An introduction to the metaverse
Metaverse has become the talk of the town recently. We all have read somewhere that metaverse will replace the internet, or some also suggest that we will be living there in a few years. But what exactly is the metaverse?
Imagine a virtual world where you could do your work, study, attend meetings, and a lot more while just sitting on your couch. You must be thinking about doing it online, but metaverse is 10 times more realistic and interesting than the online tools we are using today. In the metaverse, it is your customized avatars that will communicate, attend meetings, concerts to build a community of like-minded people. In short, it is a virtual world, mainly powered by Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), where you can teleport whenever you want and can perform your day-to-day activities there.
Metaverse For The Enterprises
Let’s now discuss how metaverse is useful for enterprises. As an individual concept, the metaverse has numerous use-cases but is it really useful for enterprises? If yes, then how?
The metaverse represents a possible future where it becomes the next level of customer/ employee engagement, and by extension, customer experience (CX). The metaverse could be a place where you do that using virtual avatars of customer service agents, for example, rather than corporate employees at the other end of a phone line or in a chat window.
Do you remember the time when online shopping was a new concept and how people responded to it? This proves to us that such exciting technologies are the main key drivers to gain the public’s attention.
Being the early adopters of this phenomenal technology will help companies to stand out from the crowd. Such companies will not only attract customers but will also gain the first-mover advantage followed by extreme publicity.
In addition, Forrester reports that 76% of executives say upgrading the CX is a critical priority. The presence and experience of metaverse can be the next step forward in that process.
Metaverse provides amusing solutions where the users can live their daily life, from shopping to studying, without even stepping out of their homes. And, believe me when I say that this immersive experience is nothing less than your real-life experience.
Some Major Use-Cases For Enterprises In The Metaverse
- Virtual Office
After online virtual conferences, VR office is the next step in this domain, giving remote employees the opportunity to work in custom immersive environments like your office building, a personalized cafe, or a 3D space that cannot be replicated in the real world.
With the help of VR offices, employers can save on rent with the closure of some or all physical offices.
2. Training/ learning & development
XR is used today to teach employees everything from operating heavy equipment to managing a difficult customer. Companies such as Bank of America, Ford, JetBlue, DHL, and State Farm already have in-depth training programs for hard and soft skills. These early adopters showed that XR is faster, more efficient, and cheaper compared to conventional training methods.
According to a study conducted by PwC, users given VR training were 275% more confident in using their skills and four times more focused than their e-learning counterparts.
3. Virtual Tourism
Another promising answer to ‘what are the use cases of metaverse’ would be virtual tourism. It enables you to feel the urge to travel without visiting places physically. VR tourism is one of the emerging metaverse solutions, with the potential for mainstream adoption and recognition by enterprises.
4. Metaverse Showroomswhat
As the future design and functionality of an online store cannot be fully anticipated. Metaverse allows you to undergo different user experiences, such as visiting an online store in space or interacting with sports players while shopping for new shoes in the store — these situations are possible nowadays but just in the metaverse.
For example, Nike has already introduced NIKELAND to Roblox with excellent personalization and a high level of community engagement.
These were just a few use-cases of the metaverse that businesses are adopting, who would have thought that all of this will be possible someday?
It is quite evident till now that metaverse is a useful concept where customers can interact with the products offered by businesses more efficiently in their own digital spaces. Let’s look at some benefits that will answer our main question now, “Why Enterprises Will Use Metaverse?”.
- Completely New Economy
Metaverse facilitates the trade of assets between users across different spaces in the metaverse. New currencies can be introduced and easily measured, thereby boosting business growth, evidenced by the fact that blockchain technology is the core of metaverse platforms.
- Discover opportunities for virtual events
You must be thinking, what is new in this? Other than that in simple Zoom or Google Meet stream, the metaverse conference is not just some another video in a small window with comments under it, but a full VR experience, with immersive content from the first person’s perspective.
Galleries and museums can also be converted to the metaverse. For example, WoWExp has announced its art gallery project exclusively available in the metaverse gallery.
- Introduce innovative forms of advertising
We all know that storytelling is one of the most compelling approaches to building an identity for your brand. Now imagine how immersive and intriguing it would be to discuss your brand storytelling with the VR or Augmented Reality (AR) in the metaverse?
With the increasing popularity of the metaverse, soon telling stories will gradually turn into “storyliving”, meaning users will no longer be just passive listeners but active participants or avatars with the power of influencing the events.
- Find new ways to engage users
Metaverse opens up a whole new level of opportunities for entertainment and immersive experiences, and as a business, you can take full advantage of it. If your company is among the first to introduce a metaverse experience to customers, it will not only give you profit but you will also be in the limelight, as we have discussed earlier.
Different use cases of using metaverse alongside numerous benefits associated with it, present great opportunities for the future of businesses. We can witness an increasing number of companies have started venturing into the metaverse space. So far, we can only assume that the metaverse will be separate for all the companies: each company running its own.
One question popping up in your mind might be, “The metaverse seems too futuristic for us currently, can we use it daily?”
My answer to that is yes, you can! let’s not forget that blockchain and AI have been alien technologies just a while ago too.
I will wrap everything up just by saying that the metaverse has immense potential to influence an organization’s growth, and now is the right time to invest in it!
