Online meetings, hybrid working, an increase in popularity of distance learning and training and online shopping are all a part of our daily lives and, as a result, businesses are looking at ways to still stay connected to employees and customers despite not being in the same room.
Virtual reality (VR) can do just this, says Marissa van Wyngaardt from Bizmod. “It enables a real-time immersive experience whether it be with colleagues, stakeholders, collaborators or customers.”
VR has been popular with the gaming world for decades but today the benefits extend across industries as users can become fully immersed in the experience. From visiting heritage sites, arts and culture, property management and architecture, training, finance, marketing and so much more. The business community is seeing the value that VR brings.
Van Wyngaardt says the benefits of VR are plentiful and across industries. Below she provides insights into the benefits of VR for training, internal communication, and marketing, particularly in the finance industry:
Training:
* VR enables employees to have a ‘hands on’ experience in their field. Different scenarios can be simulated, allowing for training in complex or dangerous situations.
* Training can take place with no physical waste being produced and no downtime to existing processes.
* VR training creates an exciting and memorable experience that seminars and exhibitions just can’t. This is especially relevant while VR is still a novelty.
* Soft skills training can also take place creating a more realistic environment to rehearse presentations and public speaking.
* VR can be more cost effective as travel and equipment costs are reduced.
* VR training has shown that learners are four times more focused than in traditional learning methods.
Marketing and Internal Communication:
* VR can be used to demonstrate products to customers, who may traditionally find difficulty in visualising, especially when there isn’t a final product.
* VR creates an immersive experience and reduces the cost and hassle of taking products to clients or exhibitions.
* VR can be used effectively for team building activities.
* With remote working not going anywhere, it can be a costly exercise to bring everyone together to collaborate. VR provides a cost effective and exciting alternative.
Finance:
* VR improves the visualisation and understanding of data.
* It is also highly effective in being able to educate and create an understanding of financial concepts while introducing clients to various products and solutions.
* Customers can visualise their financial goals and plans.
* VR can simulate everyday experiences, where clients are able to experience the product and service without having to use real currency to do so.
There is no doubt that as the technology of VR improves, so will the user experience. van Wyngaardt concludes, “This will see a more intuitive way to interact with the virtual environment and less dependency on physical controllers, lowering the access barrier.”