[simple-author-box]
I got it when I discovered the virtual world, my avatar. It’s like jumping into an uncomfortable spacesuit and then free-falling from the physical world into the digital world. This is a world full of zeros and ones, to which they answer only yes or no, which should be only right or wrong. How on earth can we ever comprehend this abstract environment? We need to digitize ourselves. Hence may avatar and me…
What is an avatar?
Your Dictionary defines an avatar as something visual used to represent non-visual concepts or ideas. Or it may be an image that is used to represent a person in the virtual world of the internet and computers. Peachey and Childs, (2011)1 suggest that taking on the form of an avatar within a virtual world is resembling a literacy of crossing down from the real into the digital. Consequently, many of us created our first avatars when we start playing games online.
With online gaming, virtual worlds are three dimensional environments in which you can interact with others and create objects as part of that interaction. How do you do that? You appear as an avatar in the virtual world: an avatar is a virtual representation of you (a ‘virtual ego’) which can take on any shape or form as you so wish (Virtual Reality Society). Just like my avatar and me…
My avatar and me going shopping
Now we move from gaming to shopping. How will my avatar help me shopping in the virtual world? It can be done with the help of your online retailer… According to De Mesa, (2009) 2 brands can, by being three-dimensional and interactive, move past the ‘show me’ paradigm of other media and get into the ’touch me’ world of true interaction.
Take for example shopping online for clothing. From the start this was a potential minefield. “The issue of getting the correct size remains a serious drawback for buying clothing and footwear online. Sizes vary from brand to brand, and since you can’t try out the products before buying them, selecting the size is always a gamble”, says Tarun Mittal, YourStory.com.
However, the industry is pouring millions of dollars into developing and trying technological solutions. Augmented reality, avatars and algorithms that approximate your size based on measurements you provide are already in the marketplace (CBC News).
So, my avatar (and me) can now click on an app to select my body shape and click on a piece of clothing I want to try. My avatar will appear in a 3D image wearing the item in the comfort of my own home. That’s really cool, isn’t it!
How can using avatars help retailers?
Just as we are using avatars to ease into the virtual world, so retailers use avatars to target their audience better. They call these avatars personas. Retailers, for example, create personas to help them understand their customers better. “It’s not who comes to your website that is important it is how they behave when they get there that is key to your success”, say Jackson (2009) 3.
Jackson (2009) 3 also suggests when designing personas, retailers should look at a number of different sources of data to define how to get to their role models. These are:
- Demographic data – age, gender, geography (data acquired from customer surveys, CRM data or other sources).
- Customer psychographics – what the customer does in the pre-purchase phase found by looking at a number of different sources in addition to the demographic data, such as web analytics keyword data.
- Market data – such as how the branding and market place effects the decisions of the persona. Web analytics keyword data, Google Trends and data from doing a competitor analyses are good sources of information.
Once a retailer has all the data about her customers, she can create an avatar or persona for customers that are interested in a specific product or product line. Below is an example of a completed buyer persona.
Concluding
The advent of the internet and technological advances thereafter have plunged us all in a new world. It’s a new world with a new economy and new rules – for most an exciting though scary space. By creating avatars and personas, machines and humans can meet on common ground – each wearing a spacesuit to make sense of one another.
Read also: Chatbots in Retailing – a Fact or a Fad?
A Marketing Plan helps you to communicate the right content to the right audience.
Notes:
1Peachey, A. and Childs, M. 2011. Virtual worlds and identity, In: Reinventing ourselves: contemporary concepts of identity in virtual Worlds, 1-12, Springer London.
2De Mesa, A. 2009. Brand Avatar: Translating virtual world branding into real world success, Springer.
3Jackson, S. 2009. Chapter 6: Developing and Measuring Motivational and Behavioural Personas, In: Cult of Analytics: Driving online marketing strategies using web analytics, Routledge.
Images:
- slidesharecdn.com
- Pixabay
Deference to op , some superb selective information .
I am glad to be one of the visitors on this great website (:, appreciate it for posting .
Ni hao, i really think i will be back to your site
I conceive you have mentioned some very interesting details , appreciate it for the post.
Good, this is what I was searching for in google
Yeah bookmaking this wasn’t a risky decision outstanding post! .
Enjoyed reading through this, very good stuff, thankyou .
I conceive this web site holds some real superb information for everyone : D.
This can be the correct blog for any person who desires to locate out about this topic. You understand so a lot its virtually tough to argue with you (not that I in fact would want…HaHa). You absolutely put a brand new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Good stuff, just fantastic!
Hey there can you inform me which platform you’re utilizing? I’m planning to start off my own personal website on free english movies very soon yet I’m having difficulties making the decision.
Hello there, you’re certainly right. I always read through your articles carefully. I’m furthermore thinking about forex strategy generator, you might talk about this at times. Take care!
I think this is among the most vital info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The web site style is wonderful, the articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers
I absolutely like your site and find a majority of your discussions to be just what I’m looking for. Would you offer other people to write articles for you? I would not mind publishing a story about free instagram likes or maybe on a few of the subjects you’re writing about on this website. Again, awesome internet site!
Heya, what do you feel concerning office space for lease? Extremely interesting subject, right?
Admiring the dedication you invested in the website and detailed information you present. It’s wonderful to discover a blogging site now and then that isn’t the same out of date re-written stuff. Amazing read! We have saved your website and I’m including the RSS feeds to our best forex robot website.
Hey, what do you feel on the subject of latest movies online? Extremely trendy topic, isn’t it?
It was actually great reading this article and I believe you are absolutely correct. Let me know in the event that you are thinking of treatment of asthma, this is my major competence. I really hope to check back with you soon, bye for now!
Hi there can you inform me which blog platform you’re utilizing? I’m looking to start our site on sports today soon though I’m having difficulties making a decision.
I really like what you guys are up to. This type of great effort and coverage! Continue the very good work guys, I’ve included you on my personal sofa upholstery cleaner blog.
Hey! I recently noticed this amazing site and I truly enjoy it. I also want to talk about av streaming from time to time. Great to be around, thank you!
Throughout this great scheme of things you secure a B+ just for hard work. Exactly where you confused us was first in your details. You know, it is said, the devil is in the details… And it couldn’t be more correct in this article. Having said that, permit me inform you precisely what did do the job. Your authoring is certainly quite engaging and this is possibly why I am making an effort in order to opine. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. 2nd, despite the fact that I can certainly see the jumps in reasoning you make, I am not necessarily certain of how you appear to connect your points which inturn make the final result. For right now I will yield to your issue however hope in the foreseeable future you link your facts better.
I really like what you fellows are up to. This kind of great work and visibility! Continue the excellent effort guys, I’ve you to my test credit card webpage.
I simply want to tell you that I am newbie to blogging and honestly liked you’re website. More than likely I’m going to bookmark your blog . You really come with amazing well written articles. Thanks for revealing your web site.
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later. Cheers