To offer an improved experience for consumers, Web-focused companies have turned to white label software solutions in droves to extend their product lines and ultimately increase revenue. But what does "white label" mean, exactly?
The most successful companies tend to offer a wide variety of products and services - and spend the least amount of money to do it. This can be difficult for many, as most companies lack the resources needed to develop the software that is required to take their enterprise to the next (and more profitable) level.
Often, these less sophisticated enterprises end up using a patchwork of platforms from third-party vendors. These come with the developer's branding, which can create a rather significant identity issue. That needn't be the case.
Branding and identity are tied so closely to conversions (especially on the Internet) that those with a thirdparty developer's name prominently (or even subtly) displayed throughout its website, or ones that offer a near-identical experience as other websites using the same software, risk losing out on precious revenue. Fortunately, there is a solution.
"White label" products existed long before the Internet (and were far more literal), but the idea remains the same; a white label solution is developed by one company and then offered to other businesses to use as their own unique service. For example, say you run a design firm and want to get into the email marketing game. You could partner with a vendor such as CakeMail to provide their white label email marketing platform with your branding, which helps you provide a service for your clients without sacrificing your brand. There are, of course, other solutions (and opportunities), as well. For instance, businesses can use white label solutions to incorporate ecommerce stores (Avactis), daily deal sites (PoweredByTipper), gamification (BigDoor), video services (Viddler) and even branded social networks (Ning) into their websites.
Technologies like these take a substantial number of resources to develop and maintain, making white label solutions useful for companies of all shapes and sizes. Martin Tobias, the CEO of Tippr, which offers the white label daily deal solution PoweredByTippr, says that most of his clients are major media, financial and tech companies, including big names like NBC, Fox and even Microsoft (note: it's not just small- to medium-sized businesses utilizing these services).
With white label solutions, companies are able "to share the expensive cost of developing this technology across hundreds of customers," said Tobias. By buying into white label software, these businesses are able to get a "better and richer solution" than they could create on their own. It also beats licensing and installing a one-time solution, as the developers are responsible for maintaining and upgrading the software. In turn, white label platforms allow companies to get "the latest and greatest features as they're deployed," said Tobias.
Another, less obvious, benefit to using these solutions is that businesses own all of the data collected using the platform.
The best white label software provides more than just basic technology, it should also offer a full-service solution and complimentary services that enhance the customer experience.
For instance, in addition to its basic daily deal site software, PoweredByTippr also offers email subscription management, copywriting, payment processing and various other services. By providing supplementary services, PoweredByTippr can offer complete solution support to better help its partners run their businesses.
So, for those seeking software to slap their brand on - regardless of organization size - remember to look for a solution that offers the most complete suite of support services and features to help simplify a business's operations. That is why one begins searching in the first place, right?