The B2B sales market has become increasingly trickier to tap into and the pandemic has only added to the B2B seller’s challenges. The B2B buyer no longer wants to listen to an elaborate sales pitch. Instead, they want to learn about the product they are purchasing, reading through product manuals has become a thing of the past. By combining this change in buyer behavior with the explosive growth in the use of visual technology across eCommerce platforms, the use of photorealistic imagery starts making sense.
Benefits of Using Photorealistic Imagery for Ecommerce
According to a report by HubSpot, around 80% of marketers believe that using visuals are the most important part of their marketing and sales strategy. Simply put, photorealistic or virtual photography is the process of generating realistic computer-generated images. When designed carefully, these 2D and 3D models look just like the real thing… if not better. They are time and cost-efficient and present a number of other benefits for the B2B buyer and seller.
Gives you a Competitive Edge
The B2B market is incredibly competitive. If you are selling a product, chances are there are many others doing the same. To be successful, you need to set yourself apart and offer a little more to the buyer to attract them to your brand. Photorealistic imagery does that and more.
These photorealistic images help build a sense of trust between you and the buyer, which is essential for eCommerce business dealings. Allowing the buyer to see the products from multiple angles plus a full 360-degree view, ensures confidence in the transaction. Because photorealistic images are more cost-efficient, they allow products to be priced more competitively, saving your buyer money in the long run.
Taps Into the Buyer’s Journey
According to a report by Gartner, a Connecticut-based research and advisory company, a B2B buyer only spends around 17% of their time making a purchase. The rest is spent conducting market research and learning about the product. It is more about their needs and finding a solution to their problems and less about the product alone.
By using photorealistic imagery for eCommerce, the product sells itself by allowing the buyer to not only view it, but also spin it, zoom in or out, and determine whether it meets their needs or not. Of course, you can help the consumer by describing some of the less obvious features of the product, but often it is the high-quality visuals that help close the sale.
Versatility
What if your buyer wants to know how your product will look in another color, texture, or material? With photorealistic images, you can effortlessly change the color or material, view from various angles, and zoom in or out to get an idea of what the product will look like with your own customizations.
You can also display the complete range of your product options, offering real-time customizations, something which is nearly impossible during in-person pitches.
Removing the Physical Barrier
Not being able to see a product in person is perhaps the biggest barrier in eCommerce. However, with photorealistic imagery and Augmented Reality, you can remove this barrier by placing products in real life settings. This allows the buyer to view the product in scale, view the material as well as the texture, taking the eCommerce buying experience to the next level.
Create an Interactive Buyer Journey
The product experience is as important a part of the buyer journey as is product functionality and appearance. To see a product come to life in front of your eyes takes the buyer’s journey to the next level. In fact, by allowing the buyer to interact with the product, photorealistic imagery helps to build an emotional connection with the product.
Think of the use of photorealistic imagery for eCommerce as giving your buyers the ability to take the product for a virtual test drive. If you want to win in the fast-paced world of eCommerce, you will have to go the extra mile, improve the buyer experience to keep up with the latest trends. CDS Visual can help you do just that.
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