Oct 20, 20223 min
Updated: Apr 16
Imagine your prospect is half way around the world, or maybe just hunkered in at home and not interested in jumping through hoops to see your facility.
How do you engage their attention?
Let me introduce you to the latest in virtual tour technology.
Nothing beats an in-person tour of America's Central Port. The challenge though is convincing a prospect to come out in the first place. Seekbeak's virtual tour software and advancements in high resolution drone photography have given us a tool crucial to engage, nurture, and close new deals. From real estate, to planning, to workforce engagement, we think it's safe to say this technology will be a game changer moving forward.
Anyone in a business or economic development role working in the commercial and industrial real estate space can tell you what it's like to engage and nurture prospective new businesses for your properties.
In the past, you were limited to brochures, maps, aerials, and video. With advancements in virtual tour technology and high resolution photography, engaging new leads and nurturing prospects through the planning and building phases of a project have never been more rewarding. Being able to walk through details that involve spatial data points, such as where a site sits in relation to the entrances and exits to the Port removes significant headaches from the site selection process.
Other phenomenal benefits include our new ability to provide tours of our facility to those outside driving distance. To date, this software has helped us engage prospects from Texas to South Korea and everything in between. In addition, when we are able to have someone out for an in-person site visit, being able to kick things off with an aerial tour followed by a driving tour creates for one memorable experience. This new way of presenting adds an additional layer of value by providing a tool the prospect can take with them where they can easily show our facility to other decision makers throughout their organization.
Internally, meetings that involve planning, construction projects, and engineering discussions are significantly easier with virtual tour software. When we were in the process of discussing the 4th Street realignment and paving project, being able to demonstrate using 360 views of key intersections and transportation routes was crucial to communicating with Port tenants and our engineering and construction partners. Where we were once limited to engineering drawings and GIS aerials, we can now supplement both with easy to navigate virtual tours. It has shaved hours and even days off the normal allotted time for meetings and planning discussions.
We wanted a way to showcase our manufacturers and the many jobs we have here at America's Central Port. Using a mix of 360 cameras and drone technology, we were able to capture some phenomenal shots of the various employment opportunities here at the Port. To see the full lineup of employers featured in our tour, visit our Job Opportunities page here: americascentralport.com/job-opportunities.
If you have ever wondered what's inside the non-descript buildings you drive by everyday, these tours will give you that behind the scenes look. Mattingly Lumber for example manufacturers trusses, walls, and doors, employs over 150 people at this location, and is always on the lookout for new motivated hires to come on board.
Beyond the manufacturing tours, you'll also get to see what it's like behind the driver seats of tugboats, cranes, locomotives, grain elevators and more. Ever wondered what it's like to be a captain of a tugboat? We weren't able to grab a 360 while the boat was in motion (that's illegal), but what we were able to snag is still pretty cool if you ask us.
If you find yourself interested in seeing any of the facilities featured in our virtual tour, know we are happy to accommodate. Whether you are a manufacturer or industrial enterprise, or an educator, student, or prospective new hire, you can schedule a tour here: americascentralport.com/contact-sales.