We all love to laugh, and laughter can be a great tool in your business if you’re looking to build rapport with your customers. Not only will it help your customers connect with you as a person, but it can also leave them feeling a little more positive about every interaction they have. However, using humor in your business can be tricky. Here are our tips for having a laugh and benefiting your business at the same time.

Use What You Know
Using what you know about your customers is a good way of creating a humorous message that will connect with them. This means pinpointing what is funny to them. Are your customers fond of the cat videos that circulate on the internet? You might be able to work one into a more casual presentation for a moment of levity. Do they enjoy a pun? You can probably

Focus on Timing
One of the golden rules in comedy is that timing is everything, and that goes double for using humor in your business. Are you working on a speech, for example? Having a joke in the introduction could be a great way to start the event on a lighter, friendlier foot and start building rapport with your audience. If your customer is stressed and hoping to resolve a challenge, on the other hand, they probably won’t appreciate your humor even if you’re attempting to relieve some of that stress.

If you’re wondering about the timing of the joke, consider whether you would find the joke helpful if you were in your customer’s shoes. If having a laugh would help diffuse the situation for you, it might be a good time to have a joke with your customers.

Keep it Light
Because you are in a business setting, it’s important to keep your humor light and stay away from controversial topics. You’re usually pretty safe with a pun, for example, but humor that touches on an edgier subject like politics could alienate your customer as easily as it could build a connection. This could even make your business as a whole look bad.

And, speaking of things it might be best not to joke about…

Don’t Make the Customer the Butt of the Joke
This may seem obvious, but it’s the sort of thing that can get lost when tension is running high: don’t make a joke at your customer’s expense. They probably won’t appreciate it, and it could end up causing more problems than it solves.

Good Humor is Natural Humor
The best humor comes naturally out of the moment. An over rehearsed line can feel dry, where a spontaneous turn of phrase feels fresh and will be much funnier and more memorable. If you’re in the moment and paying attention to your customer’s mood, you’re more likely to have a natural, humorous moment that speaks to your customer.

How do you use humor in your business? Do you have a favorite joke? We’d love to see your comments below.

It’s been a snowy winter for most of the country, but spring is just around the corner and that can be a great start for your upcoming marketing messages! No matter where you market, adding a touch of spring can be a good way to spark your creativity or to catch the eye of your customers. Here are five of our ideas for creating a spring-themed marketing message for your business.

1. Embrace Color
If your winter was anything like ours, you probably saw a lot of snow, making spring a perfect time to embrace color in your promotions. Create a colorful display for your storefront, show off your colorful samples, or add a pop of color to the emails that you send your customers.

If you want a starting point for those colorful marketing messages, consider discussing the colorful print pieces you offer. Not only do colorful options like ASTROBRIGHTS® papers or full color print make your print offering vibrant, they give your customers a chance to bring color to their own promotions.

2. Make a Nod to Tax Season
Spring time is tax time, and that is an almost universal experience for your customers. That’s why working tax season into your marketing is one way to bring them through your door. This could be as simple as referencing tax season in your email newsletter or as complex as creating a tax-themed coupon or sale.

3. Celebrate Spring Cleaning
Another thing that might be top of mind for your customers is spring cleaning. Whether they want to polish up their business cards or get organized with new forms, folders and stamps, some products are a natural fit for your customer’s spring cleaning efforts. They might appreciate the reminder of the organizational options you offer or need to reorder now that spring is here.

4. Take Advantage of Good Weather
Once spring weather has warmed the weather, it’s a great time to expand your marketing efforts by bringing your focus outside. From participating in sidewalk sales to opening the doors of your storefront to let in the fresh air (and passers-by), with more people passing by in the warm weather you have more potential to make a sale. It might be a good time to invest in a nice window display, some freestanding signage for the sidewalk in front of your store, or

5. Thank People
A simple “thank you” can make a big impact, and spring is a great time to send them to your customers. Consider sending “thank you” notes to your top customers to thank them for braving the winter weather to do business with you.

Do you have any tips for promotions this spring? We’d love to see your suggestions in the comments below.

Perhaps few would have suspected it a generation ago, but the legalized use of marijuana, or cannabis, continues to grow through the United States. Currently, the medical use of marijuana is legal in 23 states, while use for both medical and recreation purposes is legal in an additional ten states. The initiative to legalize marijuana has created an extraordinary potential for sales. Forbes reports that worldwide sales of legalized cannabis are on target to hit $57 billion by 2027.

To be clear, U.S. law recognizes marijuana as the leaves, flowers, and seeds of the cannabis plant, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. But what does all this talk about marijuana have to do with labels? Everything. Regulatory, compliance, and warning labels for cannabis are required on all products. And with a multi-billion dollar industry, this translates into smokin’ hot opportunities for label sales in this budding industry!

Depending upon the regulations in a given state, the potential for compliance and warning labels can be huge. In 2018, marijuana dispensaries in California were mandated to have five distinct warning labels on every individual package of marijuana being sold.

• A universal warning label with a marijuana leaf and an exclamation point inside a triangle.
• A warning explaining that the products contained inside have not been tested according to new state laws.
• Two government warnings—one for edibles, and one for other cannabis products. These labels alert users that the substance should be kept away from children and is only legal for those over 21, that they could be harmful to pregnant or breastfeeding women, and that caution is necessary when driving or operating machinery after use.
• A warning label indicating that cannabis contains chemicals that might be cancer-causing.

Sound like a lot of labels? California isn’t the only state where labels are in high demand. Washington state currently requires a whopping nine labels on every product sold! And the requirements can and do change. This means dispensaries find themselves in need of new labels pronto in order to avoid getting into trouble with regulators.

Avoiding Hazy Information on Cannabis Products

Labels fall into two categories: information panels and primary panels. The primary panel on a product includes the name of the product, the cannabinoid content (the cannabis plant has over 480 natural components, of which 66 have been classified as “cannabinoids,” or chemicals unique to the plant), the item’s net weight, and batch number. They often bear a logo and aim to look appealing to customers on the shelf while not appearing too inviting. Regulations forbid any cannabis labels from mimicking candy or other products that might entice children.

Information panel labels, on the other hand, contain vital product information, including the company name and contact information, harvest date, “best used by” date, serving size, allergen information, nutritional information, instructions for use, as well as other important information. These labels must be thorough and follow individual state regulations.

Maureen Dowd, a New York Times columnist, wrote about a trip to Denver five years ago that included a sampling of a newly legalized cannabis candy bar. However, the candy bar lacked any information for usage. She nibbled a bit, only to find that nothing happened. She nibbled some more until she had unknowingly over-consumed the candy bar. What wasn’t made clear to Dowd on the shoddy and half-baked packaging was that the candy bar was intended to be cut into 16 servings. When the effects of the cannabis finally hit her, Dowd “lay curled up in a hallucinatory state for the next eight hours.” Clear labeling of Dowd’s candy bar certainly may have saved her the agony of waiting for the high to slowly wear off.

A Large Potluck of Products

Cannabis, both medical and recreational, comes in a number of different consumable forms. Some of the most popular include:

• Smoking
• Vaporizing
• Medicated edibles, such as popcorn, crackers, lollipops, chocolate bars, and gummy bears
• Tinctures or sublingual spray (squirted or sprayed under the tongue)
• Transdermal patches
• Topicals, including ointments, lotions, and sprays
• Suppositories
• Cannabis-infused beverages, including teas, smoothies, and juices

Again, all of these products require clear packaging and labeling. The relationship between manufacturers and labelers becomes a joint effort to market and package products according to regulations, ensuring proper and safe usage—clearly a jackpot opportunity for label sales!

Cannabinoid products are another huge market with the potential for increased label sales. Cannabinoids are products that contain CBD—cannabidiol—which is derived from the plant but does not contain the THC that causes the intoxicating effects of a marijuana high. The benefits of CBDs? Many people report feeling relaxed, and some swear by the natural health benefits of CBD supplements. CBD products are legal in all 50 states and are manufactured as candy, chocolates, syrups, lotions, gummies, vape products, soda, and even oil for pets, just to list a few. While these products don’t require the strict warning and compliance labels that cannabis products do, the number of CBD products available to consumers is growing like weeds, and all of them will need packaging and labeling.

Pipe Up and Snag Sales!

With a growing number of states legalizing cannabis, and a burgeoning market for CBD products, the potential to snag a piece of the label sales has never been easier. Reach out to manufacturers and dispensaries in your state to discuss how you can assist them with remaining compliant with required labels. Click here to find your state’s laws regarding label requirements on legalized cannabis products. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Label Works. We have the information and tools you need to ensure your potential cannabis label sale opportunities don’t go up in a puff of smoke!