The importance of technology in doing business cannot be overemphasized these days. There have been constant improvements in the technology used in doing business over the years, and it's constantly evolving. The technological development covers every aspect of doing business. Unfortunately, businesses that have neglected these technological developments have often being left behind. Apart from the application of technology in delivering more efficient goods and services, technology has also taken over advertising. Technological means of advertising include print media, television and, of course, the Internet. Advertising on the Internet has been a huge success because there are currently over 1 trillion people who use the internet regularly and growing. A new trend in Internet advertising is 360 virtual reality videos or 360 VR videos.

What is 360 virtual reality video?

A 360 video is created with a camera system that simultaneously records all 360 degrees of a scene. Viewers can pan and rotate a 360 video's perspective to watch it from different angles. These videos allow such individuals to interact with the video in a way that videos and still picture would not allow. 360 virtual reality video therefore allows you to feel the location as if you were present there.

Virtual technology

Research has shown that a lot of individuals love to see the place they plan to visit before going there. Such research claims one of the major reasons for this is that it helps them to get familiar with the environment. By the time they get there they would be able to move around on their own, as opposed to looking like a stranger there. This is especially when it is their first time of visit.

A lot of people also love to get general information about where they are going. In most cases, they depend on reviews, before making up their mind. It is however obvious, that people do not all see things in the same way. Furthermore, a person’s like might be another’s dislike. These limit the effectiveness of reviews, even though they do help a lot.

360 virtual reality video however gives a new dimension to these needs by customers. Virtual Tours have the same approach but using images instead of video. Both technologies allow you to look around an environment as though you were there. With this, people can easily get familiar with the place and make their own judgement as opposed to depending on the judgement of others in reviews. Businesses who have thus taken advantage of the Virtual Tours have been benefiting from it immensely. They have been able to get increased engagement from people who have seen their Virtual Tours and loved it.


Websites that feature Virtual Tours on their page have witnessed a higher conversion rate. They have also witnessed an increase in the number of individual that patronize them up to 100 percent compared to before they put up the Virtual Tour.

Google Virtual Tours

Google has also been playing an important role in the virtual world with the project: Google Street View | Trusted. The aim of the project is to pair up trusted photographers with owners of small business, so that a Google Virtual Tour of their business is done. Potential and existing customers can subsequently watch such 360 Virtual Tours and check through their services, products as well as their facilities from their offices or homes with a mobile phone or computer. This is to help the small business owners benefit from this wonderful and profit boosting technology.

Benefits and advantages of using the virtual technology in the tourism industry

The tourism industry is majorly a sight-seeing industry. People go on tourist trips to see how particular places look like. Other perks of seeing the place could subsequently include festivals, eating their cuisines and enjoying their accommodation amongst others. The virtual technology would thus be very effective in the Tourism Industry.

“Destination BC recently launched The Wild Within VR Experience, using Oculus Rift technology, making it the first destination marketing organization in North America to use virtual reality to promote the destination. The Wild Within VR Experience is an interactive, three-dimensional video that allows travellers to experience British Columbia in a truly immersive way, as if they were actually there.”

It is no news that a lot of tourists use the Internet to plan their travel schedule as well as research data. They would want to know where they are going to, what they would get there, prices as well as how to get there and leave. This technology is the best way to actually show them what they are going to get. If you have a Virtual Tour on the website, it would thus lead to increased sales revenues for you due to an increase in traffic.

Benefits and advantages of using the virtual technology for wineries

Wineries often have large selection of wines. People can also sometimes be specific about the type of wines they want. In most cases they visit wineries to try out a new wine or know more about the industry while enjoying a spectacular view. Seeing your Virtual Tour would make it look like they are there physically, which might even tempt them to want to point at a lovely bottle of wine they have just seeing immediately. That thirst, developed in them through the Virtual Tour, could push them to visit your winery the next chance they get.

Benefits and advantages of using the virtual technology in hotels and restaurants

The Okanagan Valley has a diverse variety of hotels and restaurants through the entire Valley, and there is a constant competition to attract more tourists to these facilities. A very easy way you can get tourists to visit your hotel or restaurant is by using virtual technologies. This is because; there is a very high probability (over 75 percent) that the tourist has had to browse through the Internet for hotels and restaurants before coming down. So he would most likely have made up his mind and in some cases, even book his hotel and restaurant services before coming down. He might have compared between 3 to 20 hotels in the location before choosing one. Having a Virtual Tour would considerably boost the probability of your hotel or restaurant being selected above others.

Conclusion

Virtual technologies such as: 360 VR Videos and Virtual Tours, are part of the new modern tools that could help in boosting the sales of your products and services if you are willing to take advantage of new technologies. With the introduction of Google Virtual Tours, it is now very cheap and affordable to create a virtual tour for even your small business. Virtual Tours are very effective, and using them could help you increase sales and profits.