Immersive Technology Training and Education Checklist for Customers

This detailed checklist is designed to help your company identify potential uses of immersive technologies (AR, VR, MR) for delivering training and education to your customers. By assessing the areas below, you can determine if immersive technology is a good fit for creating value in customer training programs and how to maximize its potential. 

In a previous post, Boston Engineering asked you to Explore Immersive Technologies in Customer Training, Education, and Engagement.

Central to the article was highlighting that if your organization is facing communication and adoption challenges, Immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), have emerged as powerful tools to fill gaps in your training, education, and customer engagement strategies.

How can you asses if Immersive Technologies are right for your company? To determine whether immersive technologies like AR, VR, and MR are a good fit for creating value in customer training, education, and engagement programs, use the checklist below.

Continued Below

What is Immersive Technology? Immersive Technology is the interaction of advanced software, devices, and data allowing users to experience information in new and empowering ways. Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality from Boston Engineering are tools available today to elevate your organization’s capabilities, competitiveness, and agility.

Immersive Technology addresses today’s operational, service, and sales challenges with a nod to the future of business: better information and faster delivery that strengthens companies against uncertainty, while building competitive advantage.

Learn more about Immersive Technologies at Boston Engineering

Should your company explore immersive technologies for customer training, education, and engagement?

Below are several select areas of focus that will help you understand of immersive technologies could give you a market advantage through your training and education programs.

 Complexity of Product or Service 

• Does your product or service have complex features that require hands-on experience to fully understand (e.g., technical devices, machinery, software)? 

• • VR or AR can simulate the use of your product in real-world environments to offer customers a hands-on, interactive learning experience. 

• Is it difficult to explain your product’s functionality through traditional methods (e.g., manuals, videos)? 

• • Immersive technologies can visualize complex processes or features, simplifying customer understanding through interactive 3D models. 

• Do your customers struggle to fully grasp how to use or optimize your product/service with current training methods? 

• • A virtual or augmented experience can provide step-by-step guidance, making it easier for customers to learn advanced or hidden features. 

Product Demonstration and Hands-On Experience 

• Is it impractical to offer physical hands-on product demonstrations due to size, cost, or geographic distance? 

• • VR/AR allows for virtual demonstrations, offering customers the chance to engage with your product without needing physical access. 

• Are there specific situations where your product is best experienced rather than explained (e.g., tactile feedback, immersive environments)? 

• • VR can create an experiential training platform where customers can "feel" the product in use, even remotely. 

Customization Needs for Different Customer Segments 

• Do your customers have diverse needs or varying skill levels that require customized training solutions? 

• • Immersive technologies allow for personalized training modules based on each customer’s knowledge, usage level, and goals. 

• Do your products have different configurations or modes of use that need tailored customer training? 

• • AR/VR can provide tailored experiences, adapting the training environment based on the product setup the customer has. 

Training Costs and Logistical Barriers 

• Is it costly to bring customers to a specific location for in-person training (e.g., product launch, certification)? 

• • Immersive solutions enable remote customer training, eliminating travel costs while providing an equivalent or superior experience. 

• Does your product require specialized trainers or equipment for customer education that increases training costs? 

• • VR/AR can simulate equipment and workflows, reducing the need for specialized trainers or equipment for each customer session. 

Frequency of Product Updates and Continuous Learning 

• Do you regularly update your product/service, requiring frequent customer retraining (e.g., software updates, new features)? 

• • Immersive training can provide scalable, ongoing updates without the need to restart training from scratch, keeping customers always up-to-date. 

• Do customers often require refresher training or onboarding for new hires on how to use your product/service? 

• • VR modules can allow for easy retraining or onboarding, providing continual access to training materials as needed. 

Customer Engagement and Retention 

• Are your customers disengaged or bored with traditional training methods (e.g., long manuals, static videos)? 

• • Immersive experiences are far more engaging and can improve customer satisfaction and retention by offering more interactive, enjoyable training. 

• Do customers have trouble retaining information after traditional training sessions? 

• • VR/AR provides a more engaging and hands-on experience, increasing retention through active learning and interaction. 

Real-World Application of Skills 

• Do your customers need to practice skills or processes in a real-world scenario but face barriers such as risk, cost, or logistics? 

• • Immersive technologies can simulate these real-world scenarios, allowing customers to practice in a virtual space without any physical risk or expense. 

• Do your customers need ongoing practice or rehearsal of specific tasks to become proficient with your product/service? 

• • VR environments can offer repeated practice with instant feedback, reinforcing skills without real-world constraints. 

Scaling Customer Education Efforts 

• Are you struggling to scale customer training across different regions or large customer bases? 

• • Immersive technologies offer the ability to deploy training worldwide without the need for trainers to be physically present, making scalability easier. 

• Do you have limited training resources (e.g., trainers, physical space) to meet the demand of your growing customer base? 

• • Virtual and augmented reality can replicate hands-on training environments for a limitless number of customers, all at once. 

Download the Latest Immersive Technology Whitepaper from Boston Engineering

Augmented Reality (AR) is revolutionizing the way we interact with digital content, merging the physical and digital worlds in innovative ways. In this white paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of AR, exploring its definition, potential uses, challenges in adoption, and strategies for companies to embrace this transformative technology.

Download to begin Embracing the Future

Enhancing Customer Support and Service 

• Do your customers frequently need help troubleshooting or using your product? 

• • AR can overlay instructions or guides in real-time to help customers solve problems or navigate through processes themselves, reducing customer service queries. 

• Do you offer complex after-sales support or maintenance that requires regular customer education? 

• • AR/VR can guide customers through self-service tutorials or advanced maintenance procedures with immersive step-by-step instructions. 

Onboarding and Certification 

• Do your products or services require customers to undergo certification or specific training to use them (e.g., industrial machinery, medical devices)? 

• • Immersive technologies can provide standardized, measurable training experiences, ensuring that customers meet the required competency levels through simulated exams or performance assessments. 

• Is onboarding new customers a challenge due to the complexity or specialized nature of your product/service? 

• • AR/VR can streamline onboarding by immersing new customers in your product’s environment, allowing them to get up to speed faster and more efficiently. 

Collaboration and Co-Creation with Customers 

• Do your customers need to collaborate with your team on customized solutions or co-creation efforts? 

• • Mixed reality (MR) can bring your team and your customers together in a shared virtual space, enhancing collaboration on projects, designs, or problem-solving. 

• Does your product require coordination between your customers and their own clients or team members? 

• • Immersive tools can offer shared environments where different teams can interact with digital prototypes or workflows in real-time, improving coordination. 

Showcasing Value and ROI for Customers 

• Are your customers asking for clearer demonstrations of ROI or value from using your product/service? 

• • VR can simulate outcomes, allowing customers to visualize the impact of your solution and see the ROI before implementing it in the real world. 

• Do you need to demonstrate how your product can improve customer outcomes in specific scenarios? 

• • Immersive training can be customized to show scenario-based use cases, helping customers visualize the benefits of your product in their exact environment. 

Next Steps: Evaluating Feasibility and ROI for Customer Training 

Once you have assessed your needs using this checklist, consider the following steps to evaluate the feasibility and return on investment for customer training using immersive technologies: 

• Can immersive technologies significantly reduce customer onboarding or training time? 

• How much can immersive technologies improve customer retention or satisfaction by offering better learning experiences? 

• What are the estimated costs of developing immersive content (e.g., VR, AR environments) versus traditional methods? 

• What improvements can be made in customer support and troubleshooting using immersive training? 

By thoroughly reviewing the checklist and answering these questions, you can identify where immersive technology can transform customer training, improving both the customer experience and your company’s operational efficiency. 

Ready to Start the Immersive Technology Journey? 

With the capability of saving time and money in operations, improving field service, and creating efficiencies in your sales process-- Immersive Technologies are currently available to provide an advantage against competition, and a buffer against uncertainty.

Augmented Reality seamlessly blends the physical and virtual, enhancing user experiences by providing additional information and digital elements without completely detaching them from their surroundings. This intuitive integration makes AR an accessible and cost-effective solution across various industries, from education to healthcare to gaming. By overlaying digital content onto the real world, AR empowers users to access valuable insights and engage with information in a more natural and contextual manner.

Virtual Reality offers a completely immersive experience, transporting users into captivating digital realms. VR's high level of engagement and interactivity makes it an ideal medium for applications that require intense focus, such as gaming, training, and therapeutic interventions. By fully engaging the user's senses, VR has the power to inspire, educate, and transform the way we approach challenges and opportunities.

Mixed Reality seamlessly blends the physical and virtual, enabling users to interact with digital elements as if they were physical objects. This enhanced level of interaction and collaboration opens up new possibilities for product design, maintenance, and training. MR is revolutionizing the way we tackle complex tasks and collaborate across different locations.

Whether you’re seeking to meet rising manufacturing demands, offer more efficient training and service delivery, or revamp marketing & sales efforts, Boston Engineering has the tools to tackle these issues head on and incorporate your specific needs. Let us help you create the roadmap to success: Get the full ROI through Immersive Technologies by working with Boston Engineering.

Let's start the Immersive Technology Conversation

No matter the challenge, our team possesses the expertise in the engineering disciplines and technologies you need to bring your vision to life. Impossible Challenge? Try Us.

Imagine your Impact: Stay up-to date- with the latest insights and trends we're watching. Add your email address below and sign up for a Monthly Summary of our most impactful posts!