If you’ve been in business or marketing for a while, you’ve likely heard the phrase, “content is king.” This year, you’ll want to add a new phrase to the ranks: “custom is king.” High end brands have long been customizing for their customers (i.e. your initials on your Louis Vuitton bag), but in recent years, brands of all types have jumped on this trend.
Personally, I love customization…but who doesn’t? We feel special when we have things made just for us. I love being able to customize my Starbucks drink, my Chipotle lunch orders, my running shoes…the list goes on.
According to Forbes, increased personalization of products will be one of the top ten marketing trends in 2017. If you have never used customization within your brand, consider trying it this year to lure new customers or keep your customer base more loyal.
Meal Delivery Startup Creates Customized Nutrition Plans
For food entrepreneurs and healthy food enthusiasts, one startup putting a serious edge on this trend is Habit. Developed by the founder of Plum Organics baby food, Habit creates custom nutrition plans and meals for clients after they send in a blood test. The meals are designed to address each client’s individual nutrient imbalances.
While all meal-kit companies stress healthy menus, Habit takes healthy and convenient eating to another level with this level of personalization. Sure to be a huge draw to customers that can afford it and are concerned about their health. The founder has also stated a desire to make the service available to at-risk populations to help manage obesity, hunger, and chronic health issues.
The Perfect Makeup Shades
Finding the foundation to match a woman’s skin tone perfectly seems to be a desire that is still unmet in the cosmetics industry. Beauty brands are being challenged to come up with more than a range of shades in their products…and create makeup that will perfectly polish each customer.
One example is MATCHCo, which uses an app to scan a person’s face through their iPhone, and then develops a foundation color that is a 100% match. Two other brands, Adorn and Three Custom, utilize professional color matching experts to find you the perfect color. Three Custom will even let you send in swatches of discontinued products you loved and then recreate it for you. It doesn’t get more personalized than that!
Customized Skincare
Skin needs can vary drastically, depending on what skin type a person has, in addition to factors such as climate, stress levels, nutrient deficiencies, etc. Skincare brands are now starting to go beyond “oily, dry, or normal” when it comes to serving their customers. If you include skin care in your brand, consider including nutrient profiles within your products, and products that can address day to day changes.
Skin Inc, for example, wants to simplify their customer’s skincare routine by offering a customized all-in-one solution a person can use both day and night. Before you purchase their product, you take a Skin Identity Test. Then, based on the results, a concoction is blended to suit your specific skin needs. Considering what a ridiculous number of choices a woman can choose from when buying skincare products, all-in-one customized solutions are sure to be a huge hit for those tired of the clutter.
Paula’s Choice is a company that is trying to address the day to day hormonal and weather changes that can affect skin. They offer “boosters” that can be used alone or with other skincare products, to address the specific issues a person might be having on a given day. For people that struggle with changing skin conditions, they are sure to find relief in these types of products. If you include skincare in your beauty brand, consider trying out some of these ideas to strengthen your customer base.
Develop a Customization Strategy
While it’s clear that the trend of customization isn’t going anywhere and you probably won’t go wrong incorporating it into your products in 2017, it’s still good to have a clear strategy. Talk to your business mentor or hire an outside expert to help you decide where and how to incorporate this trend. A great resource for getting ahead on specific trends within your market is www.trendreports.com. Their experts study hard data on customer feedback within a given market, rather than following gut instinct.
Do you already use customization in your brand, or have any favorite personalized products you buy? Leave a comment below!
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