Product Labelling - Product Planning and Market Strategies, Marketing Management | Marketing Management - B Com PDF Download

Product Labelling:
Labelling is another significant means of product identification like branding and packaging. Labelling the act of attaching or tagging labels. A label is anything may be a piece of paper, printed statement, imprinted metal, leather which is either a part of a package or attached to it, indicating value of contents of price of product name and place of producers.

It carries verbal information about the product, producer or such useful information to be beneficial to the user. Thus, a label is an informative tag, wrapper or seal attached to a product or product’s package.

The Purposes of Labelling:

1. To bring home the product features:
A label goes on describing the product specialties which makes the product a quick-mover. It gives its correct use. Thus, bottle containing poison, if not labelled, it fails to tell about its contents. Wrong labelling does more harm than no labelling at all.

2. To facilitate the exchange process:
As good many competitive products are available in a given product range, label helps in avoiding the unwanted confusion. This is of special importance in case of drugs and chemicals where even spelling mistakes prove fatal to the users. That is why; druggists and chemists are having qualified pharmacists in the pharmacies.

3. To encourage self-service:
A lable is a strong sales tool that encourages self-service operations. If the customers are supplied with necessary information of the contents of the package or the container, as its contents, weight, use, price, taxes, and instructions and so on, consumers can pick the package of their choice from shop shelves. Thus, labelling has a special role to play in self-selling units.

A label may be descriptive, informative or grade designating or a combination of these. A ‘descriptive’ label describes the contents of the package or the ingredients of the product. Thus, a descriptive label on a cane of pineapple describes the contents by size, weight, number of slices, syrup cups and the number of servings.

An ‘informative’ label includes detailed description with emphasis on how the product is made? How to use it? How to care for it? In order to drive maximum satisfaction. A ‘grade’ label designates customary or regulated standards. Thus, a pack of ghee or honey might have ‘Ag-mark’ grading, certificates as A, B, or C.

4. Product related services:
Generally, a product is surrounded by various services that make it easier for the consumer to use, pay for and maintain the product, in addition to its branding, packing and labelling. These include the product support services, credit granted guarantees and warrantees given and after-sale services extended. Following is the brief outline of these points.

(a) Product support services:
A product support service is any service that helps the consumers to use the product, thus, a furniture store may hint on interior decoration, a short course may be given on how to use camera or a copier or a computer or a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner. These include installation services and demonstrations in case of items like heaters, air-conditioners or other mechanical devices.

(b) Product credit service:
Credit is the breath of modern marketing and it occurs at all levels. Thus, manufacturers grant credit to distributors and dealers and directly to buyers; wholesalers to retailers and retailers to consumers.

Instalment and hire-purchase schemes are quite common these days. Commercial banks are granting liberal credit to encourage ‘book now and pay later’ schemes. Stiff competition and high profit margin encourage the business units to grant credit on liberal terms under different plans to suit the individual needs.

(c) Product guarantees and warrantees:
Giving a product guarantees and warrantees has been a common thing these days. A guarantee is a general policy of a manufacturer in respect of defective products. It is a promotional device of making broad promises that may or may not be legally binding.

A warranty is the assumption of responsibility by the manufacturer and his distributor for the clear title, quality, character and suitability for intended use of products sold.

Thus, warranty is more specific undertaking for repairing or replacing the merchandise. In both the cases, a definite period is stipulated for replacement of parts and damages can be claimed provided the conditions of warranty are fulfilled. Thus, any refrigerator company giving five or seven year warranty or guarantee for its heart the compressor is doing so only with stabilized electric power and not otherwise.