These 3 Business Functions Could Be Transformed By VR

These 3 Business
Functions Could Be
Transformed By VR

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
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IntroductionIntroduction
Virtual reality technology is advancing very fast, and many businesses are looking at this
technology to help them to improve customer engagement and make their internal
processes more efficient. Here we look at the key business functions that should look at
VR now.
These 3 Business Functions Could Be
Transformed By VR

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Is virtual reality (VR) finally going mainstream? The availability of affordable, consumer-
friendly VR headsets like Oculus Go would certainly suggest so. But what I find really
encouraging is the increasing use of VR outside the realms of gaming and
entertainment. All types of businesses are enthusiastically embracing VR. For me, seeing
businesses get behind a technology trend is a sure sign that it’s tipping over into the
mainstream.
Transformed By VR

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As the world of gaming has shown us, VR can be used to create incredibly realistic
digital encounters. For businesses, this offers the opportunity to create highly immersive
experiences for customers and employees. To put it another way, VR gives businesses
exciting new ways to connect with people, and this could be used to enhance a number
of business processes.
Here are three business functions that could be optimized or even completely
transformed through the use of VR.
Transformed By VR

1. Marketing
Good marketing is all about being able to communicate your product or service and
connect with people. VR offers a chance to rethink how businesses do this. For example,
when it comes to showcasing a product, we no longer need a physical showroom or
demonstration in order to wow customers. By putting on a VR headset, a customer can be
transported to a virtual showroom where they can interact with products and salespeople
(whether digital representations of real company employees or AI-driven constructs).
Honda was an early adopter of VR marketing, creating VR experiences that allow car
enthusiasts to view a new model and experience a virtual test drive – on a race track!
VR is also making waves in the travel industry. Hospitality company St Giles Hotels has
used VR to show potential guests the attractions and experiences they can find right on
the doorstep of St Giles hotels around the world. This lets travelers immerse themselves in
a new place (taking the guesswork out of whether a holiday destination is right for you),
while cleverly underlining how ideally located St Giles properties are. In other words, why
tell customers that your hotel is located just a few meters from the beach, when you can
show them?

2. Training
The immersive nature of VR makes it a useful tool in learning and development. If you can
simulate an environment or situation on a computer, you can create a very realistic – yet
totally safe – space in which to monitor and learn from people’s actions. This could be
particularly transformative in sectors like medicine or the military, where it’s far safer to
simulate something than put a trainee (and patient, if it’s a medical trainee) through a
high-risk, real-life training scenario.
That’s exactly what the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles (CHLA) did when they created a
VR-based training solution for pediatric surgeons. Working with VR specialists BioflightVR
and AiSolve, CHLA created an operating simulation so detailed, it even included digital
representations of the hospital’s real nurses. This means the trainee surgeons’ virtual
experience matches what they would encounter in the real-life operating theater. But VR
isn’t just useful for simulating life-and-death scenarios.
In another example, the Training Center of Air Conditioning and Heating in Houston
launched an immersive learning experience that gives trainee HVAC technicians “hands-
on” experience in a digital lab.

3. Recruitment
A range of recruitment processes can be enhanced through VR. Imagine, for example, a
VR-based assessment center that simulates real-life situations that candidates are likely to
encounter in the job (situations that can’t be recreated in an interview environment).
That’s an area in which Lloyds Banking Group – one of the early adopters of VR-based
assessment – has been leading the way. In a Lloyds VR assessment center, candidates put
on VR goggles and are transported to a digital environment where they work through a
range of workplace scenarios.
VR can also be used to enhance your employer brand. Few people know the name of
foodservice company Compass Group – even though it’s a huge employer with over
500,000 employees – and this lack of brand awareness proved a challenge when trying to
attract fresh graduate talent. To help overcome its image (or lack-of-image) problem, the
company created a VR experience for campus events that lets students take a virtual tour
of the workplace and participate in a video interview.

These 3 Business Functions Could Be Transformed
By VR
We’re all leading increasingly digital lives. Now more than ever, the way people connect
with businesses is taking place in a digital, rather than a physical, environment. VR offers a
way to make those digital connections all the more realistic, immersive, and meaningful. In
the future, I expect it to transform and enhance many business processes, not just
marketing, training, and recruitment.
VR is one of 25 technology trends that I believe will transform our society. Read more
about these key trends – including plenty of real-world examples – in my new book, Tech
Trends in Practice: The 25 Technologies That Are Driving The 4th Industrial Revolution.

Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2020 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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These 3 Business Functions Could Be Transformed By VR

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