Nyle Casey 
AR uses sensors and cameras to overlay digital information over one’s real-world environment, be it using mobile devices, eyeglasses or heads-up displays (HUDs) in cars.
Not to be mistaken with virtual reality, which immerses its users in an artificial environment, AR keeps users grounded in reality. Here are a few ways AR can be utilized in marketing and sales:.
Product Demos
AR allows users to display virtual objects that they can move around freely and view from all angles, making it an invaluable asset when selling business-to-business, such as showing clients what hypothetical buildings or structures would look like before being constructed.
AR can also be used to create interactive product demos and animations that help educate customers. Some automakers have started using an AR device that projects information about speed and direction onto your windshield – helping customers gain knowledge about driving safely.
AR is also widely used for entertainment, most famously in Pokemon Go’s scavenger hunt game that uses your phone’s camera and GPS to add an immersive, playful element to everyday life. But AR doesn’t just limit itself to gaming: brands can use AR to add fun filters to social media platforms or promote other campaigns using immersive experiences that set their business apart from its rivals.
Virtual Tours
Virtual tours provide immersive customer experiences that enable visitors to view your business from any angle, providing additional SEO benefits while helping potential customers discover and engage with your brand. Incorporating these immersive tours on both your website and Google Business Listing can increase conversion rates significantly as potential clients find you and engage with your brand more readily.
Experiences like these also present new avenues for customer support; Intercom has discovered that customers with positive interactions with customer support contribute 2.5 times more in monthly recurring revenue to a company than customers who experience subpar service.
Augmented reality can be an invaluable asset to marketers and salespeople, providing an innovative means of engaging consumers while creating exposure that carries lasting value.
AR is no longer just an experimental technology that only tech enthusiasts use; rather, it has become an indispensable marketing tool that helps businesses stand out from their competition and deliver on their promises. AR marketing tactics may even offer businesses a competitive advantage and deliver what was promised to customers.
Real-Time Feedback
Brands using AR can offer real-time feedback to their customers, helping them get an accurate idea of the purchase they are making and avoid regret later on. Additionally, this feature is helpful when introducing new products and want to know whether or not they meet expectations.
AR can offer customers an in-person shopping experience from the convenience of their own homes, such as Ikea’s AR app allowing customers to test furniture out before making a purchase decision and reduce return rates by giving customers a hands-on shopping experience from any device or location.
Companies offering virtual try-ons have the potential to both boost sales and improve customer satisfaction. Successful brands find a balance between innovation and practicality; for example, Ulta offers virtual try-ons and online consultation tools which enable consumers to virtually try cosmetics and skincare products before making purchases online.
Customer Support
Augmented reality (AR) can meet business needs in multiple ways. AR solutions may take the form of dedicated hardware such as headsets or visors for phones; or be delivered as software apps which run on existing devices such as computers.
Retail companies like Wayfair and Ikea are using AR to enable consumers to visualize how furniture will look in their home before purchasing it, beauty brands like Sephora and Ulta are providing virtual makeup trials, while automakers allow potential buyers to test drive sports sedans before they commit to making a purchase decision.
B2B companies can also benefit from AR when creating proposals for prospective creations. AR enables these firms to present prospective clients with virtual models of their project that they can walk around and evaluate from all angles – this helps clients get an accurate sense of scale and context which would otherwise be hard to obtain using static photos or even video calls alone.
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