Backyard Discovery Transforms the Assembly Experience with BILT

Backyard Discovery creates outdoor living products designed to transform backyards into gathering spaces for families. But with large swing sets, pergolas, gazebos, cabanas, carports, outdoor kitchens, saunas, grills, and greenhouses comes a significant challenge: assembly. 

Many of the company’s products contain hundreds of components and thousands of pieces of hardware. For customers making a major financial and time investment, the thought of assembly can feel intimidating. 

“Assembling one of our products can be a big task,” said National Accounts Manager and Vice President of Sales Cameron Thiessen. “Some of our larger swing sets have 300 pieces and thousands of pieces of hardware. When customers first open the box, it can feel overwhelming.” 

Backyard Discovery recognized early that assembly could directly influence customer satisfaction, reviews, and even purchase decisions. To help simplify the process, the company partnered with BILT in 2018 to deliver interactive 3D instructions that guide users step by step through assembly. 

“BILT reduces the friction consumers might feel before purchasing,” said Thiessen. “It gives them confidence knowing they can successfully build the product themselves.” 

Turning Complex Builds into Manageable Steps 

Before implementing BILT, Backyard Discovery frequently received customer feedback about the difficulty of assembly. 

“We take our reviews very seriously,” said Product Information Systems Architect and Syndication Manager Eva Wilderman. “Years ago, we were getting negative feedback about assembly because customers felt the process was daunting.” 

Traditional paper manuals often overwhelm customers with dense pages of diagrams and instructions. Backyard Discovery adopted BILT to create a more intuitive experience. 

“Instead of handing customers a manual and saying, ‘You’re on your own,’ BILT allows us to walk them through the process step by step,” said Wilderman. 

The app gives customers the ability to zoom, rotate, and manipulate assemblies in 3D so they can better understand hardware placement, orientation, and assembly layers. 

“The instructions were very clear…especially the emphasis on critical steps that would be terribly difficult later on if missed,” said one BILT user after building two Backyard Discovery structures. “We absolutely love them!” 

“One of the best parts about using the app instead of a manual is that it eliminates information overload,” Wilderman. “Customers get bite-sized steps one piece at a time.” 

Thiessen says that’s especially important because many customers build products over several evenings or weekends. 

“The BILT app breaks a very large structure into small individual steps,” said Thiessen. “It makes the process much easier to accomplish.” 

“Like a cheat code! This made it so much easier. Thanks for your efforts in making these projects smooth!” said a BILT user after building the Magnolia Falls Swing Set with Tube Slide. 

Building Confidence Before Customers Buy

For Backyard Discovery, the value of BILT begins long before assembly starts. 

The company integrates BILT branding and QR codes throughout the customer journey, including product detail pages, cartons, assembly manuals, and retailer listings. 

“We include BILT in our product images, cartons, and manuals so customers know support is available before they even purchase,” said Wilderman. 

On retailer product pages and Backyard Discovery’s website, customers can scan product-specific QR codes that take them directly to the corresponding BILT instructions. 

“If customers know beforehand that assembly help is available, they’re more likely to make the purchase,” Wilderman said. 

The app has also become a valuable sales tool for retailers. 

“When we demonstrate the BILT app to retailers, it really blows their mind,” said Thiessen. “They see how the app simplifies something very complex and gives customers confidence to buy online.” 

Because Backyard Discovery sells primarily through e-commerce and retail partners, helping customers feel confident purchasing large DIY products online is critical. 

“Retailers often ask how customers can feel comfortable buying and building products of this size online,” said Thiessen. “BILT gives us a way to show exactly how customers can succeed.” 

“Thanks for your help. It’s better than having a brother-in-law. I’ve never seen anything like this. It helped me so much,” said another BILT user after assembling the Briarton Grill Gazebo XL.  

Supporting DIY Customers and Professional Installers

Backyard Discovery products are assembled by both homeowners and professional installers, and both groups rely heavily on BILT. 

“We probably see about a 50/50 split between DIY customers and contractors using BILT,” said Customer Service Team Lead and Assembly Specialist Mae Donovan. 

Donovan’s team uses the app daily to troubleshoot assembly questions with customers and installation crews alike. 

“If a contractor calls from a job site with a problem, we immediately direct them to BILT,” she said. “We can look at the exact same step together, rotate the model, zoom in, and identify the issue much faster.” 

The app is especially useful for assemblies where orientation and layering matter.  

“With BILT, customers can rotate the structure and clearly see how panels, trim, and hardware fit together,” said Donovan. 

That visual clarity dramatically improves support conversations and shortens calls. The 3D CAD interactivity adds context to the animations. 

“Before BILT, we might have a 10- to 12-email exchange with customers sending photos back and forth,” said Donovan. “Now we can often solve the problem in just a few steps because we’re both looking at the same 3D model.” 

Reducing Customer Support Friction

Backyard Discovery’s support team sees firsthand how BILT improves the ownership experience. 

“BILT has made my job 40% to 60% easier,” said Donovan, who has worked with the platform for more than seven years. 

Support teams frequently direct customers to the app before escalating troubleshooting calls. 

“Nine times out of ten, once customers download the BILT app, we never hear from them again for installation help,” said Donovan. 

That self-service capability helps reduce call volume and improve customer satisfaction. 

“When customers are already frustrated and waiting on hold, getting them a fast answer matters,” said Donovan. “With BILT, we can identify the problem quickly and get customers back to enjoying the project.” 

The app has also become a valuable tool for identifying replacement parts. 

“If a customer has a damaged board or missing component, we can have them rotate the full product model, identify the exact part, and order a replacement immediately,” said Donovan. 

In one memorable case, BILT even helped diffuse tension between customers assembling a greenhouse. 

“A married couple was arguing because they each interpreted the paper manual differently,” said Donovan. “Once they downloaded BILT and saw the 3D model, they immediately understood the correct orientation. The customer joked that BILT saved their marriage.”  

Stronger Reviews and Better Customer Sentiment

Backyard Discovery closely monitors customer reviews and feedback across retail channels. 

“We read our reviews religiously,” said Wilderman. “Everyone from marketing to leadership pays attention because we want to improve the customer experience.” 

As BILT adoption increased, the company saw meaningful improvements in customer sentiment surrounding the assembly. 

“Since implementing BILT, we’ve seen overwhelmingly positive feedback about assembly,” said Wilderman. “We hardly see negative assembly reviews anymore.” 

“Gamechanger to have a 3D CAD step-by-step guide to assemble,” said one user. 

The company also participated in an early pilot to syndicate BILT reviews through Bazaarvoice so customers could see feedback from users who successfully assembled products using the app.