More than 100,000 businesses offer personalized products these days, amounting to sales of $28 billion-plus, and the church bookstore, due to its nature, is a prime candidate for this product selection.

As you decide whether or not to carry personalized products, consider the following:

People love personalized gifts. There is something incredible about seeing your name&mdashor the name of your church—on a product.

Personalized product is unique. A journal may be pretty and well-organized, but when your name is on the outside, it makes it appear more important.

You have a built-in loyalty. When you place the church's name on a product, customers might feel more compelled to purchase it because they love the church.

Personalized product is timeless. It is a simple, reliable and ongoing reminder to your congregation and their friends of who you are and how you minister in their lives.

Personalized gifts are memorable. For example, a Bible with a person's name engraved on the cover becomes a keepsake for years and years.

Personalized gifts come in all price ranges. From 89-cent fad pens to gold-plated pens that start at $100, the possibilities are endless.

Personalization begins with the capability to engrave or imprint. The number of Bibles you sell in a year will determine whether it is more financially feasible to imprint in-house or to outsource the job to a printer.

Personalization of gifts has become more affordable in the past few years, thanks to reasonably priced equipment made available due to advancements in technology. With increased means of production, it is possible to create items for our stores/churches that fit our needs. We can offer anything from T-shirts for the youth group to church-wide cookbooks.

Most retailers who carry personalized product understand that more time and effort must be spent securing these products than is needed for normal buying. But they also find that these products carry a higher rate of customer satisfaction. Repeat buying of personalized product has proven to be a huge plus for stores.

--Deb Graham is co-manager and buyer at Prestonwood Baptist Church Bookstore in Plano, Texas.

--Click here to read the complete article: http://www.thechurchbookstore.com/a.php?ArticleID=14809

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