How to Use Augmented Reality in Your Marketing Strategy?
Today, the needs and desires of the customers are increasingly driving the markets. With technological advancement, these desires and needs change, and brands must keep pace with these changes to stay in the competition.
Augmented Reality (AR) lets brands give their customers unique experiences with the convenience of tapping into their phones. It is a rising trend in marketing and sales strategies.
Mobiles have become a significant device through which customers are actively interacting with the brands and making purchasing decisions. When it comes to driving sales and boosting brand value through mobile devices, Augmented Reality gives you another tool in your hand.
Allow the consumers to try before they buy
Prospective customers always want to try products before purchasing them. Cosmetic samples, fitting rooms, automobile test drives, and numerous other related concepts serve as evidence of this strategy’s effectiveness. In the retail industry, augmented shopping experiences are an emerging trend.
Potential customers can try on makeup products, clothes, accessories, and other items using AR without having to interact with the product directly. AR nullifies the need for a huge physical inventory to allow consumers to try dozens or even hundreds of products searching for the one that perfectly fits their requirements.
The applications of AR in this field have already started multiplying as more and more brands realize its benefits. As one would think, Facebook has been eager to develop AR applications. It allows users to digitally sample makeup and accessories, allowing them to model how they look in it without actually buying it.
Facebook’s first-ever AR-related advertisement let the prospective customers try on virtual sunglasses with their device’s camera. The cosmetic industry has also been keen on embracing AR recently. Brands like Sephora and L’Oreal have made partnerships to allow their customers to see how the makeup would look on them digitally. Augmented Reality is especially valuable for online sales strategies involving cosmetics as customers always judge a given makeup by modeling it on themselves.
Another area where the AR can potentially shine is making a virtual trial or dressing room because when it comes to buying clothes, fitting rooms are necessary. Customers have to carry stacks of clothes and accessories to the dressing room, and then the staff has to restore the discarded items constantly. Above all, when it comes to offering clothes to customers to try on, the store is limited by the inventory on hand.
Augmented Reality dressing rooms allow customers to tap into an online library of clothing items, negating all the hassle. Popular brands like Topshop have been on the forefront of creating AR trial rooms to offer their consumers a virtual experience in helping them choose the right clothes.
Augment assistance and touring
On top of their physical stores and products, businesses can add a digital component with Augmented Reality. Consumers can pull up an AR experience by scanning a product or object, which will either give them additional details about the product or some other brand-related experience.
In this regard, the application of AR stretches into multiple industries and markets. For instance, the ticket resale company StubHub developed an AR application that lets users see a 3D display of the stadium where the famous Football League Super Bowl was played. Fans could visualize the view of the field from different seats to select the perfect seat for themselves.
Within the automotive industry, both Hyundai and Mercedes have been adopting AR apps. Hyundai was the first to develop an augmented guide for drivers, whereas Mercedes has taken this concept to another level. Mercedes owners can use the ‘Ask Mercedes’ app to find real-time answers. This app pairs a digital assistant with an augmented reality interface, taking the customer interaction to a whole new level.
Augment branding materials
AR can level up branding materials like brochures and business cards by adding a virtual component. Customers can scan the printed materials using their mobiles to access various features that will provide them more information and ways to contact the brand.
For example, a user can scan a business card that uses AR to see numerous contact options that allow the user to contact the brand with a single click either via a phone call, email, or text message. AR-enhanced branding materials enable their developers to add dynamic virtual components into the text, thus boosting audience engagement.
Generate a buzz around the brand
Companies can also utilize AR as part of a marketing strategy and indirect sales. While the previous AR applications’ focus was on direct tactics to facilitate sales, AR can also be used to improve the brand’s status itself.
With proper execution, developing an unexpected or fun AR experience can result in a major buzz for a brand. Since Augmented Reality is a relatively new phenomenon for the majority of the people, creating a well-designed AR experience will get people talking about your brand and leave a long-lasting impact. Also, typically people prefer a company that keeps them happy and satisfied, and getting that kind of exposure and consumer goodwill can pay long-lasting dividends.
Pepsi is the perfect example of using AR to generate buzz. Back in 2014, Pepsi launched an ad campaign situated at a bus station in London. They allowed people to access an AR virtual window alongside the bus station’s wall, where the audience was treated to the sight of a loose tiger, UFOs, and robots. By making the tedium of waiting for a bus more exciting with an AR experience, Pepsi successfully generated a lot of buzz, thus strengthening their brand.
By utilizing strategies like these, brands can produce millions in earned media. In the current competitive market where there is cut-throat competition, an AR campaign can help your company to stand out from the crowd and generate sustained discussion as well as brand recognition.
Leverage AR for B2B
Augmented Reality is all set to transform the B2B customer/seller experience in multiple ways. The B2B sales procedure has always been loaded with the tug-of-war between consumer expectations and the limitations of what a seller can provide in reality. AR can potentially bring major improvements along the entire chain of the sales process.
Making a dynamic sales presentation material is one of the areas where AR can boost B2B sales. Unlike the old pattern where salespeople were armed with flyers, brochures, and perhaps a PowerPoint presentation, imagine a sales team equipped with a digital device that allows them to access customized AR applications presenting a virtual 360-degree look of their products.
AR sales tools can help customers see and interact with products in as many details as they want – starting from a high-level overview to exploring the minor details. Augmented Reality will let potential customers get better access to all the information they need to make an informed purchasing decision.
Apart from this, AR tools can facilitate the customers participating actively in the design of their products. Their input can then be digitally conveyed to the seller in real-time, enabling a smoother feedback chain. This will also result in customers getting what they want exactly. Thus, AR can develop a bridge between consumer expectations and seller fulfillment. AR can also provide post-sales support to the customers. Too often, customers find themselves struggling with user manuals and searching for online tutorials. Augmented Reality solutions in customer support can be extremely beneficial and promising.
Conclusion
AR is not just a new frontier in gaming or a novelty; over the next decade, it is one of the significant driving forces behind sales and marketing innovations. Brands can upgrade their customer experience employing AR, which will eventually increase business and sales opportunities.