Metaverse, an alternate digital world of reality

A whole new universe is opening in the line of business, a universe more commonly known as the “metaverse”. Although this concept can be hard to grasp for many of us, it is worth looking into since it is busy affecting our daily lives and will be even more actively affecting us in the near future, both as a consumer and as an entrepreneur.

Whether you already know about the metaverse or not, one thing to keep in mind is that the depth of its definition is constantly evolving as the 3D world is evolving. This is what makes the concept difficult to grasp, it is a never-ending definition because it consists of many aspects and these aspects are constantly changing over time. To simplify the metaverse as we know it today, we can see it as a digital space or “cyberspace” where two worlds combine, a space where the digital world and the physical world intertwines into a “phygical” world, where aspects of both worlds are visible and interactive. The difference between the metaverse and the internet is the way that data is converted. On the internet, users can gather data in a 2D format and take information in on a surface level, whereas in the metaverse, users gather and interact with data in a 3D format. In other words, the metaverse is a world where the user can create and build their own identity and their surroundings in any way they prefer.

Since the concept is so broad, experts have agreed on a few elements that is included in the metaverse to make it more understandable:

• • The metaverse encloses captivating surroundings.
  • The metaverse operates in real life time.
  • The metaverse bridges over a various amount of platforms, including “virtual” and “physical” platforms.
  • The metaverse runs on a steady “virtual economy” which is mostly built on cryptocurrency and cyber products, for example: NFT’s (Non-fungible tokens)
  • The metaverse allows humans to have their own, unique online identities.

This technological evolution is already and will continue to impact the way we do business and therefore it is essential to grasp the business aspects where we can implement the metaverse to have an upper hand in the metaverse community.

Immersive and interactive customer experience:

The metaverse allows 100% customer attention and full engagement in a new “immersive experience”. Customers could be given the opportunity to take your goods or services for a virtual tester. They could have the opportunity to try something new that they haven’t been exposed to before and this creates endless options. Opportunities that have never been doable before are at the push of a button. Instead of having to write support desk emails, you could simply use a virtual demonstration through a hologram to explain certain issues to your customers. Studies are showing all kinds of statistics that could highly benefit brand awareness. One study specifically proved that through the use of AR devices, a person’s memory can store 70% more information than without any AR devices. Immersive experiences can help solve company issues ranging from real estate to make-up brands, by simply expanding customer creativity and stimulating the use of imagination.

Interactive marketing:

If there is one thing in business that is constantly changing and needs consistent innovation, it is marketing. Marketing in the metaverse is a game changer and in order to win this game, we as entrepreneurs need to learn to rewrite rules. Let’s take a look by breaking it down to marketing basics:

• What is the goal? Even in metaversal marketing, we need to stay goal-orientated and this is a good starting point for developing new marketing strategies. What is your reason for marketing in the metaverse? If your main target audience is there, is your motivation to create more awareness, establish yourself and create sensibility, or increase customer fidelity? The initial goal of metaversal marketing should not be fully sales driven, since virtual sales are still a grey area that needs to be explored by many people before trust and brand loyalty can be built. A good reminder is that just as in the physical world, the virtual world brings its own set of opportunities and risks when it comes to marketing.
• Determine the most accurate platforms for your brand. Depending on the purpose of your service or product, you can choose a platform that fits best for you. For example, in the gaming industry, platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft, Decentraland, etc. are all very popular. Or if we take a look at the fashion industry, Gucci is one of the leading brands when it comes to metaverse fashion exhibitions. Their main goal is to interact with Gen Z in new and fresh ways. This luxurious brand collected 19.9 million customers in two weeks after they presented a virtual version of “Gucci Garden” on Roblox.
• Create immersive experiences that draws the attention of your target audience. Since the metaverse is a fairly new concept, many consumers label metaversal brands as “innovative” which puts a lot of pressure on upcoming metaversal brands. This can create the feeling of overstimulation for customers, since they need to establish the perfect balance between Virtual experiences (such as VR), traditional marketing and physical world techniques made for complementing the metaverse.
• Try out various profitable models. Even though direct to customer selling techniques aren’t too popular yet in the metaverse, it doesn’t mean that they are not relevant in the near future. Direct-to-avatar (D2A) digital products have a current market of $54 billion already.

Improved learning and training

Virtual interaction and all kinds of immersive experiences in the metaverse have been proven to increase memory development around 70%. Virtual education creates the opportunity for users to physically immerse into their surroundings, which creates endless advantages. Increased perspective is one of the biggest advantages in virtual education, since it creates an environment where the user can take a closer look at things that are either impossible or extremely challenging to observe in the physical world. Another big advantage is the level of concentration a user has when there are no unnecessary distractions as there is in the real world. The virtual world also creates a sense of safety since there is a lower risk to experimenting with new concepts.

Metaverse as a virtual workplace:

The idea of “Meta Workplace” is to create VR (Virtual Reality) environment that can allow people to work from anywhere in the world in an immersive and interactive way as if they had met face to face. In a virtual workplace you can modify everything to your own preferences, demands and needs. This provides an atmosphere of increased efficiency, flexibility and innovation. It also creates more minimalistic working conditions, resulting in a more sustainable and less expensive way of doing business. Where people once had to travel abroad to meet for a 30-minute panel discussion, they can now simply meet in the metaverse and talk through their avatars as if it were face to face, saving the plant and decreasing expenses at once. Meta Workplaces allows employees to experience coffee breaks and just daily corporate life more intensively than normal distance work has allowed it during the pandemic. It creates a higher sense of interconnectedness with one another.

Conclusion

It is essential for us as entrepreneurs to take a look at what the metaverse has to offer. There are more benefits than not, and by taking the necessary steps, we can elevate the way that we do business. Reaching consumers, creating brand loyalty, and bringing something new to the market all naturally come along with expanding business into the metaverse.

References:

Enchant. 2021-2022. The Future of Customer Experience in the Metaverse. Read on 10.9.2022. Link https://www.enchant.com/customer-experience-in-the-metaverse

Hazan, Eric et al. 2022. Marketing in the metaverse: An opportunity for innovation and experimentation. Read on 11.9.2022. Link: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/marketing-in-the-metaverse-an-opportunity-for-innovation-and-experimentation

Watson, Tracy. 2022. The Impact of the metaverse on education. Read on 15.9.2022. Link https://skywell.software/blog/impact-of-metaverse-on-education/