It’s time to invest in the future

In today’s market, embracing new tech is the key to getting ahead. Augmented Reality Creations COO and co-founder, Andy Clear, explains…

Throughout our daily lives, we interact with a plethora of digital technologies – we’re constantly glued to our smartphones which keep us connected to the internet at all times, and even our homes have become smart, delivering entertainment and security at the convenient touch of a button.

It’s no surprise then that technology is one of the fastest growing sectors out there, yet in the fenestration industry, where paper-based transactions and manual processes have always been the norm, businesses have been slow to implement digital strategies that could see huge growth.

Younger homeowners in particular expect a high level of digitisation when spending, and until we can embrace this within our industry, we won’t be able to unlock their spending power.

It’s therefore vital to have highly engaging visualisation tools as publicly facing as possible, enabling us collectively to raise the profile of this industry and show off the remarkable technical innovation that has happened since the early days of PVC.

And if there’s one thing that was clear to me at this year’s FIT Show, it’s that the industry is ready to adapt.

More and more installers are looking for new ways to sell – competition is fiercer than it’s ever been, and I believe that embracing new technology is the key to getting ahead in today’s market.

That’s why we built ARC Design.

Designed as a web-based 3D visualisation software, ARC Design allows homeowners to easily design their own conservatory within an installer’s website, request a quote, and then use the unique augmented reality features to view their design while walking around their garden.

And since launching almost a year ago, it’s really taken off within the industry, helping installers transform their business and flip the sales experience on its head.

How does it work?

With ARC Design, potential customers can design their dream conservatory directly within an installer’s website, choosing their preferred style, shape, and materials, as well as doors, windows, roof, and any other decorative extras.

Once they’ve finalised their design, customers have two choices – they can either submit their design to the installer to get an informed quote, or they can use the innovative augmented reality software of ARC Design to project a virtual, explorable, life-size 3D model of their conservatory onto their home via a smartphone or tablet.

Unlike other conservatory design software, ARC Design requires no training for use by sales reps – we designed it to be the simplest software out there, with lifelike rendering and rapid menu-based selection. Homeowners and sales reps alike can make any of billions of combinations of extensions in seconds, no matter their knowledge level.

Sitting within an installer’s website, ARC Design enables homeowners to play with their options on their own time, not the installer’s, further enabling the acceleration of in-house sales calls on any smart device.

Key benefits

ARC Design improves conservatory sales performance in three key areas: sales speed, sales price, and lead generation.

Browsing web traffic is a huge and often untapped source of clients. With ARC Design, customers are hooked in on an installer’s website with a simple and engaging design experience.

They play with, and educate themselves about, their options, and the time spent doing so is fully associated with an installer’s brand, positioning that installer as a frontrunner for the installation.

All the homeowner’s design preferences and contact details are automatically delivered to the installer, eliminating the frustrating back and forth process between clients and sales reps.

A sales rep’s first interaction with a prospect can then be highly informed and enable easy demonstration of expertise, giving a faster route to sale and opening the door for a higher price.

And for word of mouth and other more traditional leads, ARC Design is in a league of its own.

Installers can send links for pre-configured designs to potential customers to explore at their own leisure, meaning when a house call is necessary, the experience is accelerated with rapid designing and cutting-edge augmented reality walkthroughs.

With ARC Design, conservatory installers can add a real wow factor to their sales visits, giving potential customers more control over their investments, increasing their conversion rates, and potentially growing their business.

The software is set to revolutionise the conservatory market, helping installers grow and improve as we move towards a new digital world.