How Virtual Tours Can Save Your Business in 2020

Hey everyone, and welcome back to another Momentum Monday! We’re gearing up for another busy week here at Momentum 360 and we’re excited to keep moving forward.

2020 has been a tough year on all of us, and we know it has been especially hard for businesses to keep up with normal operations through this pandemic. Between lockdowns, business restrictions, and fear of the virus, many small businesses took a hard hit during these past couple of months.

At Momentum 360, through a combination of hard work, good luck, and great clients, we have managed to grow our business 72% during the pandemic. And now, we want to offer some advice to you!

In this blog, we’ll be talking about how virtual tours can help save your business in 2020. Keep reading to find out more!

Overview

Today, we’re going to be looking at three different industries and how virtual tours can help save the businesses within them:

• Real Estate
• Retail
• Restaurants

So let’s get started!

Real Estate

If you don’t know by now, here at Momentum 360 we love real estate. Since the beginning, Momentum 360 has been saying that virtual tours are absolutely essential in all types of real estate – whether it be residential, commercial, or industrial.

Even before the Coronavirus shut down in-person tours and open houses in real estate, virtual tours have been a vital tool in the buying, renting, and selling of real estate. However, now more than ever, 3D tours are needed by realtors to showcase their listings.

Research suggests that including a 3D tour with a property listing will increase leads generated. Virtual tours have been shown by a 2019 Matterport study to produce an increase in clicks, phone inquiries, email inquiries, qualified leads, and more.

In addition, recently Matterport reported that “Seven months into the pandemic, 78% of home buyers say they are choosing to view more properties virtually with 3D tours because of safety concerns. Home sellers shared these concerns, although to a somewhat lesser extent.”

3D tours are a booming industry in the wake of the Coronavirus and are a necessary tool for your real estate business.

For more information, check out our blog “Virtual Tours For Real Estate”!

Retail

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, foot traffic into storefronts is still at an all-time low. Coming into the holiday season, this can be very worrying for retailers who are used to attracting big crowds.

Instead of lowering prices or holding big sale events, retailers can combat this loss of revenue by combining e-commerce and 3D tour technology.

There are very few retailers these days that don’t participate in some form of e-commerce. By using a store’s existing online shopping capabilities combined with a virtual tour, retailers can give customers the feeling of shopping in-person right from their own homes.

According to Matteport, one of the benefits of a virtual tour for retail is that it is “a way to transport people to your store so they can get a feel for the products you are offering in an environment that is warmer and more holistically integrated than most commerce sites that only show products on a white background. Using 3D, you can create immersive experiences that represent your brand, which goes on to build long-term value and loyalty for your business.”

Restaurants

When you think of virtual tours, you may not immediately think of restaurants. However, restaurants can greatly benefit from a virtual tour just as real estate properties and retail stores can!

There are a couple of reasons why.

1. First of all, 3D virtual tours of your restaurant are an easy way to show off all of your restaurant’s assets.

Potential customers can see exactly what kind of place they are visiting, and most would much rather visit a restaurant with more pictures and videos than their competition.

1. Secondly, virtual tours allow you to control the images of your restaurant in search results

Google and Yelp allow customers to post photos of their trip to your restaurant in reviews so that other potential customers can see it. This is a great tool, especially for SEO purposes. However, your customers aren’t necessarily looking to show your restaurant in the best light like you are.

By posting your own 3D tour, you can ensure that a clean and professionally shot tour is the first thing your customers see when they search for your business.

1. Finally, a virtual tour is essential in light of COVID-19 restrictions.

Restaurants aren’t in the same position they were back in March when restaurants all over the country were forced to close, unable to offer dine-in options. First outdoor dining opened up, followed eventually by indoor dining. However, there are still restrictions on how close together tables may be and how many customers are allowed indoors at a time. By posting an up-to-date virtual tour of your restaurant following these restrictions, you will put your customers at ease by showing that you follow these COVID restrictions.

For more information on virtual tours for restaurants, check out our 2019 blog post “Why Restaurants Need Virtual Tours.”

That’s it for this week’s blog! As always, check out our website and social media to learn more about Momentum 360 and all that we do.

For information about pricing, check out our pricing page here.

For a complete list of Momentum 360 Services, check out our website here.

Still not convinced? Check out our portfolio and see our work for yourself!

Our team members have also worked at Google and Facebook before, so we have the most up-to-date knowledge in the business. All to help your business rank at the top of Google and kickstart your journey to be a future lead generation machine!

Here at Momentum 360, we want to make growing your business easier than ever. Investing in a virtual tour is without a doubt an imperative step in making that happen. Our society is prioritizing digital content now more than ever, and we likely will not see a decline in this mindset in the future years.

If you are interested in learning more about Momentum 360 Virtual Tours or would like to have one made for your business, feel free to email us or schedule a call with Sean or Mac. For more information, visit our website! Mac Frederick and Sean Boyle, owners of Momentum, have over twenty years of experience in the digital marketing field and have a passion for helping businesses reach their fullest potential.

We post our Momentum Monday and Small Business Saturday blog every week, so feel free to subscribe and make sure you are up to date on the latest trends in the industry. If you have any questions or concerns, leave them in the comments below! From everyone at Momentum 360, thanks for the love, stay healthy, and until next time, build Momentum!