With the abundance of choices available to consumers online, the presentation of your products holds greater significance than ever.
As per a study by Justuno, a staggering 93% of consumers consider visual appearance to be the key deciding factor when making a purchase. This highlights the importance of displaying your brand in the most visually appealing manner possible. And one of the most effective ways to achieve this is through image manipulation services.
By leveraging such services, businesses can create visually stunning product images that showcase their offerings in the best light possible, ultimately leading to increased conversions and higher brand recall.
In this blog, we'll explore the role of image manipulation services in boosting your ecommerce brand identity and how they can help you stay ahead of the competition.
What is an image manipulation service, and how does it work?
An image manipulation service is a service that helps businesses with their image editing needs. These image manipulation services can include tasks like image editing, image enhancement, background removal, and many others. Third-party service providers that specialize in product photo editing offer these services to help businesses save time and money, as well as ensure high-quality image editing.
Here's how it works:
First, a business that needs image editing services would contact a BPO company that offers image manipulation services. The business would provide the BPO company with the images they need to be edited, along with any specific instructions or requirements they have.
The BPO company would then assign the task to their team of image editing professionals. These professionals would use specialized software and tools to edit the images according to the instructions provided by the business.
Once the editing is complete, the images are reviewed and quality-checked by the BPO company to ensure that they meet the requirements and standards set by the business. The images are then sent back to the business, usually via email or a file-sharing platform.
The business can then use the edited images for their intended purpose, such as for marketing materials or website content.
What types of image manipulation services are available for ecommerce businesses?
Ecommerce businesses often require image manipulation services to make their products look more attractive and appealing to potential customers. Here are some common types of image manipulation services available for ecommerce businesses:
1. Background removal: This service requires removing the background from a product image, so it appears on a transparent or solid-colored background. This can help the product stand out and look more professional.
2. Photo retouching: Product photo retouching involves adjusting an image's color, brightness, contrast, and other factors to make it look better. This can include removing blemishes or imperfections, enhancing the details of the product, or making the product's colors look more vibrant.
3. Image resizing: This service involves resizing an image to a specific dimension required by the ecommerce platform. This ensures that the product images look uniform and professional on the website.
4. Image cropping: Cropping an image involves removing unwanted parts of the image to focus on the product. This can help draw attention to the product and make it look more appealing.
5. Shadow creation: Creating shadows for product images can make them look more realistic and three-dimensional. This can make the product appear more appealing and help customers visualize it better.
What are the benefits of having an image manipulation service for my online business?
As a budding online retailer, you may be wondering about the benefits of image manipulation services for your business. Here are some ways that these services can help you:
Professional-looking product images
High-quality product images are essential for online retailers, as they can significantly impact customers' purchase decisions. Image manipulation services can help you enhance your product photos, adjusting lighting, color balance, contrast, sharpness, and other aspects, to create professional-looking images that showcase your products' best features. This can help increase customer trust and confidence in your brand, ultimately leading to more sales.
Consistent branding
Your brand's visual identity is crucial for creating a strong online presence and building customer loyalty. With image manipulation services, you can ensure that all your product images have a consistent look and feel that aligns with your brand's aesthetics. This consistency can help reinforce your brand identity, improve brand recognition, and make it easier for customers to identify your products.
Increased sales
As mentioned earlier, high-quality product images can boost sales by making your products more appealing to customers. Image manipulation services can help you create images that are more visually compelling, engaging, and informative, which can persuade customers to make a purchase. Additionally, by showcasing your products in the best possible light, you can increase your product's perceived value, making customers more willing to pay a premium price.
Time savings
As an online retailer, you have many responsibilities to manage, from sourcing products to customer service and marketing. By outsourcing your image manipulation needs, you can save time and focus on other areas of your business that require your attention. Professional image manipulation services can also help you streamline your workflow, ensuring faster turnaround times and efficient image management.
Improved website performance
Large, unoptimized images can significantly slow down your website's loading times, which can frustrate visitors and lead to a poor user experience. Image manipulation services can help you optimize your images for web use, reducing their file size, without sacrificing quality. This optimization can help speed up your website's loading times, improving the overall user experience and reducing bounce rates.
Are there any legal issues to consider when using image manipulation services for ecommerce stores?
Yes, there are legal issues to consider when using image manipulation services for ecommerce stores. Here are some important ones to keep in mind:
- Copyright infringement: It's important to make sure that the images you use for your ecommerce store do not infringe on someone else's copyright. This means that you should only use images that you have permission to use, either through licensing or other legal agreements.
- Misleading advertising: Image manipulation can be used to enhance the appearance of a product, but it's important to make sure that the images accurately represent the product. Using image manipulation techniques to make a product look better than it actually is can be considered misleading advertising, which is illegal.
- Privacy concerns: If you're using images of people in your ecommerce store, you need to make sure that you have their consent to use the images. This is particularly important if the images are of children or vulnerable individuals.
- Trademark infringement: It's important to make sure that the images you use for your ecommerce store do not infringe on someone else's trademark. This means that you should avoid using logos or other identifying marks that belong to someone else without their permission.
Should I outsource image manipulation services to a third-party service provider?
As a new ecommerce business owner, outsourcing image manipulation services to a third-party provider can offer several benefits. Here are some indications that it may be time to consider outsourcing:
Lack of Time
As a new business owner, you may find yourself juggling multiple responsibilities, from marketing to inventory management. If you don't have the time to devote to image manipulation tasks, outsourcing can be an efficient solution. It allows you to focus on core business activities while leaving image editing to experts.
Limited Skills and Expertise
Image manipulation is a specialized skill that requires knowledge of photo editing software and techniques. If you lack the skills and expertise necessary to produce high-quality images, outsourcing can be a viable option. By partnering with an experienced provider, you can leverage their skills and expertise to improve the quality of your images and make your products more appealing to customers.
Inconsistent Image Quality
If your images are of varying quality or don't meet your desired standards, outsourcing image manipulation can help ensure consistency. Professional image editors can apply uniform editing techniques to your photos, making them look more professional and consistent across your website.
High Volume of Images
If you have a large number of images to edit, it can be time-consuming and challenging to do it all yourself. Outsourcing can provide access to the necessary resources, including skilled editors and advanced software, to handle high volumes of images efficiently.
Optimize Your Product Photography with Outsourced Customer Care
Enhance your product photography strategy by incorporating outsourced customer care insights from ManilaPros into your image editing process. Although we don't specialize in photo editing, our expertise in customer care offers valuable feedback and understanding of customer preferences, crucial for ensuring your product photos meet and exceed customer expectations.
At ManilaPros, we offer full-service, five-star customer care for retailers. We'll provide you with vetted, trained, and certified agents that are more than capable of using customer care insights with your photo editing needs, ensuring that your Ecommerce product photos are impactful and resonate with your audience.
Contact ManilaPros today to learn more.
