You might have already seen games come out that are in virtual reality in San Francisco. You know, those games where you put on those big goggles and you are suddenly transported to a different world?
Many global businesses have invested in VR to change the work environment for their employees. Businesses use VR for various tasks as well. Examples of this are that they use them to train staff that works in real estate or construction. This way, they can set a setting similar to real life and train the employees for any situation. They even show them what the projects’ end result is supposed to look like when they are starting to plan. These experiences are so immersive that they make it more memorable for people and help them remember situations better.
Interested? Read on to learn more about why companies are investing in it or understanding more about the ethics of virtual reality.
What Is Virtual Reality
As technology keeps developing more and moreover the years, it has replaced and improved the way people used to do things. Virtual reality has become increasingly popular in the last decade. VR is a new reality that is computer-generated and it can come in many different forms. Through a headset, you can be given a new environment in every corner that you look at. Through this headset pictured below, you could experience what it’s like being in a movie, all from the comfort of your own house.
Virtual reality has been slowly changing the world and how people work as it develops more and more each year. Many different business industries are already working with VR in various ways such as:
Prototyping and design
Auto companies use it to see what their car designs will look like in a real-life setting. This saves the businesses time and money, and they don’t have to spend money on developing physical design prototypes that will be discarded anyway.
Shopping and customer engagement
Alibaba is currently experimenting with VR shopping, specifically for clothes. The customers can place themselves in the clothing they are interested in to see how it will actually look on their bodies. There are many other fields of businesses that are using VR and benefiting from it in different ways.
Staff training
As mentioned previously, VR is used to train staff and students. For example, the subjects are put in an immersive VR world that shows a situation like a certain operation they must perform for medical training. This way, they can practice the procedure they must go through as if it was actually happening.
Morpheus XR
Morpheus XR is a company based in the US that focuses on VR for (remote) businesses. Their goal is to extend reality into digital immersive spaces, to find new ways to connect, work and have fun. Morpheus XR also hosts virtual events for people to do through their VR headsets, such as yoga classes or tours of different planets in space.
They offer experiences for you to connect with your colleagues or clients. As well as offering the ultimate virtual headquarters for your business. This is a new VR work environment that is customizable to your preference and can be accessed 24/7. The HQ includes meeting rooms, presentation spaces, meditation places, showrooms for your products, and much more. It will be specifically designed to increase your current workflow and help your team and clients to have fun in an efficient way.
The Virtual Reality Benefits For Businesses
Using virtual reality within your business and its teams can have many benefits. A business can use VR for:
- Teambuilding
- Skill development
- Wellness
- Co-creation
- Presentations
- To increase fun within the workplace
Businesses also use virtual reality in San Francisco to connect with their team members and clients to create a better remote work experience. In a virtual reality world, a business can easily create its office headquarters. In other words, you can choose what your offices and meeting rooms can look like in this virtual office setting. This way, you can design the HQ to enhance your company’s workflow because it allows your teams and clients to meet in a fun and different way that will also increase productivity.
Virtual Reality Within The Digital Marketing Industry
The digital marketing industry also utilizes virtual reality. Below, you will find some examples of how some of the greatest brands have used this tool to improve their customer experiece and make processes easier for them.
Sephora’s Virtual Artist App
An example of this is Sephora, which was one of the firsts to implement VR marketing. This they did through their virtual artist app that let customers try different makeup looks through their phone. Through this, they would also receive personalized recommendations for other products they might like.
This caused many other brands to also implement VR as an easier way for their customers to try their products before they buy them, and without having to go to the stores.
Coca-Cola Poland’s IG Filter
Likewise, marketing used VR is through social media filters. Instagram allows businesses to create their own filter which any user on the app can use. The brand then creates filters that display the company’s logo or they will add their brand jingle. Coca-Cola Poland made one that places their polar bear mascot virtually in the room with the person using the filter.
IKEA Place App
Aditionally, the last example is how Ikea uses VR to make the buying decision easier for their customers by allowing them to imagine what the furniture will look like. Through their app, customers are able to virtually “place” any furniture item in the room they would like the product to be in. Therefore, saving them time on making the decision to buy the products since they can see if the item and its colors will fit in their room.
You can offer your customers a unique and immersive perspective through virtual reality and help them make shopping easier. The great thing is that VR is something any business can implement in their marketing because some features are free (like the customized Instagram filters). There are also technologies that make creating your own VR app easier. By using Virtual Reality, you can give yourself an advantage over your competitors.
There are many ways for businesses to incorporate virtual reality into their marketing plans. Many of these companies that are using VR are located in or near San Francisco. These businesses use it for their marketing and also for making apps such as Pokemon GO. They also create virtual designs for their products, and much more. Many large corporations in San Francisco like Facebook are also starting to use VR to hold conferences and make it easier for their employees to work from home. As virtual reality is still developing, no one can really guess what great things it will bring for businesses in the future.
Is Virtual Reality Worth it?
Many large companies have started investing in virtual reality in San Francisco and other major cities. Businesses such as Hyundai, Accenture, and Fidelity have stated they have started to see returns in their investments since virtual reality has increased productivity and reduced risks for the company. Hyundai’s North American designer said that VR has allowed his team to be more flexible with their designs instead of building physical prototypes. This reduced the usual risks that come whith testing physical prototypes. Virtual reality has also increased creativity within his team because they got better work settings, resulting in more streamlined results.
Accenture also started investing in VR in order to connect its employees, who live all around the globe. The company created an office-sized pod that takes audio and visuals from virtual reality headsets and makes it big enough for all employees to be able to experience it through their VR glasses. Teams from anywhere in the world could pop in and talk to each other as if they were meeting in person.
Key Takeaways
Do you think it’s worth it? Many companies have invested on virtual reality in San Francisco and the rest of the United States and seen great returns. Some other companies are doing great with virtual team meetings and employee events through Zoom. Next to this, companies are adapting VR into their marketing efforts in many different ways. Meaning that, no matter what business you have or what you sell, there is a way for you to implement virtual reality within your marketing. Test it and see!
For more interesting content about technology and digital marketing, check out our blogs. And if you’d like to learn more about how our team can help, schedule a meeting with Colibri Digital Marketing today!
Sources
Calderon, D. (2021, April 22). The Future of Virtual Reality in Business. US Digital Partners. https://www.usdigitalpartners.com/future-virtual-reality-business/
How Virtual Reality Marketing is Changing the Face of Consumer-Brand Interaction. (2020, December 2). AdEspresso. https://adespresso.com/blog/virtual-reality-marketing/
Marr, B. (2021, July 13). The Amazing Ways Companies Use Virtual Reality For Business Success. Bernard Marr. https://bernardmarr.com/the-amazing-ways-companies-use-virtual-reality-for-business-success/
Morpheus XR. (n.d.). Morpheus XR. https://morpheusxr.comReuter, D. (2020, February 10). Here’s how top companies are using VR to connect and train their teams from around the world. Business Insider Nederland. https://www.businessinsider.nl/how-top-companies-using-vr-connect-train-remote-teams-2020-2?international=true&r=US
