Sales are one crucial element of a business plan that needs to be as effective as possible. After all, it’s the companies’ sales strategy that decides its future.
Although the sales part of a company has changed quite a lot in the past decade, it simply isn’t just enough to be perfect. AR/VR, however, is taking companies’ sales to the next level.
What do you prefer- online shopping or offline shopping? Some may prefer online shopping for quick home deliveries of the product while some prefer offline shopping to have a tryout of the product before buying it.
Online shopping has a limitation in that you can’t try out the product while offline shopping involves the hassle of going to the market. What if there’s a way to try out the product without going out? Welcome to the world of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
With that in mind, let’s find out why Augmented Reality(AR) and Virtual Reality(VR) have the potential to revolutionize companies’ sales for the better.
INTERACTIVE CONTENT
Imagine interacting with every advertisement you see, every product you see online, try out every piece of clothing before you buy it. Lucky for you this ain’t science fiction anymore, AR/VR has opened doors for the next-gen sales strategies.
AR and VR are still in their infancy stage, so you may not see these interactive content very often in ads. However, the possibilities are endless.
Interactive content in digital marketing and sales is revolutionizing the industry as a whole. You can see, touch, and interact with the content you see online using AR and VR technology.
Interactive content helps the customer figure out what he wants more effectively and that reduces his chance of returning or replacing the product drastically.
It’s also so hard to get people’s attention in the modern digital world with tons of information directly being thrown at them, all in the same 24 hours as it was a decade, a century, or a millennial ago. Many research and surveys have stated that an average consumer spends no more than a minute on a blog post.
With interactive content, this average time can be increased terrifically as the customer will be able to participate in the content instead of just being a mute spectator.
On top of that, interactive content solves the company’s problem of not having highly skilled salesmen, as most companies and business experts clearly state that this sector is highly responsible for business success.
PRODUCT AUGMENTED REALITY
People don’t buy the product, they buy the experience, one popular business mantra says. Going forward, the most common reason for product returns or replacement that companies have to deal with is the customer’s satisfaction.
The product sometimes just doesn’t fulfill the customer’s requirement no matter how good it is. This problem is not too hard to solve, just a proper tryout of the product before buying it will reduce the customer’s probability of returning the product drastically.
Thanks to AR and VR, the solution to this problem is easily achievable.
AR and VR can take you to a virtual environment where you can have a virtually physical feel of the product, even the thought of doing just that is just so mesmerizing. AR can help the customers make more effective and permanent decisions while buying a product for themselves.
Take the example of Gucci for an instance, being a multi-billion dollar brand, they’ve invested in AR technology quite a lot as they can see its true potential.
The implementation of AR technology in their application is impressive, you can virtually try out Gucci’s shoes in real-time using your very own smartphone, no expensive headsets are needed.
Gucci has implemented it to help customers make more informed decisions while purchasing their product but there are very few companies like Gucci as the others don’t have enough financial resources to invest in this infant technology, it’s too much of a risk to take for small companies.
That’s the reason you don’t see effective implementation of AR and VR technology very often. Still, with more and more companies observing AR and VR’s potential, the buying experience of customers is destined to change forever if product augmented reality becomes more widespread.
The best part of all is that it’s a win-win for both the customer and the brand.
INTERIOR VIRTUAL REALITY
When it comes to virtual reality, one may think of virtual roller coaster rides, 3D jungle experience, and more gaming and amusement-related stuff, but the practical implementation of VR is diverse.
From teaching teenagers driving to practicing surgery to virtually visiting your dream house.
Virtual Reality came as a very helpful and effective tool for designers looking to find a client for their design. VR allows designers to explain their idea in a more fruitful way than ever before.
Designers make use of VR to attract clients who are willing to invest in his idea. Long story short VR is revolutionizing the interior design industry forever.
You may think what’s the need for this VR and AR thing when I can do the same using 3D graphics and animations. Yes, you sure can do this but do you think it will be better than VR?
For an instance, do you think displaying a 3D model of real estate is better than virtually roaming in that same building? Apparently no.
The idea of some designs can be better conveyed using VR than using any other means, no matter how good it is.
The thing with VR nowadays is that you don’t need an expensive headset for experiencing Virtual Reality, a cheap smartphone-mountable headset will do the trick.
On top of that, the virtual experience of the interior that VR provides is not in 2D but in 3D. So, expect a realistic experience of interior virtual reality.
ARCHITECTURAL VIRTUAL REALITY
VR nowadays is not just used for presentation but for designing process as well, VR has integrated so deeply into Architecture that it’s just changing the face of it completely.
AR/VR technology is still not much widespread in architecture but the potential is infinite.
The biggest challenge that even the most skillful designers have to face is to present the idea of the property to the client.
Thankfully VR solves this problem of effectively presenting the idea to the client in the most creative and efficient way possible.
The integration of AR and VR in architecture has changed the industry quite a lot. It completely removes the hit and trial method that was used before and the chances of revisions too.
The client can easily point out the thing he doesn’t like and the issue will be solved very quickly, making the procedure very cost-effective at the same time. Modern VR technology is even advanced, the user can actually interact with the components in the virtual building.
For ex- the client can give a command to turn on/off the lights and the system will respond accordingly, the client can even touch the walls and the components using special yet not so expensive devices.
On top of that, the start-up costs of implementing virtual reality into architectural practices are not very high, an amount of $8000 will get you all a high-end VR gear with all the tools for interaction purposes.
This is a one-time investment with an obscene return on investment (ROI). As if it wasn’t enough, an architect can use VR to gain a competitive edge over others.
The fancy VR tech paired with talented designers and architects will attract clients and investors like crazy as the technology is still rarely seen.
VIRTUAL SHOPS
The cutting-edge VR technology allows you to experience shopping like never before with virtual shops. Imagine yourself going to your nearest shop without physically going there.
As crazy it may sound, this is pretty much achievable with VR technology. The best part is that you won’t be just able to see it but also interact with the shop and the components or products inside it.
Virtual shops provide the customers with the feeling of shopping in a physical store and that experience of the customers is destined to improve in the future.
While shopping on an e-commerce website, tailored recommendations and real-time interaction with the seller is not possible, but with virtual shops, you can experience them both in the most effective way possible.
You can talk in real-time with the seller and get recommendations from the staff members if you get a little bit confused, the benefits are endless.
Virtual shops take the customer’s experience of buying a product to the next level, directly affecting the overall sales of the store in a positive way.
Engagement is also one of the most crucial elements of sales, a customer may spend no less than a minute on a product on any e-commerce site.
However, in a virtual shop, the engagement drastically increases because of the immersive and unique experience.
Having a virtual shop is undoubtedly beneficial for both the customer, the business owner, and the sales industry as a whole.
VIRTUAL SUPERMARKETS
Going to the supermarket to get something is more difficult than you can imagine on a lazy Sunday or any other day when you’re tired or just not in the mood of going out.
At the same time, the shopping experience in a supermarket is way better than tapping on your phone’s screen to buy something.
Virtual supermarkets are a mixture of both, customers can experience the feeling of shopping in a supermarket from the comfort of their home. What a good way to implement AR and VR technology.
Modern-day AR/VR technology is so effective that whole supermarkets can be created virtually to provide the customers with the immersive experience of a real supermarket from the comfort of their homes.
These are called virtual supermarkets. As a matter of fact, supermarkets are responsible for billions of dollars of product sales around the world and the number will unquestionably increase with the implementation of Virtual Reality.
IS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AR AND VR IN SALES WORTH THE HYPE?
Short answer: Absolutely! Long answer: It depends on how well the technology is implemented. The thing with AR and VR is that these technologies are still not well-optimized and got a way to go.
The future, however, is full of possibilities. AR/VR will take the customer experience to the next level and so the sales will go up too. Customers buy the experience that the product can give, not the product for its specifications.
The implementation of AR and VR in sales is better from both perspectives: the business and the customer. Things like going to the supermarket without physically being there sound way more interesting than anything.
The thought of experiencing and interacting with the components of a building is not science fiction anymore, thanks to the cutting-edge AR and VR technologies. So, yes, effective AR and VR implementation in sales will take the companies’ sales to the next level.
CONCLUSION
Despite being an infant, VR and AR technologies never fail to get people and businesses’ attention, and why not? It’s one of the greatest technologies of the 21st century. The possibilities of these technologies are endless because of how unique it is.
The technologies are unquestionably future-proof, no surprise big businesses are putting in huge money to get their hands on this technology.
They realize how drastic of an impact AR and VR can make in improving their sales. Apart from all that, it’s a win-win situation.
The customers will be able to experience shopping like never before. It’s like the benefits of shopping in a supermarket and shopping on an e-commerce site are combined with their limitations eradicated.
The limited implementation of AR/VR by a few companies has proved how valuable these technologies are. Customers tend to return or replace the product less often if they have a proper tryout of the product before buying.
The return on investment (ROI) of implementing Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in a business is absurdly huge.
Despite being cost-effective, it’s a technological revolution, especially in improving the customer experience and increasing sales for a company.
