Guy Hubble, joint managing director at RegaLead discusses the importance of visualisation software and how a partnership with WindowCAD has created an easier way for installers to demonstrate design details and inspire consumers to upgrade their orders.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that’s truer than ever in the world of home improvements. In a world where aesthetics is king, consumers are constantly looking for the wow-factor and they don’t want to imagine it – they need to see it.

We have become so reliant on visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, imagining how home improvements will look is no longer enough. Huge retail brands have identified this and invested in visualisation tools to serve this demand, and they’re doing it well.

As consumers, we’re immersed in these visualisation options.

And they’re paying off for businesses too. Furniture giant DFS reported a 112% lift in conversion rates and a 106% increase in revenue per visit from customers who used its 3D and Augmented Reality (AR) tools.

How can installers take advantage?
In our world of fenestration, it’s really the door market that can take full advantage of product visualisers.

A front door is the product that homeowners can have genuine design input and create something that’s really unique to them. From door style to colour and decorative glass choices to hardware, the right software gives them the opportunity to select every component to create a door that expresses their personality and style.

That’s where WindowCAD comes in. It’s an easy-to-use tool that really delivers the wow-factor. The detailing on the 3D images is second-to-none. You can zoom in and fully rotate the images so that homeowners can see the finer details during the design process, right down to the paint or door skin surface texture.

Installers can instantly change door styles, colours, hardware, and glass. This quick design process helps homeowners make the best decision and provides an immediate opportunity to upsell on every element.

Plus, just like those tools being used by home improvement retail giants, WindowCAD’s 3D designs can be ‘superimposed’ onto the customer’s own home to create really impressive images to help homeowners visualise their new door.

We’ve worked with the WindowCAD team to ensure all of our decorative products are available within the software, to help installers upsell on aesthetics. That includes our vast colour options and plethora of decorative door glass styles and designs for all the major composite door brands.

More recently, we’ve added in our range of PVC-U Engineered Door Components, and WindowCAD can be used to show all of the door panel styles in their stunning detail. Zooming right in on the flat, tongue and grooved, and raised and fielded door panel designs shows the stunning detailing and surface finishing. And you can play around with it, adding our plant-on decorative and bolection mouldings to create a truly stunning door design.

There’s also the opportunity for installers to personalise their system to include bespoke glass designs in their visualiser. All they need to do is request the rendered image of the glass design from our design team and directly upload it into the project in WindowCAD 7.

In a competitive market where visuals really sell a product, it’s imperative for installers to utilise visualisation tools like WindowCAD. It inspires customers, helping them understand all of their options, and making it easy for them to choose those little extras that make a world of difference to both the door design, and your bottom line.