By Jane Friedmann and Phoebe Eileen

One of the ways to truly anchor your start up in a vast market full of competitors is to focus on creating a good quality product. But somewhere down the road, as you hit a sale plateau or drop (God forbid), and you start to sense that it takes more effort to grow. How then, do you make your product more attractive to potential buyers? Related question: How much thought have you put into the labels design on your products?

It's not easy growing a business from scratch...but true growth for small businesses comes from putting in a little extra effort on a product. Good quality products sell well, but with well-printed labels, they sell even more.

How to spot high-quality labels

Say you're at the supermarket and your task is to buy a product you've never used before. Assuming money isn't a problem, which item immediately catches your eye? Which one do you decide to take with you to checkout, and why did you choose that brand in particular?

According to global market research company Ipsos, 72% of American consumers admitted that product package designs heavily influence their buying decisions. When you know nothing about a product's quality, you will most likely rely on its labeling to help you make your decision.

Here's how the average shopper identifies high-quality packaging across a wide range of products.

The best labels are the easiest to read

Within a few seconds of picking a product up, can you easily see its name, uses and other necessary information on the packaging? If you can, then you have a well-designed label. People with vision challenges such as the elderly or those with low vision are accommodated by large easy-to-read fonts.

Good design boosts your product's appeal

Of course, well-designed labels are easy to spot from their visual appeal. The use of high-resolution images and illustrations makes a product stand out from the others because of its unique charm. Finishing picks such as matte or glossy finish also speak to superior labeling. The choice of which depends on whether colours need to stand out on a product or if a more subdued, refined look is preferable. Going back to our legibility example, matte is easier to read and preferable on products geared towards seniors, especially on small surfaces like on medication bottles and creams.

Label finishing needs to fit the product's environment

While label finishes can add to appeal, they can also show that some thought was spared for the environment in which the product would be used. For instance, it's a good decision to have waterproof or oil-proof labeling for items that are likely to be exposed to moisture or contain corrosive ingredients. These include bath, skincare and cleaning products. If your product isn't likely to come into contact with moisture, you can go all out on premium-unlaminated adhesive paper for that high-end textured finish.

But do you really need high-quality labels?

We won't beat about the bush here. The answer is yes, and here's why.

Your product likely isn't one of a kind on the market. As a small business, you're probably up against multiple competitors for the same market of potential customers. You need all the edge you can get over the competition if your business is to survive and eventually thrive. Sometimes that extra dedication to quality gets people to pick your product over someone else's.

Well-designed labels drive business growth

Some of the best labeling decisions can lead to an increase in sales for small businesses in several ways. Here are some notable cases of this happening.

Great labels are engaging

Great printed labels are eye-catching and likely to draw the attention of the average shopper. Have you ever seen how much children enjoy good designs on child-friendly products? The more they love and become familiar with it, the more comfortable they feel using it, and the more likely they are to ask their parents to always get it. How many of us remember taking flintstones vitamins as a kid? If the packaging has a cartoon on it, kids are more likely to feel comfortable and interact with it which is especially important with products they don't really want to use like sunscreens, toothpaste and vitamins.

Labels can be funny

A thoughtful design puts the customer at ease when thinking about using a product. Poo-Pourri toilet sprays are a great example of how elegant label design can also incorporate the humour that calms consumers. They make an otherwise unmentionable and sometimes uncomfortable experience (like pooping in a place other than your own home) funny with both their branding and product naming, and the now smiling customer is probably likely to give their product a try.

**Humorous label design calms consumers in uncomfortable settings.**

Smart label design shows people what they want to know

A label that clearly tells you all you need to know will be the one you gravitate towards, especially if it's something you've never bought before. Important information such as product strength or ingredient concentrations need to be easily visible to the people looking for them. We recently completed designing printed labels for Red Crow, a line of medicinal cannabis-based skin care products with varying concentrations of CBD and THC. As a new line in the market, it was important for people to clearly see the concentrations of these ingredients. Our design focused on making CBD and THC content information easy to find on the front of the labels, along with a big bold logo to help establish the new brand presence. Labeling designed to easily give the consumer all the information they need will always drive new sales.

**Smart label design easily shows people the information they need to know**

Interesting labels get people talking about your product

Creatively designed labels always get people talking about your product, and more talk means more engagement with your brand. R&B Brewing made the topical labeling decision to design a green-screen friendly beer can that would be invisible to co-workers in an online meeting. It was a fun inside joke during the pandemic when everyone was working remotely. Nobody needs to know you were having a beer on that Zoom call, right? The cans went viral on Twitter and went on to spread to other social media platforms. It got people talking, and many were willing to try it out at the height of the lockdown.

Unique labels draw-in curious buyers

Peel-back labels aren't common, so they're unique enough to sometimes convince people to buy just to take a look. They allow you to not only come up with a creative design for the front but give you the freedom to add as much information as you like on the opposite end that can be peeled back. Companies have recently taken to making peel-back labels for businesses in various fields for unique reasons. On health care products, they allow for creativity at the front and product use, warning, and regulation information on the peeled back. On children's products, the peeled-back is a great way to entertain the kids. The unique peel-back design approach adds that attractive cool factor to any product.

QR Codes on labels drive traffic to your product website

QR codes on labels also make it easy to link back to your company website, with actual useful information on using your product. While many people find them unappealing to the eye, the right placement, like on the bottom of the package, could turn into worthwhile engagement for your business!

**QR codea on packaging drive traffic to your website.** Image Credit: Kat von Wood via Unsplash

Rethinking your label design?

Thinking your product labels need a rework but unsure where to start? Reach out to us at and let's get a conversation going about how we can set you on the right path as a business with great looking labeling.

Also don’t forget to follow @JaneAFAdvertising on Instagram or the lastest updates.

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