Virtual reality and augmented reality technology have made leaps and bounds in recent years. However, they’re useful for more than improving video games. You can use augmented reality for business and improve your marketing strategies.
You may ask, “What is augmented reality marketing, and how can AR improve my business?”
Using AR technology can help your business stand out from the rest. Over 70% of consumers have claimed they would shop more if they had AR, and 61% of them actually prefer retailers with AR experiences. It’s predicted that by 2022, the use of this technology in retail will increase from 1% to 5%.
Here are seven benefits of using AR for business marketing.
1. Create a Rich and Immersive Experience
Augment reality for business marketing brings a new area to be creative. Instead of sticking to screens and two-dimensional advertisements, you make the content more interactive for customers.
For example, augmented reality home design apps let you see how furniture will look in your home, rather than forcing you to use your imagination. In supermarkets, consumers can use AR apps to see what items are on sale. Even the real estate market can benefit by allowing app users to see statistics on a local neighborhood as they’re touring a house.
2. Growing Industry
The trademark of a good marketing campaign is how many other industries are making use of the same strategy. Everyone thinks a Superbowl commercial takes a joke too far until everyone is talking about it and sharing it with their friends.
Likewise, experts predict huge growth in both virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. Especially during a pandemic and moving forward, the ability to shop effectively from home has seen an increasing number of businesses invest in AR.
3. Bring the Store to the Customer
Augmented reality grants businesses the ability to bring the store to the customer. This is especially helpful for people who want to buy items from a store a great distance away without having to travel back and forth.
For example, IKEA, while popular, isn’t always within reasonable driving distance for everyone. Instead, they allow customers to experience new furniture in their homes using AR technology. Aim your mobile device wherever you want the item placed, and see if it fits and matches your decor.
Certain online clothing stores have already been doing something similar by letting you upload your body onto their website and trying on clothing items.
4. Going Viral
You know a marketing campaign is doing well when it goes viral.
When something goes viral on the internet, that means people are sharing it nonstop. You may see memes about a topic or brand. People could just be praising a business model or their practices.
Sometimes, places of business can capitalize on another property’s virality, like when restaurants took advantage of the Pokemon Go craze.
A unique and interesting augmented reality experience will not only draw new customers but encourage them to share it with their friends and family.
5. Reduce Language Barriers
One benefit of augmented reality marketing is its ability to translate text on the fly. If a tourist doesn’t speak the area’s native language, an AR program can provide either subtitles or display words in their language on top of the pre-existing text.
This type of innovation is expected to transition into numerous entertainment industries such as sports games, so guests don’t have to worry about mistranslations.
Imagine the benefits of combining seamless translation with bringing the store to the client. A furniture retailer could present and display pieces from a showroom across the world to a client speaking another language, all from the luxury of their living room.
6. Generate Analytics
Conducting market research is an essential part of improving your marketing techniques and expanding your business. Since augmented reality utilizes software and hardware to function, you can also gather analytics data on it. More specifically, it integrates analytic functions already existing on the internet and social media.
Facebook has nearly 1.5 billion users alone. A collaboration between Facebook and your company using AR technology would be much more successful than an old-fashioned ad campaign.
If you have augmented reality features built into your preexisting app, then you can take advantage of monitoring what people are specifically looking at or using it for.
An app that lets users “try on” clothing at home can inform your business of what types of pieces men and women with different body types are interested in. You can then introduce new products catering to those desires.
7. Stand Out From the Rest
Finally, augmented reality for business marketing helps you stand out from your competitors. While other ad campaigns utilize emails or social media ads, your AR programs can promote your store and earn sales.
It also provides an immersive experience for customers, so when they share it with someone else, it earns much more than a click and a glance.
As such, your company also can’t put out augmented reality without maintaining it. You need to dedicate time and money to analyzing data, making improvements, and keeping up with innovations in the field.
Before trying it out, you should identify the goals of your AR marketing strategy. Explore what your current audience responds to, and identify your call to action. You’ll find success if it helps to inform your customers, saves them time and money, and is interesting.
AZ Creates is a website dedicated to exploring technologies that shaped the world we live in. Especially in the realm of augmented reality (AR). Drawing from experiences in various tech ventures, the site offers insights into the practical applications and developments in the AR space.
A notable highlight for AZ Creates was its involvement with HGTV’s “Theme Queens.” During this segment, the team employed AR techniques to enhance a dragon-themed home, showcasing a practical application of the technology.
We will try to consistently cover current events and topics, emphasizing augmented reality and other impactful technologies, offering readers an informed perspective on the evolving tech landscape.