Contents
What is Labelling?
Labelling is the process of providing identification to the product. It is a subpart of the branding process & aims at providing uniqueness to the product. It is simply a printed slip that is attached to the product. It contains all the information regarding the product like price, ingredients used, quantity, manufacture date etc.
It is the medium through which all required information is communicated to the customers. Customers after reading the labels of products easily make decisions during the buying process. They are easily able to recognise whether the product will be able to fulfil their needs & demand through labels.
Labelling makes a comparison of the same type of products of different brands easy. There are certain established laws for labelling of products. Every business should try to comply with these laws while designing their labels. Labelling is basically of 3 types: Brand label, Grade label & descriptive label. Brand label provide details about brand, Grade label describes the features & quality of product & descriptive label describes the uses of product.
Advantages of Labelling in Marketing
Labelling has a very efficient role in the marketing of the product. Some of the important roles of labelling are discussed below:
Provides Identification
Labelling plays an efficient role in providing uniqueness & identity to products. It helps the consumers in the identification of products among large number of products available in the market.
It prevents confusion among the people that can be created by the substitute products of other competitors. Therefore, through customer easily recognises its brand. For example, the Label of Dettol helps people in easy identification of its products.
Provides Description
Label is a medium that communicates the information regarding the product to customers. It is basically a slip that contains detail like nature, quality, price, quantity etc. Customers can easily get each & every required information by simply reading labels. It will help them in making their decision during the buying process fast & easily.
Makes Products Comparison Easy
Comparison is something on which customers relies to make the best & right choice. It has an important part in the buying process of the customers. Labelling gives each & every detail regarding the product on a small printed slip.
Customers just by reading the labels of different products can choose the best one as per their choice. It enables the customers in understanding & checking product even before using it.
Helps in Marketing
Labelling is considered an efficient sales tool for marketing of the product. It helps in the promotion of products easily. It adds attraction to the products. Labelling helps in attracting more & more products for the products.
Many times the people are encouraged to buy a product just by seeing the labels of the product. Businesses should try to design attractive & small labels for their products. It will create a long-lasting influence on your customers.
Makes Products Grading Easy
Grading is important function of businesses for categorisation of its products. Through grading, business divides their large varieties of products as per quality for a different class of customers in the market.
Labels on products provide full detail regarding the quality & standard of product to customers. Customers easily recognises the quality of different products through reading their labels. It will enable them to make the right choice as per their needs.
For example, Mother Dairy supplies different quality of milk in the market like full cream, half cream & toned milk. It provides all details on labels of their product package.
Protects Customers from Getting Cheated
Labelling helps customers in the right choice. It helps the people in choosing a product that can fulfil all their demands. Customers can easily recognise fake products by seeing their labels.
They can get all the details regarding the manufacturing date & date of expiry from labels. It helps in assuring the customers whether the product is right or not. Making the wrong choice during the buying process will have ill effects on customers. Therefore, it avoids all chances of wrong decisions during the buying process.
Provides Information As Per Law
Business are required to provide certain statutory information regarding their products. It is mandatory by law & they are strictly required to follow it. Labelling is a means through which all required information required by law is provided on the product package.
There are certain poisonous & hazardous products, with which providing safety tips & certain warning is very important to be mentioned. Likewise in the case of different tobacco products giving health warning is important. All these requirements of the law are fulfilled by business by printing labels with all these details.
There are certain poisonous & hazardous products, with which providing safety tips & certain warning is very important to be mentioned. Likewise in the case of different tobacco products giving health warning is important. All these requirements of the law are fulfilled by business by printing labels with all these details.
Disadvantages of Labelling
Raise the cost of product
The first and foremost limitation of labelling process for every organization is that it leads to increase the cost of product. Process of labelling requires heavy expenses in designing and printing of label slip to be attached to with every product. Company generally provides three type of labels with their items that are brand label, grade label and descriptive label. All of these eventually raises the manufacturing cost of product for business which increase its price.
Not ideal for illiterates
Label is of no use for peoples that are not literates enough for understanding the written information. Under the labelling process, all details are communicated to customers in written form by printing it on product package. A person should know to read and write for benefiting form products labels otherwise all efforts of company would go in vain.
Require standardized products
Process of labelling is effective only if company is manufacturing a standardized range of products. Labels are standard messages which are printed on every product package. It would be inconvenient for companies to design separate labels for every product in case if they are not standardized.
Leads to pre-purchase discarding of product
Another major disadvantage of labelling process is that it enables customers in doing a comparison of brand products with other products without even purchasing them. They are able to detect the advantages and disadvantages of products in light of other competitive products before purchasing them. It will eventually lead to discarding of one product in favor of other one.