Your customers aren’t clones. In today’s market, consumers seek unique experiences and products that target their preferences and personalities – perfectly.
Research has repeatedly shown that customized and personalized products are highly sought after. Deloitte has found that half of all customers are interested in them … while 90 percent of shoppers will willingly pay more for a more unique item.
Of course, consumer demand isn’t the only reason brands need to offer customized products.
There are a whole host of benefits that you can reap when you do.
Here are nine product customization benefits that your brand – and customers! – can enjoy.
Brands seeking to increase affinity and loyalty leverage personalization across all touchpoints – including the design of the final product itself.
Just look at how Franklin Sports managed to increase brand loyalty by 45 percent when they rolled out their product configurator and customization options.
Via Franklin Sports
Customization and personalization improve brand loyalty because they help foster an emotional attachment to your brand. When we’re presented with messages or products tailored directly to us, we’re more likely to view the message or product positively. With that positive association in mind, we become more likely to return to a brand again and again.
Want to boost your profit margins? Let those products be customized.
We’ve covered the many ways in which customized and personalized products increase profits without much effort. Among them include:
Getting product customization right requires knowledge … specifically, customer data. After all, you need to know what your customers want to be able to deliver it to them.
What if I told you that you can do more than just customize products with that data you’re already collecting?
Like better target audiences or ideal buyers?
The good news (according to McKinsey) is that your customers are actually willing to share their data with you when you’re transparent, responsible, and protective of that data.
Go ahead – mine it and identify all those opportunities your competitors have missed.
When was the last time you saw some mass-produced Amazon trinket go viral? (All those weird videos on TikTok don’t count!)
In contrast, customized products open up the door for viral popularity.
People enjoy sharing unique and satisfying experiences. They also love the attention that a truly bespoke item tends to earn – especially when quality and build are on point.
You create quality products. Take advantage of that. Here’s your quick and dirty game plan for going viral:
ConfigureID’s intuitive user interface allows your customers to share their creations on social media right from your website. Take a look at how it works for Oakley’s custom sunglasses.
Via Oakley
In today’s highly competitive ecommerce world, many brands fall into the trap of marking down prices to sell more. But this can be a risky strategy that ends up hurting your bottom line.
Customized and personalized products let you do exactly the opposite: compete based on product uniqueness rather than price.
Furthermore, one of the benefits of product customization is also that those products are hard to replicate. Not only are you escaping the penny rush, but you’re also neutralizing competition by offering something they literally can’t.
See how Louis Vuitton takes its luxury brand to the next level with personalized handbags and travel items.
Via Louis Vuitton
That people report increased levels of satisfaction with customized products isn’t a coincidence. Our research shows that 59 percent of customers express satisfaction with the final product.
Why?
It’s something called the Endowment Effect. This is the psychological bias that causes us to value an item above the perceived market value simply because we own it.
While that can cause all sorts of problems when trying to sell an item to which you’re emotionally attached, it’s great news for brands and brand growth.
(It also explains why some brands can command insane premiums…)
Ralph Lauren allows shoppers to customize and personalize its classic polo shirts by choosing the style, fit, and fabric as well as adding a name, number, flag, and logo of their choice. And their customers are willing to pay a premium to get their one-of-a-kind polo shirt.
Via Ralph Lauren
One overlooked benefit of product customization is how it can change your business processes and structure. Specifically, it will force you to become more customer-centric. That’s because offering customized or personalized options requires a total focus on what your customers are asking for. Otherwise, you’ll end up with snarled supply chains, confusion in customer service, and customers who don’t come back.
Keeping thousands of products on hand requires lots of space, and it’s a risk when you aren’t sure if those products are going to sell.
In contrast, made-to-order products don’t get left lying around. In fact, they won’t even exist until your customers order them.
Customized products are conducive to just-in-time inventory practices, which can reduce the amount of space you need to operate by as much as 30 percent. Imagine being able to rent an office 30 percent smaller or having your utility bills slashed by that amount.
What’s so exciting about a picture of your product with some text and a BUY NOW button?
Absolutely nothing.
In contrast, a 3D product configurator offers a sleeker shopping experience. It draws the eye in and invites the mind to play.
This is known as the wow factor, an informal term for the reaction we have when faced with a pleasant surprise. Pull it off, and you’ll win diehard fans effortlessly.
One of our favorite examples of a 3D product configurator is the Fender Mod Shop, now offering 8 customizable guitar models in 3D.
Via Fender
Product customization benefits everyone – customers, suppliers, and even your employees. Leverage it correctly, and you’ll produce a high-quality, unique product that lets you leave your competition in the dust.
We’ve covered nine product customization benefits that you could be enjoying right now.
But don’t take our word for it.
Request a demo of our product personalization platform and discover for yourself what product customization can do for your business.
