Practical example: How the configurator revolutionizes your sales

Author: Elisabeth Sonnleitner

Today's and tomorrow's customers are increasingly looking for customized products on the web that meet their personal expectations. This poses new challenges for sales, because instead of mass-produced goods, they have to score with individual products. Not so easy, since individual products are much more time-consuming to advise and are actually unsuitable for the web. Wrong! We show you a practical example of how you can revolutionize your sales with a 3D configurator and sell individual products online with ease.

Challenge: selling individual products on the web

The company Dogsworld is an Austrian specialist retailer of high-quality articles for dogs and cats. The product range includes over 800 different items. Among other things, the company offers customized transport boxes for dogs in all sizes. The modular system allows individualized solutions for every breed of dog and every transport trolley. These boxes are also available in the online store. However, this presented the sales department with unanswered questions.

The key challenges were:

• How can such an individual product be sold online and brought closer to the customer?
• How can customers get an idea of the finished product without having seen it in real life?
• How can a product that requires explanation be sold online without personal consultation?
• How do I obtain usable product data so that I can start individual production without consulting the customer?

Solution: 3D configurator with success guarantee

Thanks to the online store configurator from Combeenation, Dogsworld customers have the opportunity to visualize and order their dream box on the Internet. Until now, orders for dog crates were based on measurements and drawings, which, however, provided little information about how the crate would actually look. The manual sketches and drawings were vulnerable to incorrect orders and misunderstandings. With the configurator, solutions tailored to the customer's own car can now be put together online. After completing the configuration, customers can either order their configuration directly, save it or send it as an inquiry with a contact request.

Here you can see again the advantages of the Dogsworld configurator at a glance:

• real-time 3D visualization
• automatic price calculation
• combination possibilities are presented in an understandable way
• easy addition of extras
• responsive design for cell phone, tablet and desktop PC
• integrated query of trunk characteristics
• after completion, customers receive an email including a screenshot of the 3D model
• social media share function
• easy addition of additional parameters to the configurator

Effects on the success of the company

So far so good, but what impact does the configurator have on Dogsworld's business success? The quote from CEO Ralph Leitner speaks for itself: "The product configurator gives us an absolutely unique selling point in our industry, we stand out from the competition. The feedback from our customers and partners is excellent and has exceeded our already high expectations. Our customers love playing with the configurator and getting to know our product, which can also be measured in numbers: the average product price has risen by a whole 35% thanks to features such as special equipment or engraving, and the number of incorrect orders is approaching 0. Sales of dog crates have also already risen by a double-digit percentage, with the trend continuing to rise sharply. And the best thing about it: even if a customer doesn't buy immediately, we can address them with targeted messages and convince them to make a purchase - thanks to remarketing!

Advantages for sales

As you have already experienced, the benefits of a configurator are enormous for both customers and companies. It has never been easier to revolutionize sales. We have once again summarized the essential advantages of a product configurator:

• Reduced consulting effort: Customers interact with the product themselves and learn about the possibilities in a playful way. Intuitive use leaves virtually no questions unanswered and eliminates the need for consultation.
• Significant increases in sales: Configurators are known to make your sales go through the roof. Through the playful interaction, the 3D visualization and the enormous cross- & upselling potential, you will soon notice a difference in your sales figures. Studies show a 20% increase in sales for personalized products.
• More inquiries: due to higher customer interaction, the number of inquiries also increases.
• Globally available: Configurators are available worldwide. Whether customers are located in Austria, Japan or Australia, they only need Internet access and can order worldwide. Nothing stands in the way of internationalization through different languages and currencies in the configurator.
• Never sick or in a bad mood: Who hasn't experienced this? Salespeople are only human and sometimes have a bad day or are sick. However, this can drive customers away. 3D configurators provide the same service non-stop.
• Significantly fewer incorrect orders: Manual sketches are vulnerable to errors and cause incorrect orders. This problem can be completely solved with a configurator, because customers can see their desired product and dimensions in real time.
• Retailer support: The configurator can also be used by retailers on their websites.
• Available 24/7: A configurator never quits, it can always be relied upon. It is available around the clock.
• Efficient & fast quotation process: Time-consuming queries are eliminated and offers can be created at the push of a button. This saves an enormous amount of time, nerves and money.

Conclusion

Configurators offer the unique opportunity to put products together individually and to showcase them. Companies that rely on 3D configurators in time gain a competitive advantage and create a shopping experience. This all leads to significantly higher sales and more customer inquiries. When creating a configurator, however, it is advisable to work with an expert, because not all configurators generate more sales. They need to be designed accordingly. Like the configurators from Combeenation, which are not called "The sales boosting configurators" for no reason.