The metaverse volition beryllium a 13-trillion-dollar accidental by 2030, according to a recent study by Research and Markets. That’s a immense marketplace attracting endeavor tech companies and investors alike. 

There’s a plethora of emerging technologies, on with regular quality updates astir these immersive technologies’ committedness and imaginable downside. Although overmuch hype surrounds gaming and consumer-focused virtual spaces similar Fortnite and Meta’s Horizon Worlds, a ample information of that $13 trillion pastry volition beryllium dedicated to concern communications. 

B2B marketers tin nary longer disregard virtual worlds and immersive exertion arsenic tactics solely dedicated to user campaigns. Business marketers are embracing these technologies and successfully and strategically deploying them to deed KPIs. 

“How?” you mightiness ask. Keep speechmaking arsenic I supply an overview of the metaverse from a concern communications position and telephone retired the champion usage cases being done today. 

Read next: How B2B marketers tin leverage the metaverse

Follow the money

To get to the bosom of what endeavor B2B marketers request to attraction astir erstwhile it comes to the metaverse, we request to travel the money. Looking astatine who is investing successful immersive technologies volition assistance america foretell the industry’s future. 

Coinscapture listed the pursuing arsenic the apical 3 companies investing large successful the metaverse:

• Microsoft.
• Meta (Facebook).
• Google.

Developer Updates identified the apical 5 players gathering the metaverse as:

• Microsoft.
• Epic Games. 
• Meta (Facebook).
• Nvidia.
• Google. 

A fewer thoughts travel to caput arsenic I contemplate these lists from a B2B selling perspective. Although gathering an immersive workplace solution, Meta volition ne'er win successful the endeavor space. They are 1 of the slightest trusted companies retired determination today, and I can’t spot immoderate endeavor wanting to hazard the spot of their employees, partners, and customers. As for Epic Games, they are gathering immersive experiences astatine scale, reaching billions of consumers. However, their halfway demographic is younger and not well-suited for the emblematic B2B campaign. 

So that leaves america with Google and Microsoft. Google has been comparatively quiescent regarding their efforts to leverage immersive technologies aft they attempted launching Google Glass and Google Lively. (Any different geeks retired determination retrieve that project?) 

On the different hand, Microsoft has been large and arrogant with galore announcements outlining however they are gathering the immersive workplace of the future. Their latest merchandise offering, Microsoft Mesh, promises to harvester Microsoft Teams, the enterprise-preferred communications and collaboration platform, with immersive capabilities similar attending meetings arsenic your avatar and easy collaborating successful a metaverse-like environment. 

I foretell that determination volition beryllium immoderate caller announcements astir Microsoft Mesh this October during their flagship developer conference, Ignite, and I can’t wait!

In the meantime, I person recovered 3 superior areas wherever immersive exertion is efficaciously helping B2B selling teams. 

1. Events, events, events

Events person been a mainstay successful B2B teams’ selling mix. Despite the planetary pandemic, this volition not change. Post-COVID events request to beryllium hybrid and see some in-person and online options to conscionable the demands of attendees with varying levels of comfortableness with travel. 

Enterprise question budgets person ne'er been tighter, and justifying an in-person league acquisition has go much challenging. Coupled with the request to supply a hybrid experience, those opting to enactment location request to beryllium presented with thing much engaging than the emblematic 2D league experience. This caller dynamic creates galore challenges for the lawsuit marketer that immersive exertion tin assistance tackle. If you’re looking for tips connected leveraging XR and immersive exertion for your adjacent event, cheque retired my post, 10 Things to Consider When Using XR for Your Event. 

Many caller enterprise-ready, immersive lawsuit platforms and technologies person been developed with caller players entering the tract astir each day. One promising start-up, TouchCast, has built an interactive 2.5D endeavor lawsuit solution that integrates with Microsoft Teams. They are gathering an awesome database of partners specified arsenic Microsoft, Accenture and Nvidia and are 1 of the archetypal to connection “Metaverse-as-a-Service.” To spot their level successful enactment and to entree immoderate compelling keynote presentations connected the aboriginal of the metaverse, sojourn the on-demand mentation of their Metaverse Summit. 

According to Ricky Houck, TouchCast’s elder endeavor strategist:

“There’s already truthful overmuch exertion being underutilized by endeavor companies. We tin physique disconnected the innovation from 3D satellite gathering for gaming and entertainment, expanding their usage cases into virtual events, sales, training, and galore different B2B usage cases.” 

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2. Learning, acquisition and training

And speaking of training, there’s rather a spot of acquisition that indispensable spell into astir B2B campaigns. Potential buying committees request to recognize highly analyzable products and services fully. Post-purchase, they request to cognize however to usage the product. Here, lawsuit occurrence and income enablement teams thin heavy connected grooming materials to assistance with upsell opportunities. 

Research has proven that immersive exertion tin assistance amended learning outcomes and accusation recall. A study by the University of Maryland concluded that radical retrieve accusation amended if it is presented successful a virtual environment. Global IT steadfast Accenture has capitalized connected this inclination by creating an immersive bureau abstraction they person dubbed The Nth Floor. 

One of the archetypal examples of the committedness of Microsoft Mesh, The Nth Floor, integrates with Microsoft Teams to let Accenture employees to seamlessly make avatars, sojourn virtual 3D locations and collaborate successful a virtual environment. The institution has successfully utilized the virtual bureau for onboarding much than 150,000 employees and is excited astir the outcome. Jason Warnke, Senior Managing Director, Global IT and Digital Experiences Lead astatine Accenture shared successful a recent blog post: 

“We recovered that a bulk of learners (70%) forgot grooming contented wrong 24 hours and virtually each (90%) forgot aft a month. Interestingly, a survey besides recovered immersive VR acquisition offered a way to execute 33% higher learning retention erstwhile compared to video.” 

Currently, The Nth Floor is constricted to Accenture employees only. However, I did find an worker video of the acquisition shared connected YouTube.

Employee captured video of Accenture’s virtual campus, The Nth Floor, built utilizing Microsoft Mesh.

It intelligibly is built utilizing Microsoft’s AltSpace platform and sheds airy connected a aboriginal wherever anyone utilizing Microsoft Teams volition besides person casual entree to AltSpace. 

Read next: 10 rules for palmy metaverse marketing

3. Mind-blowing networking

With less concern prospects traveling, gathering relationships virtually becomes essential. Connecting connected an affectional level implicit modular video conferencing is truly hard. There are those awkward silences, the moments erstwhile you’re talking implicit each different and that atrocious feeling of watching yourself connected video. 

Immersive tech tin prevention the time by providing tools that assistance beforehand transportation similar a shared 3D environment, avatars that tin facilitate self-expression, and opportunities to person fun!

Sizzle reel of iHeart Media’s virtual CES lawsuit held successful 3D.

One of the champion virtual networking events I attended was iHeart Media’s virtual Billie Eilish performance successful conjunction with CES. The iHeart squad went each retired and provided a stellar live-streamed broadcast that included Ryan Seacrest, Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish. 

Instead of conscionable holding a much accepted 2D broadcast, they leveraged the 3D level from Vatom to supply an immersive acquisition for hundreds of invited VIP guests. This concern lawsuit targeted iHeart media’s large advertisers and apical branding executives and brought the amusive portion astatine the aforesaid clip enabling existent networking to instrumentality place. 

Instead of an anonymous, graphics-heavy avatar, the level overlaid unrecorded webcam video of each attendee. This allowed maine to instantly admit different attendees and colleagues and prosecute successful speech without wondering who I was chatting with. It besides saved maine the clip of customizing an avatar and made entering the 3D venue frictionless. 

Where to start

These 3 areas are large places to statesman your metaverse selling journey. Robust acquisition opportunities and progressive communities are cropping up astir the globe to assistance enactment innovative marketers looking to nutrient breakthrough campaigns and communications. I thatch XR for communications astatine the University of Oregon, and they connection a Master’s Degree successful Immersive Strategic Communications. 

You tin besides be manufacture conferences that location the latest accusation connected caller selling technologies, similar The MarTech Conference this month. On Thursday, September 29, I’ll beryllium presenting How marketers tin marque consciousness of the metaverse alongside chap MarTech contributor Tim Parkin and MarTech exertion Chris Wood. It’s definite to beryllium a lively discussion, and I anticipation you tin articulation us.

There are besides much informal involvement groups, similar my monthly XR Pub Crawl for Marketing and Comms professionals wherever we research the latest immersive platforms and analyse them done the lens of selling and communications. 

Finally, if you request specialized assistance gathering an immersive strategy, experienced consultants are conscionable waiting to rotation up their sleeves. 

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Opinions expressed successful this nonfiction are those of the impermanent writer and not needfully MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.

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