovery?

What is Packaging Design Discovery and Why is it Crucial?

Before a single sketch is drawn or pixel placed, effective CPG packaging design requires a thorough discovery phase. This isn’t just a sales meeting; it’s a deep dive into the client’s world. Key activities typically include:

• Brand Immersion: Understanding the brand’s history, values, mission, and positioning.
• Market & Competitive Analysis: Researching the competitive landscape on the retail shelf and understanding category trends.
• Consumer Insights: Identifying target demographics, their needs, purchase triggers, and shelf interaction habits.
• Product Understanding: Grasping the product’s unique selling propositions and functional requirements.
• Technical & Production Considerations: Evaluating dieline needs, materials, printing processes, and supply chain implications.
• Legal & Regulatory Review: Identifying specific packaging requirements (e.g., nutritional facts, warnings, certifications).

This phase is crucial because it ensures the subsequent design work is strategic, effective, and avoids costly missteps or revisions down the line. It’s the foundation upon which successful, market-ready packaging is built.

Arguments For Charging for Packaging Design Discovery

Billing for discovery is becoming increasingly common among professional packaging design agencies. Here’s why:

• It Compensates Your Expertise: Discovery requires significant time, specialized knowledge, research tools, and strategic thinking. Your expertise in navigating the CPG landscape and translating insights into a design brief is valuable and deserves compensation.
• Filters Serious Clients: Charging a fee, even a modest one, helps qualify leads and ensures you’re investing time in prospects who are serious about their project and budget. Tire-kickers are less likely to commit.
• Increases Client Commitment: When a client pays for discovery, they are more invested in the process and the outcome. They are more likely to actively participate and value the findings.
• Generates Initial Revenue: Discovery provides a revenue stream early in the client relationship, improving cash flow and reducing the risk of investing unpaid time in projects that don’t proceed.
• Positions You as a Strategic Partner: Charging for this strategic phase elevates your agency beyond just executioners to valuable consultants who provide essential foundational work.

Example: A focused discovery phase for a new CPG product launch might be priced as a fixed fee between $3,000 and $8,000+, depending on the complexity and scope of research required. This covers analyst time, research database access, stakeholder interviews, and the creation of a comprehensive strategy brief.

Arguments Against Charging or Charging Differently

Despite the benefits, charging upfront for discovery isn’t always the preferred or possible approach for every agency or client:

• Client Resistance: Some potential clients expect initial consultations or strategy discussions to be part of the sales process or bundled into the overall project cost.
• Competitive Pressure: If competitors in your niche consistently offer discovery-like activities for free or absorbed, charging separately could be a disadvantage.
• Complexity for Small Projects: For very small, straightforward packaging updates, a full-blown paid discovery phase might be overkill and add unnecessary complexity or cost.
• Administrative Overhead: Managing separate contracts and billing for small discovery fees might add administrative burden that outweighs the revenue, especially for smaller agencies.

Alternatives to a separate charge include:

• Bundling: Including the cost of discovery within the price of the first design phase or the overall project fee.
• Value-Based Pricing (Inclusive): Charging a project fee based on the value the final packaging design delivers, with discovery costs accounted for internally.
• Phased Payment: Structuring the initial project payment to cover the cost of the discovery and strategy work.

These methods absorb the discovery cost into the larger project structure, potentially simplifying the initial ‘yes’ for the client while still ensuring your time and expertise are compensated.

Structuring Your Discovery Offering and Pricing

If you decide to charge for packaging design discovery, how you structure and present it is key. Avoid vague ‘hourly discovery’ fees. Instead, productize or scope this phase clearly:

1. Define Deliverables: What specific output does the client receive? (e.g., Comprehensive Brand & Market Strategy Brief, Consumer Insights Report, Technical Feasibility Study).
2. Set a Fixed Fee: Based on your internal cost for the defined deliverables (time, resources, research tools) plus your desired profit margin for this phase. Price the outcome, not just the hours.
3. Offer Tiers (Optional): For different levels of depth or project complexity, offer tiered discovery packages (e.g., ‘Essential Market Review’, ‘Comprehensive Brand & Consumer Deep Dive’).
4. Communicate Value Clearly: Explain why this phase is crucial and the specific benefits they will receive (risk reduction, strategic alignment, informed design direction).

Presenting these structured options professionally can be streamlined with modern tools. Instead of static PDFs, consider using a platform like PricingLink (https://pricinglink.com). PricingLink allows you to create interactive, configurable pricing links where you can present your discovery packages or tiers, clearly outlining deliverables and pricing. Clients can select options, see details, and submit their choice, providing you with a clear, qualified lead and a modern client experience.

While PricingLink excels at presenting pricing options, it’s important to note it doesn’t handle full proposal generation with e-signatures or contract management. For comprehensive proposal software including these features, you might look at tools like PandaDoc (https://www.pandadoc.com) or Proposify (https://www.proposify.com). However, if your primary goal is to modernize how clients interact with and select your pricing options – whether for discovery or full design projects – PricingLink’s dedicated focus offers a powerful and affordable solution for that specific stage.

Connecting Discovery Pricing to Your Overall Strategy

Your approach to charging for discovery should align with your agency’s overall pricing philosophy (e.g., value-based, fixed-price, retainer). A well-executed discovery phase provides the data needed to confidently price the subsequent design work based on the project’s potential impact and scope, moving away from less profitable hourly billing.

• Value-Based Pricing: Discovery helps uncover the potential ROI of the packaging design for the client (e.g., projected sales lift, increased shelf velocity, premium positioning justification). This data is essential for setting a value-based price for the entire project that reflects the business outcome, not just the design hours.
• Fixed-Price Projects: Thorough discovery defines the scope precisely, allowing you to create accurate, fixed-price packages for design phases, reducing scope creep and financial risk for both parties.
• Project Packaging: Use the insights from discovery to create clear design packages (e.g., ‘Entry-Level SKU Design’, ‘Full Line Refresh’, ‘Innovative Structure Development’) that clients can easily understand and select from.

Presenting these complex, multi-phase or packaged project prices to clients can also leverage tools designed for clarity and interaction. Again, this is where PricingLink (https://pricinglink.com) can add significant value. You can use it to create shareable links that present your post-discovery design packages, add-ons (like 3D renders or production management), and tiered options in a clear, configurable format that clients can explore interactively before committing. This helps clients understand the investment and see the value of different options live, simplifying the decision-making process and freeing up your sales team’s time.