#masscustomization

We met with Sharon, The Vulcan Product Marketing Manager who shared her thoughts on the changes taking place in the textile industry over the past few years. 

For years, manufacturers have primarily produced long runs for the Direct-to-Garment industry. Screen printing machines have provided a cost-effective solution with good results for such long runs because the setup fees were absorbed in the overall costs. However, she explains that market is in a state of flux and manufacturing trends are shifting.  

Mass customization is defined by Investopedia as “a marketing and manufacturing technique that combines the flexibility and personalization of "custom-made" with the low unit costs associated with mass production.”

You have the manufacturing part figured out, but what about the marketing? An online customizer is an awesome tool for your customers to engage with your brand but you also need to market it and get people to use it. While there are many techniques to do this, today I want to look at using influencers to reach more potential customers. 

According to research from Nielsen, consumers trust recommendations from other people above all other forms of advertising. 

Since people are most likely to buy something that was recommended to them by a friend, influencers should be viewed as that “friend” that will recommend your products to your customers.

“ Three factors form the foundation of a successful ad campaign: Reach, resonance and reaction. Reach the right audience, and ensure your advertising resonates positively so you can generate the desired reaction.”  -Nielsen, Global Trust in Advertising Report

Who should you choose (and how to find them)

Influencers should not be hard to find. The key to success is to identify bloggers who share the same aesthetic as your brand. By searching with social media hashtags, you should easily identify potential candidates.

You don’t need a large budget to implement these tactics. There are influencers for everyone, as long as you have a product they want to try. Contact them, see what they have to offer and negotiate a form of compensation that works for both parties.

The results

Undandy Shoes has been working with influencers on instagram, with great results. Let’s look at a few examples:

A nice picture showing the influencer using the customizer to create their perfect shoes. 113 likes on the Undandy account, 2 686 likes on the influencer account! 

Since customizing a product is an experience, you can easily split the campaign into 3 or 4 interesting posts: 1 image showing the customization in the making, another with the finished custom product, and then more posts with the influencer wearing / using their custom product:

With just these 3 posts, Undandy was able to get 6 860 likes, on top of the 516 they got from their own instagram account. This also generated a lot of engagement from the users, where people are tagging other friends, asking where they can buy them, etc.

Customizers and influencers work really well together because it’s not just another “promoted” product. The influencer shares an experience, and designs a product that fits their own style.

Have you ever worked with influencers before? We would love to hear about your experience!

Further reading

There are a ton of ressources out there to help you plan your influencer campaigns. Here are a few that explain the process very well:

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/guide-to-influencer-targeting/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kylewong/2014/09/10/the-explosive-growth-of-influencer-marketing-and-what-it-means-for-you/#5dab230d595f