Nobody builds 3D websites for fun or because it's trendy. Rather, companies develop marketing and business strategies and then realize that a 3D website can be a great fit to make them even more successful.
3D websites are usually made for marketing
A website is no more an expense than marketing. They are both an investment - a rather necessary one, in fact, that will determine whether your company makes money next month or goes hungry. That's a great realization, because websites and marketing are closely related.
Marketing is the effect when your products and services are seen and perceived by a specific target group through an action. A website is the central place on the internet to provide extensive information about your company, products and services.
How can a 3D website add value to your business?
Now you're asking yourself, that's all very well, what does all this have to do with 3D websites?
3D websites have the ability to go beyond the usual communication threshold of informational websites. Provided users have the time and interest, a deeper level and connection can be achieved with these experiences. You can captivate users, tell them a story, let them explore your products, services and much more. This creates a deeper relationship between your company and the customer.
And I don't think I need to explain what good that does. That's about the difference between a person you've just approached on the street for the first time and a close friend you've known well for 10 years. The motivation, the trust and your ability to influence these two people to sell let’s say a product, is vastly different.
Likewise, there are many other advantages if we stay on the informal communication level, such as an improved and detailed representation of your products, the ability to create interactivity and let customers decide for themselves what they look at and how, with which 3D increases the overall user-centricity.
For what industries do 3D websites suit?
Now that we have all the advantages at a glance, we can ask ourselves for which companies a 3D website makes sense in terms of marketing.
In general, 3D websites can find great applications in almost every industry. There are industries that are more suitable due to their positioning, products and target groups than others, but the general benefits of 3D that we have described above apply everywhere.
Overview of the top industries for 3D experiences:
- Gaming
- E-commerce
- Tech & software
- Art & entertainment
- Automotive
- Music and Festivals
- Architecture and Real estate
- Education and training
- Travel and tourism
- Museums and Cultural Institutions
- Healthcare
- Events and Conferences
- Clothing
- Food and drinks
Is a 3D website right for my business?
Whether a 3D experience makes sense usually depends less on your industry you're in but rather on the current situation of your company, its size and strategies you pursue.
I mean all truths spoken, you've gotten by without any 3D experience up to this point, so it can't have been really necessary for your success. Conversely, you probably still have almost unlimited growth opportunities in the multibillion-dollar industry you're in, whatever that might be. You just need to manifest the strategies and tools needed that work for you to unlock serious growth.
Developing a 3D website out of the blue probably won't do any wonders either. There are no silver bullets that I knew about. Sounds fair, right?
Tip: Be realistic about your expectations of a 3D website and look first where your company stands now. Are there any sensible investments with greater ROI that you can think of at the moment? How are your current strategies designed and does a 3D website find useful applications in them?
What type of 3D experience makes sense for whom?
The more immersive the experience gets, the more complex and extensive the requirements for your audience are in order for them to respond to it in the desired way. They also get more expensive and complex to build, so my fair assessment is that these bigger types of experience are rather suitable for larger companies and fit better into their marketing plans.
Examples use cases
Let's say you already did it. You own a global company that sells soft drinks and makes billions in sales every year. Your marketing budget is tens of millions of dollars, which you invest in large-scale campaigns and events to draw attention to your products.
Now you think it’s a good idea to invest in an immersive experience for one of your campaigns or events. For example, you are promoting vegan products and health and want to deliver the mission and story behind through a 3D web experience.
The experience you build is exciting, the narrative is lively and you emotionally engage your users and take them to a deeper level of communication, where you create a bond and leave lasting impressions.
Some of the people you reached with this experience now convert into followers of your brand, feel like they know you better and see your company's mission through your products in the store. They feel enthusiastic and convinced about your company and tell their friends about it and also invite them to convince themselves of your products.
This is an easy-to-understand example to describe the value and application of an immersive experience.
But don't be fooled, 3D solutions are also widely used in medium-sized companies and well-financed startups.
A young startup that pitches its product with the help of a powerful 3D scrollytelling site and thereby convinces investors to make further investments has regained many times its value.
Or let's take an Architectural Office, which can suddenly deliver full 3D environments instead of images and videos that you can explore and view in VR. The benefit of better user focus is noticeable in their customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Or a car company that can replace the images on their website with a 3D configurator to let users explore, configure and then perhaps test out their models as they wish in real-time.
Final words
The possibilities for using the different 3D experiences are basically unlimited. They can be used in almost all industries but what really matters is whether a 3D website fits into a company's current strategy or not.
The largest application branch in the area of marketing, communicating your company's products, services and mission to the outside world.
By using 3D experiences correctly, you can achieve a deeper level of communication, improve user centricity, increase the overall quality of the presentation and turn users into loyal companions of your brand and your products.
