How 3D Product Configurators propel sales and customer satisfaction
Introduction Interaction with 3D Product Configurators What are 3D Product Configurators? Boosting sales and satisfaction Introduction Customers are often reluctant to buy customized products because they don’t know the outcome. People are often hesitant to purchase made-to-order or engineered-to-order products after being disappointed. Sometimes, people may order something they thought was great but get a completely different product. It can be challenging to return custom-made products purchased online. Customers can overcome this fear with 3D product configurators. Increasingly popular in the build-to-order industry, 3D product configurators help customers visualize and feel their purchasing product. The 3D product configurator software does not require a third-party plugin, and they work offline as well. They encourage customer participation by allowing them to virtually test product combinations. They enable customers to customize their options to their liking, and they’re available on any device without requiring plugins. As a result, this software has various applications for different industries and sectors. Interaction with 3D Product Configurators 3D product configurators allow you to estimate complex products quickly and accurately. It is vital for those manufacturers that must handle increased product complexity. Customers have always wanted to have their own customized stuff, and today they have no problem paying a premium for it. They want to be involved in the design of products and have the opportunity to influence their development. It puts pressure on manufacturers to find ways to make their processes more accessible to people outside of their four walls. It was long before consumers could be expected to accept standardized products that fit all. Modern customers desire the ability to customize and personalize products according to their individual needs. This is one of the most demanding competencies manufacturers have to focus on. It means a gradual relocation to mass customization from mass production. The rise of 3D product configuration software has prompted many online retailers to integrate product visualization into their eCommerce sites seamlessly. In the past, customers had to select a pre-made model. Now, they can choose a product by selecting from thousands of combinations. Customizing a product is the key to attracting and retaining customers. Whether your customers choose a color or material, they can easily envision it with the help of 3D configurators. What are 3D Product Configurators? In today’s visual economy, interactive product experiences are a must for customers. 3D product configurators are valuable tools for illustrating how products can be customized. In the past, a person could only see the final product or design iteration in full detail in a physical location, such as a showroom or with manufacturing samples. This has been changed by digital 3D configuration tools, which allow products to be created directly at the customer’s fingertips, giving them unique options rather than standard off-the-shelf designs. Using the visualization tool, users can see designs in real-time. It includes rotating the model or zooming in to view the fine details of each option. 3D models react instantly to changes in color and dimensions. Users can then immediately reconsider their selections and reselect the features and options that are most important to them until they find the best design. It is significant for designers of complex products, as it can be challenging to visualize how features and options related to each other. Boosting sales and satisfaction The increasing use of 3D configurators has increased customer satisfaction, engagement, and average basket value, increasing sales and conversion rates. These tools can monitor customer behavior and combine this information with other marketing data to create more relevant products and personalized interactions. And the best part is that they’re free to use in any way you see fit, allowing you to create a customized experience for every customer. 3D configurators can help you boost customer satisfaction and sales. They enable customers to select and change various aspects of products, including color, wheel configuration, seats, and even lighting and vision. By allowing customers to personalize their purchases, 3D product configurators enhance the experience of online shoppers. They create an emotional connection with the products, increasing the chances of making a purchase. Understanding customer behavior is one of the essential pillars of an e- commerce business. By giving customers a chance to see products and choose the features that matter to them, 3D configurators smooth out this process and make it easier for companies to track and measure it. Boosting customer satisfaction and sales with 3D configurators will give you a competitive edge over other brands and make you stand out from the competition. What does the future say? 5G, the next generation in high-speed mobile networks, will provide more data, and thus more detail, to users. As such, rich content is expected to continue to increase. However, augmented reality is the most significant development and opportunity. Manufacturers will be able to present an immersive experience to customers thanks to the rapid advancement in augmented reality technology’s usability and capability. This will allow them to educate them about the specific capabilities and fit of particular products or configurations. Seamless experiences like these are crucial to increasing brand awareness and loyalty and ultimately generating additional sales orders. The future of 3D configurators for customer satisfaction and sales will involve new technologies and innovations. AR and 3D technologies are becoming more affordable and accessible. The cost of 3D image configurators can be recovered within two to three months of investment. By allowing consumers to customize their products in AR, retailers will be able to create a direct-to-consumer sales channel. A 3D product configurator can be an essential tool for businesses looking to enhance customer engagement and boost sales and ROI. This technology makes it possible to provide customers with a 360-degree view of a product before purchasing it. With the 4th Industrial Revolution coming close, brands must start putting consumers in the driver’s seat. Brands can quickly and efficiently fulfill their needs when customers know exactly what they want. By letting them customize products and make them unique, brands can quickly meet customer demand and boost sales. As the customer becomes an integral part of the
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Digitization
For starters, digitization is converting of analog/physical things such as paper documents, microfilm images, photographs, sounds and more into digital (bits and bytes) version. So it is simply converting and/or representing something non-digital into a digital format which then can be used by a computing system for numerous reasons. Sometimes a paper document gets destroyed after having digitized, sometimes we capture the sound and images in the form of video of your presentation at an event, the digital format continues to exist while your voice and physical presentation during that presentation are gone forever. Digitizing doesn’t means replacing the original document, image, sound, etc. Another synonymous term is ‘Automation’ which more or less means the same. The conversion of physical data into intangible format has its benefit and has revolutionized paperwork in its own way. Benefits of Digitization 5 ways digitization is helping the business Automation/Artificial Intelligence There have been debates about automation and development of artificial intelligence (AI) over the last couple of years. All credits to movies and their takes on AI. Some eminent minds have also predicted its dark future. However, AI has already changed the business world with companies gradually automatizing work and other sorts of activities. Almost 85% of industry leaders believe automation will allow their companies to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage. Flexibility of working hours With all the data and information being stored on digital media and devices; digitization has made it possible for us to transform it and access it from anywhere. As a result, we can adjust our work schedule to our personal needs and lifestyle. We can choose how to work and when to work, and we owe it to digitization. Innovation We all know, innovation helps companies come up with groundbreaking ideas, use special tools and business applications for organizing & managing work, reach wider audience and create a better product. Digitization is not only about transforming physical data into digital format, but also about using it and finding new ways of developing/enhancing them. Communication The lack of right information transfer leads to misunderstandings and conflicts. Without proper communication, a business cannot thrive. Communication has always been one of the most important aspects of our lives. Fortunately, there are tools and channels that enable smooth exchange of information. There are tools that facilitate the exchange of thoughts, ideas and opinions such as blogs, websites, conferences and business meetings. Digitization has made it possible to propagate information while providing ready access to information, thereby, consuming less amount of time.
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Mass Customization: Why “built-to-order” is a healthy step for your business
Product Configurators Mass Customization as a brilliant strategy Nowadays, there is a trend where businesses and consumers opt for more personalized products and services. When scaled appropriately, this trend, called Mass Customization, combines the Customization and flexibility of built-to-order products with low production costs. Mass Customization is the practice of providing products and services built or modified as per a customer’s requirements. In other words, mass Customization involves your blueprint mixed with a professional’s expertise and necessary tools to make the perfect product of your desire, which is uniquely yours. Mass Customization is also called built-to-order or made-to-order. Mass Customization facilitates customized product features while keeping in sync with low unit costs of mass production. Sometimes, mass Customization also involves the modularity of product components. Such flexibility allows effective mix-and-match to build a customized final commodity. Mass Customization has been well adopted in retail, software development, financial services & fintech, and modular home builders. Utilizing such business practices provides an edge over your competitors. With every individual looking for a custom product designed especially for them, more and more companies are now offering Mass Customization to satisfy the needs of their customers. In his book, Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition, B. Joseph Pine II talks about four mass customization types. They are: CollaborativeCustomization AdaptiveCustomization TransparentCustomization CosmeticCustomization companies collaborate with customers to offer products uniquely crafted to each client companies deliver products based on one standard but customizable by the end-user companies provide personalized products to individual clients without overtly disclosing that they are customized companies build single standard products but deliver them in different ways as per other customer demands Works great in fashion, apparel, & retail businesses It fits good in the lighting, luxury bath fittings sector E-commerce brands and OTT platforms are good examples Applies to textile, food & beverage industry Product Configurators In CAD software development and services, mass Customization is achieved by using web-based tools like Product Configurators which achieves Customization yet results in savings in cost. Software developers apply personalized product configurators that allow end-users to add, change, modify, or tweak certain features & functions of a core product. Don’t miss out your chance to have a customized product configurator today Prescient Technology’s robust IT team can build personalized configurators specifically curated for your business needs. If you have any query, feel free to get in touch with us today. From the top of the pyramid, mass customization can be categorized into two broad areas: Since mass Customization essentially means offering customers according to their orders rather than generic products, it creates a massive differentiator in the minds of both B2B and B2C customers. Let us have a look at how built-to-order personalization works: Configure: The Product Configurators present a simple user interface for customers to try out various options by changing parameters and selecting different options to suit their specific requirements. Once they are satisfied, they can often preview their selections in the form of a 3D model. Instant Quote: The quote generation system is linked to the Product Configurator, helping customers with instant quotes for the selections that they make. Ready to Manufacture: The Product Configurator can generate all the details like manufacturing drawings required by the manufacturing/assembly team without manual intervention. Such innovative manufacturing processes enable the production of interchangeable parts that can be shuffled differently to build a cost-effective product that fulfills client requirements. The levels of automation depend on the complexity of the product and the nature of the sales cycle. It can be autonomous for simple products (typically B2C), and for complex products (typically B2B), it can be semi-autonomous. Even for B2B products, the semi-automatic process dramatically improves the productivity of the sales team and the design team. Product configurators are found at a B2B level across diverse industries ranging from Cranes & Hoists, Material Handling and Storage, Pumps, Valves, Bearings, etc. The benefits are: At a B2C level, product configurators are found across various sectors like laptops, apparel, shoes, jewelry, houses, furniture, etc. The benefits are: Mass Customization as a brilliant strategy There is a term known as “product differentiation,” and mass customization allows manufacturers to postpone product differentiation till the end phase of manufacturing. Customized features are more likely to engage consumers since they get to make many decisions about the operation and makeup. The ability to tweak a product based on personal preference has a high possibility of swinging a client’s choice towards what you have to offer than your competitor. Mass Customization also helps you with excess inventory expenses. A JIT (just-in-time) approach can prevent flooding of inventory unnecessarily. Mass Customization can be used as a part of a marketing strategy where your ability to produce personalized products or provide tailor-made services at a market standard price is used as a lucrative branding of your product. If there is no compromise on quality, on-time delivery, you have a good chance of driving sales, churning profits, and attracting customer loyalty. Prescient Technologes has hands-on experience in creating client-centric, on-demand product config and software solutions and we will be glad to assist you with your needs or queries.
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