Why Customization In Marketing Is Key To E-commerce Success

Personalization adds a human element to any brand by making it all about the consumer, rather than the product.” ~ Jason Brown

Let’s start with this statement to discuss customization in marketing, a trend that has become too significant to ignore. Anyone involved in commerce, especially in the e-commerce sector, knows this: customers are in search of increasingly unique and personalized experiences.

That’s why providing a personalized experience to your customers is crucial, even when it comes to marketing. ADV personalization, personalized messages, content, emails… have you heard about these? Great! That’s what we’re talking about in our article today.

But remember, the highest level of personalization you can offer a customer always relates to the product. And product customization itself can become a significant marketing tool. Let’s explore this together.

What Is Customization?

Let’s take a new step back. What is the definition of customization? Customization is a powerful tool in the world of commerce and marketing, allowing customers to tailor products or services to their specific desires and needs. This approach offers an avenue for personal expression, letting consumers infuse their purchases with their tastes, needs, and experiences. 

When a company provides customization options, it enables customers to make choices from a pre-defined range of options, such as selecting the size, color, material, and other aspects of a product. Imagine choosing the material, the design and the color of a bag for example.

Customization enhances the customer’s connection to the brand and shifts the control to the customer’s hands, allowing them to shape their interaction with the product or service to fit their personal preferences. 

What Is The Difference Between Customization and Personalization?

Customization and personalization both aim to enhance customer experience through tailored choices, yet they differ in approach.

• Customization is where the customer picks from options provided by the company, shaping the product or service to their liking;
• Personalization, conversely, is driven by the company using customer data to create a bespoke experience.

Does this distinction matter in marketing? Absolutely.

• In marketing customization, customers set preferences like how often they receive emails or what content they see, creating a user experience that feels customized;
• Marketing personalization digs deeper, leveraging customer data to craft personalized messages and campaigns uniquely suited to each individual based on their history and preferences.

This nuance turns a broad marketing approach into targeted campaigns that resonate more personally with consumers, improving digital advertising’s impact and strengthening brand-customer relationships.

Customization In Marketing: How Does It Work?

Now, let’s focus on the marketing sector. What is personalized marketing, and why does it matter? Today, personalization serves as a competitive edge for many businesses. Delivering personalized shopping or communication experiences means better meeting consumer needs.

But what about in marketing? How does it work? There are countless examples of customization in marketing. Think personalized emails, tailored purchase recommendations, customized advertising, and loyalty programs designed for each customer.

Let’s dive deeper into the key components of a personalized marketing strategy.

Examples Of Customization In Marketing

It’s time to talk about how customization in marketing is making waves! It’s not just a buzzword; it’s a strategy that’s changing the game for businesses and customers alike. 

Here are 5 marketing personalization examples that could make the difference:

• Personalized Advertising: Have you ever noticed how some adv seem to be exactly tailor-made? Here, companies need to move in this direction. Create hyper-personalized ads, based on customers’ interests and previous actions. This can really make a difference!
• AI Shopping Assistants: Let’s talk e-commerce. What could be better for a consumer than having a personalized shopping experience? Imagine being able to offer your customers the ability to have a virtual assistant that offers them recommendations based on previous purchases… isn’t that what they are looking for?
• Customized Loyalty Programs: When we talk about customized marketing, we have to mention loyalty programmes. They aren’t one-size-fits-all anymore. It’s time to create custom loyalty programmes for each consumer that truly value their choices and reward them as they deserve.
• Personalized Emails: Emails, another channel that needs to be personalized! Sending customized emails that use the reader’s name and are based on their past actions is a winning weapon. The higher the personalization, the more valued the customer will feel!
• Product Personalization in e-commerce: This one’s a biggie. As we anticipated, product personalization is always the best weapon. Imagine offering your customers the possibility of customizing products with all the features they want… directly on your e-commerce in real-time. This is a real game-changer!

In each of these examples, the message is clear: marketing isn’t just about selling anymore. It’s about creating a connection, making each customer feel like the only customer.

Why Marketing Personalization Is Important? Some Data You Need To Know

Today, the market is flooded with “unique ways” to drive more e-commerce sales from different marketers’ perspectives.  Every marketer has a conversion rate optimization tactic they swear by – some with mind-boggling statistics that seem too good to be true. 

But unlike those strategies that can “theoretically” drive sales and engagement, product customization is the real deal. Why?

Many organizations, including big names like Nike and Netflix, have reported significant cost savings and increased engagement through customization in marketing strategies. For instance, Netflix says its AI recommendation engine saves the company $1 billion per month. 

To better bring this point home, take a look at these product customization statistics:

• Marketers who implement product customizations see a 20% increase in sales;
• 79% of organizations that exceeded their revenue goals have a product customization strategy in place;
• 80% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from a brand that offers customized experiences;
• Brands offering customized experiences report a 40% decrease in product returns.

With these proven stats, it goes without saying what product customization can do for your business.

Benefits Of Product Customization In Marketing And Sales

We’ve already mentioned that the personalized marketing strategy that can bring the most positive results is undoubtedly product personalization. Here are all the benefits you can expect when you offer product personalization to your customers:

1. Boost Sales

The most obvious advantage of product customization is an increase in sales. As noted earlier, 1 in 5 consumers is okay paying for a personalized product. One reason for this is the product connection a shopper establishes with a customized product. 

Delivering customers exactly what they need is one of the surefire ways to increase sales. And personalizing a product doesn’t just ramp up sales; it also keeps your customers satisfied, which fosters loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendations. 

Customers are looking for value, which you can quickly achieve with product customizations. When searching online, they might even find a similar product for a much lower price. But can they customize it to their liking? Can they see it in 3D before buying it? And that’s where product customization works in your favor. 

2. Increase Customer Loyalty

If you want your customers to stick with your brand long-term, you must understand their needs and how they want them fulfilled. 

When you customize your products to their tastes, your customers see what they want, and their satisfaction levels grow significantly. 

And if customers feel like they have your undivided attention, they’re more likely to stick around and establish a long-term relationship. This relationship leads to loyalty, brand advocacy, and repeat purchases. 

3. You Gain a Competitive Advantage

With competition in the e-commerce space growing by the day, what can give you an edge over the competition is the user experience you offer to your customers. 

E-commerce personalization helps you to achieve just that – better product personalization. And it’s obvious that a friendlier e-commerce website is more appealing to users. 

When you pay attention to what customers are personalizing in their products, you will gain valuable insights into what they’re looking for and what’s lacking in your website and business. This way, you can quickly analyze the buyer preferences and use this data to offer the right products to your customers. 

4. Increased User Engagement 

Personalization brings in more users to your site. The more users engage with your website, the higher the likelihood of conversions. Moreover, if your customers can relate with your website better, they will automatically spend more time on it.  

Research shows that 60% of customers prefer it if online stores remember their contact details and purchase information. The increased engagement often leads to increased sales and saves the company the money and time it would have spent on retargeting campaigns. 

5. Attract Millennials

By offering product customization, winning millennials becomes easier. The truth is, in today’s digital generation, millennials make the most purchases. According to research, this generational cohort makes 54% of their purchases online. 

Understanding how millennials and Gen Z shop is critical as they’re expected to become the largest adult population in the US. By understanding their buying habits, brands can win over millennials by customizing their product pages to reflect their needs.  

And as one of the largest generational cohorts in the US, personalizing products and services to millennials’ tastes will require more than a name and email. Product customization in e-commerce may be the key to attracting this generational cohort.

Product Customization in E-Commerce: Meaning and Examples

In e-commerce, product customization entails showing individualized ways of create a unique version of a product thanks to technology like Visual Customizers, Product Configurators and 3D/Augmented Reality Viewers.

E-commerce product customization is key to driving customer satisfaction and loyalty. As online merchants seek to drive more sales, increase engagement, and build better relationships with their customers, product personalization has become one of the most efficient tools in a marketer’s arsenal.

Many companies, big and small, have hopped on to the product customization bandwagon and are benefiting from it. Here are some examples of brands that have successfully adopted a product customization strategy.

• Amazon: Amazon excels in using vast data for predictive modeling and personalized marketing, making spot-on product recommendations. Their strategies, like “customers who bought this also bought” and personalized homepage displays based on past behavior, lead to over 40% of purchases from recommendations;
• Forever 21: This California-based impresses with its product customization, tailoring the user’s landing page to their previous interactions. This approach not only enhances user engagement but also optimizes the shopping experience for both returning and new customers, making product searches more intuitive and personalized;
• Silent Pool Distillers: Silent Pool leverages e-commerce to offer personalized product labels and enhance customer engagement. Without needing to solve a problem but aiming to tap into a new market, they utilized Zakeke Visual Product Customizer.

Zakeke: The Best Tool To Create Customized Marketing Products

We’ve discussed how product customization is the best route to achieving great results in the e-commerce world. But where do you begin? How can you make your products customizable?

The answer lies in selecting the right tool. You don’t need a huge initial investment; just choose the best Product Customizer to kickstart your personalization business. Zakeke is the solution you’ve been searching for.

What exactly is Zakeke? It’s more than just a Product Customizer. Zakeke is an advanced B2B AI Visual Commerce Platform designed to empower merchants to elevate and innovate the shopping experience with cutting-edge visual technologies. Through Zakeke’s comprehensive suite of tools, merchants can enhance customer experiences by offering real-time product personalization, advanced 3D visualization, immersive AR experiences, and innovative Virtual Try-On tools.

The cherry on top? It integrates seamlessly with major e-commerce platforms with a single click. Just install the plugin and you’re set to sell customizable products. This approach transcends traditional marketing personalization strategies.

And when it comes to marketing strategies, Zakeke can revolutionize your campaigns. Imagine showcasing your customizable products, including 3D models, across all your channels… this could significantly transform your e-commerce presence!

Embark on your customization journey today. Try Zakeke for free with a 14-day trial or book a quick 10-minute demo to learn more about the platform.