The ZR5 was the industry’s first self-propelled baler. Originally launched as a concept, the ZR5 gained early interest from prospective buyers. Vermeer’s dealer network was met with an influx of customers requesting demos.
The problem? There weren’t enough already built machines to send to each demo.
In order to bridge this gap, our small but mighty team partnered with the Vermeer AV team to create a 360º video experience to serve as a virtual demo. I was tasked with making this video accessible for dealers to use in their sales process. I identified three problems to solve:
Our target user group was hesitant to adopt new technology and their frustration tolerance for new tech was very low. It was also not uncommon for them to be in remote locations when doing equipment demos.
Originally, the business wanted to host the 360º video online and have users access it via a link. I advised this approach would not go well with our target users and it had the potential to result in negative brand perception. I proposed a more personal experience to reflect our premium brand – pre-loaded headsets that were ready to go when powered on.
After researching available mobile VR options, I decided on a standardized, all-in-one platform to have a repeatable training process and reduce variables during support calls.
Knowing our user group favored face-to-face interaction for building trust, I opted to launch the headsets in an interactive training meaning. I planned to walk the group through powering on the headset and understanding the basic controls. I kept the floor open for questions and feedback, so all users could learn from one another.
Our user group took their headsets home after our initial training. The idea was they could use them for demos with any customer interested in the ZR5.
It’s safe to assume any technology will run into its share of problems, so I created a support plan to help reduce frustration amongst our users. Our small team of three was spearheading the VR initiative at Vermeer, so our plan was to handle support until we could train the appropriate parties and hand it off to the larger support team. We included supplementary manuals in our kits to encourage users to self-troubleshoot – our phone numbers were noted at the end for more complicated issues.
The solution was a comprehensive VR marketing pack that included a headset, reference manual, and carrying case. The headsets were pre-loaded and set up for users ahead of time, so everything was ready to go the first time they were powered on. Standardizing device setup also helped with support calls - our team kept a headset to help walk users through screens while troubleshooting.
Surveys were sent to users two months post-launch to gauge their comfort level with the new technology and if they viewed it as a valuable sales tool.
