Businesses and consumers will soon see the effects of recent advancements in exciting technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G telecommunications, voice searches, and virtual reality (VR). In fact, some of these are being used right now! In the not-so-distant future, it will seem bizarre that people used to interact with the World Wide Web only using their fingertips. Afterall, who thought smartphones and mobile devices would be as ubiquitous and as widely used as they are today? As technologies such as VR and AI continue to grow exponentially, both businesses and consumers will be presented with a whole new level of interaction with technology, that which is rich in visual stimulation and intuitive, intellectual responsiveness. Any small business paying attention to and investing in these newer technologies, stands poised to move far ahead of their competition.
Real Life Technology
Just as natural language voice searches (e.g. using Apple's Siri, Google's Assistant, or Amazon's Alexa) are taking over the "old" way of searching on the web, VR has promise to take over the way in which consumers will learn about and interact with new products and services offered by businesses. As 5G comes out in select cities, it promises to decrease latency time down to almost undetectable amounts. This means VR experiences provided through the web will move extremely close to offering virtual "real life" experiences.
In addition, with sites like Google adding VR to YouTube, anyone can embed a 360 degree video into their website right now. This means small businesses will have an entirely new way to interact with their current customers, as well as attract new ones.
Virtual Reality and Businesses
The use of VR to provide audiences with a richer experience of products or services is almost limitless. Any business that relies heavily on visual stimulation to connect with customers stands to benefit significantly with the incorporation of VR into their marketing efforts. For example, these small businesses can easily showcase their products or services to potential customers, so the customer may walk through and interact with the product or service before purchasing:
- Hotels' and bed & breakfast establishments' room availabilities
- Travel agencies' destinations
- Flower shops'/garden nurseries' assortments
- Automotive/motorcycle/boat/RV dealerships' vehicles
- Furniture stores' products
- Real estate agencies' open houses
If you would like to know more about incorporating VR and video into your small business marketing strategy, please contact us!