How can the Metaverse increase your business value?

 The metaverse is generating a lot of attention right now. Regarded by many as the next generation of digital innovation, the metaverse promises a new way for us to connect with the technology world. Through the metaverse, we’ll be able to build new economies and communities. These will be based on the pillars of digital personas and virtual experiences.

Many major companies like Sony and Microsoft have already announced their intentions to invest in a “metaverse future”. We’re also seeing the rise of new standards forums and communities committed to boosting the accessibility of the metaverse.

Even as the landscape continues to evolve, many organizations don’t fully understand how they can leverage this digital revolution. We’re looking at how companies can unlock new value from the metaverse.

The First Step: Defining the Metaverse

To unlock the true potential of the metaverse, companies first need to understand what this environment can offer. The term “metaverse” has been around for decades since it was first mentioned in a science fiction novel in 1992. The concept as we know it today has evolved significantly, leading to confusion among companies looking to digitally transform.

The metaverse isn’t another word for Extended Reality environments or Web 3.0, though these concepts are commonly intertwined. Instead, it’s a term covering a new age of “embodied internet”. This is where people can create and utilize their digital identities on a new level. The metaverse encompasses everything from artificial intelligence to XR tools, social platforms, and NFTs.

Looking at the metaverse from this broader perspective, we can see some of the opportunities it might offer in the business world. For instance, companies can use virtual communities and intelligent tools to align staff members working from remote locations around the world in a digital version of a workplace.

With XR and AI, companies can also create immersive new ways to shop for and explore new products online. The metaverse even opens the door for new products and experiences, like mixed-reality events and non-fungible tokens.

The Primary Pillars of Value for Businesses in the Metaverse

Many companies beginning to explore the potential of the metaverse are looking at it as an opportunity to connect with employees and consumers never like before. We live in a world where our day-to-day lives are becoming increasingly digitized. We do virtually everything online, from interacting with customer service teams to working with colleagues.

The metaverse takes advantage of this digital ecosystem, introducing new concepts like meta-work, meta-learning, and metaverse communities. While we have still yet to see just how the widespread adoption of the “metaverse” will influence the world. There are a few use cases which appear to offer significant value to companies, such as:

Metawork, Collaboration and Communication

It’s no secret that the world of work has changed drastically in the last couple of years.

Concepts like remote and hybrid working have evolved from novelties among start-up brands. And digital innovators to mainstream concepts in modern business. As we continue to embrace the idea that work is something “we do” rather than a place we visit, the metaverse holds significant potential for how businesses hire and empower staff.

Concepts like “Metawork” are beginning to introduce businesses to a future where employees can connect, collaborate, and share ideas in a virtual environment. The idea is that we can design an entire digital hub which replicates the traditional office while enabling staff to accomplish more.

Companies can invest in the metaverse to build the perfect environment for productivity and innovation for modern staff without the restrictions of traditional office environments. Here, employees can connect, ideate, and create like never before.

Onboarding and Training

Another way the metaverse will change how businesses support their employees is by transforming how we onboard, develop, and train staff. Organizations will be able to use digital platforms enhanced by virtual reality or mixed reality to interview staff from all over the world and introduce them to their colleagues in a way that mimics a face-to-face environment.

Companies can even purchase augmented and mixed reality devices for remote workers, allowing them to view physical office elements wherever they are. This can make isolated staff members feel like a more significant part of the team from the moment they join a company.

Companies can also build digital spaces and provide virtual reality devices for upskilling and educating employees. For instance, industrial companies can build digital twins of factories in the metaverse to teach employees about safety and show them how to use critical pieces of technology. The metaverse will allow employees to embrace new skills from anywhere without causing unnecessary downtime for business operations.

Building Amazing Customer Experiences

Over the last few years, customer experience has emerged as the ultimate differentiator for any business. More than price or feature options, “CX” determines how clients make purchasing decisions and whether they’ll develop loyalty to a brand. The metaverse allows companies to interact with their customers in immersive and unique environments.

For instance, Samsung opened a virtual version of a store in the Decentraland platform and conducted an event there where customers could learn more about new smartphones. Elsewhere, JP Morgan designed its own digital lounge in the Decentraland ecosystem to provide financial advice to clients.

With the metaverse, companies can allow customers to test products in virtual reality, see items from different perspectives with augmented reality, and connect with sales assistants for support. Plus, the environment represents a fantastic way to reach customers through annual events and conferences without asking people to travel worldwide.

New Avenues for Revenue

Experts consistently agree that the metaverse has the potential to shape our future in a host of different ways. Companies like Meta believe this space will open the door to new economies, where people build their digital lives with specific purchases. Just like they would in the real world. For instance, you can already buy virtual versions of clothes and “space” in the metaverse.

The metaverse’s endless potential brings new opportunities for companies to sell different services and experiences to their end users. Nike already has virtual versions of its shoes for sale within the Metaverse as NFTs users can apply to their avatars.

In the future, we could see new opportunities in the form of people offering consulting services and support through a Metaverse environment or new forms of insurance for virtual assets. The possibilities are unlimited.

Finding Value in the Metaverse

While it’s still in the early stages of development, it isn’t easy to know how the metaverse might affect the businesses of tomorrow. However, we see rapid demand from virtually all industries for new solutions to make entering and traversing the metaverse easier.

In the years to come, not only will we continue to see companies leveraging the main pillars of value mentioned above. We also encounter new opportunities for the metaverse that have yet to be discovered.