Individual client buying preferences are a primary driving element in today’s market. As customers’ attention spans shrink and their experience with a wide range of marketing strategies expands, it becomes increasingly difficult to stimulate customers’ curiosity about a specific product and highlight its unique characteristics compared to the available substitutes.
Fortunately, augmented reality (AR) technology is assisting brands in keeping up with the ever-changing interests and desires of consumers. With the arrival of AR, conventional marketing approaches are being transformed, helping to capture consumers’ attention. AR is quickly emerging as a new and distinct product experience & advertising medium for business-to-consumer (B2C) interaction, transforming buyers’ experiences.
AR is taking Marketing by a storm
AR allows businesses to create one-of-a-kind captivating experiences for their customers by combining the real-life environment with ‘virtually interactive’ elements. This new marketing and sales trend is rapidly becoming one of the most effective approaches in B2C markets.
AR can be leveraged in a variety of ways. Let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of augmented reality in marketing, as well as how your company can benefit from this innovative and interactive virtual solution and stand out afront the competition.
Ways brands can leverage the marketing with augmented reality:
Augmenting Materials for Branding
By adding a virtual element to branding materials like business cards and brochures, augmented reality can take them to the next level. Customers, using their smartphones, can scan a printed code to access a variety of interactive virtual visualizations that provide more information and methods to connect with the brand.
For example, a user can scan a brochure to bring up a video or an animation showcasing detailed components of the printed information, giving the brochure’s static text a dynamic element.
A business card, on the other side, can employ augmented reality to display several contact choices, enabling users to contact the firm with a single tap, either via email, LinkedIn, or telephonic conversation. AR-enhanced marketing experiences can include virtual elements into the text to increase interaction.
An option to try before you Buy
Augmented reality allows users to merge real and virtual environments, allowing shoppers to try on things before making a purchase.
Prospective shoppers may utilize augmented reality to mimic and test makeup, clothing, and accessories at any time with just a smartphone, laptop, or tablet.
One very fascinating application for augmented reality and related technology is to visualize products like furniture or home furnishings to check how those products would look in a physical space. AR provides shoppers with real-time visualization of different products by scanning their homes’ floor maps and dimensions to overlay virtual products over them. It minimizes the need for a large physical inventory by enabling customers to ‘test on’ or envision virtual products in their space to pick the one that best meets their needs.
Leveraging Augmented Reality for Marketing
AR offers a profusion of alternatives for various enterprises in multiple industries. The advantages of augmented reality in advertising are infinite, especially for forward-thinking companies that use this cutting-edge technology to engage and connect with their customers.
These technologies can also show users how to use a product or service, eliminating the need for lengthy instruction manuals. And since AR can be experienced on the web using any device/smartphone, consumers do not need to download apps or purchase expensive, clunky equipment like VR headsets.
Augmented Reality for Sales
Creating immersive and dynamic sales presentation content is one of AR’s most important ways to enhance sales. The traditional approach required sales associates to be equipped with pamphlets, flyers, and other marketing materials. Consider a sales professional with access to a customized augmented reality experience that provides a virtual 360-degree visualization of the products via a digital device.
This creates an instant connection between the product and the buyer, as the buyer can see the product and experience and interact with it. All this enhances the product engagement manifolds and makes the sales conversion faster.
Using augmented reality marketing tools, customers might see and interact with products in as much detail as they want, from a high-level overview to a comprehensive examination of specific components.
Augmented reality provides customers better access to the information and product overview and increases customers’ trust in a product before the purchase.
Summing Up
Augmented Reality (AR) solutions are easy to use, accessible, and promote user-brand engagement. There are AR use cases for traditional industries, such as real estate, allowing buyers to have virtual tours of properties anytime and from anywhere. Perhaps, the more interesting fact is that it can give the user a sense of ownership of a product before buying it.
Now such technology can be implemented in-house, however, have you thought about the challenges associated? For example, finding the right talent is not easy, and setting up a team of professional 3D modelling and SDK experts takes time and effort. It will also have an impact on the latency issues, which could be catastrophic for the brand if ignored.
This is why understanding how AR can help businesses create the most immersive experiences and generate RoI becomes most important. Ultimately, customers love to have AR experiences with brands’ product(s) or services, all that matters is how you deliver it.
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