The Value of Personalization

Today is Earth Day. Happy Earth Day, everyone. I'm actively participating in the overpopulation of our planet with my fifth kid on the way (believing that if I raise them right, they will do our Earth more good than bad).

Me and my wife only "multiply" twice a year, in April and late November/early December. So there has been a series of birthdays in the last days. My youngest daughters both wanted new bikes, as summer was coming and their bikes were too small. At first I thought that was a great idea. But then I came to think of all the bikes in my garage. Why should I buy new bikes when I have bikes that are the right size for them? Because they should have the right of getting new bikes that are their's?

After giving this a little thought, we decided not to buy them new bikes. Instead, the oldest siblings took the old bikes, repaired them and gave them a new life. With oil, sandpaper and paint th bikes got a make over. It took me by surprised how enthusiastic the kids were about it. They really loved doing it and put a lot of love and effort into their project and the youngest ones were really looking forward to getting the remade bike that used to belong to the BIG sister.

The result was maybe not the prettiest bike in the street. But it's a unique personalized bike with a story, emotional bonding and care. And it became a much greater gift than if I would have thrown them out and just bought new ones.

It reminded me off one of the principles of marketing in today's commercialized society. Become personal (social media comes in handy for that). Add a personal touch to your product, tell your customers your personal story about why you deliver what you deliver, or give people an opportunity to personalize themselves your product.

We've seen many producers doing this and prolonging the shelf live of their products by offering personalization. Nokia did it by offering phones where you could swap covers and even make your own cover. Crocs did it by offering all sorts of decorations to add to the shoes. And now Volvo is doing it by offering people different sorts of "wallpapers" for their Volvo C30.

It's just like the Christmas presents you've received through the years. Which ones do you remember and keep? Those who were the latest hype or those who were made or chosen with care, with a thought and with your own character in mind?

Hjörtur

Comments

[Katja of Skimbaco]

Thank you for a great post!
We do the same - re-use all the old things, and often re-new them with a little bit of paint (or new buttons). I think it is so important not just for environmental reasons, but like you said, for teaching childen so they will learn how to do more good than bad for the environment.

The bad thing about personalized products is that they are not as easily recycled and re-used as others. While I love Volvos, I might think twice about buying a used one with zebra stripes. And I can't get my daughter Gaby using any used clothes saying "Isabella" on them :)

[Hjörtur Smárason]

Thanks for the comment, Katja. You've got a point about the "re-use value" of a personalized product.

Volvo did think about that though, as it's just a skin you can peel of when you sell the car or get bored of it and if you like, you can add a new one. Just like the phones.