What is Branded Dropshipping? (5 Tips from a Dropshipping Agent)
Many agree about the positive effects of branding your online store, but what about the supply-side aspect of branded dropshipping?
This article focuses on what branded dropshipping is, why you should consider it, and 5 tips from the perspective of a dropshipping agent.
What is branded dropshipping?
Branded dropshipping involves creating a brand around the products you sell.
There are two main focuses:
Branding your online store
Branding your physical products and packaging
This can be done by simply adding your logo where it suits, but experienced e-commerce owners will usually do more than just that to improve customer experience and retention, which we’ll cover below.
Private Label vs. White Label Dropshipping
While often used interchangeably, these two terms have slightly different meanings.
Private labelling usually requires the buyer (you) to provide the product specifications. The product is created specifically for you based on the specifications you provide.
White label products already exist and are currently being manufactured by experts, to whom you specify the “label” only and nothing else. The product has already been created and you just add your brand/logo onto it.
As such, most dropshippers will be looking to white label or “brand” an already existing product.
Why Branded Dropshipping?
Improved Value Perception
Customers will automatically feel like your product is of higher quality and more valuable after it’s branded.
Increased Customer Retention
Compared to an unbranded product, a well branded product will keep customers coming back for more, not least because they’ll remember where they got it!
Reduced Return Rate
A branded product offers the customer a better experience. As long as the product itself is good, you’ll be less likely to be asked by the customer to return their item in comparison to if they had received an unbranded badly packaged version of the same product.
AliExpress Dropshipping vs. Branded Dropshipping
Branded dropshipping is considered a step up from basic AliExpress dropshipping. Suppliers on AliExpress are often dropshippers themselves and usually send the product and packaging without any branding whatsoever.
Basic AliExpress dropshipping isn’t a long term solution for a successful e-commerce business.
There might be room for you to try to negotiate with your AliExpress supplier in order to brand the product and packaging, but if you can’t work something out then you’ll probably want to move onto working with a private dropshipping agent.
5 Tips for Branded Dropshipping
1. Consider All Your Branding Options
Each product and the packaging for that product is different in terms of ways in which to brand it. Some products will be easier to apply your logo on than others, and some may look better without a logo at all.
For more info related to that, read: Best Dropshipping Products (8 Key Characteristics)
If the options put forward aren’t to your liking, try thinking outside the box. Sometimes just applying a sticker can yield surprisingly good results. Other products may look good with an engraved logo.
If in the end there really is no way to brand your product adequately, then you can always make up for it with the packaging and other aspects.
Whatever you do, don’t disregard branding altogether!
2. Explain How Your Product Works
If your product isn’t straight forward to use, or even if it is, adding a beautiful instruction leaflet in the box with your product will put a fine touch on your customer’s overall unpacking experience.
Make sure that the colours and font used on the leaflets are in line with those of your brand, and try to make it… well, instructional!
Also, carefully consider the material you want to use, its size, and if you want it to be folded or not.
3. Drive More Sales
Although we’ve already touched upon how branding will increase your sales, there are more direct ways to call customers to action when they receive their package from you.
You can make a coupon code or discount card. Add a scannable QR code to it so that they can scan it with their phones, and have the discount applied automatically while they are sent to your site.
Even if you don’t want to make a separate card, you can just place the discount or QR code on your instructions leaflet.
Skip out on this part and you risk leaving money on the table, do it right and you might just boost your sales significantly!
4. Say “Thank you”
There’s nothing quite like feeling valued. Saying “Thank you” to your customer, whether it be a simple message on a branded card or a well-thought out signed letter can make a world of difference.
When the customer feels valued they are not only more likely to do business with you again, but also more likely to tell their friends about you!
Find a way to say “Thank you” when designing your custom packaging and inserts.
For more tips to keeping your customer happy see this article on Facebook Customer Feedback Score for 7 practical solutions you can implement straight away.
5. See it as an Investment That Will Pay Off
If you’re already consistently profitable while dropshipping without branding, then you almost definitely will be with branding.
It may feel like a risk, especially if you have to order branded packaging and inserts in bulk. Perhaps you’ll need to get custom photography and videos done, which will also cost you your hard earned cash.
Nevertheless, the potential rewards are staggering.
I can’t count how many of our clients have gone from AliExpress dropshipping (zero branding, average/low Facebook feedback scores, low-ish orders per day), to exploding after branded dropshipping with sales increasing by many multiples and Facebook feedback scores hovering between 4-5 permanently.
It may be an investment, but both your customers and your business will benefit greatly.
Now we’ve gone through what branded dropshipping is and why you should be doing it, from the perspective of a dropshipping agent.
For more on how to make the switch from dropshipping to owning inventory, read this:
Dropshipping vs Inventory Model: How to Make the Switch
