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This is Bob Saunders, vice president of sales for Wise. Have you ever wondered what it takes to adhere a label to a bicycle? A vacuum cleaner? How about a household dryer? Or, even more challenging, under the hood of an automobile where it’s constantly exposed to high heat, corrosive chemicals, and grime?
Meet the durable goods label.
Unlike prime labels, which are sold into the marketing department, durable goods labels are sold into the operational side of the business. These labels are not applied to the packaging, but to the products themselves, and they provide critical information such as skew, lot number, manufacturer information, and more. Because durable goods labels are adhered directly to the product, they must be extremely tough and remain adhered and legible in all types of conditions. This includes extreme temperatures, exposure to corrosive chemicals, and exposure to UV-rays, flames, and gasoline. At the same time, the print needs to remain crisp, clear, and legible for the life of the product.
What, exactly, are durable goods that these labels are applied to? Durable goods are defined as products that have a long life span (often as long as three years or more). Examples include refrigerators, washers and dryers, and tools. Durable goods are contrasted with non-durable goods, which are intended to be used in a shorter period of time. Examples include food, cosmetics, and household cleaners.
Because durable goods are intended to have long life spans, durable goods labels do, too. The product, manufacturer, consumer safety, and other information they contain must stay visible for the lifetime of the product. These labels can also provide branding, “track and trace” functionality, and security features, among other functions. Of course, not all durable labels are printed. Completely clear durable labels are often used as protective shields to preserve the images or text underneath.
Durable goods labels offer great sales opportunities. The fact that they are so multi-functional gives you the opportunity to open discussions for cross- and upsells. Maybe the account is using durable goods labels for three of these five functions. But what about the other two? This opens the door to a series of new conversations.
Durable goods labels share common characteristics with other industrial labels, such as security labels, GHS labels, and HazCom labels in that they must adhere to a wide range of substrates with different surfaces and compositions. Yet they must also withstand their own unique combination of challenging environmental conditions. That’s why they can’t be purchased off the rack. Every durable goods label must be built from the ground up for a specific application.
This is where you, as the distributor, come in. Think about everything that has to happen to get these labels right. In order to be permanently adhered—and weather pretty much anything, durable goods labels might need to be flame-retardant, solvent-resistant, and withstand the most extreme temperatures. They might need to withstand gasoline splashes or getting left out in a sandstorm.
Few clients are capable of putting such labels together on their own. It can take years of R&D to understand how to pull all of these requirements together without the label degrading, detaching, or allowing the print to wear. Clients need help. You are not expected to have all of this information at the ready. With Wise at your back, you just need to be able to ask the right questions.
Durable goods labels also open doors into new market verticals that you might not otherwise have thought to approach. Here are some examples:
Appliances, automotive, aviation, and even bicycles. Consumer electronics is also a growing market, especially the area of green electronics, as electronics manufacturers respond to consumer demand for more sustainability . The number of SKUs is exploding to include green options, and every one of those products needs a durable label. So does every electrical component that goes into them. Other markets for durable labels include home and office furnishings, industrial products, lawn and garden equipment, tools, and far too many others to mention. Once you get comfortable selling durable goods labels into one market, you can feel confident in taking that knowledge to the others, as well.
If this sounds like a lot, that’s why we’re here! This probably sounds daunting to your customers, too. That’s why their relationship with you, as a reseller, is so valuable. You have something they don’t—us. Wise has your back. With our decades of experience, we’ll do the heavy lifting so you can bring real solutions to your customers. Until next time! Thanks for listening, and have a great day.