A recent study found that individualism is on the rise not just in North American and European countries, but across the globe. Even now when the world is facing a looming recession amid the coronavirus pandemic, many people still believe in the importance of individualism.
What does this mean for your business or your potential venture? This means that by offering customization or personalization options, you could easily entice customers and build a loyal following.
Benefits of Customizations
There are quite a few benefits to your business when you start offering customizations. But perhaps the most important one is the financial gain. You can increase your prices when you let your customers pick and choose the specific product and service they need. The more personalized options you offer, the higher your price can go.
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Word-of-mouth Advertising
Your customers have family and friends they can chat up about how excellent your products and services are. They would also eventually go outside and if you’re in the business of customizing items like shirts, hats, and bags, they would immediately stand out from the crowd and gaining you more potential clients.
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Increase Customer Satisfaction
Think of this scenario. It’s Valentine’s Day and someone has inadvertently forgotten to buy their significant other an appropriate gift. They could go with the generic box of chocolates and flowers, but wouldn’t it mean more if they could personalize it? Popular chocolate brand Toblerone tapped into this opportunity and, for an additional fee, now offer customizable sleeves to their signature triangular tube packaging. A simple move but in the end, couples are satisfied. Imagine if you can offer this level of satisfaction to your own customers.
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Entice the Millennial Market
Millennials now make up the biggest generation in America, overtaking Baby Boomers. That’s a big market to tap and survey after survey have been done to study their buying habits. Many of the results showed that they are discerning consumers, often buying from brands that advocate good causes. Surveys have also shown that most are willing to shell out more money for personalized goods and experiences.
What Products Can You Customize?
Thanks to technological advancements you can now customize practically every product known to man.
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Printed Items
Paper products are probably the easiest to customize. You can create custom postcards, party invitations, thank-you cards and go even bigger with books, journals, and puzzles. A common anniversary gift couples receive are 500-piece puzzles of their favorite wedding photo.
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Sports-related Items
And we’re not just talking team uniforms either. Nowadays, when you invest in the right equipment, you can customize everything from sports equipment to mouth guards for professional athletes. You can either print their names on these items or go with their team colors or mascot.
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Beauty and Cosmetic Items
This is a move that even corporate beauty brands are doing. Some offer personalized skincare products tailored to your skin concerns while others offer the chance to create the perfect shade of lipstick for your skin tone. Some small companies have also begun to offer personalized, organic shampoo and conditioner to give you the luscious tresses you deserve.
One of the reasons consumers prefer customized goods is because they have a problem unique to them and it’s not being addressed by big corporations. As a small or mid-size business owner, you are in the perfect position to address this need.
