Mark Lusky10.05.22
I’d likely use the same overall strategy and tactics as when I write a book. Get the framework of everything needed to develop, promote and sell the book in place – even before writing the book. Most authors do it the other way around, and they’re behind the eight ball in their efforts to generate any meaningful return on investment.
I feel somewhat the same way about products and labels. Given that labels are, in fact, the “front door” to the product, make the effort count from the get-go. That effort needs to consider all pertinent elements about labeling – from design, content, disclosure and education – to how all these elements impact customer service.
Here are a few recommendations out of the gate:
1. Make branding (from which labels stem) match you and your product. One easy way to conceptualize this is to develop claims and content that would stand up to the scrutiny of Walter Cronkite. Cronkite, a legendary news icon, signed off his newscasts with, “That’s the way it is.” If your product and service quality stand up to your claims, you’ll likely go far. If not, the magnifying glass of social media, poor reviews and low ratings likely will kill your product – if not near-term, certainly after enough people have called out poor quality, whether that’s tied to the product itself or the customer service associated with it.
Label development is critical here. A bunch of “shiny new toy” hype on the label about quality and quality control (and we all know products guilty of this) will figuratively fade that label once people see that it’s BS. This hype ranges from unsubstantiated claims (e.g., kills 99.9% of germs) that regulators identify as fraudulent or unproven, to health-promoting verbiage based on nothing more than scuttlebutt.
2. Make the labels easy to understand, read and access. There are two health supplement bottles sitting a foot from me right now that have typefaces so small that I have defaulted to looking up the information online so that I can actually decipher it. And now, of course, we have the rapidly expanding world of peelable labels to reveal more information. Have you tried one lately? At best, it’s hit-and-miss about whether or not you can peel it.
As part of the commitment to labeling, consider all the ways to expand access to easily read and digested information, from a QR code or Augmented Reality (easiest) to putting a website URL on the label (not ideal but better than nothing). Winnow down the amount of content on the actual label to required disclosures and purposeful graphics so that buyers can read what’s there! Typically, when I’m comparing an item like vitamins on the shelf, I want to be able to do a quick ingredient comparison.
If I can’t read ingredients on the label, I generally move on to another product. Sometimes, that mandates a rethink of container/packaging size to accommodate what’s actually needed with fonts that don’t need microscopes.
3. Avoid typos/grammatical errors at all costs. This is another major pet peeve of mine. While most of the world doesn’t seem to notice or care about label errors, I do. When I see them, my first thought is to wonder if the product quality and service is as obviously sloppy as the label. Lack of quality control on the “front door” to your product makes me look elsewhere in the vast majority of cases.
A key part of making a commitment to top-notch labels is making them pristine, professional, and in the case of content, correct. This exudes the type of branding image that – subject to fulfilling the claims made – will drive product success for a long time to come.
4. Invest the dollars to do the labels right. In many ways, the look and quality of labels is as important as the product itself. This warrants use of a top-line graphic designer, branding specialist, and pressure sensitive label printer capable of helping you determine the best strategy, then carry it out tactically. Cutting corners here is a really bad idea.
Even when it seems simple, it’s usually not. For example, state-of-the-art printers with graphic designers on board can work through the entire process with you so that the resulting label artwork represents exactly who you are, the message you want to convey, and how to print it to perfection. (While overly intricate graphics may look good in concept, you’ve got to make sure that the label printing reflects that quality.)
Brand owners should make labels a high priority from the start. You’ll thank yourself. And your customers will thank you, too.
Mark Lusky is a marketing communications professional who has worked with Lightning Labels, an all-digital custom label printer in Denver, CO, USA, since 2008. Find Lightning Labels on Facebook for special offers and label printing news.
I feel somewhat the same way about products and labels. Given that labels are, in fact, the “front door” to the product, make the effort count from the get-go. That effort needs to consider all pertinent elements about labeling – from design, content, disclosure and education – to how all these elements impact customer service.
Here are a few recommendations out of the gate:
1. Make branding (from which labels stem) match you and your product. One easy way to conceptualize this is to develop claims and content that would stand up to the scrutiny of Walter Cronkite. Cronkite, a legendary news icon, signed off his newscasts with, “That’s the way it is.” If your product and service quality stand up to your claims, you’ll likely go far. If not, the magnifying glass of social media, poor reviews and low ratings likely will kill your product – if not near-term, certainly after enough people have called out poor quality, whether that’s tied to the product itself or the customer service associated with it.
Label development is critical here. A bunch of “shiny new toy” hype on the label about quality and quality control (and we all know products guilty of this) will figuratively fade that label once people see that it’s BS. This hype ranges from unsubstantiated claims (e.g., kills 99.9% of germs) that regulators identify as fraudulent or unproven, to health-promoting verbiage based on nothing more than scuttlebutt.
2. Make the labels easy to understand, read and access. There are two health supplement bottles sitting a foot from me right now that have typefaces so small that I have defaulted to looking up the information online so that I can actually decipher it. And now, of course, we have the rapidly expanding world of peelable labels to reveal more information. Have you tried one lately? At best, it’s hit-and-miss about whether or not you can peel it.
As part of the commitment to labeling, consider all the ways to expand access to easily read and digested information, from a QR code or Augmented Reality (easiest) to putting a website URL on the label (not ideal but better than nothing). Winnow down the amount of content on the actual label to required disclosures and purposeful graphics so that buyers can read what’s there! Typically, when I’m comparing an item like vitamins on the shelf, I want to be able to do a quick ingredient comparison.
If I can’t read ingredients on the label, I generally move on to another product. Sometimes, that mandates a rethink of container/packaging size to accommodate what’s actually needed with fonts that don’t need microscopes.
3. Avoid typos/grammatical errors at all costs. This is another major pet peeve of mine. While most of the world doesn’t seem to notice or care about label errors, I do. When I see them, my first thought is to wonder if the product quality and service is as obviously sloppy as the label. Lack of quality control on the “front door” to your product makes me look elsewhere in the vast majority of cases.
A key part of making a commitment to top-notch labels is making them pristine, professional, and in the case of content, correct. This exudes the type of branding image that – subject to fulfilling the claims made – will drive product success for a long time to come.
4. Invest the dollars to do the labels right. In many ways, the look and quality of labels is as important as the product itself. This warrants use of a top-line graphic designer, branding specialist, and pressure sensitive label printer capable of helping you determine the best strategy, then carry it out tactically. Cutting corners here is a really bad idea.
Even when it seems simple, it’s usually not. For example, state-of-the-art printers with graphic designers on board can work through the entire process with you so that the resulting label artwork represents exactly who you are, the message you want to convey, and how to print it to perfection. (While overly intricate graphics may look good in concept, you’ve got to make sure that the label printing reflects that quality.)
Brand owners should make labels a high priority from the start. You’ll thank yourself. And your customers will thank you, too.
Mark Lusky is a marketing communications professional who has worked with Lightning Labels, an all-digital custom label printer in Denver, CO, USA, since 2008. Find Lightning Labels on Facebook for special offers and label printing news.