Using a 3D Configurator to showcase every way your customizable products can be modified will help you substantially grow your business. Not only does it show the range of options your customers can choose from, but it also allows your customers the freedom to mix and match according to their tastes, preferences, and personality, making it a powerful tool to engage with your customers on a deeper level. 

Customers spend time exploring your product range and interactively design something that feels like it’s made personally for them.

Outstanding customer experiences are integral to your business's success, and 3D product configurators can help you build that experience. An online product configurator with a user-friendly interface, a wide range of options, and consistent real time updates can become a powerful tool for your business to streamline your online discovery and sales experience.

Example Configuration journey of a tiny house on wheels in Tiny Easy’s 3D Configurator:

The level of personalization your customer can achieve will ensure that they're getting the product of their dreams. Empowering your audience this way to make informed decisions based on their individual preferences can be an engaging experience for them, which will boost customer satisfaction in the long run.

But which of these product configurators is the right one for your business?

What is Product Configuration?

Product configuration, specifically 3D product configuration, displays an interactive 3D model of your personalized products in a 3D space. It quickens the online shopping experience and lets your customers personalize to their taste.

It's a great way to provide your customers with a realistic visual representation of your product and the end result of what it will look like. You can match the customizable options to your product range and show them how much they can and cannot personalize.

Product configurators are technically very simplified design software, so your customers don't have to feel overwhelmed during the configuration process. A good configurator should be straightforward and easy to use for any business that may have configurable products!

How Does Product Configuration Work?

3D product configurators work by allowing your 3D product to change immediately according to customer preferences. Your options can vary—if you only want to display the kind of colors and styles that your business offers, you can stick to those.

Online product configurator developers understand you won't offer every option, so you can narrow your choices. This may also be good for your customers so they don't feel overwhelmed by the number of options presented to them. It's a great interactive experience that allows your clientele to tick off the most important boxes.

After your customers have finished personalizing, they can see what the end product will look like right away. This eliminates the need for back-and-forth questions with your sales team which can get tiresome and slow down the process.

Customers can then either directly order the customized product or request a customized quote from your sales team, depending on what kind of product you offer.

3D product configurators can streamline everything from start to finish through an interactive process and are easy and fun to use so that your customers will feel a sense of satisfaction designing their own configured product.

Why Do Businesses Need Product Configuration?

Businesses that offer customizable products should consider investing in 3D product configurators as they are game-changers in any industry. To set yourself apart, you need to provide an engaging and memorable experience—and a configurator is the best tool to use if you have complex products with many options.

You're also selling your customers a personalized experience. With a wide range of options to choose from and a visual representation of exactly what they're getting, your customers can create something totally one-of-a-kind and unique to them without having to have in-house designers doing the heavy lifting.

This showcases your customizable products in the best way, increases customer engagement, and shortens sales cycles, as the concept can be turned over to manufacturing as soon as the configuration is ready.

Businesses that use product configurators experience many improvements in their business:

• Increased conversion rates—The interactive experience engages customers better, increasing the chance of a successful sale. The streamlined sales process also makes your website, marketing, and sales team more effective.

• Increased average order value - Customers fall in love with options and buy more based on emotional decisions.

• Reduced sales cycles - Fewer tire kickers and more serious buyers. Customers understand your options and can make buying decisions quickly.

The bottom line is: a product configurator helps you sell more product and grow your business.

The Best 3D Configurators for Businesses

There are many online product configurator offerings made for businesses with complex products in many industries. Here are some of the best ones in their fields:

Tiny Easy

Industry: Tiny homes, container homes, ADUs
Best feature: Platform tailored to 3D house configuration, customized material, layout and upgrade configuration options, realistic rendering.

Tiny Easy's online product configurator offers a highly interactive experience for tiny homes, container homes, or ADU construction businesses. The modular home industry is growing, and more and more people are looking to go tiny, invest in a small AirBnB, or add a sleep-out or granny flat.

New businesses in the small home industry are popping up every day, making it harder and harder to stand out.

Tiny Easy offers a plug-and-play solution for tiny house builders to showcase their models in stunning 3D detail. It intuitively guides customers through a range of designs, options, layouts, materials, finishes, and upgrades.

After your customer is done with their configuration, they can easily submit a request for a quote from your business and book a consultation. 

Tiny Easy makes the online buying experience for tiny homes an easy and straightforward experience for customers.

Use-Case Example: You’re running a construction business in the small home industry and want to boost your sales by using a Configurator for your different models and options. Tiny Easy’s customer showcase.

Threekit

Industry: Manufacturing (Custom Doors, Building Materials, Aftermarket Parts, Tech and Electronics)

Retail and Luxury (Jewelry, Sporting Goods and Uniforms, Shoes and Apparel, Furniture)

Best feature:  Interactive 3D product configuration platform, highly customizable to business’ workflow and sales process

Threekit provides a highly customizable configurator platform with many tools and features that can be shaped into a unique configurator experience for your business. Threekit’s target customers are customizable, physical product businesses ranging from larger manufacturing, like building products and materials, tech, and electronics, to retail and luxury products, like sporting goods, jewelry, and apparel.

Each configurator is purpose-built around the business's use case and sales process. They offer a wide range of integrations and multiple end products, in this case a 3D Configurator, but also a Virtual Photographer and Augmented Reality tool.

Use-Case Example: You’re running a large physical product, building materials, furniture, or apparel business with unique products and options and want to showcase your products online to boost sales. Threekit’s customer showcase.

Zakeke

Industry: Fashion, Furniture, and Ecommerce

Best feature: Self-serve configurator options and other interactive parallel tools: product customizer, AR viewer, and virtual try-on

Zakeke is a configurator provider that covers a broader range of physical product industries, similar to Threekit. However, its focus is on integrating closely into eCommerce platforms like Shopify and Squarespace to enable a seamless configuration and ordering experience.

They cover many industries, from fashion to furniture, and offer different visual tools to help you sell your customizable product. You can configure your options, customize it by adding your own custom touches and branding, or even have your customers do a virtual try-on.

For example, a product feature like a virtual try-on makes for a great experience for customers in the apparel industry, as they have a better idea of what the product would look like on them. This is great for small accessories and makeup.

Use-Case Example: You’re running a physical product company with an eCommerce focus and want to combine customizable products with fun tools for a memorable experience that will boost sales. Zakeke’s example customers.

ShedPro

Industry: Sheds and Carports

Best feature: Platform tailored to 3D Shed and Carport industry, many shed building shapes, custom materials, interactive window and door planning

ShedPro is a configurator provider specifically made for the storage/work shed or carport industry.

Their system makes it easy for shed builders to show their range of products, sizes, materials, and upgrade options and even allows customers to make smaller changes like adding or moving doors and windows. 

The live pricing estimate system gives customers an overview of whether their storage shed design will fit their budget. The customer can then directly order the shed design from the builder, creating a seamless online shopping experience.

They also help shed builders improve their online offering by providing sales website creation and Google Ad Management Services to create a one-stop-shop for online marketing needs for shed builders.

Use-Case Example: You’re running a successful shed or carport company and want to boost online sales to fill your workshop. Your shed designs are based on repeatable modular elements that can be rearranged to create unique designs.

Elfsquad

Industry: Manufacturing and Equipment

Best feature: Their configurator is perfect for anyone in the manufacturing and equipment niche as they cover every base—from lights to rollers and even towing eyes with every suitable option for your business

If you're in the manufacturing business and need a configurator for tools, machinery, and equipment, look no further than Eflsquad. Their 3D configurator allows your customers to customize their equipment and machinery—because what's cooler than personalized industrial machinery that reflects your brand?

Not only is their configurator full of options, but it's also fast and mobile-friendly, making it easier for your customers to customize on the go. Because your customers are making their own choices, there's less room for error and a reduced chance of back-and-forth between you and them, making sales quicker.

Customizing big products like machinery and equipment can be stressful as there are so many literal moving parts to take into consideration. However, Elfsquad is more than prepared to do it for you.

Use-Case Example: You're looking to become one of the top dogs in the manufacturing industry and want the equipment to reflect that. Having customized machinery that not only functions well but also matches your business' values can lead to better sales. Elfsquad's customer stories.

Brands that Use Configurators Well

There are plenty of brands that use configurators very well to showcase their product. Here are a few of them.

Bamford Watch Department

The Bamford watch department has taken its stunning designs and made them customizable to suit their clientele's taste the best. If you're going to pay for premium, you may as well ensure that you're getting every feature, color, and layout that you personally like.

Bamford shows you a real-time visualization of what your watch will look like, which is smart as watches are a very personal accessory and reflect on their wearers.

Adidas Uniform Customizer

The Adidas uniform customizer allows you to create the custom uniform you need—whether it's for your company softball game, in-school intramurals, or just to personalize a professional team jersey you've always loved (so you can pretend to be part of the team too—we've been there!).

They give you a variety of designs to choose from—from different sports to different colors. It's smart and makes any uniform feel all that more special.

Casetify Product Customizer

In the day and age of the smartphone, nobody would be caught dead without a case! Firstly, for protection, secondly, to add some flair to man's second best friend (after dogs—never forget dogs!). 

Casetify understands this need for personalization and that people love to accessorize even their phones. So they let you choose from several preset layouts then add flair to your heart's content.

Guerlain Perfume Customizer

Luxury purchases are often based on emotional decisions, so if you’re going to buy your dream perfume you might as well have it in the color and shape you want and with all the trappings you think should go with it.

Guerlain knows this well and offers customers the choice to add or remove any design elements, recolor certain parts of the bottle, and even add cords and seals. You’ll get your money's worth by having your perfume scream, "you!"

So, What's the Best Configurator for Your Business?

The best configurator for your business is the one that works best for your industry. There are many configurator providers, and each provider focuses on serving a specific subset of industries. 

You know your business best, so think about what industry you’re in and which configurator offering has built the tools, workflows, and experience that works best for your business and products.

You'll get the best results using a configurator built specifically for your industry and your business. It's better than having to improvise a makeshift configurator that doesn't necessarily fit your needs to a T. 

You may end up paying a premium for the right fit, but for a purpose-built solution and the many benefits it entails, it may well be worth the investment.

Are you looking into product configuration, specifically for tiny homes, container homes, or ADUs? If you're in the tiny home industry and want to find a straightforward solution to set yourself apart from other builders, you've come to the right place. Give us a call, and we'd love to discuss your options for your 3D configurator.