Augmented Reality (AR) is continuously changing our society by merging the digital world with the physical world. When you invest in AR for your business, people can interact with you in an entirely new way.
Today, we’re going to take a look at six augmented reality applications that can help different aspects of your business.
Tech savvy businesses are exploring new ways to engage customers and also provide employee training. The smart companies are investing now to get a leg up in marketing, sales, and employee on-boarding.
6. Use AR to Showcase Your Physical Product
If you produce a physical product, you might think you’re missing out on the AR revolution. What’s the point of having a digital representation if you’re selling a real product? However, thanks to the unique nature of this technology, it’s actually a perfect way for physical products to stand out.
AR is a brand-new opportunity to showcase your products exactly as you would like. It will take some work, but you can create a 3D model of your items and create an app that puts them in a physical space.
For example, car manufacturers could release an app that shows people different cars right in their driveway. A customer could lean in and, using their phone, take a close look at all the features of the interior and exterior, without having to leave their home. Explore how you can adapt this example to work for your physical product.
5. Provide an Immersive Shopping Experience
Immersion is what AR and VR do best. While VR puts people in an entirely different world, AR adds a new layer of reality onto the normal layer. If your business sells a product, whether it be digital or physical, you can create an entirely AR-focused online store.
You’re probably familiar with Pokémon Go, the AR video game that took over app stores in 2016. In the game, a digital character is placed within your environment using AR. Half the fun of the game was using your phone like a little window into another world, walking around the creatures and interacting with them as if they were there.
Now imagine a customer having such an immersive experience with a 3D model of one of your products. They could place a piece of digital furniture in their den to see how it look next to the real curtains, put a virtual TV up on their wall to see if it would fit, or project a pair of heels straight onto their feet to check the style!
Not only will you give consumers the chance to see your products before they buy it, but the entire interface of your AR store will provide an incredible user experience.
While this idea may have been far-fetched a few years ago, it’s now our current reality. AR adoption is going to keep growing, so it’s worth crafting a new type of online store.
4. Enhance Learner Engagement for Employee Training
Whether you’re training a new hire or providing ongoing education, learner engagement is vitally important. A bored learner will not retain most of what they’re being taught.
That’s where AR comes in. Your business can develop virtual learning that is more hands-on than watching a video or listening to a lecture. The exact execution will depend on your business, but almost any business can create a new way of learning using AR.
I’m not just throwing out ideas here; many businesses have already changed over to using AR to train their employees, including Verizon and JetBlue. Businesses that continue to adopt this new method of training will benefit from more effective and engaged employees.
3. Attract a Younger Audience for Your Business
Millennials — and now Gen Z — are a powerful market to attract, as they hold trillions of dollars of buying power. Millennials are the first generation to be described as “digitally native” and Gen Z is certainly the second. As such, these two younger generations are drawn to exciting new technologies and ways to use them.
Implementing AR and VR features into your website or app will go far in attracting and retaining a younger audience. The more unique you can make the experience, the better. Younger audiences will appreciate quality augmented reality applications.
Another thing that younger audiences have grown to value is authenticity from brands. Avoid using AR and VR for flashy advertisements or hard sales. Let users explore your brand or business by showcasing an authentic experience. It may take some time and adjustments along the way, but the right unique experience will go far.
2. Use AR for Business Advantage
Are your competitors leveraging AR to attract new customers, showcase their products, or educate new hires? Chances are that they’re not doing anything with AR… yet. Your business can stand out like an oasis in a desert if you successfully implement AR.
Think about the ways that AR can best benefit your business, and then run with it. Hire developers who can make it happen and work with UX designers to make your experience something special.
Opportunities to embrace a new technology don’t come around very often. Don’t miss out on this chance to stand out from the crowd and show your users something unique.
If you have an online store that allows customers to see new clothes on their bodies before they buy them and your competitor just has a static image, who do you think gets more web traffic? This is the benefit of embracing augmented reality applications.
1. Use It for Remote Assistance with Help Lightning
Help Lightning works with technicians to provide advanced assistance as needed. For most situations, the on-site technician holds their smartphone up to the project area and listens to what the remote technician has to say. While this can work in some situations, the on-site technician typically has to use both hands to complete a task.
However, if the on-site technician has a pair of AR glasses on, they will be able to receive expert assistance from the remote technician throughout the entire repair job. Not only does this make everyone’s life easier, but it also speeds up the rate at which work is being done.
In order to use AR for remote assistance through Help Lightning, all you’ll need to do is equip on-site technicians with AR glasses. You won’t have to design any software or added features, but receiving advanced assistance will instantly become much easier. This is one of the best augmented reality applications for the right business.
AR Can Help Your Business
Using AR for your business is an excellent way to increase sales and efficiency, make employee training more engaging, and even gain a competitive advantage. You’ll need to examine each of the ways that we’ve discussed above to see how you can integrate AR with your business. Keep exploring new augmented reality applications and you’ll be ready to be at the forefront of this new technology.
AR is changing the way the world does business. Contact us today to request a free demo and see how it can help your workflow.
