4 tips on selling ‘personalisation’ to your clients

At Luminar, we always have our clients top of mind. Because, by being customer-centric, we believe that you’re more likely to win potential business and keep current customers happier. Personalisation is the key to this. As MarketInvoice explain, “A survey by Deloitte revealed that 82% of people view customer experience as a competitive differentiator, while a business-to-business study by Walker Research predicted that by the end of the decade customer experience would overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator”.

At Luminar, we go one step further. Aside from giving exceptional customer service, we delve deeper into customer engagement. We inform our clients of where the market is moving and share industry trends that you can take advantage of today. As industry experts, we have a responsibility to keep our clients across what is happening across the printing sector. According to SalesForce, it’s predicted that by 2020, 51% of consumers expect that companies will anticipate their needs and make relevant suggestions before they make contact.

As we predicted earlier in the year, customisation and personalisation are in demand. In fact, by increasing personalisation across more channels, you can increase overall spending by over 500% (E-Tailing). Additionally, a recent Smithers Pira white paper, ‘From innovation to implementation: emerging print for packaging technologies and how to apply them’, found that personalised marketing materials can deliver 31% greater profits compared to general marketing materials.

Whilst this is all well and good, how do you actually convince your clients to go down the personalisation route? As always, customers are going to be conscious of their bottom line and profitability and may be wary of trying new trends. Here are our four tips on how to sell the concept of personalisation effectively.

1. Avoid complexity

Follow the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid!) philosophy when it comes down to the sell. Your clients want information in digestible and easy-to-interpret formats. For example, it might seem appropriate to go into depth about the latest technology, software and printing methods that you’ve invested in, but try to imagine it from the perspective of your client. Ultimately you’re trying to convince them on how personalisation is going to benefit their business. The key message should be focused on what sort of financial results a client can expect or potential ROI, if they invest in this style of printing. Keep your selling pitch as simple as possible. You don’t want to confuse and frighten off prospective customers.

2. Be financially competitive

Ultimately personalisation is going to cost your client more than regular printing. Ben Perkins, the director of consumer research at Deloitte, explains that whilst customers are willing to pay more for these products at the moment, at some point they may question whether the higher costs are justified.

The ‘Think Personal’ report by Canon suggest that it’s important for printing businesses to “look beyond what is currently undertaken today and really embrace the possibilities that producing personalised and customised products can bring to your business. It is not just a passing trend; it will continue to grow”. However, businesses must think wisely about rolling out personalisation and customisation–don’t be overzealous with your investment. It’s all well and good charging clients top dollar for customisation, but once the offering becomes much more mainstream, you’ll need to get economical. Choose technology that is going to be adaptable in the long run, but can enable you to offer your clients competitive pricing now.

3. Use case studies

As we mentioned before, personalisation will require a higher investment from your clients compared to regular printing methods, so they’re going to want to know how to justify the increase in spending. At Luminar, we utilise previous case studies to show how a similar company has benefitted from personalisation. As Articulate Marketing explains, “case studies are useful tools down the entire marketing and sales funnel”. For prospects, case studies provide a brief and a relevant overview of what your product or service may offer them. For those who are returning customers or further down the sales funnel, case studies are the final push. And, for your current customers? Well, you’re giving them free marketing by showing off their success.

4. Be the expert

With personalisation, printing companies have the chance to move away from traditional printing methods and standard commodity-priced print runs. You have the opportunity to customise, tailor and sell a value-add service at a much higher price point. Always be the business that interprets what your clients want. The ‘Think Personal’ report by Canon explains that personalisation can be self-curated content, where the customer has the ability to choose each aspect of a product, or it can be more subtle from a direct mail advertising point of view. Whichever way your business offers personalisation, it’s the customer service combined with the unique end result that makes all the difference, and that’s what your clients are paying for.

So, to recap, why should personalised printing be a part of your product offering?

  • Your company can attract the attention of untapped markets.
  • There’s potential for increased conversions.
  • You can encourage repeat purchases.
  • There’s opportunity for greater profits through better return on investment (ROI).

Let us personalise your experience

At Luminar, we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk. If you’re in the market for customisable label printing and packaging services for your clients, then we’d love to hear from you. Contact us today.