To run any type of business, you need to listen to the customer. There was a time when clients were valued so highly that products were made precisely to their specifications. Before mass production took over, personalization was a very important part of a business. Personalization making a comeback was all but inevitable, and new technology has once again placed customization at center stage.
Mass customization has become extremely popular, especially in the fashion industry. People can have trouble finding clothing or shoes that fit properly because most do not have the ideal body type. In addition, most luxury items and designer fashions are tailored to certain sizes. A great benefit of mass customization is that anyone and everyone will be able to design clothing and accessories exactly as they wish, from the fabric to the design accents. Choosing between baggy or loose, with neither option terribly appealing, will soon be a thing of the past. Maybe we’ll even be nostalgic for it. But not likely.
Several customization platforms were developed as a result of this new trend to allow customers and users to experience fashion in an interactive way during the design process. Therefore, manufacturers and developers are seeking to create better ways to interact with customers.
Previously, personalization of products was limited to a few select brands and items. These usually included showcase goods, marketing items, or gifting items. A lot has changed over the years. Regardless of the products they are selling, product personalization is becoming more important for all retailers. Product personalization is proving to be a very effective way for brands to improve customer loyalty and increase engagement.
Create Your Own
By including a small section for CIY (Create Your Own) on your website, you will provide people with the opportunity to talk about you and your brand. You can create buzz for your organization by coming up with a cool product customization option. Regardless of what size your business is, a variety of customization options are available to you. You can gain media attention and consumer love by making your message relevant and fun.
Price Isn’t the Barrier
There are a number of studies available online which show that consumers are willing to pay about a 25% premium for personalized items. According to The Deloitte Consumer Review Made-to-order: The rise of mass personalization, 1 in 5 consumers who expressed an interest in personalized products or services is willing to pay a 20% premium.
You can also use product customization software to do easy market research, which will help you determine your customers' exact needs. The best way to find out what consumers want from your brand is to look at what they are designing.
Offer Products That Can Be Customized for Added Appeal
This strategy helps businesses grab a large share of the gift market. There are no exceptions to this rule, whether the product is expensive or inexpensive.
Increased Online Presence
Offering customized products will make it more appealing for your customers to purchase from you. As more users visit and spend time on your store, the higher you will rank on Google and other search engines for searches related to the product. Your online presence enables you to establish a personal connection with your customer, as well as their extended networks. Does anyone really scroll lower than the first 10 suggestions in a search engine? Better not to test it.
Selling directly to customers
Product customization can be used to sell different products directly to the end-user without involving third parties. Having direct communication with your customers will help you to understand them and also be helpful for you and your organization.
You are more likely to gain and retain customers when you give them what they want when they want. Your customers will never need to buy from any other vendor if you are always meeting their personal requirements.
Increase Sales
The younger generation (13-31-year-olds) has seen the evolution of the personalization trend over the years and expects it in every aspect of their lives. In other words, if you give them the option to customize anything, they will purchase it. Since millennials have the most purchasing power, more personalization leads to more sales. Might as well take advantage of that youthful exuberance.
Customer and Supplier Processes Are Being Restructured
In the old system, there were many stages between understanding customer requirements and creating designs based on them, and then sending them to the users for approval until they were happy with them. Both the customers and the organization found this process frustrating and time-consuming. No wonder people have been searching for better alternatives.
Integrating a product customization tool into an online store or a website simplifies the process of customized products and orders. Through this approach, consumers expect to wait less time and have the freedom to design products however they see fit - what they create and see is what they get.
Shopify is a major player in the e-commerce space. As of today, Shopify claims to have more than one million businesses operating on its platform. The company was founded in Canada in 2004 by Scott Lake, Daniel Weinand, and Tobias Lutke.
With Shopify, you get the blueprint for running a successful business, including setting up your online store, creating your online presence, and branding yourself. You can also use their marketing resources to promote your business.
Now I will assume you are a busy Fashion entrepreneur running your e-commerce business and researching the easiest most cost-efficient way to implement a product customization strategy to optimize your Shopify store, or just wanting to showcase your products in a more interactive way. Luckily for you, PlatformE developed the Shopify app Bridge to handle all the legwork for you. How thoughtful of them.
PlatformE Bridge will help you to offer customization or personalization of your products for your customers. It provides merchants with a software-as-a-service ecosystem to allow them to transition from traditional made-to-stock workflows to made-to-order.
PlatformE Bridge's extension for Shopify provides seamless integration between merchants, their existing Shopify shops, and PlatformE's ecosystem for product customization, where customers can fully customize their products in a variety of ways: size, colors, and materials by part or even custom stickers or engravings.
You can create variable prices according to materials, colors, and personalization of your products, while having access to production & management control, that can be used directly at the factory floor.
According to studies, customization not only increases conversion rates, but also increases perceived quality, customer satisfaction, customer trust, and customer loyalty. How? Customer value is created through customization. With product personalization software, your customers become brand ambassadors which are an invaluable asset to your business.
Nonetheless, every customer is different. As individualism grew in the past decade, one central desire emerged: to stand out. A personalized product, one that has been designed specifically for the customer according to their needs, will satisfy their need for exclusivity and make them feel like they own it.
While big high-street brands are reaping the benefits of customer customization, this is not a strategy exclusive to them. Since online stores do not have overheads associated with traditional retail stores, starting an online store is easier than ever. By offering customization tools on your e-commerce site, you allow your customers to make their shopping experience unique. Their appetites will be piqued, and they will come back again. Now that’s a bridge worth crossing.