Customization Marks the Future in Online Marketing

So What’s All This Hype Over Customization??

It’s a cool concept, sure, and it probably adds some fun to the customer’s experience. But does it really hold potential for boosting sales? Is it really worth the effort?

To be able to spot the new trend that’s going to change an industry’s B2B experience, among all the other trends emerging from Big Data and new technology, is indeed a challenge. However, this one seems to rise above the others, and not just because it’s cool and ‘sexy’ for users. Customization is no longer just a gadget used to spice-up an exhausting ecommerce website, but a true game-changer in the ecommerce industry, and here’s why-

A Truly User-Centric Approach in a Personalized World

Everything is personal now. From medical tracking devices setting the right drug dosage for you, to identifying your taste in music and offering similar styles, to matching your next date according to personality preferences, etc. There IS no ‘business is strictly business’ approach anymore; if you want your brand to succeed, you make everything personal. You post friendly pictures of the CEO with co-workers on Facebook, invite users to comment on your products, and nothing is even worth talking about if it’s not ‘tweeted’ on or ‘liked’ on social networks, even by random online users. In other words, the customer has never been so right before, and their opinion never mattered as much as it does now.

If you’re anywhere near online marketing, you know this. You know that to be ahead of the game, you need to adopt a user-centric approach, it doesn’t even really matter what industry you’re in anymore. And though it sounds like an empty business school marketing slogan, this actually means basing your entire online marketing strategy on the user, really thinking how to make him happy. Because now more than ever, if he’s unhappy, there’s between tens to thousands of other providers he could turn to instead, online.

Starting to see it? Yes, customization came into the game just in time, and it is rapidly gaining momentum. In fact, a survey by Bain, of more than 1,000 online shoppers, shows that “while less than 10% have tried customization options, 25% to 30% are interested in doing so.” These stats can give us a sense of how far this growing phenomena could go.

The Force that Drives Online Engagement Strategy

What better way to make it all about the user than personalizing your products-

Online marketing strategies today mainly focus on one super-objective; user engagement. The philosophy behind this implies that if we could just keep the user with us a little tiny bit longer, if we could just make him interested in doing something more than just browsing, if we could just make him interact- we could increase his engagement, making him of much more potential to become a viable lead.

Customization is literally doing just that, sometimes even better than other engagement tactics-

• It makes the user visit your website more often
• It makes the user stay longer (which might engage him with other interactive activities such as commenting, sharing, etc.)
• It creates a sense of attachment to the product, which to some degree is a substance of the user’s creation.
• It gives the user psychological power, actual creative, productive power.
• And it gradually makes him loyal to our brand

All this and we didn’t even mention the user becoming our most loyal advocator down the line. And that’s before we even started with the whole follow-up process.

To Wrap This Up

Customization is revealed as the #1 tactic for online engagement strategies, creating a wholesome process of luring the user in, engaging him, giving him a sense of power, strengthening his connection with the product and consequentially with the brand, making him a loyal, satisfied customer.

To put it simply, this is Jack of All Trades right here, and if you are quick enough to realize it, you just might find yourself taking your brand one step ahead of the game.

To speak to someone about customization click here.

To stay in touch click here. 

References

Spaulding, E., & Perry, C. (2013, November 05). Having it their way: The big opportunity in personalized products. Retrieved from http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/having-it-their-way-the-big-opportunity-in-personalized-products-forbes.aspx

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What do I mean by updates for your configurator? There are many relevant types. For example, when your browser version changes this affects processes on your site.  In some cases, upgrades to your website or product line causes changes on the other processes on your site. Each upgrade needs to be taken into account how it affects your product configurator.

Let’s say you made a great savings by hiring the offshore guy.  You have your product configurator finally. And now it doesn’t work. Now what? Software needs updates. There’s no escaping this fact.  You’ll want to make sure that your configurator will be supported whenever you need it. The last thing you want is that the the product configurator that you spent so much time and money on doesn’t work with your new website. To top it off, the offshore guy you paid to develop it is nowhere to be found.  If the product configurator was done inhouse, Does your IT staff have time for updates?

Keep in mind that the team you worked with to develop the software may not always be there.  Oftentimes there are huge turnover issues with offshore IT teams. All of the skillsets and learning that went into development of your software can be lost quickly if one member of the offshore team leaves.  In other words, the stability of a key web tool for your business is dependent on whether or not an offshore team member leaves or not.  Another aspect to be considered is the time involved in building and developing the offshore team for your product configurator. Do you have the time available to develop another offshore team?

Having a reliable source for updates is crucial. Product configurators are designed to engage buyers emotionally and convert them to a sale. If your product is down because it needs updates, you are not engaging customers and converting them to a sale.  In many ways this is similar to a car purchase.  Imagine for a moment you bought a car from an unknown manufacturer.  Afterwards, the manufacturer closed up shop along with the services centers and support.  No spare parts, nothing.  Your investment becomes unserviceable and worthless.  Would you do the same for tools to make your business successful?

Pennywise… Pound foolish

Product configurators are a major online trend.  Buyers will expect to be engaged with a customization experience. Tapping into this trend requires a considerable investment of time, effort and money. While the temptation to go with offshore or proprietary development might be tempting, in conclusion this route is pennywise but pound foolish.  Make sure your product configurator has the right development team, has a great UI and has consistent support.

To speak to someone about customization click here.

The post Reason 3 – Ready, set, update – Support is critical appeared first on Doogma Designer.

One of the great things about a product customizer is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Oftentimes, I encounter a situation with clients who are considering working with offshore developers.  The big elephant in the room is whether your offshore guy has ever developed a product configurator before. This is crucial because you really don’t want to have your product line shown with a substandard designer.  You’ve spent a tremendous amount of time, effort and money to develop your business. Are you willing to trust the success of your business with somebody you’ve never done business with to develop a tool crucial for your business?

How will your product be presented?  Product presentation is key to your product customizer. You’ll want graphics that engage your customers and connect them emotionally with your products. The last thing you want is for your products to be shown in a boring, flat 2d image that doesn’t excite your customers.  Also, remember customers aren’t designers. Overloading customers with tons of options and graphics will overwhelm them. Keep it simple with a clean simple design that engages the customer and makes it fun for them.

Make it Responsive

Responsive sites are the future of web design and your product customizer is no different. On average, at a minimum 20% of the online traffic for my clients is on a mobile device. More and more I encounter clients with 40% or more site traffic which is on a mobile device. Translation: make sure your product configurator is suitable for customizing and buying on the mobile device. Why hope that the customer will revisit your site when they get in front of their laptop? Engage and empower them while they are on their mobile device.

To speak to someone about customization click here.

To stay in touch click here. 

Cont’d – In the next email we’ll talk about how support is critical

The post 3 Reasons to use a SaaS product configurator – Reason 2 appeared first on Doogma Designer.

Reason 1 – Getting the right development team

Often , I get calls that go something like this: “I called you guys back in the day because the guys I hired offshore  to develop my product customizer can’t deliver. I know we spoke a half a year ago but now I’m in a bind. Can you help me?” You see, offshore development is a gamble. They may not always be there when you need them most.  Are they able to understand you effectively?  Can they understand the nuance and complexity of your project to roll it out right? Another key factor: you need a partner who can understand your business. Selling one of a kind widgets that to a specialized market? Or are you grouped in the same category as the mass produced widgets from acme company. Can your offshore team handle that kind of project scope? Are three guys in a remote region able to handle your multinational company? Or are you just another account? You also want to make sure you have a partner there for the long haul.  “Here today gone tomorrow” won’t cut it for your product line when developing the right product configurator.

I have a great idea. Let’s build a CRM from scratch…

Sometimes,  I’ll speak to clients who want to tap their IT team to build a product configurator.  There’s two main parts to this approach.  Simply put, does your IT team have the time to dedicate this project? Your IT team are crazy busy trying to handle their current load.  Updates, hardware issues, security problems and on and on.  Now try throwing software development into that big mix.  Sounds like fun right? First, there are the planning stages. Also, there is development of a wireframe. Then, you have to develop and debug the software. Of course you have to integrate the software as well.  What we are talking about here is time and a lot of it.  Do your guys and gals have that time?

It’s a pretty good bet  that your core business is probably not developing product configurators. Your IT team is focused  on a specific set of deliverables and they are expert at it. But they aren’t supermen and women. Tasking your IT team to in effect retrain and develop a totally different deliverable takes them off task, reduces overall productivity from core IT functions and ultimately you get a product that your IT really doesn’t do well because this is the first time they are doing it.  I’ll also let you in on a little IT secret.  If your IT team develops a proprietary customizer, they will likely have a special fondness for it and hate to get rid of it in the event you want to replace it later on because it doesn’t work right.

The other aspect to a product customizer that is often overlooked is whether your graphics team (if you have one) can be dedicated to the development of a product customizer.  In between the website and other work, graphic teams are tapped out.  Will your product line be represented in the best possible light? Graphics that are done as a side project may not get the right attention to detail that is needed for a product configurator. The reality is that you’ll want your products rendered in the best possible light.

In other words, would you develop your CRM from scratch when you can implement something off the shelf? Of course not. Why should a product customizer be any different?

And by the way…. Did we have that little chat about social media?

Let’s say your IT team finally got that customizer working after months of hard labor.  Not so fast there.  Now you want to share with all of social media groups. You know, Facebook, Twitter etc.  Yes, they aren’t going away.  Did your IT team plan for social media integration? Your developer will tell you that it is a lot of extra work because he has never done something like that before. He’s confident that in another month he’ll have a working prototype.  Not a good idea.  Better plan on having social media as an integral part of your product configurator.

Next, we’ll talk about ideas for developing a great UI

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Enter the 21st century and customers are now wanting unique, custom and personalized items. Research has shown that users who interact with products, designing them and personalizing them online, are far more likely to purchase them. Consumers are now expecting product customization and forward-thinking merchants realize the need to satisfy this growing demand for choice.

Remember, there doesn’t need to be a huge shift in your business or product model. Customization can be as simple as letting your customers choose their own color scheme, or as personal as letting consumers add their name and favorite color to an item. Either way, it doesn’t need to be complicated to implement on your website.

One highly recommended book on customization is Custom Nation (customnation.com), written by Anthony Flynn and Emily Flynn Vencat. In the words of the authors: “because customization is itself such a flexible concept, encompassing everything from completely built-to-order to simple personalized packaging, I believe that every company – no matter what the business model, size or scope – can reap enormous rewards from it.”

Top 10 Benefits of Adding Product Customization to Your Business

So what are these rewards? In Chapter 8, the authors have put together a list of nine solid ways that design-your-own can benefit your business. Based on the actual experience of Doogma’s customers, I’ve added in a tenth reason why every company should add product customization to their business.

1. Free Publicity – To quote Custom Nation: “By adding even a small CIY [Create Your Own] section to your company’s retail offering, you give journalists from all sizes of publications (from Vogue to the local blogger) a hot topic to cover in their next article.” A cool customization option in your product line will make you the talk of town. You don’t need to be a high-end brand like Louis Vuitton for this to work in your favor. Simply make it fun, make it relevant, and you can become a consumer and media hit.
2. Higher Prices – NPD Group conducted a study in 2011, which showed that consumers will pay approximately a 25% premium for customized goods.
3. Free Market Research  – Product customization  is one of the best tools to understand what your customers want. Flynn talks about Disney and how customization made the entertainment group realize that they should launch a whole new merchandising line, which brought in huge revenues. You don’t need to be a Disney for this to work for you too. Just pay attention to what your customers are creating and this will tell you a story.
4. A Bigger Slice of the Gift Market – In Flynn’s words, “… imbuing products with custom elements increases their gift appeal.” This holds true for inexpensive and expensive items. Hallmark did it with Christmas cards, Blue Nile did it with diamond engagement rings. Very different price points, both huge successes.
5. More Repeat Sales with Lower Return Rates – The more involved consumers are in creating their purchases, the more connected they’ll feel to them. To quote Custom Nation:  ” … they’ll get exactly what they want and they’ll feel more connected to the end product.” So what does this product connection mean for your business? Consumers who feel attachment are more likely to buy again from your site. Also, it’s been proven that buyers are less likely to return an item that they helped to create.
6. Stronger Online Presence … and a More Personal Connection to Your Customers –  By offering customized products on your website, you are giving consumers a reason to buy through your site, as opposed to buying through a traditional store. This becomes a cycle of success, because the more internet users that visit your site (and the more time they spend on your site) gives you a higher ranking on Google for related product searches. Also, by having a strong online presence, you can form a personal connection with your buyers (and ultimately with their social media connections). Popularity is the biggest achievement in the online social world.
7. The Ability to Sell Directly to Consumers without Making Your Retailers Mad –  You can use product customization as a way to sell different products online, so that you’re not competing directly with your retailers. Nike did it successfully with NikeID.com and didn’t cause any channel conflicts. If you’re looking to sell directly to your consumers, then this is a good option for your business too.
8. Greater Customer Loyalty –  Give consumers exactly what they want, when they want it and they’re more likely to stick with your brand. If you’re always saying ”yes’ to their personal needs, they’ll have no reason to switch to a competitor.
9. More Sales –  To quote chapter 3 of Custom Nation “… millenials (13 to 31-year-olds) have grown up with customization like never before and expect it in every aspect of their lives.” So if you give it to them, they will buy from you. Simple. And, since the millenials have huge purchasing power, more customization means a whole lot more sales for you.
10. Streamlining the Order Process – Traditionally, customizing products involves a long process between supplier and customer. Customers’ requirements need to be understood and proofs are sent back and forth before the customer is satisfied. This approach ultimately becomes time-consuming, costly and frustrating for both the buyer and the company. With a product configurator on your website, the entire product customization and order process is streamlined. There is no waiting period and the customer gets to create the product exactly how he or she envisions it.

Bobby Rudenza, Senior IT Manager at Sportsdecal® says “With Doogma running on our site, we’re providing a fully customizable online order experience where users can customize and see their products before they’re ordering. This gives us a big advantage over our competitors.”

If you’d like to explore further how easy it is to add customization and personalization to your offering, contact a Doogma Consultant who will be happy to assist. Click here to see how The Doogma Designer can bring your company to the forefront of the age of customization.

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As Superbowl season reaches fever pitch once again, a tidal surge of Dollars flow to merchants who offer fans an elevated spectator experience…

The challenge for many suppliers of fan based accessories is catering to vast numbers of teams and holding seasonal stock.

MyFanClip.com is an innovative company creating team branded accessories for every possible team on the planet.

Using Doogma.com, users are able to design and finalize their order online in a way traditional methods could never achieve.

Why not design your own fan clip here:

The post MyFanClip by NFL Hall of Fame Quaterback Jim Kelly – Design Your Own MyFanClip appeared first on Doogma Designer.

• team sports uniform builder
• hotel room linen designer
• custom guitar builder
• design your own ladies’ handbags
• design your own vaporizer
• web-to-print with design your own labels including user image upload
• design your own posters
• design your own room, pick and choose furniture, carpets, wall colors
• vehicle configuration designer
• RVs and decals
• design your own nameplate
• design your own footlocker, design your own luggage
• design a casket
• personalize your car – car designer
• sports equipment configurator  – design your own lacrosse stick
• fashion and apparel configurator – design your own motorcyclist vest

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Here are the pretty purses on display on the hit daytime TV show.

With a large variety of the fashionable clutches to choose from, women have been going quite literally head over heels for these fabulous pieces. Where competitors may offer an array of colors in a particular clutch design, Maddy Nash goes that one step further. Not only can you choose the color of fabric for your purse, (whether it be the finest, high-quality textile or soft, long-lasting leather) there is the option to add some really unique personalizable elements such as a custom zipper and interior fabric. What’s more… the really special thing about the Maddy Nash customizable range is the fact that you can add your own personal touch by choosing the text in the label of your clutch. This allows for real individuality and ensures that no two people will be seen strutting down the street clutching the exact same purse. This will well and truly make you feel a million dollars! To get making your very own designer clutch purse today, visit the Maddy Nash website today at www.maddynash.com and don’t be afraid to express your individuality!

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