Augmenting your CRM: a beginner’s guide to AR for Customer Relationship Management

Welcome back to Aryel’s blog, your compass in the vast, sometimes overwhelming, landscape of marketing innovation. We’re here to guide you through the maze of emerging technologies and trends, helping you turn uncertainty into opportunity.

As a marketer, you should be no stranger to innovation relentless pursuit. In the rapidly evolving world of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is not just desirable, it’s essential. We understand the pressure – the constant need to innovate, the challenge of making your brand heard above the digital noise. Not to mention lead generation efforts.

You’re not alone in this quest. We know how difficult it can be, especially for marketing newcomers. That’s why we decided to take a different route today, take you by hand to show you a thing or two about Augmented Reality for Customer Relationship Management processes.

You may ask why. That’s a good question: it’s not easy at first to understand what connections exist between AR and CRM. And that’s precisely the reason why we thought that would be a good enough motivation to write an article about it.

AR is not just a trend. It’s a powerful technology that’s transforming the marketing landscape for good. The impact of this technology is difficult to quantify accurately today, and that’s another valid reason to offer an introductory view of a topic that may sound a little obscure at first.

From enhancing customer engagement to improving customer support, personalizing marketing campaigns, and even revolutionizing data visualization and team training, AR is opening up a world of possibilities. Possibilities that may not be so obvious at first.

So, fasten your seatbelts, because we’re about to embark on a journey of discovery into the world of Augmented Reality for Customer Relationship Management. This isn’t just about keeping up with trends; it’s about pioneering a new way of connecting with your customers.

Customer Relationship Management, or CRM as it’s commonly known, is the lifeblood of any thriving business. It’s a vast and diverse field, encompassing everything from training service assistants to generating leads, and everything in between.

At its core, CRM is all about building and nurturing relationships with customers. It’s about understanding their needs, meeting their expectations, and ultimately, earning their loyalty. But in today’s digital age, CRM is not just about personal interactions; it’s also about leveraging technology to enhance these interactions.

So, let’s quit the cheap talks and go straight to the AR applications for Customer Relationship Management.

Gone are the days of traditional lead generation tactics.Stop thinking about lead generation as a mere way to collect contact information: instead, think of it as a way to create memorable experiences for your customers.

With Augmented Reality, you can create interactive AR quizzes that not only gather valuable customer data but also provide an engaging experience for the user. It’s a win-win situation – you get the information you need, and your leads get a fun and interactive experience.

An example?
Poke House was keen on introducing a novel product to a market that was still getting familiar with poke, and simultaneously, they aimed to link their brand with a high-end experience.

To hit their objectives, they sought to create an immersive experience capable of enticing users to visit their physical store. This was achieved through an interactive quiz distributed via TikTok, which also incorporated gamification elements.

They leveraged Aryel to launch an interactive quiz that succeeded in drawing customers from the digital space to their new flagship store. By engaging with the AR quiz, users could virtually compose their unique Poke, which they could then try in-store. The results were astounding, with over 204k interactions on TikTok in a single day, more than 200k unique Augmented Reality sessions, and new leads generated at a staggering cost per lead of €0.74.

But the magic of AR doesn’t stop at lead generation – it extends to lead nurturing as well. AR games can be a powerful tool for engaging with leads and building relationships. By providing a fun and interactive experience, you can keep your leads engaged and interested, as proven by Be Charge’s customer success story.

Facing the universal challenge of standing out during the busy holiday season, Be Charge aimed to nurture its existing customer base while also capturing new leads.

To achieve this, Be Charge utilized a DEM campaign, directing users to a landing page with information about their Christmas promotion. The landing page included an immersive AR experience, where users were presented with a Christmas Gift Box containing a discount code.

The campaign was a resounding success, keeping customers engaged for over 1.5 minutes on average, and resulting in a 37% redemption rate for the holiday promo. The AR technology enabled Be Charge to create an immersive holiday promotion that set them apart from competitors, bringing in over 70% new users who interacted with the holiday gift experience.

In the world of customer service, training is fundamental. But traditional training methods can be time-consuming and not always effective. With AR, training becomes an interactive and more meaningful experience. Imagine your service agents practicing customer interactions in a virtual environment, dealing with a range of scenarios and receiving real-time feedback. It’s not just about learning; it’s about experiencing.

AR can also be used to provide visual guidance for complex tasks, making training more effective and efficient. And the best part? The skills and knowledge gained through AR training are more likely to stick, leading to improved performance and better customer interactions.

It’s also important to note that AR training allows them hands-on experience without physically handling the items (thus removing any risk of damaging the equipment).
This results in better product understanding, equipping agents to serve customers more effectively and efficiently, ultimately enhancing the customer experience.

Speaking of customer support, every marketing insider should know it can be quite costly and time-consuming. What if there was a way to provide effective customer support while also saving time and resources?

One of the most interesting applications of AR is its capacity to provide self-service assistance, allowing customers to solve their own issues without the need to make a call or open a ticket.
Imagine a customer struggling with product setup. Instead of calling customer support, they can use an AR-guided tutorial that shows them exactly what to do. It’s quick, it’s effective, and it’s empowering for the customer.

And the benefits for businesses? Reduced customer support costs, improved customer satisfaction, and a more efficient customer support process.

So, you’re ready to implement AR in your Customer Relationship processes. You’re excited, you’re eager, but you’re also a little bit nervous. Don’t worry, fellow marketer, we’ve got your back.
Here are some tips and rules of thumb to help you introduce AR into your CRM processes effectively:

• Define with a clear objective

Before you dive headfirst into finding your tool of choice, take a step back and define your objective. What do you want to achieve with AR? Whether it’s enhancing customer engagement, improving customer support, or revolutionizing your marketing campaigns, having a clear objective is the first step in integrating AR in your Customer Relationship Management activities.

• Choose the right AR tools

Once you’ve clear in mind the objective of the implementation, it’s time to find the most appropriate tool for the job. It’s worthwhile to note that not all AR tools are created equal. Some are better suited for certain tasks than others. Do your research, test different tools, and choose the one that best fits your needs and objectives.

If you’re still looking for an AR platform, why not consider Aryel as your tool of choice? Aryel is a no-code platform that helps marketers create scalable Augmented Reality campaigns with ease. Try it here.

• Integrate AR with your existing CRM system

AR isn’t a standalone tool; it’s a powerful addition to your existing CRM system. Make sure your AR tool integrates seamlessly with your CRM system to ensure a smooth and effective implementation.

This step can be pretty difficult if the tool you’ve chosen doesn’t support native integrations (that means your development team should create an integration between the two). If you’re unsure about what to do, you can visit Aryel’s integrations page to check all the CRM software you can natively integrate with our platform.

• Training your team

Implementing AR isn’t just about the technology; it’s also about the people who will be using it. Make sure your team is trained and comfortable with the new tools. Remember, the most effective AR tool is only as good as the people using it.

It’s usually a smart idea to not rush through implementation without being sure that the team is comfortable using the tools you’ve chosen.

• Test, learn, and adapt

Be prepared to test different approaches, learn from your experiences, and adapt your strategy as needed. Remember, the goal isn’t to get it just right on the first try; it’s to continually improve and evolve.

That’s especially true considering that the real objective is to improve user engagement: so, if the results aren’t encouraging, don’t be afraid to start over.

• Keep your customers in mind

The last point takes us to the most important one, and that’s always keep your customers in mind. After all, the whole point of implementing AR in CRM is to enhance your customers’ experience. So, it would be useful to implement some kind of monitoring process to ensure that the implementation is actually delivering the expected results.

And there we have it, fellow marketer, a thrilling exploration of the innovative world of Augmented Reality in Customer Relationship Management. We’ve journeyed through the myriad applications of AR, from redefining lead generation and nurturing activities, to reducing uncertainty in online purchases, enhancing training performances, and more.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The world of AR is vast and constantly evolving, offering endless opportunities for innovation and growth. As marketers, it’s our job to stay ahead of the curve, to embrace new technologies and use them to create more meaningful and engaging experiences for our customers.

One of the most powerful aspects of AR is its ability to gather rich, valuable data about our customers. Every interaction, every engagement, every tap in the AR environment is a data point – a piece of the puzzle that helps us understand our customers better. This data is invaluable in orchestrating future marketing activities, allowing us to personalize our approach and connect with our customers on a deeper level.

So, as we conclude our journey, let’s take a moment to reflect on the importance of innovation in CRM. The integration of AR in our CRM activities is not just about staying up-to-date with the latest technology; it’s about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, about creating unforgettable experiences for our customers, and about using the data we gather to continually improve and evolve our approach.

Eager to learn more about CRM platforms that can revolutionize your business? You’re in the right place. We have recently covered the 6 best CRM platforms to streamline your business on Aryel’s blog. Uncover the best platforms that can help you manage your customer relationships with ease and efficiency. Don’t miss out, read it now.

Still not convinced on how to augment your CRM? Book a demo today to uncover the true potential of augmented Reality for Customer Relationship Engagement.