Anthony likes helping people reach their true potential. Being the victim of his own fears and insecurities in his own business, he has decided to help others create more opportunities.
What if your clients could visit your restaurant before even coming to see you? A virtual tour helps you arouse the interest of your future clients, and 41 percent of the time, they result in an on-site visit. (Ipsos). With that in mind, let’s see how you can create an appealing virtual tour that can bring you more business.
We are in a society where pictures have become our daily life: in our relationships, but also in our communication processes. The pictures chosen determine the popularity of an offer on a merchant site. An attention-grabbing image can incite people to watch a video or read an article. Because of information overload, the average internet user is forced to make a choice and the right picture can capture his interest and keep him engaged. Your goal is therefore to showcase the value of your offer and your place; today the virtual tour is a perfect solution to achieve that. Since it is more interactive and cheaper than a video, this technology will give you an edge over your competition at a reasonable cost.
The art of creating an experience before your clients even visit you
This is about taking your customers through a unique experience so you can stand out from your competitors. Your offer as whole will give this experience. Your service, your concept, and your location all play a critical part in this first impression. It is absolutely essential to give extra thoughts to your design and atmosphere, which should be essential components of your communication. Once you have made the necessary enhancements, make sure to highlight them and turn them into valuable assets before your customers even come through your door.
Since a lot of people’s primary access to you is an internet search, why not immerse them into your universe from this very instant? With a virtual tour, your future customers can wander at their own pace in your restaurant and discover your universe. You can even add virtual reality elements to showcase your services, links and even music. You can even walk them through places you typically close to the public, such as the wine cellar or the kitchen.
How to create the virtual tour?
The cheapest and most universal solution for a virtual tour is Google Street View. You can already visit the whole world with this technology. To put together a virtual tour, you simply take a series of panoramic pictures that slightly overlap each other —Google suggests taking a minimum of twelve— so you can have linking points and merge the photos afterwards.
To guarantee a better quality, we suggest you hire a professional who will use the adequate equipment and software. Google provides you with an index to find a Street View Trusted professional close to you. For the cost of a photo shoot, a photograph comes to your door, creates your virtual tour, puts it online in a Google-friendly version, references it and gives you the link so you can communicate about it and embed it on your website. Google being the best referenced price comparison website, having your virtual tour makes complete sense. It is generally a useful supplement to the reviews customers leave you.
A few examples
Thai Square in London hired Ideal Insight for their virtual tour. They used Google Street View, which gives a professional result that is well referenced in location searches.
Another solution is to hire a company that specialises in virtual tours without having any ties with Google. In that case, they can provide you with a completely customisable virtual tour. The end result will probably look more professional. The Old Inn is a great example of that. They hired Virtual Visit Tours and everything looks stunning. As they specialise in events, it is a logical option.
Wrap-up
Once your tour is put together, you can use it for your different digital platforms: websites, price comparison sites, social media. A tool such as this is worth more than a thousand words. So, when can we virtually visit your restaurant?
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