Online Reviews Can Be a Killer

What Are Review Sites?

There are so many review websites popping up all over the place that it’s hard to keep track of them. But some of the familiar ones include:

Trip Advisor – a travel related website where you can rate hotels, airlines etc

Doctralia – where you can rate your experience withy your local GP or doctor

Product Review – allows you to discuss and rate products on the market

Choice – where you can compare products.

Essentially, the list is endless but you can see where I am coming from here.  There are just so many websites out there that give you the opportunity to rate and review a product or service that it can become overwhelming. I mean, who do you trust and who should you believe? What comments are real and what are fake?

If for example I want to write a review about Hopping Mad Designs I can easliy go to any reviews website and either post something fantastic or on the other hand if I feel disgruntled I can write something defamatory. It’s as easy as that and businesses good names are getting trashed all over the place cause of 1 or 2 negative comments.

 

I can only hope that consumers are finally waking up to the realities of these review sites and cherry pick the reviews that are legitimate. Alternatively, I personally would ignore many of these review trashy websites and focus on my own personal experience. Think about it, you just might miss out on staying at a good hotel or not using the services of a great doctor because of 1 bad, fake review that was written by some disgruntled lunatic!

Who are the Type of People That Write these Reviews?

The range and type is endless but the following should give you an idea:

  • an employee who got fired may like to write reviews that are untrue about their employer
  • a hotel guest who might be in a bad mood and decides to take it out on the hotel they have just stayed at.
  • An ex girl/ boyfriend who may want to trash the reputation of her ex partner
  • A patient who went to see a doctor and was kept waiting in reception.
  • A passenger on a plane who feels like posting something cruel about the airline service

Basically anything you can think of can be written about on any of these review sites.

My advice is to ignore 99% of what is written and go with your gut instinct. There are in fact review websites out there that rely on people to post negative reviews and then charge the business to have them taken down. This is a complete scam but it is happening right now. These are predominantly in the US but one can still post a comment on these US sites, which will get indexed by Google and will end up showing up next to your business name.

There is not much you can do about this type of activity and you can't stop people writing online BUT I urge anyone reading this blog to really take any negative comments they see online  that it was wriiten with a dose on insincerity!

Wine Label Design Sydney

Are You Looking for Wine Label Designers in Sydney?

This may seem odd to those wine producers and vineyard owners but like all things available to us on the shelf, first impressions count the most. Just like walking down a supermarket aisle, if the product is packaged well and the graphics are visually eye catching, then the chances are far greater that the consumer will stop, take notice and perhaps buy the product.

If you are in your local liquor store, or major liquor chain and are wanting to quickly buy a bottle of wine, you will naturally go to the wine label that grabs your attention – this is why you need to use a professional graphic design studio that has experience in wine label design.

The painful truth for some vineyards is that in some cases it is not what’s on the inside of the bottle that counts, it is what’s on the label that will influence a buyer’s decision.

If you are looking to get a wine label designed then you should always look for a professional graphic design studio like Hopping Mad Designs to partner with. We have over 16 years graphic design experience and know what is takes to give your wine label the graphic design and competitive design edge needed to stand out on the very crowded supermarket or liquor store shelf.

We Can Help Establish Your Brand

The first stage in the wine label process is establishing a brand. If you are wanting to have a creative, catchy name, you might need to engage the services of a copywriter, which is another service that hopping mad designs can provide. Please call us on 02 9360 8514 to find out more about this service available. We have a team of in house copy writers that can come up with as many name alternatives as you like.

Once you have the name for your wine label you need to have a brand or logo designed. This is the foundation of the label and is the first stage in the design process. You need a brand design that will not only sit comfortably with the name, but will also grab the attention of the consumer. Again, you really need to choose your graphic design agency carefully for this part of the wine label process. They need to have an extensive amount of identity design experience ( not only in wine label design, which means they are able to be flexible in their design approach), which they should be able to show you.

Try looking for a graphic design studio that has an extensive logo design portfolio similar to http://www.hoppingmad.com.au/graphic-design-work/logo-design/.

There is no point in going to the trouble of growing and producing your wine, if the actual name and branding does not look decent.

It is such a competitive market that getting this right from the very beginning is paramount to the success of your business.

There are so many factors that need to be taken into account when designing a wine label logo and wine label packaging. Your designer at briefing stage needs to look at variables such as: demographics, the region in which the grapes were grown, the personality of the area and the vineyard, the design of the actual bottle, the price point at which you are looking to sell the wine, your competitors, past wine labels you may have designed as well as taking your design input on board and offering design suggestions and alternatives.

This may seem like a complicated and lengthy process. But, at Hopping Mad Designs we try to make the whole wine label design process as easy as possible. From briefing stage, right through to the production of final artwork we work with you, in a partnering manner to ensure that all design milestones are met with a minimum of fuss, but with this highest design standards available.

What to Look for in a Graphic Design Agency

When looking to find the right graphic design team to work on your wine label design you really need to take some factors into account. For the novice or first timer you really need to take notice of these points as there are just so many graphic designers out there, all looking for business, that making the right choice can make a huge difference. Following are a few rules that should point you in the right direction and help you avoid making the wrong choice.

– it’s best to look for a graphic design agency that can show a credible and reliable design history. I have mentioned this before, that it does not necessarily have to be in the wine label design industry, but go with a design studio that can show you a solid, dependable past portfolio of work and clients. On top of this, ideally you want to be working with a design studio that has been around a long time and will be here in the future to help you with your project. Partnering with a graphic design start up or fledgling studio has its set of risks that you do not want to take on board. Imaging half way through the project, they go under, decide to go on a holiday ( leaving you without a designer), pick up another job meaning that they do not have the man power to finish your job. All these factors need to be looked at carefully before making your decision. Working with a mature, well grounded, established design studio means that you will get your wine label designed and completed on time and on budget, without any headaches or unmanageable risks.

Don’t always go for the cheapest design. Some graphic designers will often quote very low to get your business, but this will only result in compromised wine label design or added charges if you need or want to make any design amends or changes. Paying just that bit more and using a reputable design studio will mean that you are giving your wine label the best chance of looking great and standing out on the shelf.

The feeling that you get from your graphic designer is an important start. After speaking with them, you will get a ‘ gut instinct’ if it’s the right fit/culture. If you feel that you can work with them, then it’s a good start. If you have some reservations or you hear alarm bells going off then listen to these. More often than not, large design projects need a close interaction between yourselves and the designer. So it is vital that the design relationship and communication channels feels right from the get go.

WINE LABEL WEB DESIGN: See if your graphic designer is able to design and build you a website to compliment your wine label. Showcasing your wine label to a world wide audience by having a website is great for promotion and an awesome avenue to further drive revenue and sales and increase exposure for your label and vineyard. Most design studios should be able to provide this added on service and it is a great business decision to look at incorporating a website into the marketing mix.

Perhaps even discuss the various social media marketing channels and how they may be used to further push your wine label. This is a relatively new field, and one that is growing in popularity. Wine growers should embrace this new marketing reach and look to start working the angle of Facebook, Twitter and Google+, to market their brand.

You will find that the larger wine producers have started many social media campaigns, meaning that the door is now wide open for the smaller/majority of wine makers to get on board and look at these social media platforms to enhance their marketing and reach a new and larger audience. You will be amazed how quick and easy this is and the immediate impact it can have in getting your message out there to a newer untapped wine market.

If you look at the uptake and amount of internet users on social media platforms like Facebook, you will be astounded at the potential for your business, especially the wine label. This will only get bigger and it is up to you ( the wine producer) to make the inquiry with your graphic designer to get the ball rolling and get your own wine label Facebook page. Its so easy to do and we would be more than happy to discuss any social media questions that you may have. Please call us here at Hopping Mad Designs on 02 9360 8514.

Why Hopping Mad Designs?

1) We have a wealth of graphic design experience. This means that we are able to take any ideas that you may have for your wine label and turn them into an eye catching, visually punchy and very creative label. As designers, we pride ourselves on being able to offer various design style options and work these up till you are 100% satisfied with the end result.
2) All our designers are mid weight to senior level, which means you will never deal with juniors, freelancers, uni students, or people that do not have at least 5 years design experience under their belt.
3) We never outsource work and all wine label design will be carried out in our Sydney based design studio. This means that you will benefit from having all design work carried out by seasoned design professionals who understand the Australian wine label market. Plus all artwork at all stages through out the design process will have to go through the creative director, ensuring that the highest design and creative standards have been implemented and maintained.
4) We understand the print process. This means that we are able to work up your wine label design to include the latest print and paper stock technologies and trends. We have a thorough understanding of varnishes, paper types and finishes, colours, die lines as well as a great relationship with many printers to ensure that you not only get the best finished printed wine label but we are also able to do this as cost effectively as possible.
5) We run a very tight ship here at Hopping Mad Designs. This means that there are no cost blow outs and that if there is any chance that there looks like costs will increase due to unforseen circumstances we are able to mitigate this early on, saving you time and money.

If you are a wine producer and are looking to get a identity for your wine label or a wine label designed by a team of design experts then please give us a call on 02 9360 8514 or email info@hoppingmad.com.au
You will be really amazed at what is now available to you, to market your product.