5 Surprising Tips for Creating a Label That Sells

The exciting moment has finally arrived: you have a great product and you’re ready to launch (or relaunch), but you need to find the perfect label design before you do. Whether it’s an inventive beverage or food product that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, a super pet stain remover, the shampoo to end all bad hair days, or well…anything you can think of really, it needs the right kind of label to market it successfully. 

In fact, it’s essential to making sales—in a recent survey, 72% of consumers say a product’s label influences their final decision to buy (or not). Today’s technological advances have created endless possibilities for distinctive and innovative custom labeling solutions, but all those options can be overwhelming without a labeling pro to guide you through the process. 

We’ve got you covered so you can get solutions for creating a label customized to your needs the first time around. Here are the best-kept secrets about labels to help your product stand out among the crowd on the shelves. 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

We hear it all the time: know your customer’s needs and desires to be successful. You’ve done your market research when creating your product, and now it’s time to go back to the consumer to label your product. Research on specific demographic factors is essential when it comes to understanding who the consumer is and convincing them to choose your product over all the others. 

Do they favor sustainability over flashy marketing? Are they looking for the latest and greatest? What about their budget and purchase journey? Matching their values to your company’s? 

Whatever it is you discover in your research, make sure you are creating a label that is tailored to express your brand identity loud and clear to consumers. Your label is essentially a mirror that your buyer is looking into, and it should reflect their desires and values back to them. Once you research and know what that reflection looks like, bring that vision to label experts who can help you capture what your buyer wants. 

Know Your Competition in Creating a Label

“If you aren’t a little different than your competition, you’re in trouble.” — Mark Sanborn

Knowing what your customers like is as important as knowing what your customers dislike.  Researching the competition and understanding the trends in their brand marketing is going to inform your label design. This is helpful in two ways: You will be able to better create a unique label solution that stands out from competing brands and also help you understand what to highlight on the label. 

Does your competitor have certain chemicals, allergens, or other ingredients that your ideal consumer needs to stay away from? Do your consumers care about sustainable, green products and your competition doesn’t offer that? Is your product a perfect solution for a very specific demographic who can’t find what they are looking for in competitors? 

Know what the market currently offers so you can highlight what makes your product different from the rest. Choose a labeling partner who knows your market and can help you convey what makes your product unique. 

Use the Right Label Printing Solution to Avoid Customer Dissatisfaction 

There are many options for packaging. Talking to an industry expert can help you in finding the right label solution. You could have a fantastic design, however, choosing the wrong packaging can compromise the longevity of the label or interfere with your marketing efforts.

For example, if your supplement line has a lot of ingredients that need to be displayed clearly, creating an extended content label can maximize the space for that information while giving you ample room to have a professional and eye-catching label design. 

Or maybe you have innovated a new pet food that needs to be refrigerated or kept in certain conditions. This type of product needs a cold or all-temperature adhesive material to ensure the label stays on the bottle and avoids flagging or bubbling.

Your label partner can help you choose the right materials for durability and positive impact. Brainstorming with an expert can help you determine the perfect label materials for your product’s packaging.

Embrace Colors to Influence Buyers

It’s no secret that colors can influence purchasing behavior. Make your brand stand out to the right demographic by understanding who your consumer is. This way, you can use colors to signify messages to them in context. For example, green is often used to trigger thoughts of nature, green living, and sustainability, but it is also used in the financial industry to signify money and growth.

Consider what emotions and perceptions you want to convey about your brand identity. Then choose color palettes to match when creating a label for your business. Just make sure that the colors you choose for your label fit in seamlessly with your overall marketing strategy. If your labels conflict with your visual aesthetic for other aspects of your brand, it can come across as sloppy. This can also make it harder for consumers to identify your products. 

Your label partner should have the technical expertise and equipment to produce the truest and most consistent colors to bring your brand to life and make the right impression on consumers.

Make Sure to Embellish Your Labels

Designing a high-end label requires fantastic embellishments to help it stand out the way it should. A true label expert can suggest many innovative and complex methods and materials so products shine on the shelves. 

Choose the right substrates, coatings, and effects to enhance your design, like selective varnish, raised printing, metallic foil, and even blacklight or holographic embellishments. Include your label partner in the design process! We can help you choose the right embellishments to it look its very best.

60 Years of Customer Loyalty

Inovar has experience with animal care, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage, and more. We are excited to partner with your team next. Our goal is to surpass all your expectations of what labeling design can be. We will meet your needs with best-in-class standards and technology. 

We service a wide range of industries in the US and Canada. And over the course of 60 years have become experts in each one. Reach out to us today to learn why our customers are so loyal to Inovar.