Personalized Vs Customized Products: 4 Key Differences
In the realm of product customization, people often interchangeably use the terms "personalized" and "customized". While both personalized vs customized products involve tailoring products to meet individual preferences, they diverge in terms of the level of uniqueness and involvement in the creation process. Gain clarity now!
What are Personalization and Customization?
Before we delve into the distinctions between personalized and customized products, let’s first differentiate the two terms: "personalization" and "customization”. To put it simply, personalization means adapting the experience to meet the user's preferences, whereas customization allows the user to have control over their own experience.
An example of Personalized and Customized difference
Please refer to this table for a comprehensive comparison.
| Criteria |
Personalize (Personalization)
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Customize (Customization)
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Definition by Oxford Dictionary
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“to design or change something so that it is suitable for the needs of a particular person”
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“to make or change something to suit the needs of the owner”
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Goal
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To establish a stronger and more captivating relationship with customers (emotional experience).
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To empower customers to control over their experience (features and functional characteristics).
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Process
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|
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| Example in Marketing | A business tailors an experience or suggests a product to individuals based on the data collected, including unique preferences, interests, and behaviors (implicit). | Customer controls their experience/product by selecting many choices provided by a business (explicit). |
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Other examples
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Are Personalized and Customized Products the Same?
The answer is no. In the online marketplace, there are a lot of products that have both personalization and customization options, leading to confusion between the two terms.
There are many articles available on the topic, each with its own unique definition. It's completely understandable that navigating this can feel overwhelming and daunting. From the knowledge presented above, understanding these definitions becomes much simpler.
Let's delve into the next section to discover more about the differences between personalized and customized products.
4 Differences Between Personalized vs Customized Products
The key differences between personalized vs customized products are the level of customization, customer involvement in design, uniqueness and individuality, and production time.
| Aspect |
Personalized Products
|
Customized Products
|
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Level of customization
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Highly customizable, tailored to individual preferences
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Limited customization options based on pre-existing offers
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Customer’s involvement in design
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Active participation in the design and creation process
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Selecting from predefined options without extensive involvement
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Uniqueness and individuality
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Exceptional and one-of-a-kind items with their name and personal imprints
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It may have a more generic or mass-produced feel
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Production time
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Often requires more time and effort in production
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Can be produced more efficiently and with faster turnaround times |
Within the realm of e-commerce, the majority of merchants tend to concur that…
- Product personalization refers to altering a product’s design according to the customer’s need or desire.
- Product customization involves offering goods with multiple product variants, such as sizes, colors, materials, features, add-ons, functional characteristics, etc.
A personalized product with an upload photo option
Product Customization or Personalization: Which is Better to Start?
Product personalization is particularly beneficial for print-on-demand stores that offer customizable or configurable products. Meanwhile, product customization suits goods with many variant options, such as fashion and apparel, furniture, electronics, and automotive. Or you can combine both to offer your customers the best experience.
By considering the target audience's preferences, your products, and your business goals and resources, you can decide whether to approach product customization or personalization.
- Embrace the target audience’s preferences: Consider the tastes and expectations of your target audience. Conduct market research and gather insights to understand them.
- Understand the type of your products: Some products may lend themselves better to customization, while others may be more suitable for personalization. Analyze your products' features, complexity, and variability to make an informed decision.
- Indicate the business goals and resources: Consider cost, time, and technological capabilities. Assess whether your business is better equipped to offer product customization or personalization.
The personalized print-on-demand market has a high potential (Market Research Future)
Product Personalization and Customization in Print-on-demand
For print-on-demand merchants seeking to incorporate personalization and customization options, it is simple to make on Shopify. Take a look at one of the custom-made product examples.
Teeinblue Product Personalizer Demo’s store
As in the image above, customers can personalize designs at a high level, custom variants, and extra options for their products. You can easily make it on Shopify with two apps:
- Teeinblue Product Personalizer: a top-rated Shopify product configurator for print-on-demand. It offers powerful tools to personalize standard text, curved text, clipart, street maps, star maps, etc., and custom variants.
- Tepo Product Options: a star-rasing Shopify app for all industries. The app is capable of showing various options, pricing add-ons, and variations across different displays, whether or not they employ conditional logic.
Hope this article gives you a clear answer to “What are the differences between personalized and customized products?”. In conclusion, a personalized product has more individualization and uniqueness than a customized one. In addition, it necessitates a longer time and a more complex system to produce. If you still wonder about this topic or need further discussion, don’t hesitate to leave comments or join the Teeinblue POD Global Community!
RELEVANT ARTICLES
Product Customization 101: Your Guide to Unique Offerings
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product personalization