4 Technologies That Might Change Your Business For The Better
For the past 20 years or so, businesses have steadily shifted in what might qualify as a major paradigm shift: They've adjusted their marketing and advertising campaigns to focus on digital, online experiences in addition to physical ones.
Strategies such as content marketing and a highly visual and interactive websites and social media platforms have become the norm today and even more popular than traditional tools like billboards and brochures. Now, thanks to augmented reality (AR) technology, we're entering an era where marketing can hybridize physical and digital experiences.
Online marketing is influenced by a number of tightly interconnected factors, one of the most important of which is the development and popularization of new technology. We take for granted many of the new technologies that have revolutionized the marketing industry such as social media platforms--or even reaching back to radio and television--but these are only the beginning. There will always be new technologies on the horizon, ready to change industries in new and exciting ways. So much so, it's hard not to wonder about how they’ll impact the way we do business in the future.
These four technologies are in development or just around the corner, ready to change your business for the better.
1. Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is a technology that’s been around for several years now, but it’s still in its infancy both in terms of its sophistication and in terms of user adoption. However, the augmented reality game Pokémon Go’s recent popularity may be the marker of a turning point in the technology’s importance. With millions of mobile users flooding to the augmented reality concept, marketers are already racing to develop new AR apps, take advantage of AR games and apps already in circulation, and find new ways to engage audiences by bridging the gap between the physical and virtual worlds.
The key to effective AR marketing involves blurring the line between physical and virtual experiences. Virtual experiences are convenient, fast and technologically impressive, but they are also fairly impersonal and hard to connect with at times. Physical experiences on the other hand are immersive, gratifying, and memorable, but lack the sophistication or efficiency of digital tech. Your goal, when you choose to market with AR technology, should be to capitalize on all these qualities and make up for the weaknesses on both sides.
Augmented reality technology is still in its early stages of development, but you can start taking advantage of it today. Whether you create your own app, take advantage of apps that already exist or just harness publicly available technology, if you can give your clients more immersive, impressive experiences, you'll be able to reap the benefits in client acquisition as well as retention.
2. Virtual Reality
Speaking of the virtual world, AR may only be the beginning, considering virtual reality (VR) is even more immerse, completely generating a digital reality for willing participants. Sales for the landmark Oculus Rift device are projected to exceed $2 billion by the end of the year, and though we haven’t yet seen any truly revolutionary functions for the technology (or people wandering around aimlessly with headset attached to their faces), it’s poised for a significant takeoff in the next few years. Advertisements and messages can now occupy a completely immersive realm and online shopping could be dramatically reimagined with VR capabilities.
3. Data Visualization
“Big data” has been a buzzword for a few years now, but it’s still an important concept in the business realm. We now have access to insane amounts of consumer data, giving us hypothetical access to significant insights about consumer behavior, subsequently leading to better marketing campaigns. But having that data isn’t enough to form those meaningful insights. Instead, we need a means of simplifying, presenting, and automatically interpreting that information—and that’s where data visualization comes in. There’s a danger in allowing simplification to define our paths forward, but this could be a powerful tool for businesses everywhere.
4. Marketing Automation
We’re also seeing a rise in marketing automation platforms that allow the scheduling and syndication of social media posts to software programs and can write content from scratch (and sound like a human wrote it). These developments are making marketing jobs more straightforward and more cost efficient.
It's a good idea to keep these promising new technologies in mind as you develop and refine your online marketing strategies, however they’re currently manifesting. It’s hard to say exactly what effects they’ll have, considering some may yield countless new opportunities for businesses, while others may needlessly complicate our efforts. Some may stick around for many years, until we take it for granted (like older communications technologies today), while others may fizzle out as temporary fads that never truly caught on. Only time will tell, but best to be prepared for anything to have the greatest chances for success.
One final thought...
Stay ahead of your competition by adopting new technologies early, but always try to give your users something they need rather than resorting to cheap gimmicks.
Are you interested in how new technologies can help develop new clients and greater profitability for your company? Contact us today or visit our Capabilities page to learn more.