As someone trawling the internet for beauty products, you may have seen the terms ‘personalisation’ and ‘customisation’ thrown around quite a bit, especially in relation to the cosmetics industry. Some might even use the two terms interchangeably, and though they may be considered synonyms according to the thesaurus, the truth is that they still mean very different things, especially to the beauty brands and retailers who wish to use them.
Here’s a run-down of differences and what beauty personalisation technology can mean for you.
1) Users customise and companies personalise
Customisation technology is all about the customer choosing exactly what they want, most often from a drop-down menu of options. Would they rather their shampoo came in a yellow bottle? Would they rather it conveyed the scent of chestnuts or eucalyptus? Which colours would they like in their customised eyeshadow palette? Though worthwhile to a customer, companies that provide customisation provide a service that starts and, to a great extent, ends with the tailor-made creation of a product.
Personalisation is about creating an entire user experience relative to the way customers relate to the products already on offer and renders certain aspects of customisation technology expendable. Beauty personalisation technology automatically learns about the customer’s shopping habits and desires, their budget and their needs, predicting and suggesting products that suit them and their lifestyles as well as creating a personalised homepage so that they can have access to those products (in our case, across all beauty and cosmetics categories via our trademarked beauty personalisation technology) immediately.
2) Customisation isn’t always the most user friendly experience
Customisation technology, including beauty customisation technology, puts the onus on the customer to decide what they like and what they want from a product. While this is very useful in many respects in allowing the customer to express what they want, it can also ultimately be quite a shallow experience, since most customisation technology experiences are limited to only a few options.
Beauty personalisation technology, on the other hand, can compare literally thousands of brands or products. It gives the customer a sense that the brand or retailer already caters for their needs and that they won’t have to customise the products on offer every single time they need a new foundation, risking buying something that actually does not suit their needs as well as they might think. It also showcases the brand or retailer’s faith in their product and the range on offer.
Beauty personalisation technology boosts brand loyalty, creates a better experience of the brand and improves customer service.
3) Personalisation aligns marketing channels
It’s not just about what personalisation or customisation technology can do for the customer. It’s about what these services can do for a brand or retailer. Beauty personalisation technology shows each customer what they are looking for on a website, increasing conversion rates and AOV. It also links together and works across numerous other channels, allowing for personalised apps, personalised push notifications and personalised emails that increase newsletter open rates.
Customisation, as a rule, does not allow for these solutions. Customisation is also something relatively difficult to do in-store, where the necessary components for customisation technology might be missing, while personalisation helps sales assistants offer an evermore accurate and friendly experience, driving sales and increasing customer loyalty.