As the products we sell fall under this category, personalised products are ones which we have a fair amount of experience in selling. But is the demand for these products growing and what opportunities can arise from developing and selling these bespoke items?
Over recent years, we as consumers are always looking for that something extra, that something a little bit more special than the ‘standard’ option. Whether this be a freebie with a purchase, discount on a related product or outstanding customer service compared to the norm; we are all simply striving for and wanting to get more for our money. Who can blame us? With an economy still recovering from the latest recession and wages struggling to rise, everyone wants to make their money go further. Retailers have subsequently been picking up on this and there are now more options than ever for personalisation. From custom made suits in store to buying personalised birthday and anniversary plaques and cards online, it seems the entirety of the retail world is jumping on board in one way or another.
This is great news for retailers looking to engage with their consumers on a more personal level. From experience, we know that ordering custom products such as custom ties and custom scarves requires a lot more interaction than just ordering an ‘off the shelf’ stock item. With our line of products this requires not only a tailored quotation for the customers’ requirements, but the organisation of visual designs and requests to see previous work. The more positive engagement a company has with the individual consumer, the more likely they are to buy. In an article published on Forbes, a survey found that customising products required more engagement; the consumer visited the website more frequently, interacted with online pages for a longer length of time and were generally more loyal to the brand.
Feeding back from the research presented by Forbes, it is no wonder more and more companies are incorporating the option of personalised products within their brand and online platforms. There are several opportunities here to improve aspects of a company:
Customer Service
Improving customer service should be one of the main aims of every company whether large or small and offering personalised products would be a great way to do just that. The process of ordering requires a significantly larger amount of conversing between both parties, meaning companies have the opportunity to speak to their customers on a personal level and find out what they need, want and expect in more depth than a simple online purchase transaction which returns little or no direct interaction with the customer. This is something we have done ourselves and as a result have improved our ordering process over time.
Online Interaction and Engagement
As discussed there is a likelihood of more interaction and engagement with your brand online, however the opportunities of the extra data from this can be valuable. Assuming you are already tracking your user journey online, there is opportunity to learn more about those who have engaged online for a lengthier period of time and find out what aspects you may be able to apply to your non personalised product customers.
Repeat Sales
Again as suggested, the chance that the customer who ordered personalised items from a particular company previously will come back to purchase again is significantly more likely with a customised purchase. Whether months or years down the line, as long as they received that outstanding level of customer service they are expecting, there is a very good chance they will come back time and time again; either for the same product or something similar. There is also a good scope for recommendations; good quality customised products are more likely to spark questions of interest than your standard plain polo shirt purchase for example.
There are several reasons why offering personalisation with products can benefit a company, not all of the above may apply depending on your niche market, but it’s over to you to do the research and work out whether it would be a worthy investment. We predict that there is a good chance it will be.
