To DCC, print is personal
As more printers are faced with the rising demands of customers who crave individualism, it’s important for printers and professionals in the industry to understand the latest and most successful trends to ensure business growth. In 2024, customization is not only an influential trend in the printing industry but a growing necessity for many printers looking to meet the unique needs of manufacturers and customers alike. So, we’re looking at the top high-level trends in customization that customers and professionals should consider to drive sales and satisfy the masses this year and beyond.
Mass Customization
While mass customization is no new term, its continued popularity makes it a crucial aspect to consider when looking toward the future. Essentially, mass customization allows printers to do more with less by creating products specifically engineered for single or small groups of consumers at a low cost per unit. This gives the customer the satisfaction of having a personalized product while simultaneously controlling costs for the manufacturer. OREO is one company that has recently capitalized on mass customization by introducing OREOiD, an experience where customers can select custom packaging and even cookie specifications for birthdays or special occasions.
It shouldn’t be surprising that shoppers prefer individualism, and while the trend may be becoming more widely known and sought after by buyers, the data on its success has been around for some time. According to a 2015 survey conducted by Deloitte, in some categories, more than 50% percent of customers expressed an interest in purchasing customized products and services, and 1 in 4 of them were willing to pay more to receive a customized product or service. Yet, the mass customization market is still projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2022 to 2031, according to Allied Market Research, as businesses continue to discover the value that custom packaging offers not only through sales but also through understanding their buyers and using that data to continually improve their products.
AI Integration
When diving into more customizable projects, it’s imperative that printers continue to sharpen their creative skills as well as their functional printing capabilities. Yet, any creative knows that innovative endeavors are often squandered by the mundanity of daily tasks. That’s where AI integration comes in. By utilizing the power of AI to optimize certain tasks, printers are more able to focus their creative attention on crafting personalized and unique deliverables for their clients, which, in turn, benefits businesses utilizing their print services.
AI can also help optimize the mass customization process by making it simpler to mass-produce personalized products, thus providing time and cost savings. One example of this could be if the print client wants to send out different deals to different mailing recipients during a mailing campaign. With advances in tech and AI, printers like our team at DCC, can easily do this and even personalize the assets further with names and other promotional points. Furthermore, when dealing with individualized products, mistakes can happen since the pieces are not uniform. AI can also help in this area by catching errors before they go to print, saving resources and time.
Client-Printer Collaboration
As the growing demand for personalized products and deliverables reaches print consumers, printers need to evolve into more collaborative partners in order to maximize their value to print clients. For example, if a client has tasked their printing partner with a monthly directive to mass-produce postcards without personalization or a target audience in mind, printers should put forth their expertise to guide that client toward improving their call-to-action to make it more unique in order to produce a higher ROI. In short, printers should think of themselves as a one-stop shop for their customer’s needs and take marketing into consideration when pitching clients and estimating projects.
As a print client, you deserve a direct partner in the printing process to help elevate your ideas and bring them to life by producing engaging and effective print assets to propel your objectives and maximize your ROI. In order to continue offering the most value to our customers, DCC is committed to being a collaborative and creative partner that works with our clients to help them reach their business goals through their printed products and promotions, and we know one of the most effective ways to do that is through custom printing.
Have an idea for a print project but not sure how to best reach your audience? Our team at DCC can work with your team to develop custom, innovative, and captivating assets to help convert your audience into customers. Contact us to learn more!
