We can define product customization as customers designing the product they demand according to their own needs, preferences or styles. With product customization, the standard product profile offered to everyone changes. With this customization process, customers have the opportunity to achieve originality by creating their own dominance over the products. All the steps from the beginning to the end of the customization process are completely shaped according to the user's tastes and preferences.
Giving privileges to its customers with product customization, Nike offered its product customization service called “Nike By You” to its users. Thanks to this service, customers have the right to make many changes on the shoes they will buy. You can change the side surfaces, sole, laces and even the sole color of the shoe where product customization will be made. Offering the option to change even the design part of the brand logo, Nike offers its customers a more personalized product experience by purchasing a special product for them. Another successful example of product customization is the Dell brand. Dell, one of the well-known brands in the IT industry, offers its customers customized computers. By using product customization, many features such as processor speed, memory size, and storage space can be changed. In this way, customers have the opportunity to purchase computers that fit their needs and budgets. On the other hand, Mini Cooper, which offers product customization to those who want to buy a vehicle according to their own taste, gives its customers the opportunity to design their cars. Customers can make changes in many parts of the car, from its color to its coating, from its wheels to its interior design. In this way, they can buy the car they designed according to their own tastes.
The Coca-Cola brand, which is very successful in product customization, has created a work that goes beyond adding customers' names to coke cans. By putting on the market specially designed bottles in some countries, it offered products that reflect the cultural characteristics or symbols of those countries. The Chinese New Year in China, like the month of Ramadan in Turkey, reflected the spiritual values that are considered important for the countries to their customers. This strategy of Coca-Cola's product customization has significantly changed the company's sales by increasing customers' loyalty to the brand. This led to a significant increase in the market share of the brand.
Likewise, many global brands such as Adidas, Apple, Levi's, Ray-Ban, BMW offer special experiences to their customers with product customization. Unlike the standard products offered for sale, customized products are produced in accordance with the special requirements of the customers. Therefore, these products, which are produced by customizing according to the specific requirements or preferences of the customers, give the customer a greater sense of satisfaction compared to the standard products. The uniqueness of shopping with product customization also increases the loyalty of customers to the product. Product customization, which is increasing in e-commerce and defined as a privilege by everyone, meets the needs of customers and creates customer satisfaction by exceeding expectations. Increasing customer satisfaction brings brand loyalty.
