Try it before you buy it

Marketing and sales are the two core pillars of every business. They are intrinsically connected and interdependent. There is more that goes into marketing than billboards, cold calling, cold emailing, or interruptive advertising. Customers are bombarded with numerous marketing messages every day. They are spoilt for choice and loyalty levels are dwindling. Moreover, cutthroat competition is rampant in every marketplace.  The challenge is to find unique marketing methods to engage with customers and generate sales. In the always-connected and information-rich world that we live in, digital is the new 'normal' in marketing, and the digital marketing landscape is witnessing disruptive changes that businesses can no longer ignore.

Digital is permeating every aspect of life, changing the way in which we think, act, and live. Digital business models, markets, customer-bases, and competitors originate and thrive in the blink of an eye. In short, digital is the future and the future is digital. When it comes to marketing, digital is the king and customer experience is the crown. Digital marketing helps create innovative content and incredible customer experience.  The influx of virtual reality has ushered in a new era in digital marketing. From McDonald’s ‘Happy Meals’ box to Oreo's 'Wonder Vault, Jaguar's ‘Feel Wimbledon’, and Alibaba's Buy+, virtual reality has helped digital marketers take a flying leap forward. Thanks to its captivating power to create an immersive and compelling experience, or a feeling of being physically present in a virtual world.

VR can make a major difference in customer experience and decision-making journey. Need a sneak peek into the apartment you plan to buy? Wondering how to try the latest signature collection from your favourite designer without visiting the store?  Can't decide what to order from the list of dishes you have never tried before? The infinite possibilities of virtual reality can help answer these questions in no time.  With virtual reality, customers can see products up close and personal, and analyse why they are unique and relevant. You can do anything from playing games to visiting new destinations from the comfort of your home.  Did you know that the global VR revenues touched a whopping $7-billion mark in 2017?

No matter how effective a product or a solution is, it is not easy to demonstrate how it could work in reality.  But virtual reality enables a near-to-real experience when compared to video, social media, and print promotion methods. Immersive telepresence in VR helps creates engaging experiences at every touch point in a customer's purchase cycle. Imagine test driving a car from your desk! Given the experience of a vehicle is of highest relevance, the automotive industry can immensely benefit from VR-based marketing methods. It delivers “virtual showroom” experiences and enhances sales along with strengthening brand identity and reach.

The boundless potentials of virtual reality can now be cost-effectively leveraged to deepen customer engagement and improve sales. Virtual reality can be adapted to any business where user experience is of immense significance. It creates emotional resonance and shares surprising and delighting positive experience. Through VR, prospective customers can experience how products or services work in a contextually relevant environment. 

Emotion is the heart and soul of every marketing initiative. The findings of a Nielsen and YuMe’s 2016 study indicates that virtual reality drove higher engagement and emotional response when compared to all other platforms it was tested against. VR helps put customers in the driving seat and give them a near to a near-to-real experience of a product or service. In short, it is try-before-you-buy-it or a high-touch customer interaction in a whole new and futuristic manner.  It bridges the gap between scepticism and conversion and helps close deals in no time with a virtual handshake. In a world that’s replete with distractions, virtual reality is essential to reclaiming the captive audience and strengthen the bottom line.

With the advent of Oculus Rift, Vive, and Cardboard, virtual reality has become a part of the mainstream marketing repertoire. Virtual reality is here to stay, and it will be a major player in the digital marketing world for years to come. The economic impact of virtual reality is predicted to reach $29.5 billion by 2020.

Beyond the car

Can connected cars change your life on the roads? What if you can use your phone as the key fob, make hands-free voice calls, use an autopilot mode, or reschedule your meetings from the comfort of your car? A connected car can help do all these and more, assist in mobility and ownership needs, and ensure exceptional driving experience and safety. 

Connected car – the umbrella term comprises a vast amount of cutting-edge technologies, applications, and business models to improve your in-car experience.  Global sale of connected cars is expected to touch a whopping 61 million by 2020, generating $141 billion in revenue. A million connected vehicles will ply on our roads by 2020, says a Gartner report. 

Connected car features are no longer an illusion or a luxury for the elite and tech-savvy.  The app-powered accessory is available even in the most economical cars and can be retrofitted to provide entertainment, information, and seamless connection with the outside world.  Connected to the cloud by wireless technologies, chips, onboard computers, and advanced smartphone-based applications, connected cars represent a new era in the automotive world. However, automakers are yet to capitalise on the $155 billion worth connected services market. 

Many industry wonks have invested and continue to spend millions of dollars to develop advanced connected car features and technologies. However, their investments haven’t paid off yet, says a recent global study. Four out of ten (39%) survey respondents (connected car owners) were unaware that they own connected cars. They were oblivious to the benefits of connected car technologies and failed to see how the digital transformation can enhance their day-to-day lives.  The ratio will undoubtedly be higher in the Indian scenario. 

Lack of product exposure and the inability to create awareness are the reasons behind the failure to monetise this innovative in-car technology. If customers remain in the dark and miss out on the advantages of connected cars, auto brands should take a step back and reevaluate how they market the benefits of car connectivity. If they fail to do so, new entrants and tech giants such as Google, Uber, and Apple will soon gain the market monopoly, and OEMs will risk losing the ground. The findings from a Capgemini survey validate this probability -  About 57% of the survey respondents indicated that they would buy a car from a technology company (such as Apple or Google) if that were an option.  The number hops to a whopping 78% in emerging markets. 

Bridging the gap between car connectivity and cost efficiency, protection, and better in-car experience is the best way forward to improve sign-up and subscription of connected car features.  It will open new revenue streams, diversify core services, boost profitability, and help stay ahead of competitors who own the larger pie of market share.  Initiating the continual usage of connected features will enhance subscription renewals and lessen the prevalent scepticism and unawareness.

Real-world relevance is the key to unlock the market potential and growth of every product or service. Connected car features are no different.  From safety to driver assistance, hands-free support, maintenance alert, anti-theft features, and in-car-payment, they have to cater to the day-to-day needs of every car owner.  In the futuristic versus relevant battle, relevant will always stand out. Hence, pertinent, simple, intuitive, and impactful features and technologies are indispensable to gain competitive advantage. 

On-boarding customers during testing and trials will also enhance the uptake and usage of connected car features.  Time-bound and comprehensive training for dealership staff can significantly improve customer adoption and ROI.  Regular updations too are integral to stay competitive and relevant. OEMs must enable over-the-air (OTA) updates to fix bugs and roll out updates globally. Cars equipped with Wi-Fi connections can leverage OTA and receive bug fixes and updates in no time.

Furthermore, from hardly palatable jargons and complex elucidations, the real-world benefits of connected cars and related technologies should be made available in chewable morsels of information that every car owner can get enough of. Can't cars be equipped with pre-loaded tutorials and digital handbooks on connectivity features?