The cost of customisation

There is a growing preference among consumers for customisation. Take apparel for example. The global print-on-demand market hit US$12.96 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach US$102.99 billion by 2034, growing at roughly 26% year-on-year. The personalised gifts market is on a similar trajectory, predicted to grow from US$33.7 billion in 2025 to US$69.2 billion by 2033.

Considering this general push towards personalisation, it’s understandable that many small and medium enterprise (SME) owners assume that offering more customisation automatically creates more value. And often, it does. A customised product or bespoke service can strengthen relationships, improve customer satisfaction and create meaningful differentiation in crowded markets.

The risk, however, is failing to acknowledge the cost of customisation. Every variation added to a product or service introduces a new layer of complexity and this typically comes at a cost. A customised order may require different materials, suppliers, workflows, pricing structures, approval processes or delivery timelines. While each request may appear manageable in isolation, the cumulative effect can have a significant impact on efficiency and profitability.

The danger here is that business owners calculate the direct revenue generated from a customised project without fully accounting for the additional administration, planning, production changes, communication and management oversight required to deliver it. This means what appears to be a profitable piece of work on paper may, in practice, place disproportionate strain on resources and eat into overall margins.

Excessive customisation can also lead to inconsistent delivery. Standardised processes enable employees to develop expertise, improve efficiency and consistently meet customer expectations. When every order or client request requires a different approach, the likelihood of delays, errors and quality issues increases. Teams spend more time solving exceptions and less time refining repeatable, scalable processes.

This is why the businesses that scale successfully are rarely those that say yes to every request, but rather those that understand exactly which forms of customisation customers are willing to pay for and which simply add cost, complexity and inconsistency.

If you’re unsure about whether to incorporate customisation into your business, the safest approach is to evaluate opportunities on a case-by-case basis. For any customisation request, ask yourself these three simple questions:

1. Does it solve a meaningful customer problem?

Customers are often willing to pay a premium when a tailored solution addresses a specific pain point or delivers a clear benefit. If the request is merely a preference rather than a necessity, the value may be limited.

2. Can the additional cost be recovered through pricing?

If a customised solution requires significantly more time, effort or resources, but the customer expects to pay the same price, the business is effectively absorbing the cost.

3. Is the request repeatable

If multiple customers are asking for the same customisation, it may signal an opportunity to evolve the core offering. Rather than delivering a bespoke solution every time, SMEs can incorporate high demand features into a standardised product or service that can be delivered more efficiently at a larger scale.

At the end of the day, growth is not about saying yes to every customisation request, but knowing which ones create value for both the customer and the business.