As a product manufacturer, you know how tough it can be to make it in today’s crowded marketplace. In addition to coming up with a great product and making sure it has mass appeal, you also have to make sure that your product stands out from the competition. As a result, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about product design, like concepts for bottles or packaging. But there is one aspect of the product design which gets ignored – the label.
Launching a New Product Without Proper Labeling & Branding Can Make It Difficult to Stand Out from Your Competition
Learn how to establish your product’s identity and stand out from the competition.
When you share a goal with hundreds or thousands of other people, being memorable is essential. Learn how to make an impression and create an identity for your product or service that will help it stand out from the pack. Here are five ways to get started:
- Give yourself a unique name that people will remember.
- Make sure your logo doesn’t look like anybody else’s.
- Showcase the benefits of using your service to make them easy to remember, such as through catchy taglines or jingles. For example, if you sell toothpaste, then make it clear what makes yours different from any other brand on the market so consumers know exactly why they should buy it over its competitors.
- Use colors associated with quality and trustworthiness, like blue or green. Don’t use red because this color may seem aggressive in some cultures and can be difficult for some people to read on-screen due to its brightness level compared to black text printed next door.
Labels are a Key Part of Your Brand
Labels, including beverage labels, are a vital part of your brand identity. They are a part of the first impression customers will have with your product, so you want to make sure they reflect the quality you strive for in both design and materials. Beverage labels, in particular, play a crucial role in attracting consumers and conveying important information about your product. If a beverage label is not applied correctly or faces potential issues with wear and tear, it can not only compromise the visual appeal but also impact the reputation of your product and brand as a whole.
For example, if customers receive low-quality labels attached to their products that peel off prematurely or deteriorate over time. It could leave them with the impression that your company takes shortcuts in quality or doesn’t care about attentive customer service. Hence, installing a professional labeling machine would be good to get the job done. You can explore a good range of labeling machines at Paragon Labeling and select one as per your requirements.
Consider Your Target Audience
When designing labels for a product, one must first ask themselves: Who is the target audience? It can be tricky to answer if you don’t know who your product is for. But it is an important question to answer because the goal of any successful product is to solve a problem or meet a need—not just be made and turned into money.
If you are unsure of what that “problem” or “need” actually is, consider this: What function will your product have in someone’s life? What are its greatest advantages over similar products already on the market?
Once you identify what makes your product unique, determine who would benefit from these qualities by asking yourself questions like: Is this going to be more expensive than other similar products? Do I want it to look expensive or inexpensive? Will my customers have any interest in buying something that may cost them more than they were hoping to spend?
Who are You Competing With?
It is vital to know who you are competing with, both directly and indirectly. Your direct competitors are those companies that sell the same product as you do, while your indirect competitors sell something similar. You may have other businesses in mind as your main competition, but it won’t help if you do not even know what makes your direct and indirect competitors unique.
The easiest way to start is by doing a simple internet search of your direct competitors, along with their products. See what these companies have done that has worked for them. Like, what is most effective about their branding? What about their labels that make shoppers stop, look twice and pick up the package? Are there any features or elements on their label that are especially memorable or appealing?
These questions will give you an idea of how well they’ve branded themselves, how successful they’ve been at it, and where they might be falling short.
Once you have reviewed your direct competition and identified the strengths in their marketing strategies, you must identify their weaknesses. Think about what sets your product apart from theirs? Is there anything missing from the market that people would find useful or interesting?
Are there things people complain about when dealing with this type of product? Is there a feature yours has that theirs doesn’t (and vice versa)? If so, use these aspects of each other’s products to inform how you brand yourself. Make sure to emphasize what makes yours unique!
What Do Your Competitors Do Well (and Not So Well)?
To find out what your competitors do well, you can look at their products, but it can be even more informative to look at their labels. Labels are a great way of communicating everything that makes your brand different and appealing.
Look for patterns or trends: what is everyone doing? What are they not doing? If all your competitors have super long company names and descriptive slogans on their bottles, you can break away from the pack by creating a short, memorable name and using an image instead of words.
Thinking about what your competition does can also help you identify your unique selling point (USP). It is often essential for success in the marketplace.
The key takeaway here is that before you start designing your label, understand how other businesses in your industry present themselves and position their products so that you know how to differentiate yourself.
How Can You Stand Out from the Crowd?
“Different” is a word that gets thrown around a lot when it comes to branding. You do not want to blend in with the crowd but want to stand out from the crowd. But how can you do this?
Try to be different from the competition. It is easier said than done, of course, and sometimes it is simply not possible for your product or service. If there are two companies that sell similar products positioned next to each other on a shelf, then they have no choice but to compete on price and product quality. Since they have very little to differentiate themselves beyond their labels: color scheme, fonts, and logo size become more important because they are all you have left!
If your brand’s products aren’t available at big-box retailers like Walmart or Target, then this means you’re likely selling them online instead of through e-commerce channels such as Amazon or Etsy.
This means having not only an attractive label but also one that captures attention quickly will be essential if you want people browsing these websites. Endless pages of merchandise options even notice yours amidst all those others vying for attention just like yours does.”
While there is nothing wrong with following trends in design, if something works well, then why not use it as inspiration? – try not to let them completely take over what makes your brand unique.”
Effecting Labeling for Good Branding
When it comes to your product’s labels, you want to make sure they are floating your boat and not dragging it down. In addition to looking great, labels are also a way of communicating with your consumers. As such, they should reflect the values of your company.
Your labels can set you apart from competitors, but you need to know who makes up your customer base and what values those customers will respond to. Ultimately, great labels build brand loyalty by making an instant connection with consumers who share their values and then consistently delivering on their promises.
