Hot Tub Configurator: 8 Choices Buyers Want to See Before They Buy
7 min read
Buyers compare hot tubs for weeks, and in photos most tubs look alike. A hot tub configurator answers their questions earlier. Here are the 8 choices it should cover.
People choose a hot tub slowly. In the evenings they compare makers on their phones, look at liner colours, count how many people will fit and wonder whether the stove should be inside or outside. In photos most wooden hot tubs look alike, so all of these questions reach you by email and phone.
A hot tub configurator lets buyers build the tub themselves and see it in 3D before they write to you. Below are the 8 choices it should cover and the question each one answers.
Short answer
A hot tub configurator is a tool on a maker's website where the buyer picks the tub's shape and size, liner material and colour, stove, cladding, hydromassage, lighting, cover and extras, while the 3D model and price update instantly. You receive a request with the full specification and no longer have to work out what the buyer meant.
Why hot tubs are hard to sell from photos
A hot tub is expensive, made to order and comes in dozens of combinations. Five liner colours, three claddings and two stoves already give thirty versions, while the photos show one or two. The buyer wants to see their tub, not someone else's.
- American Marketing Association via ScienceDaily (2021): a peer-reviewed Journal of Marketing study found that interactive product views help online sales most for less familiar brands, niche products and more expensive items (ScienceDaily).
Hot tubs tick all three boxes: they are often bought from a maker the buyer has not heard of, they are niche and they are expensive.
8 choices a hot tub configurator should cover
1. Shape and size: how many people fit
"Will six of us fit?" is the most common question. Let buyers choose a round, square or oval tub and the diameter in the steps you actually make, and show how many people sit comfortably next to it. A top view shows at once how much legroom is left.
2. Liner: material and colour
Fibreglass or acrylic, white, grey, blue, black or pearl. The liner colour changes the colour of the water, which often matters more to the buyer than the material name. It is a choice to see, not to read about.
3. Stove: internal, external or electric heater
An internal stove heats faster but takes space inside the tub. An external one leaves more room and is safer when children bathe. The configurator should show how much room is left with an internal stove and where an external one stands with its chimney.
4. Cladding
Thermowood, spruce, larch or composite, natural or painted. When liner and cladding are shown together, buyers see whether a black liner suits light spruce and whether the tub suits their deck.
5. Hydromassage and air bubbles
The number and position of jets, an air bubble system. When the jets appear on the model in their places and the price changes at the same moment, it is easier to decide whether they are worth it. One rule matters here: only offer hydromassage with the sizes and liners you fit it to.
6. Lighting and filter
Underwater LED lighting, a sand or cartridge filter. Buyers often ask whether these can be added later. The configurator can show a short answer right next to the option, so the question no longer arrives by email.
7. Cover
Wooden, thermal or a hard lockable cover. The cover changes how the tub looks when it is not in use, which is what the buyer sees every day. It is worth letting them put it on and take it off in the model.
8. Extras: steps, drinks shelf, base
Steps, a drinks shelf, a base under the tub, a thermometer. Bigger extras should appear on the model in their place, while small ones can simply be checkboxes.
Summary: choice, question and what the configurator shows
| Choice | Buyer's question | What the configurator shows |
|---|---|---|
| Shape and size | Will six of us fit? | Diameter, seats, legroom |
| Liner | What does a black liner look like? | Liner colour and water tone |
| Stove | Inside or outside? | Room left, chimney position |
| Cladding | Will it suit my deck? | Cladding together with the liner |
| Hydromassage | How much with jets? | Jets on the model and the new price |
| Lighting and filter | Can I add it later? | The option with a short answer next to it |
| Cover | What does it look like covered? | The tub with and without the cover |
| Extras | Where do the steps go? | Extras in their places |
Try it yourself: below is a working hot tub configurator example built by the Trimata team.
Rules worth writing down before you start
A good configurator does not let buyers build a tub you do not make. The most common rules:
- internal stove only from a certain diameter;
- hydromassage only with certain liners and sizes;
- electric heater only together with a filter;
- some claddings only with a certain shape.
Once these rules are written down, the configurator simply hides combinations that do not work, and you stop getting requests you have to answer with "we don't make that".
How to prepare your hot tub range for a configurator
- List the shapes and sizes you actually make.
- List liner materials and colours, stoves, claddings and extras.
- Mark the combinations that do not work. These are the rules from the section above.
- Decide what to show instead of a price. An exact price, a price range or only a request.
- Collect the source material. Drawings or photos with dimensions, liner and cladding samples.
- Decide where requests should go. Email or CRM.
- Test it on a phone before launch. Ask a few people to build a tub and watch where they stop.
You can see how such a configurator works on a maker's site on our hot tub configurator solution page. The full service is described on the 3D configurator page.
What you get: a request with the full specification
A request from a hot tub configurator arrives with the shape, size, liner, stove, cladding, extras, a picture and the price the buyer saw. You do not need several emails to understand what they want, so you can reply quickly. And speed matters:
- Harvard Business Review (2011): in a study of 1.25 million online leads at 42 US companies, firms that tried to contact the prospect within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify the lead as those that tried even an hour later (Harvard Business Review).
If you also make saunas, read Sauna configurator: 9 choices buyers want.
