Augmented Reality (AR) has been thrust into the consciousness of the public and entrepreneurs like never before thanks to the phenomenally popular game Pokemon GO. AR should be of interest to all businesses as the technology will provide new ways of not only connecting with customers but also of working together.
AR has by no means reached its full potential but businesses and industries are using it in a number of ways to interact with customers and as the technology improves these interactions will continue to change and improve and it will provide new ways for teams to work together and also for professionals to perform their tasks.
If you search the internet now, you will find a plethora of information on how businesses are currently utilising AR and what opportunities the future of AR will provide. I have listed below just a sampling and hopefully, it will inspire you to think of how AR can benefit your business!
Retail
From furniture to clothing and household tech, most of us still prefer to ‘try before we buy’ when it comes to physical products. AR provides retailers with a great opportunity to provide the ‘in-store experience’ to online customers. Customers can visualise how the products will look in the destined environment, but beyond this AR will be able to provide customers with demonstrations of products that they would have previously only been able to do by travelling to a store.
Advertising & Marketing
AR currently allows advertisers to engage with customers by creating real world engagement from traditional advertising materials such as turning a flyer into a 3D interactable video with the point of a smartphone.
Culture
AR will provide many opportunities for governments, organisations and business to allow people to interact on a much deeper and knowledgeable level with the world around them through immersive, visually informational experiences. Whether this is learning about the landmarks and businesses on a journey to work, the plants on a nature hike or the artifacts in a museum tour.
Education and Training
Long gone will be the days of reading through hundreds of pages of material whether it is staff training or providing training to customers, AR will provide the ability to simply see your way through a task with the provision of up-to-date and best practice guidance by direct demonstration whether this is simple daily tasks or complex manufacturing and repair processes.
Team Collaboration
AR will provide teams with the ability to work with each other more fully and creatively than ever before. Remote workers and teams working in different locations will be able to conduct meetings as if they are in the same space creating more engaging interactions. It’s also possible that AR will allow workers to transform their workspace to suit the task in hand, from visual brainstorming to demonstrating product ideas.
AR and other technologies are continually transforming the way businesses work, interact with customers and the products and services they provide. From improved processes and financial stewardship to business planning and strategy, we at Bright Horizon are here to help you start, run and grow your business and help you to be in the best strategic and financial position to take full advantage of these new advancements and technologies. You can contact us here.