LEVERAGING THE METAVERSE IN 2024: A GUIDE FOR BUSINESSES
As we approach 2024, the burgeoning metaverse (and its tools: VR, AR and MR) offers unparalleled opportunities for businesses to redefine their operations and consumer interactions. Tech giants like Apple launching their early Vision Pro device and Meta who’s been there for some time now struggling with penetrating and market and making VR mainstream, are experimenting with these technologies that clearly will be part of our daily lives. Here's how businesses can capitalize on this transformative space:
1. Marketing and Sales:
Virtual Showrooms: Product manufacturers, and retailers (especially the ones running online only) can create immersive showrooms, allowing users to engage with their in real-time. Virtual showrooms bring an additional dimension that can be experienced through a screen, and better in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), or Mixed Reality (MR)
Engagement: Brands can engage with their customers by creating an experience for them that takes them through a playful journey, discovering their products or services indirectly through an engaging and fun environments. It’s no shock that fortnite skins have featured iconic fashion brands and skins sales have boomed. If a small percentage of those who bought these skins get to convert and buy the products in real life, this would increase the sales of those brands significantly.
2. Enhanced Customer Service:
Virtual Service Representatives: Instead of traditional chatbots, customers can engage with representatives in virtual environments, making the experience more personal and human-centric. The rise of AI and its integration in the virtual worlds will be a game changer through increasing the engagement with AI avatars that can help businesses have virtual reps.
Self-Service Portals: Create intuitive virtual platforms where customers self-navigate to find solutions, augmenting efficiency and autonomy.
3. Employee Onboarding and Collaboration:
Virtual Training Sessions: Streamline employee onboarding with immersive training modules, ensuring they're better equipped and engaged.
Collaborative Workspaces: Virtual environments can replicate physical office spaces, fostering better collaboration among remote teams.
4. Research & Development:
Virtual Prototyping: Businesses can virtually conceptualize and refine new products, reducing costs and time.
Market Research Spaces: Gather real-time insights from customers in virtual environments, ensuring more organic and accurate feedback.
Real-world Metaverse Integrations:
Nike's Nikeland on Roblox: A fusion of gaming and commerce, where users interact with virtual products and indulge in digital collectibles.
Gucci Garden on VRChat: This is not just a virtual store, but a fashion-forward experience, immersing users in the world of Gucci.
Samsung 837X on Decentraland: A comprehensive space detailing Samsung's innovations, products, and experiences.
Meta's Horizon Worlds: More than just a platform; it's a canvas where users craft their own reality, from gaming to networking.
While the metaverse remains nascent, early adoption will position businesses to ride the wave of its impending massive growth.
Steps to Kickstart Your Metaverse Journey in 2024:
Begin with Bite-Sized Steps: Avoid overwhelming endeavors. Pinpoint a couple of metaverse applications that resonate with your business model.
Consumer-Centric Approach: Engage your customer base, understanding their expectations from your metaverse experiences.
Stay Agile and Evolve: The metaverse will continually evolve. Keep iterating based on feedback and new technologies.
Collaborative Ventures: Many enterprises are sculpting the metaverse infrastructure. Collaborating can offer a springboard into this new domain, ensuring you don't start from scratch.
The metaverse beckons with promise. It's not just about being part of a trend; it's about pioneering a new age of business operations and consumer engagement. At Not Keepin’it real, we provide tailored solutions for your business, from Metaverse architecture on existing platforms, to full VR app development specific for your business. Feel free to reach out to learn more about our projects !
*AI Generated by Midjourney
