First Impressions Count

We all know that first impressions are of vital importance, whether they are in the context of a search for a new house, a holiday apartment, a fresh lipstick, or a vegetable display on a market stall.  This is equally true for online marketing, where the website has to be easily found in searches – the first hurdle – then grab and hold the viewer’s attention for long enough to actually read some of the detail.  Technical matters, such as ease of navigating around the site, also enter the equation.  Unless a potential customer has a strong desire to stay with that particular item or business, they will move on to a different website if it’s not easy to find what they’re looking for.

Such careful attention to detail has to carry through to every stage of the marketing process, including the brand image and packaging and labelling of individual items.  Some logos, such as the Heinz 57 varieties, have been in existence for well over a hundred years and can certainly claim to having gone viral, being immediately recognisable worldwide on the many Heinz labels.  Other businesses, however, do not have this marketing advantage and have to compete in a rapidly changing, and increasingly competitive business world.

What’s in a Label?

With the exponential growth in international trade, many businesses now operate in several different countries, each with their own legislation about what has to be included on product labels, whether these are in the food industry, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, clothing or cosmetics. Barcodes are used universally to provide a huge amount of information to manufacturers and retailers; other information, such as ingredients and nutritional detail for food products, or health and safety warnings for cleaning or other chemical items, has to be printed on the label. There is still plenty of room, however, to include graphics, strap lines or banners to attract potential customers.

Many businesses use their own in-house label printers to cope with a frequently changing marketing strategy, as they are far more flexible than having to buy in set quantities of pre-printed labels.  Not only is it a simple matter to amend labels to reflect any changes in legislation, but graphics for special offers and seasonal promotional drives, such as international sporting events, Christmas, Halloween or Easter can enhance the normal brand image and help to increase sales at very little extra cost, whatever the language required.

Food for thought indeed for that effective, holistic marketing strategy.