Is Augmented Reality an Option for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses?
Recent trends in augmented reality (AR) have applications in marketing for businesses, but small- and medium-sized businesses may not realize that hiring a design team to develop an AR approach to marketing or securing a partnership within an already-built AR infrastructure is a real and useful possibility.
Partnerships
With Augmented Reality (AR), stories are being told, experiences are being had, and lives are being changed – all from behind a screen. AR consists of layering visuals and other digital information over what is currently being viewed on a digital device, allowing users to fully interact with a product or service without being fully immersed in an entirely new, virtual location.
The wildly popular go-to app for defining augmented reality, Pokemon Go, secured partnerships with large-scale companies such as Sprint and Starbucks during the height of its popularity, which has paved the way for smaller-sized companies to do the same.
Filters
It’s now easier and cheaper than ever to integrate AR into business practices. Using Adobe’s state-of-the-art design tools, AR filters can provide a highly unique, streamlined experience through posting on social media sites like Snapchat. Regular posting with AR enhancement can reel consumers into brand loyalty when carefully designed and integrated.
3D Models
Relevance is an ongoing challenge for companies who want to maintain or grow their profitability, even on the small scale. For construction and engineering firms, having to visualize an end-product using isolated 3D models is a long-held obstacle to streamlined planning.
Today’s most prolific 3D-modeling software, however, now integrates augmented reality options into the workflow. Small to medium firms can integrate augmented reality modeling into their processes to create a more thorough picture of what final products will look like.
Fitting Room
Small-to-medium sized clothing companies have the opportunity to build ecommerce structures that can support augmented reality. Through a sophisticated enough system, there is an opportunity for shoppers to use their tablet or smart phone cameras to align clothing with an on-screen image and virtually try on clothes, which could be just the boost in sales and customer retention needed to take a growing business to the next level.
Interior Design
Taking measurements of your living space before buying a couch is tedious, stressful, and sometimes confusing. Small-to-medium sized furniture design firms could benefit from the creation of apps that eliminate the need to measure for furniture.
It’s easier to integrate and design AR for a heightened user experience than one might think, and it’s more than just another simple marketing option for small-to-medium sized businesses – it’s success waiting to happen.
