The cola that bears your name
Consumers can add a very personal touch to products. A cola can with their own name on it, a pair of sneakers printed with a photo of their choice, or muesli made to their own recipe. But manufacturers often charge a high price for the right to customize.
"Customers want individualized products. That boosts their self-esteem. You stand out from the crowd. It's more fun to drink a Coke if it has your own name on it," says marketing expert Martin Fassnacht from the WHU business school in Düsseldorf. In a recent survey conducted by JDA, a software provider specializing in retail logistics, around a quarter of German consumers surveyed expressed a preference for personalized products. Ideally, the consumer receives a product that is better tailored to their needs.
Many manufacturers have already jumped on the bandwagon: Coca-Cola is available in customized packaging on request, as are Nutella and Nivea. At Adidas and Nike, recreational athletes can customize their sports shoes. And online providers such as MyMuesli or Chocri offer the opportunity to put together your own muesli or favorite chocolate. "It's a unique opportunity for manufacturers to get a direct line to the customer," says marketing expert Fassnacht. In the long term, this will increase the power of manufacturers and decrease the power of retailers.
However, consumers should be aware that the customized products are usually more expensive than the standard offerings. In Germany, the 200-milliliter Cola bottle with the selected name on the label costs more than twice as much in the Coca-Cola online store compared to the fake bottle without the imprint. The Nivea cream in the 75 milliliter photo can with a picture of your own family on the lid is also more than twice as expensive in the Nivea online store as the cream in the conventional can.
This is because personalization means additional costs in the production process. "The decisive factor is where in the production process I start with personalization," says retail expert Ulrich Thonemann from the University of Cologne. "The later this happens, the lower the costs." With Nutella or Coca Cola, for example, where it is only about the label, the cost is comparatively low. It becomes significantly greater when a sports shoe is produced according to individual specifications. "This requires a completely different production technology to mass production," says the expert. The same applies to individually composed muesli or home-made chocolate. In the end, the consumer has to weigh up what it is worth to him to see his name on a bottle of cola or to have the muesli mixed according to his personal wishes, says Thonemann. (SDA)
