CYO 2011 blog post re-posted from www.cookiesncode.com
Mass Customization literature and research always states that customized products fulfill customers’ needs better than mass products and that customers will be more satisfied by using customized clothes, food or cars. If you take a look at re-purchases, this seems to be true: many customers are more inclined to buy customized products once they have done so once. But but why don’t most customers opt for this alternative ? There are many barriers that prevent customers from a first buying. Zipkin mentioned some in his article “The limits of Mass Customization”.
Many people are frightened to buy a product they have never seen, felt or touched. Most Mass Customized products will be produced as soon as an order exists, not before. Therefore customers often rely on the impression that they get by the configurator or information of the product online. In addition to this, customers have to play an active role within the configuration process – this can be time intensive and – for a newbie – unsettling: “Am I able to do this?” It’s one thing to have a great idea or to sell the perfect product- but companies (no matter how little or big they are) have to attract customers and – even more difficult – to successfully guide them through a buying (configuration) process to its completion.
If you want to learn from the companies that are doing this successfully, come pick the brains of people like Carine Moitier from Bivolino or Michael Bruck from Chocri this Monday the CYO 2011 opening!
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