3 Essential Things to Learn from Pokemon Go for Startups

Niantic’s Pokemon Go has captivated the senses of millions around the world at this juncture, and there are very few of us who have not been affected by this phenomenon.

While most people seem to be awestruck with the game, there is also persistent cynicism around it, as naysayers deem Pokemon Go as purely unproductive.

Haters gonna hate and ain’ters gonna ain’t!

After all, there must be some underlying reasons why Pokemon Go has managed to garner 15 million downloads in the 1st week of its launch. Plus, it has been able to bag the tag of the most viral app than has been released ever.

What we are trying to say is that even if we label the game as appalling, there are still some lessons that can be learnt for businesses, especially startups hoping to make it big.

So today, let us take a look at the top 3 things that startups and small businesses can hope to learn from Pokemon Go.

  1. Branding is the Name of the Game

Most of us know a great deal about Pokemon Go – how to collect Pokemons, ways to get more points, and others. However, very few of us might be aware of the fact that this game was developed around Ingress. What’s that, you ask? Ingress was another location-specific mobile game also developed by Niantic. Yes, that is why some die-hard fans of the game recommend using Ingress maps to find Pokemons. Now, the point we are attempting to put across is about the way your startup chooses to brand different products and services, and the larger brand also. For instance – Ingress has been in existence for over 3 years, but only a handful knows about it. On the other hand, everyone knows about Pokemon because that brand name has been progressively built for the past 2 decades. Therefore, while you are creating your own startup, be very mindful as to how you want to represent your brand name.

  1. Omnichannel Customer Experience can’t be Bargained With

Pokemon Go has utilised Omnichannel customer experience in the best possible manner by effectively bridging the gap of the virtual and the physical world. The game makes optimum use of the smartphone by integrating social sharing built in extensions and plug-ins. Omnichannel translates into one seamless experience across all mediums. This game has made people move from one PokeStop to another, and go to multiple stores to catch hold of a Poke Monster. This also means that any business can pay Niantic, and make their spot a PokeStop, thereby drawing footfalls, and ultimately increasing sales. And this process has already begun – Pizza store Long Island has observed a 75% increase in daily sales, after it paid to become a PokeStop! Startups can no longer ignore Omnichannel as Millennials prefer to interact in multiple mediums of interaction simultaneously, and Pokemon Go provides a perfect example of how to get things right in the sphere of Omnichannel CX.

  1. The time of Augmented Reality is Now!

Public knowhow on virtual or augmented reality is not new. Nevertheless, very few brands have been able to generate such mass appeal with virtual reality, as compared to Pokemon Go. It puts together Poke monsters on top of various objects and thereby, provides us a glimpse in to the future and as to how virtual reality can create overwhelming customer engagement. Thus, startups should jump into the virtual reality bandwagon, before it becomes commonplace.

Do you think there are other important lessons that startups and small businesses can take from Pokemon Go? Let us know your thoughts on the subject, in the comments below.

Shambhavi Sinha

Shambhavi Sinha is working as an SEO expert at Ameyo. She also likes to write tech-based stuff. Her aim is to provide knowledge to users by sharing the knowledge about the latest trends about contact centers.