The effectiveness of virtual reality-based advertising in creating a customer empathy map using the video hermeneutic method: A case study of Ramak Company

The dairy industry, with its long chain of values and numerous links, is an effective and efficient industry in the Iranian economy. As the competition in the dairy market increases, the chances of survival in this field decrease, regardless of the customer, marketing and sales strategies. Therefore, the customer's journey is important from the moment of getting to know the company to the purchase, which is an experience that plays a role in the customer's mind. Shopping trips have a significant role in people's lives and are one of the basic needs of human life. The importance of the customer journey increases with the complexity of service delivery. It is also important to understand what the person is thinking and feeling, given that what the person is saying is not always in line with what they are doing. Therefore, today, it seems necessary to use a customer empathy map during a trip.Targeting and optimizing the message is very important in the busy days of the third millennium and is a requirement of every brand. The digital revolution has helped to better understand the final audience. Based on this knowledge, the message that has the most impact should be selected and the audience should be exposed to it. In this respect, innovation in advertising means creating valuable memories for the target audience. Virtual reality-based advertising can help companies create such memories. Virtual reality (virtual reality) is created as a computer simulation that involves a user, and that user perceives it through one or more senses (mostly through vision, hearing and touch). So, the interaction with it would be as if it were real.

In the present study, Ramak local cheese was advertised through virtual reality in Mahestan shopping center in the city of Karaj, where different ethnicities live. The aim was to create a customer empathy map using a virtual reality camera and a wooden cottage. The present study is a developmental perspective in which the survey method was used to collect the data and video hermeneutics method served to analyze the data. There were 74 participants in the study, and the data of 23 participants were analyzed. In fact, the selection of samples continued until the data saturation; the researcher realized that the subsequent samples will not provide him with distinctive information.For the effectiveness of the customer empathy map, what the customer says, does, thinks and feels were videotaped and finally analyzed during the virtual reality advertising process. The people in the mall were asked to watch a two-minute 3D movie through virtual reality glasses. They sat on a chair to watch the film. The film took the participants to a lush farm where many cows were grazing. To make the advertisement more effective when the participants were watching the film, several wooden walls were connected, and the participants were placed in a cottage with a traditional atmosphere. It was a place with a table in the hut lined with local Ramak cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes, and traditional music with pleasant spring sounds was played. At the end of the video, the participants were asked to try the local cheese and express their opinion about the product. The recorded videos of the participants in virtual reality advertising were analyzed by video hermeneutics.

With the increasing competition among companies and the great change and diversity in the demands and needs of customers, managers must always think of innovative ways to attract and retain their customers. Therefore, we see many changes in companies' advertisements to attract customers. Managers must be able to accompany the customer on the shopping trip. This trip is the process by which a customer interacts with a company to achieve a goal. Also, managers need to read the customer's mind to better interact with him. In fact, they must design an empathetic map to communicate with the customer. An empathy map can provide new insights into the customer’s desire and how it affects product decisions, marketing messages, and corporate business strategies. Videos provids researchers with unique analytic methods.Companies increasingly incorporate virtual reality into their operations to ensure that sales conversions occur based on a sense of presence, which results from an effective virtual experience. Virtual reality helps to bridge the gap in consumer expectations and ultimately leads to higher purchasing goals. In the present study, the researchers designed and implemented a customer empathy map with the aim of creating a sense of presence and meeting customer expectations. To this end, a film and a traditional cottage were used based on virtual reality. The results showed that the sense of nostalgia, peace and joy was completely transferred to the participants and the company was able to interact properly with them.

After carrying out this plan, Ramak Company has witnessed an 8% growth in sales of the desired product. Therefore, the use of virtual reality maintains the relationship with consumers. Indeed, virtual reality is a suitable tool at the end of the shopping trip, it has to do with the customer loyalty and advocacy, and companies can use ads to be more effective and create an empathetic relationship with customers.