Personalization: Empowering businesses and consumers alike.

    Our ancestors lived in caves and had simpler tastes and needs than us. Yet, even in those days, as is evidenced by cave paintings all over the world, man desired personalization of his humble abode.
     Over the years, as our acumen expanded and our choices diversified, the need for personalization grew exponentially. The Rajas and the Maharajas commissioned and in the process, enriched the artisans and professionals, who built their magnificent monuments and fashioned their clothes and utensils in their quest for personalizations befitting an Emperor. Sadly, the industrial revolution established large factories that killed personalization at the altar of productivity.
     Fast forward to the modern era and we see a return of personalization as factories’ efficiencies have evened out and businesses are on the lookout for the panacea that attracts audiences by the droves.
     In this hyper connected world of today, it is extremely imperative for
companies to personalize their products.
employers to personalize their companies.
consumers to personalize their consumption patterns.
to fuel further growth of enterprise benefiting all sections of the economy.
     Personalization is not restricted to adding a few colors to the palette or just adding more shapes into the mix. It encompasses the entire spectrum of alterations to a stock product which distinguish its cosmetic as well as functional appeal to discerning audiences.
     Businesses have been personalizing their offerings in an attempt to woo new customers while keeping existing customers satisfied. Personalized offerings led to the development of the niche bespoke model market which builds immense brand loyalty. Google began as a generic search engine to scour the web while Facebook began as a generic social sharing website. Today, both are competing with their Google Now and Timeline offerings whose claims to fame are personalized local searching and personalized social media respectively. Both titans of the tech industry forsee the victory of personalized solutions over curated offerings. This can also be seen in the slow death of magazines in print media at the hands of their e-book counterparts.
     Thanks to machine learning and complex algorithms, offering personalized solutions is easier than ever and more perilous than ever to ignore. An intangible benefit is the display of the company’s intent to go the extra mile to satisfy its customer. Sometimes, in this era of cut throat competition, this extra makes the difference between a company planning its expansion and a company closing shop.
     As a customer, having a smattering of choices to choose from is no more the fearsome ghoul that it earlier was. With companies stepping over each other, it is the prerogative of the consumer to find the most personalized solution for their needs or wants. Overthinking is now a good thing as better offerings are just round the corner to cater exactly to your specific demands.
     In sum, the boom and bust cycles of economic progression have taught us that demands go up and down in relation to a lot of factors. Businesses attempt to stem the downs and extend the ups of this cycle. Personalization, can be as simple as etching “Happy Birthday Dad” on the back of a watch before gifting it. It hardly costs anything but the bond that it builds between two people is what will entice more audiences than the competitor.