Having the ability to sell personalized goods is an extra bonus for any ecommerce business. Numerous e-commerce websites are providing their customers with some form of product customization and it's not too late for you to do the same. There is too much retail competition both online and off and anything that makes your business stand out is worth trying. Set your business apart from the rest by providing personalized goods and personalization options that no other business has.
There are many reasons why product customization is necessary for your business. Customers are becoming tired of ordinary products and are on the lookout for something personal and unique for themselves and to buy others. They also appreciate having the option of customizing a product to their specifications. Selling personalized goods not only adds value for your customers, it also identifies your business as being innovative, therefore toppling your competition. It's a small feature that can be implemented with ease, but the payoff is enormous.
Personalized goods come in a variety of forms and you are not limited to selling engraved pens, printed t-shirts or embroidered hats. If you do offer those products, it's a good idea to target big groups of people such as fraternities or sororities to market to. Another good way to sell these kinds of items is to create exclusive product lines for special occasions such as weddings or baby showers. There are however other ways to include product customization to your e-commerce website. For example, you can give your customers the option to mix and match colors enabling them to create their own color combination. You can also give them the opportunity to create or design their own gift basket or custom kit by selecting which products they want to include from your store and then the type of packaging to use. There are several other ways to offer product customization, just put your thinking cap on and let the creative ideas flow.
There are certain things you should include in your e-commerce site to let your customers know about the product customization feature that you are providing. Here are just a few:
- Provide one or more preview images of the personalized goods on their product page. Customers don't really get to see the finished product until they receive it so it's a good idea to show them a few examples.
- Make sure the customer is aware that you offer personalization for that specific product. Write it in the headline, description and product preview.
- Add detailed instructions for either adding text or uploading photos on the product page. You have to make sure the customer has no problems using this feature.
- Display in-depth information of all personalized goods in the shopping cart so the customer can review it before checking out and modify it if necessary.
- Make sure to add a return policy both on the product page as well as in the checkout so customers will know what to do if they are unsatisfied with their product. A personalized item is no longer useful if returned, because it can't be sold to anyone else. Therefore it is important that whatever return policy you have, it must be clearly expressed to your customers.
- Allow customers to type a text message used for personalization through their web browser
- Allow customers to upload photos or other files from their web browser
- Uploaded files can be viewed from your store admin
- Set total number of files that are allowed to be uploaded
- Set the different file types that are allowed to be uploaded
- Choose whether or not to add additional charges for product customization and how much
Being able to offer product customization is clearly without a doubt great for an e-commerce business. Above all else, you have to have the right tools to both make it really simple for customers to place a personalized order and for you to process the order. What you need is an ecommerce solution that is capable of product customization.
What you need is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. One that lets you set up your store in minutes, and provides powerful tools to help with not only selling personalized goods, but also SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce. Check out the best possible e-commerce solutions available at http://www.makeanonlinestore.com and try them out yourself absolutely free, no credit card required!
