Warning labels are an essential part of bringing any product to market. Every product has some form of risk involved, and consumers have the right to understand these risks.
You as the product manufacturer, producer, or retailer are responsible for delivering product warning in an effective way.
Crafting a strong product warning label will help you avoid having to use your product liability insurance.
Time and effort should be spent making sure your label clearly conveys everything it needs to.
Here are 3 tips for writing an effective product warning label:
1. Be specific
Being as clear and concise as possible is important, but make sure that this doesn’t take away from the specificity needed on a warning label.
You may know your product inside and out, but it is important to assume that your customer knows nothing about it.
A simple caution sign on a piece of machinery will do nothing to warn the consumer of the risks involved. Instead, be as detailed as possible of the action you wish the consumer to avoid and the corresponding consequence.
2. Use understood symbols
Once you’ve crafted the perfect message, adding visuals can be a great way to compliment your message. It can even help consumers who speak other languages understand your warning label too.
When creating a symbol to represent the risk, you want to be literal and adequately represent the warning, but be sure to not oversimply the message.
A poorly designed icon can cause confusion and detract from warning altogether. Check out additional best practices here to create a warning label symbol.
3. Place it where it will be seen
Once you’ve written the perfect warning and added the proper symbols to complement the message, it is important to place the warning label in a place where it will be seen. Your message will do no one any good if it is hidden from sight.
Some good places to include the product warning label are on the product packaging, in the instructions or guide, and on the physical product itself.
You want to make sure that your product can certainly be seen by anyone purchasing or using the product in order to avoid maximum product liability risk.
Next steps
Now that you’ve created the perfect product warning label, you’ll want to make sure that your company is protected with product liability insurance as well.
Following all the right steps of bringing your product to market is not always enough to avoid a lawsuit. Make sure you’re covered and request a quote today.