Question

The chapter describes many companies’ individual marketing efforts that customize products for individual customers, such as M&Ms, PUMA, and Harley-Davidson. Find and describe another example and discuss whether the cost of customizing is worth the value provided to consumers.

Answer 1

Customization is the process in marketing where it gives the user the deliberate freedom to customize thier product as per their own requirements, needs & preferences at the cost of the company. Whenever the company produce the mass products & to target the individual customer's desires the company is offering the unique option at their cost to develop the customer demand as well as relationship.

For example if we take a car manufacturer the basic model of the car can be customized with different features such as Paint of the car, GPS, the color of the interior & wheel style & so on.

Customization is done at the cost of the company & it is worth in providing the value to the consumers due to the following reasons:

1. Customization leads to charging more to the consumers: Here due to the customization, the studies shows that the consumers are willing to pay more than the basic percentage they are willing to pay. Here the consumers personalize or customize thier product not at the cost of the company but at thier cost to which they pay more & by which it is a benefit to the company as well as the consumers which creates the value to both.
2. Customization builds consumer loyalty: The key in the customization is if the consumers get the exact product which they need at thier cost from the company they come again & again to service thier needs which will enhance consumer loyalty at large & thereby creating the value to the consumers.
3. Customization makes luxury items more attractive: If the consumers want to pay more on the luxury items then if he is spending more money he is very much sure of his product specifications that he wants & this will again add value to the consumers.
4. Customization helps in winning over the Millenials as the major targets are the young generation nowadays needs customized & personalized products which they are much desired. So the company understand the current market requirements & tries to match it with proper cost as well as rendering the value to it at large
5. Customization helps in selling online & staying in retail as here is to make the website custom ready and making the product visible in the online platforms & staying relevant in the market with large retail business at the cost of the consumers & make the impact.

With the above benefits, the company due to customization, it is never the cost to the firm as they know what kind of the consumers & the age group they are targeting in the overall market & are aware of the cost associated by which they can render a better service with proper quality & thereby create a good value among their consumers at large than from its competitors so as to sustain in the market. But the company has to use a proper strategy to adopt the customization or personalization of thier products which can cover their cost at a longer run & profitability of the business.