Have you ever regretted buying something? I would be surprised if the answer was no. We all have experienced “buyer’s remorse” at least once in our lives. The classic advice to avoid a bad purchase goes something like this: “Can you see yourself using it, or wearing it?” You know—close your eyes and picture yourself in that new car, new outfit, new home, new shoes? Visualize your experience with whatever it is that you wish to buy. Well, this technique might work for some, but not for all.
No brand wants anyone to have buyer’s remorse—it harms reputations, and with the power of social media, bad news about a product travels fast—and it is very important for brands to do everything in their power to help alleviate post-purchase frustration for customers.
That said, most of us need real-life (or close to real life) experiences to judge if we like something or not. We need to try something on. Sit in that new car, or on that new couch. Walk through that house for sale. But what if you just physically can’t? Can brands help customers get such real-life experiences, from a distance, before they make a purchase? The answer is yes. In fact, 3D technology is opening up a whole new world of possibilities for marketers.
Closing the Gap Between Virtual and Reality
We talk about the importance of the omni-channel approach, and how online is increasingly meshing with offline purchasing, but there still remains a significant gap between pre-purchase experiences on different platforms. For instance, we love to shop online, but sometimes it is just too difficult to know for certain if that new gadget is really what we want. Yes, there might be millions of reviews and videos, but nothing beats holding it in your hand so you can see for yourself, right? That is when you head to the retail store.
But, what if we could experience it without leaving the couch? We could “feel” and understand how it would be to use the product? Get inside the car and look around—even get into the driver’s seat—or try on those jeans and get a look at our backsides? 3D technology can help marketers bridge the gap between reality and virtual to create a better and more complete buying experience for customers.
How 3D Might Help Brands
In terms of product marketing, 3D computer-generated imagery (CGI) has been around for almost a decade, used primarily by the automobile industry. A 2012 Forbes article by Alex Southern covered how companies used 3D catalogs and images to create more appealing, cost-effective marketing overtures. Today, brands are using high-end visualization to provide a true immersive reality to power a customer experience. While the use of 3D has continued to evolve in the auto industry, there are a myriad of customer service applications being employed, from shoe design to aircraft manufacturing. I saw numerous examples of virtual product interactions at a recent 3DEXCITE Live (Dassault Systèmes) event I attended, and I can assure you, the applications of 3D visualization will change the way brands market their products and engage customers both in-store and online. Shoe manufacturer Deckers is 3D scanning physical materials to incorporate into 3D mockups and shorten the design process for its shoe brands. For now, it’s aiding the design process but just imagine the ability to visualize not just the color but the fabric and texture that clearly distinguishes suede from leather in marketing materials or in its “custom build your own shoe” interface. I saw a demo of an interactive wall-sized touchscreen placed next to a white Cadillac ATS, which acted as a blank canvas for passers-by to view customized color and options packages projected on top of the physical car. This type of customized window-shopping can take place even when the store isn’t open. Stop by when the store is open, and you can put on headset to virtually sit inside any car with any options package. Gone will be the days where every car color and option needs to sit on the lot to showcase what a customer can experience virtually.
As brands use 3D to allow customers to explore products and services in a virtual environment,and experience the product before they buy, they are improving the online purchase journey, shortening the buying cycle and inspiring greater confidence in the purchasing decision. The benefit for the brand and customer is overall greater customer satisfaction.
Even More Powerful Ways Marketers Are Using 3D
But today brands are doing more. 3D mobile ads are a hot new marketing trend paving the way for the future of virtual reality marketing. Social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have entered the 3D video game in a bid to improve users’ interactions with video. This is exciting news for brands, and some of them are already leveraging this capability.
A case in point is Jameson whiskey’s 3D ad on Facebook and Instagram. Touted as the first-ever of its kind, it gives the illusion of a shot of whiskey sliding down a bar and coming out of the video, only to be snatched off the screen by a (lucky) outstretched hand. This campaign followed the announcement made at this year’s F8 Conferencethat Facebook will allows users to upload immersive 360-degree videos as a part of its Oculus Rift acquisition worth $2 billion.
For brands, allowing customers to explore products and services in a virtual environment can certainly help them improve the online purchase journey, potentially shortening the buying cycle, and the sales cycle, as more people would feel confident purchasing directly online, without having to physically visit a store to manhandle the product. And there are myriad other “customer service” possibilities when it comes to using 3D technology. Targetmarketing.com explored a few in a recent article:
Branding and Storytelling. Video plays a significant role in today’s branding and marketing efforts. Using 3D videos, marketers can attract, connect, and engage with their customers through interactive virtual tours and immersive storytelling. “The obvious applications are in real estate, tourism, hospitality and higher education.”
Product Demos. By helping customers experience better and more life-like product demos, brands can help head off potential buyer’s remorse, and help customers feel more confident that what they are looking at, virtually, is exactly what they want in real life. “3D experiences can put visitors either inside or outside a virtual sphere. That presents exciting opportunities for demonstrating how products work or visualizing their benefits.”
Sales Support. “Think about using the immersive environment for teaching soft skills like teamwork and collaboration, or providing visual instructions for product merchandising.” Also, using 3D product manuals brands can cut down on after-sales product support costs, and can also improve outcomes when it comes to troubleshooting and overall customer support.
- Adding 3D technology to promotional games and gamified campaigns can make for better and more realistic game experiences. “3D environments make promotional games or game-based training so realistic that audiences can step inside the game and feel like they are really there.”
Today, when the need for brands to become customer-centric is stronger than ever, 3D technology can definitely help make this goal more achievable. While it’s still early to comment on its true impact, 3D tech is definitely a marketing trend to watch.
