Sometimes lost in the rush to manufacture appealing products are the “little things” that can engage or deter shoppers scouring the shelves of brick-and-mortar stores. Often, labels and stickers play a key role in the choice to buy or move on to a competitor’s product.

As this is the time of year for resolutions, let’s review some basic steps product manufacturers can take in their labeling and sticker development to engage, rather than enrage, the consuming public.

First up is literally a “little thing” in the form of tiny type that only someone with bionic vision could decipher. Increasingly, moves toward resource conservation and extensive disclosures have relegated manufacturers to creating labels that are illegible to much of the marketplace.

As the marketplace becomes more sophisticated and invested in knowing precisely what’s in a product, inability to read a label at the point of purchase may be all that’s needed to lose a sale. Even if there’s a QR code or other digitally-friendly way to access information quickly, many folks won’t take the extra step – particularly if they’re already annoyed. They’ll just move on to a product whose constituent parts are clearly presented.

So, what to do? In some cases, options may be very limited. Particularly where regulations mandate certain label disclosures, there just may not be enough real estate to use larger, readable type. And, often expanded, peel-off labeling isn’t an option for either economic or logistical reasons. Most consumers won’t take the time and trouble to unfold product labels in the store, and most retailers don’t want them to for obvious reasons.

One solution is to get creative where possible. For example, is it feasible to place a small magnifying glass proximate to the shelf display? If it can’t be incorporated there, it may be worth asking the retailer to place one or more around the store. After all, this issue occurs frequently. Shoppers likely would welcome the addition.

If there is a point-of-purchase display tied to the product’s store placement, consider using this real estate to show key label elements in much larger type. Regularly review and assess label and packaging verbiage and graphics. There may be ways to heighten readability through improved design and prominence of certain information.

A second challenge involves something that may seem even smaller in significance – hard-to-remove price stickers. Most people don’t think about this “little” issue until they’re wrapping a bunch of holiday presents and have to spend inordinate amounts of time trying to dislodge pricing information from products.

Yes, this is typically the purview of the retailer – so why would a manufacturer address this problem? The answer is easy. It’s one of those annoying issues that may drive away future patronage, and therefore hurt both manufacturer and retailer profits. (I can attest that a major “favorite” shopping destination may fall out of my inner circle next holiday season for precisely this reason.)

Another solution is to go to the retailer and open a discussion about how to make their products more sticker removal-friendly. Obviously, a different adhesive can do the trick. If the retailer is disinclined to do anything about it, perhaps the manufacturer can offer to print and pay for compliant stickers placed on its products. If nothing else, this may set a more collaborative tone for future discussions.

A third engage-or-enrage label issue involves suitable grammar and correct spelling. I’ve harped on this before and likely will do so again. More than ever, sloppiness in both areas is rampant. For a substantial population accustomed to texting and writing emails without regard for either, it’s lost importance.

But, for those of us who eyeball everything including menus, it’s a major buy/don’t buy criterion. Understanding that label and product development generally fall into disparate camps, poor grammar and misspellings nonetheless raise the issue of quality control. If manufacturers aren’t taking the time to ensure label correctness, where else are they being sloppy? Can I trust that the ingredients listed on a label correlate accurately to the product? (Anyone who lets misspelled words through also may not catch a mislabeled ingredient – e.g. milligrams versus micrograms.)

The solution for poor grammar and misspellings is simple: proof early and often. Make sure multiple sets of eyes review labels before they go on the product. And ensure that those people understand the importance around this issue, can address it fully and know to ask questions when unsure. Last, but not least, always double-check label ingredient disclosures to ensure they match up to what’s in the product.

While these “little things” may seem trivial to some, they are major drivers of consumer behaviors and preferences for many.  They also aren’t the types of problems you’ll typically see discussed on social media or other public forums, so their impact is hard to quantify. The best route is to do what you can to engage rather than enrage the marketplace, and these are three good areas to include in that effort.



Tammie MacLachlan contributed to this report.

Mark Lusky is a marketing communications professional who has worked with Lightning Labels since 2008. Tammie MacLachlan is the customer service manager of Lightning Labels, an all-digital custom label printer in Denver, CO, USA. She has been in the printing industry for 21 years and with Lightning Labels for more than nine years. Find Lightning Labels on Facebook for special offers and label printing news.