What Is The Metaverse?

Are your clients ready for the metaverse?

In tech articles, podcasts, and news briefs, we’re hearing one word suddenly enter the vocabulary: “the metaverse.”

While it may sound futuristic, metaverse concepts are actually influencing business strategy as we speak. 

For marketing consultants and agencies, it’s especially important to stay informed, and be aware of how this concept could influence your clients and their competitors. Here, we’ll briefly explain what the metaverse actually is, and help you prep your clients for success. 

What is the metaverse? 

There are a range of different definitions floating around, because the metaverse is such a new and amorphous concept. Generally, it refers to our digital lives: the ways in which we communicate with each other, make transactions, and interact with the world online. We see the so-called metaverse at work when we pay for an item through Venmo. And over the coming decade, the metaverse is likely to encapsulate many more types of actions, such as trying on virtual clothing. 

If that’s not entirely clear, you’re not alone. Economists and tech CEOs alike seem to differ on what the metaverse actually refers to. 

But in a business context, the metaverse is important because it gives us a way to talk about the evolution of our digital world. 

How it affects businesses

If the current trends continue, consumers will spend more and more of their time online. That means that businesses large and small need the right tech in place to satisfy as many customer needs as possible, virtually. That will look very different based on the type of organization, and the industry they’re in, but the overall concept will remain the same. 

If one of your clients has been on the fence about pouring resources into a new customer-facing tech solution, all this talk about the metaverse may give them a strong enough case to do so - and take the leap now, before their competition does. 

Metaverse tech trends

As more aspects of our lives shift to an online environment, certain tech trends will become even more important. Here are just a few:

• Interactive designs and functionality: websites and apps will become less focused on driving phone calls and in-person visits. Instead, they should allow customers to browse products or services and try them out right at home. 
• Wearable devices: solutions that are compatible not only with mobile phones, but with smart watches and other wearable devices, will be in high demand. 
• Personalization: data from ad campaigns will help businesses customize every point of contact for their customers. Machine learning algorithms will become more sophisticated, and allow organizations to further personalize their customer outreach. 
• Immersive experiences: as tech capabilities improve, consumers will increasingly expect seamless virtual experiences. If there are new ways a brand can help someone sample their product in the metaverse before committing to it, and do so in a realistic way, they’re bound to land more sales. 

The metaverse is right around the corner, or even right in front of us. Remind clients of these key trends to watch, and help them prepare for success in the next generation of tech.