No matter what you may think about Facebook, the fact that, in 2021, the company renamed itself Meta and vowed to spend billions of dollars on metaverse development says a lot about the potential for metaverse technology. Researchers agree. A recent Fortune Business Insights report predicted that the global metaverse market is “projected to grow from USD 100.27 billion in 2022 to USD 1,527.55 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 47.6%.” Especially rapid growth is expected to start in 2025.
While not every company has the influence or reach of Facebook to experiment with metaverse technology, every company should look for ways to reach their business goals and establish new ones in line with this powerful commercial medium. The metaverse represents an entirely new arena in which companies can connect with customers and innovate new ways to serve them, collaborate with workers and clients, or provide experiences to help drive donations for nonprofit organizations.
The internet offers many of these opportunities as well. But parallel experiences within the metaverse, such as online meetings and shopping, are more realistic and closer to what users find in the physical world.
How should your business proceed given the almost unlimited opportunities for development and engagement in the metaverse? And when? The short answers to those questions are “with an attitude of experimentation” and “now.” This guide is meant to help you understand possible avenues to explore and to convince you not to wait to research them.
What Is the Metaverse?
The metaverse is an entirely created environment where users can do things virtually that they normally do in the physical world. Activities include working, socializing, gaming, shopping, and even attending virtual events like concerts. The metaverse makes use of technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality, extended reality, and blockchain.
Like other technology frameworks, for the metaverse to be successful, it must include standards to ensure users are getting a consistent experience as they move between implementations. For example, the metaverse must have the equivalent of HTML for the internet, which helps ensure that web pages appear and operate the same way across browsers.
Tech companies are cooperating with hardware developers and retailers to create such standards. According to a recent Wired article, “Among the standards under development is USD, known as the HTML of the metaverse, which will allow 3D assets to be shared and rendered across many different immersive experiences.”
Businesses that want to experiment with creating metaverse environments should first be looking at the various platforms available to see which ones are appropriate for their offerings.
- One of the most popular platforms is Roblox, where games and concerts already bring in tens of millions of daily active users, mostly of a younger demographic.
- Decentraland hosts activities that are more targeted to an older audience for activities such as buying virtual land. High-profile brands like Samsung and Sotheby’s have a presence there.
- According to BeInCrypto, The Sandbox is “a metaverse platform that allows players to build, own, and monetize their gaming content on the Ethereum blockchain.”
- Some platforms are more specific, such as Sorare, which is a fantasy football game based on non-fungible tokens (NFT). Players collect cards, which they can play and trade as part of the immersive experience.
- Another specific platform is Illuvium, which is a game in which players can create 3D virtual objects. Game avatars are known as Illuvials, and they exist as NFTs. Players can mine and receive awards with these fantasy characters.
- Metahero is a more general tool that enables users to create objects that can be used for gaming, social media, or other environments within the metaverse. It is supported by a token-based economy.
Like any other technology, the metaverse has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include the following:
- It provides experiences that users in any location could otherwise not have. One example is tours of museums and other cultural resources.
- It enables online interactions with people based on more lifelike representations. For instance, coworkers can represent themselves as avatars and have meetings where the avatars sit around a conference table as they would in real life.
- It allows for shared experiences with others, such as watching a movie with a friend who lives in a different state or country.
- It can enhance training opportunities, especially for machines or other technical items that have parts that workers need to become familiar with. This advantage is especially useful in situations where training could be dangerous.
- It provides ways to perform actions in new ways. For example, teachers can bring students on virtual field trips where they can become immersed in the subject they’re learning about, such as a specific historical period.
The disadvantages include the following:
- Some users may not be comfortable with immersive experiences. Others may have trouble using the equipment needed to access metaverse environments.
- The technology may be too expensive for many to afford, especially in the initial stages, a situation that exacerbates the already existing situation of haves versus have-nots online.
- Companies may be sold on the newness of the technology and purchase solutions they don’t really need. Scammers will take advantage of this potential and offer metaverse “solutions” that turn out to be frauds.
- Many of the issues that plague the internet — including bullying, fraud, cybersecurity concerns, and disinformation — will transfer to the metaverse.
- The metaverse may become addictive for those who want to escape their own reality. This situation already exists for certain websites and games, but it is likely to be more pronounced in the more realistic metaverse.
The following video covers some of these disadvantages and potential solutions.
Why Is the Metaverse Important for Businesses to Explore?
The metaverse is important for businesses to explore for several reasons.
It’s the future. Just as people have spent more and more time online since the internet emerged, they will be spending more and more time in the metaverse in the coming years. That means, if you want to reach customers, that’s where you will need to be.
It’s happening now. While it’s rarely a good idea to jump on a technology bandwagon just because it’s the next big thing, there is something to be said for early adoption. Companies that explore this new arena now will be ahead of their competitors in the coming years when the metaverse becomes mainstream.
It offers new ways to promote. Some companies may not necessarily want to provide offerings to customers in the metaverse. But even these companies will need to become savvy about the advertising taking place there. Just as sponsorships are available for advertisers in real-world stadiums that host games broadcast to millions of viewers, similar opportunities will be available for metaverse arenas in which virtual concerts take place. And that’s just one example of the many opportunities businesses will have to promote their brands.
It offers new ways to engage with customers. The metaverse offers the opportunity to engage with customers in ways that aren’t possible in the physical world, or even in traditional online environments. For example, a retailer that wants to do business worldwide can set up a “shop” in the metaverse where anyone can have a browsing experience, no matter where they are located.
Start Exploring the Metaverse Now
The metaverse is far from being fully formed. The Wired article stated, “There are already amazing immersive and interactive experiences available, including games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. But none of these games truly pay off on the promise of the metaverse we imagine today, a virtual world in which we can meet friends and strangers from around the world to play, explore, shop, and interact.”
But make no mistake, the metaverse is evolving. As it does, there’s much your company can do to prepare. Just like any new initiative, your foray into the metaverse should begin and end with your customers. Start by considering what your target market wants and needs, and how metaverse technology can help make it happen. But don’t just guess. Survey and interview real customers to learn which ideas they like best. Their responses may surprise you.
Because the metaverse is experience-based, anything you do there will need to take customer experience to a whole new level. You already know how frustrating it can be for customers if, for example, they are unable to easily move through a purchasing process on your website. That situation will be magnified if they are in a virtual environment that doesn’t work well, such as shopping in your metaverse store.
Watch the industry to see what big companies are doing to help businesses become part of the metaverse. For example, Meta will likely offer new ways for companies to connect with their target markets.
Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong in the metaverse yet. At this stage, all efforts are still experimentation. If that’s the case, you may wonder if it wouldn’t make more sense to let other companies make the mistakes and then copy their solutions. There is logic in that line of thinking, but the benefit to taking the risk is that you will be there first. You will learn what methods work best for your company, and you will establish a presence prior to your competitors, giving you an edge.
The bottom line for the question of “when” is that you should start now in exploring how your business can benefit from what the metaverse has to offer. However, don’t be in such a rush that you hurry into a low-quality implementation or put all of your efforts into the metaverse when you still have plenty of customers who aren’t ready for that environment.
Metaverse Technology to Deploy Now
The vision of the metaverse as similar to the physical world, with many smaller areas to explore, is not yet fully formed. But there are ways you can give customers a metaverse-ish experience now.
Shopping
Retailers can build a virtual shopping environment that resembles a cross between the physical and online worlds. Customers can walk into the environment and choose the store or department they want to shop in. They see shelves and racks and can move freely among them. When they see an item they like, they can click it to get more details about it, try it on using an avatar that looks like them, or add it to their shopping cart.
Another way to provide an enhanced experience for shoppers is to add it to existing physical environments. An example is an app that overlays the physical store and provides information about the products the shopper is seeing. It may also direct the shopper to sales, promotions, and interactive tutorials about how to use some of the items.
AR/VR Apps
If you want to dip your toes into the metaverse, a good way to do it is to create an app that uses AR or VR for your customers. For example, if you are a furniture builder or paint retailer, you could create a tool that helps customers envision how these items will look in their home. Clothing retailers can use avatars to represent customers and “try on” virtual outfits to determine which ones to buy. Realtors can provide virtual tours of the homes they have up for sale.
NFTs
According to digital marketing company Valtech, an NFT “can be an image, a video, an audio file or any form of digital information. NFTs are minted (created) on the blockchain using so called smart contracts. The blockchain, a digitally distributed, decentralized, public ledger which exists across a network, records every single NFT transaction.”
While NFTs don’t exist solely in the metaverse, NFTs can be things in the metaverse, such as real estate. The smart contracts and blockchains associated with them will become the glue that holds the metaverse together.
3D Rendering
3D content creation can help companies in several ways.
- Creating promotional images. One of the ways companies can use 3D rendering is to create images for use on websites and other online assets. 3D rendering enables the development of product pictures that look great and cost a fraction of the price of photography.
For example, according to a recent article by Cad Crowd, “IKEA creates around 75% of all their furniture images. They’ve effectively built a 3D bank of all their images that they can use in whatever setting they like, allowing them to create affordable marketing initiatives all over the world.” - Designing new products. 3D rendering can also be used to design new products, including shoes and clothing. This method drastically reduces the time it takes to produce prototypes.
- Populating the metaverse. Another advantage of creating 3D images is that they can be used within metaverse spaces to experiment with potential offerings that customers might like. One example is AR environments in which shoppers can see what products might look like in their homes.
Promote Your Activities in the Metaverse
No matter how you decide to do business in the metaverse, you should let your customers and the public know about it. There are several ways to do it that build on skills your team already has.
Boost Your Online Presence
If you want customers to join you in the metaverse, a good place to start is within your existing online assets, including your website, social media accounts, and e-commerce stores. Use them as locations from which to direct customers to your new metaverse environment. If you have not yet built up your online presence, now is the time to do it. Research online marketing practices and build on them in your metaverse offerings.
Adjust Your Branding
In the process of updating your online presence, you might find that some of the ways you describe your offerings need to be updated. Don’t shy away from a branding overhaul if it’s warranted, including updating visual representations of your business.
Explore Advertising
Even if you decide your business will not pursue any metaverse-based offerings at this time, you should still consider it a rich source of advertising opportunities. Just as many websites include ads, so will many metaverse environments.
What’s Next for the Metaverse?
Users will be able to buy physical objects within the metaverse. While the technology and process will be slightly different from what customers are used to now, the basic concept will be the same – going to an online location, browsing for what they want, choosing items, providing a payment method, and receiving the products as they are delivered.
But there will be another type of shopping that is qualitatively different from that experience: buying items that never leave the metaverse. As more people develop personal avatars that represent them in the online world, they will want accessories for them, including clothing, real estate, and cars. This phenomenon is already happening with NFTs.
Likely there will be other purchasing opportunities that haven’t even been conceived of yet. For those companies willing to accept the challenge, metaverse development will be an exciting place to deploy creativity and innovation.
