You can’t escape it.
Whether you’re a B2B or B2C brand, you need visual product configurators.
But wait! Isn’t that a significant investment? Well, that depends on your perspective.
Why?
According to a study by PWC, 65% of customers in the US find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than great advertising.
Think about that for a minute.
A positive customer experience works better than advertising.
Visual configurators improve your customer experience. With changes in technology, customers have more sophisticated expectations and behaviors. Both B2B and B2C buyers want to avoid buyer’s remorse.
Don’t believe it?
For B2C brands, Americans only end up buying 58% of the items they put in their online carts each year.
Well, that isn’t good news for any business.
But what about B2B brands? Do they need visual configurators?
The answer is yes. Not only do buyers get to understand the product better, but visual configurators speed up the purchase process.
Is that all? Of course not!
Visual configurators have an impact on your CPQ (Configure Price Quote) system.
Your CPQ system is more likely to produce accurate quotes for complex and configurable products.
Now that you know what visual configurators can do for your business.
Let’s explore what a visual configurator is.
Visual Product Configurators- The Secret Weapon You Didn’t Know You Needed
So, what exactly is a visual configurator?
This online tool allows buyers to customize and visualize products to their specifications.
For example, if you’re selling a sofa online, you can display the sofa’s visual configuration. This configuration shows buyers what it would look like to swipe out various components (e.g., fabric color, headrest, arms).
A buyer knows how their customized product will look like before they place the order in a few simple clicks.
For B2B brands, visual configurators make it easy to model various deal scenarios. This process provides potential customers with accurate quotes.
Why is it a secret weapon?
Buyers are likely to trust what they see.
A product configurator removes the guesswork from the buying process for customizable products. Moreover, it paves the way for a seamless, worry-free transaction. It’s why Gartner identified Visual Configuration as one of 5 areas of digital commerce businesses will need to compete and meet the needs of maturing customer behavior.
The result is a positive customer experience for your buyers. And guess what? They’ll keep coming back.
That’s great news for your business.
Let’s take a look at the ways visual configurators are transforming CPQ.
5 Ways Visual Configurators Transform CPQ
#1: Higher Revenues and Sales Effectiveness
Visual configurators accelerate sales cycles and increase your revenues.
Why?
Buyers can trust what they see and make the purchasing decision faster. An accelerated sales cycle also means higher revenues for your business.
Moreover, visual configurators reduce customer churn as a result of a positive customer experience. Buyers can identify and get what they want exactly. They are less inclined to abandon your brand altogether.
Showing buyers precisely what they’re getting reduces the rate of online returns.
Buyers have explored their options before making the purchase. As such, they’re more likely to be satisfied with their purchase.
Return costs such as shipping, handling, and processing affect your business negatively. When your product falls short of customer expectations, they’re less inclined to make purchases from your company.
Visual configurators also promote larger deal sizes, especially among B2B buyers. Visual configurators show the buyers what a custom solution will look like in action. This trust will encourage the buyer to purchase a higher quantity of the product.
That’s not all.
Visual configurators promote higher buyer engagement.
Human beings connect with visuals. You’re more likely to connect with images more than text. Your buyers aren’t any different.
So, how does this impact your business?
Your brand will experience higher conversion rates. Higher conversion rates mean more revenue for your business!
#2: Increased Cross-Functional Collaboration
When salespeople work with visual configurators, there’s increased cross-functional collaboration. Sales, Engineering, and product teams can streamline their processes. This collaboration enhances the speed and quality of quotes provided to the final buyer.
With visual configurators, salespeople gain autonomy. They no longer rely on Engineering and product teams to supply the prototypes to the end buyer. There’s less back and forth between various functional departments.
So what does this mean for your business?
Your functional departments can improve solutions, design quality products, and deliver those products to customers.
#3: Higher Manufacturing Efficiencies
Visual configurators enhance Perfect Order performance.
Perfect Order performance measures the effectiveness of a manufacturer in various aspects. These aspects include how efficiently a manufacturer delivers complete, accurate, and damage-free orders to customers on time.
Visual configurators help engineers get what the buyer wants right the first time. This consideration is especially relevant for complex product lines.
Visual configurators help manufacturers attain a high Perfect Order Level.
#4: Better Product Features
Visual configurators are promoting innovation.
Technological advances are forcing manufacturers to improve configurable options, ergonomics, and usability of their products.
This shift is happening faster than it would have without visual configurators.
Visual configurators also demonstrate how versatile a product design is. They amplify the product’s design strengths or weaknesses.
Businesses are now receiving invaluable customer feedback through visual 3D configurators. Brands are now learning more about how their products are perceived. Using prospects’ personalization data is now helping brands make better products.
#5: Accelerated Digital Transformation
Visual configurators are getting more advanced functionality.
This advanced functionality is forcing manufacturers to take more technologically advanced approaches to product management.
Manufacturers are now finding more digital solutions that work together and support seamless product development.
Visual configurators have also changed how companies internally communicate. Inter-departmental communication has improved through the use of visual configurators.
Visual configurators have also become a source of differentiation in the market. Product catalogs are no longer as effective. Brands that embrace visual configurators can now showcase their products in an innovative, cutting-edge way.
Transform Your CPQ
There’s no doubt.
Visual configurators have a positive impact on CPQ and your business as a whole.
Higher revenues as a result of visual configurators scale your business. Most business owners want digital solutions that promote growth.
At Zoovu, we want to help you stay ahead of the competition.
But don’t take our word for it.
Take a virtual tour.
After all, seeing is believing.