The Following Should Not Surprise You
The old ‘traditional’ methods and tactics used to get the mindshare of shoppers is now very ineffective. If you are still relying on them, you have been sold a bad marketing plan. For the sake of your business, and likely your job if you’re in charge of marketing, it’s time to move on, and rather quickly too. Today’s power consumers, those under 44 years of age, have evolved with technology and moved on from brands trying to reach entice them with just static text, photo’s and even videos, they want so much more! They want to identify with companies real culture, who you are, they want to like you. They want to interact with you and your business, they want to be captured, have their attention (and imagination) earned. Being just greeted with the same old tired ads and salespeople are out. New consumers want to be met with a fun, convenient, self-guided immersive experience.
Why is self-guided so critical today? The days of WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) are over, consumers now demand WISIWIW (What I see is what I want). Consumers don’t want to be forced down a sales path, and they can smell one a mile away. If they are interested in what you offer, they want to experience it on their terms. They want to see it in the colors they like, freely explore the options that interest them, touch it, feel it, even try it on and even share it with their friends to get their opinion. All of this without salespeople hounding over them. Companies that get understand this and are providing this kind of experience for consumers are the ones carving out a prosperous future for themselves and gaining the new consumers. This is where tools like augmented reality and mixed reality (AR/MR) have entered the picture in a big way.
QUESTION: Are you a little skeptical about all this AR/MR talk, maybe just a little?
Prove It
Ok, first, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text and are why targeted research suggests that today, already 61% of shoppers expect brands to offer an AR/MR interactive experience. A third of consumers are also more likely to purchase after reviewing products for themselves through AR/MR programs, websites, and mobile devices. Second, the traditional media of the past relied heavily on clever text, colorful photo’s, and marketing pitch videos (one-way communication). None of these can provide the fully immersive and interactive narrative that an AR/MR experience can. Yes, today’s consumers want much more than their parents were content with.
The Smelling Salt – The AR Appetite Today Is Real
If it’s true that consumers drive technology adoption, then what does their adoption say about how fast AR/MR is coming to the commercial industry? Again, let’s stick to the facts. The researched numbers are sobering. While at least 87% of US consumer households have mobile phones today, only about one-third report having used AR/MR (which is most easily delivered via a mobile app). AR/MR users are highly attractive to retailers. Of the US consumers who reported trying AR/MR, 41% had income over $75,000 per year, and 81% were 44 or younger. This is your sweet spot, isn’t it?
Desktop AR – Del Dotto Winery, Napa Valley, CA
Where companies should already have started to pay attention is the consumers ’emotional trigger’, specifically that moment – based on what you have provided for them – that moves them to make a choice and purchase. Only 10% of consumers say they have used AR/MR while shopping. But another 45% say they would like to try it. And in the same survey, 30% of consumers said they would never go to another clothing store again if an AR/MR experience would allow them to buy the right size clothing with confidence. (This can be applied across the board to other commercial and retail areas as well, although I don’t have stats for that.) Those are numbers that promise that, with the right use-cases, consumers will start demanding AR/MR experiences from retailers at a very fast pace, to the point where not having an AR/MR experience becomes a disadvantage. Falling behind to your competition is a death knell to you.
QUESTION: Are your marketing juices flowing yet?
Seeing The Light
Retailers with insight are wise to see these changes in the marketing landscape and harness the power of immersive and interactive experiences over traditional forms of marketing. In one study, 70% of retailers said they expect to see widespread adoption of AR/MR across their company in the next 3 years. In a study (by ABI Research), the firm estimates that 3% of eCommerce revenue will be generated because of AR/MR experiences, or $122 billion in revenue worldwide. These are huge numbers and lay out a positive path for AR/MR adoption, especially by your competitors.
QUESTION: Do you remember when the iPhone was considered completely unnecessary? I wish I would have known then what I know now, how the iPhone changed everything in just a few years. Are some going to look back on AR/MR the same way? Hmmm… what do you think the statistics above point to?
Jump The Fence!
Move your business forward, break away from the marketing rut that so many brands get stuck in. The good news is that customers haven’t gone anywhere. They are still buying things. Their attention span has gotten micro small and they don’t like to be sold to anymore, but they are still there. Creating new, rich and immersive experiences for them will help you to jump the fence and separate yourself from the competition.
What Now?
After reading this do you feel a little like your ‘lost in the wild’ or would like to know how to make a get customers craving your business? Are you interested in how you can use AR/MR immersive marketing experiences that will amaze your customer’s and convert them but just aren’t sure where to start? Please don’t feel overwhelmed, we’re here to help, and it won’t cost you a thing. (Yep, we mean that!) Ty Downing is our CEO and here is his email address, ty@skynav360.com. Just drop him a line about what your thinking and he’ll be in touch within 24 hours to see how we can be of assistance.
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Tim Moore
tim@skynav360.com
