Trends come and go, but one thing that will never change is a desire for customization. Customers want something that is unique to them, or at the very least made to fit their specifications and desires.
For a small business, that can be a difficult request to fulfill while still being financially viable. Really, it’s not all that simple for a big company, either.
Take Spalding, for example.
For more than 30 years they have been the official ball of the NBA, with the first version being made of full grain leather. The ball has changed over the years, as has the industry the company is a part of.
Yet Spalding has done a great job of adapting to current times, which is a big reason why they are the largest basketball equipment brand in the world.
Not just the United States. The world.
Spalding has continued to dominate its space due to innovation, with technology being at the forefront of their ability to meet the ever-changing needs of customers from every corner of the globe.
They were recently highlighted for their ability to grow, and as part of their presentation pointed out how Inksoft has had a key role in their success.
Spalding turned to us to help with their U Design, a custom basketball platform on their Salesforce Commerce Cloud e-commerce site. The result is customers being able to create a custom Spalding basketball with official NBA team logos, throwback logos and personal text online.
That sounds cool, but the company knew that even if customers loved the ability to create custom basketballs online, it would be for naught if the process was slow and shipping took forever. Through the use of Inksoft technology, the balls are being ordered and then created and shipped in 1-2 business days.
This summer will see the addition of WNBA team logos as well as NBA G League team logos. U Design is also available on Spalding’s B2B e-commerce site, which is built on the Salesforce Community Cloud, where coaches can upload their own team logos and artwork to be lasered across up to two panels on the ball.
That kind of personalization essentially makes the ball a blank canvas that can be transformed into whatever you want. Whether the ball is used for games or is there to simply look good, Spalding has created a way to make it truly yours.
Sounds not only like a good idea, but one that will be effective for more than just basketballs. But it’s been really helpful for Spalding.
The platform has been a success, accounting for nearly 20% of Spalding.com‘s revenue. Even more, mobile traffic makes up 70% of the site’s traffic, which is why the company knew U Design needed to be optimized for speed on mobile devices.
Chances are you aren’t in the basketball business, but the very tools Spalding is using to bring innovation to their space can help in a variety of printing-based industries.
Customers are more likely to purchase when they get the exact design they want, and while that used to be challenging and expensive, these days it need not be either.
Let us know if you’d like to see how Inksoft can work for your business with a personalized demo. Request a demo here or call us at 800-410-3048.
