Virtual Tours for Business

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Virtual tours are used by businesses to showcase their products or services to potential customers through a digital platform. These tours provide an immersive and interactive experience for viewers, allowing them to explore and learn about a business’s offerings from the comfort of their own device. Virtual tours can be created using various platforms and can include high-quality visuals, interactive features, and informative content. By using virtual tours, businesses can reach a wider audience and provide a more engaging experience for customers, which can ultimately lead to increased sales and brand awareness.

In this blog we’ll guide you through the fundamentals of what you need to know when exploring virtual tours, and highlighting the impact they can have on businesses like yours.

What is a Virtual Tour?

A virtual tour is essentially a newer and exciting way of marketing your business, helping you stand out in a crowded marketplace. For your customers and clients, this allows them to virtually experience your products and services. It’s created using 360 photography and videography, in order to make an experience feel as close to reality as possible.  A sequence of 360 images and/or 360 videos that give you a simulation of an existing location. Multimedia elements can then be added into this, to stimulate the users other senses. Typically these elements might be music, narration and sound effects. Any business can benefit from virtual tours and there is increasing demand for them.

benefits of virtual tours

Virtual tours can help build trust with customers. People like to be able to have a sense of where they might be staying or what the building layout is. Having a virtual tour creates a sense of luxury – not everyone has one. And they have a positive impact on customer engagement with brand websites, driving more interaction and interest.

Here’s 5 more reasons why virtual tours are worth their weight in gold.

  1. Half of all adults on the internet rely on virtual tours for product and service research regularly. As technology progresses, so does the desire for it. Did you know that businesses that offer virtual tours enjoy increased bookings? The look-to-book conversion ratio increases from 16% to 67%. The more engaging and interactive your media is, the better you’ll do.
  2. There are over five million visits on virtual tours every day worldwide, virtual tour statistics confirm. Why is there such a demand for virtual tours? Because it’s such a fantastic tool for your customers, as well as your businesses. It helps establish trust between the customer and your business. A good virtual tour experience will give your customer peace of mind, whilst they get a feel of what you offer, whilst also attracting new customers. Online visitors spend a longer amount of time on websites with virtual tours, giving you the opportunity to increase sales, drive recruitment and site traffic and increase your visibility.
  3. Virtual tours attract customers in the 18 to 34 years age group, as they are 130% more likely to book based on a virtual tour. Trying to attract Millennials and Gen Z? Well, Millennials are right at the forefront of this new marketing technology. Customers aged between 18-34 are more likely to book a venue or use a service if the business website offers a virtual tour.
  4. 92% of prospective home buyers research on the internet before reaching out to an agent. Virtual tours have become increasingly important for estate agencies in the last year. And it’s true of most purchase decisions in general, that customers will check online before making a decision – especially millennials. Companies should seek to provide as much information as possible on their websites and include a virtual tour to give customers the best possible experience of their service and products.
  5. Google likes you more! Google prefers to display virtual images as thumbnails with a two to one ratio. If you have a virtual tour on your Google My Business listing, Google favours your 360 thumbnail pixels to display on search results. So it’s a no brainer way of gaining increased visibility. And the good Google news doesn’t stop there. If your map listing has a Google virtual tour, you could be looking at a 12% increase in engagement. Additionally, stats about Google reveal that businesses with Google virtual tours have a 16% higher chance of appearing in Google Search or Google Maps.

As well as the reasons above, there’s one more reason that we’ve not touched on yet. Virtual tours are very in vogue right now. Why? They’re fun, and they are exciting to customers. Will a virtual tour benefit your business? If you want to advertise your knowledge and offerings, build credibility with prospective customers and improve your search engine results, then the answer is a resounding yes.

Perfect for sales teams

Selling is not the easiest job in the world. Showcasing products or offerings physically can be awkward, costly, time consuming and ineffective. Customers and clients can have a hard time imagining their specific wants and needs. There’s also a gap between customer expectations and what is actually being sold. Using virtual tours, you can show your products and offerings in a new innovative way. Unlike video, product sheets, brochures and powerpoint, virtual tours tells the whole story. It’s fantastic at helping people understand everything they need to know.

  1. Virtual Tours can shortens the sales cycle. If customers are having an immersive  experience, they convert faster! The travel agent Thomas Cook saw an 80% increase in revenue on New York excursions when it used VR to promote them. Whether by presenting your customers with full-scale digital product representation, or by using VR to promote your offerings, a virtual tour can knock days or more off your sales cycle. 
  2. Another benefit of using virtual tours in sales is that it increases customer confidence. Thanks to SuperOffice we know that nearly 50% of consumers are viewing 3 to 5 pieces of content before they engage further with the brand or sales team, and our money is on that figure increasing exponentially in the years to come. Showcasing your product or offering in an interactive way helps you stand out from the crowd, and give customers confidence to continue down the sales cycle.
  3. Virtual tours can reduce your sales costs. No need to fly your team and products around the globe to meetings and trade shows – everything can be done virtually! Less money out, less admin to be done, less printing costs. But the same if not higher return. It’s a no brainer really. 

Tips for creating a virtual tour

Virtual tours can be a great tool for businesses to showcase their products or services and engage with potential customers. Here are some tips for using virtual tours for business:

  1. Choose the right platform: There are many platforms available for creating and hosting virtual tours, so it’s important to choose one that meets your needs. Some popular options include Matterport, 3D Vista, and iStaging.
  2. Plan the tour carefully: Think about what you want to highlight during the tour and plan out the route you will take. Make sure to showcase your products or services in a way that will appeal to your target audience.
  3. Invest in high-quality visuals: Your virtual tour should be visually engaging and showcase your business in the best possible light. Consider hiring a professional photographer or videographer to create high-quality visuals for your tour.
  4. Provide context and information: Make sure to provide context and information about the products or services you are showcasing during the tour. This can include descriptions, pricing information, and any other relevant details.
  5. Use interactive features: Interactive features, such as hotspots and clickable links, can make your virtual tour more engaging and informative. Consider adding these features to your tour to help guide viewers through the experience.
  6. Promote your tour: Once your virtual tour is complete, make sure to promote it through your website, social media channels, and other marketing materials. Encourage viewers to share the tour with their networks to help spread the word about your business.

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