The metaverse would be the new form of interaction between companies and consumers

Large companies have pointed out the need to explore the metaverse and take advantage of the possibilities it offers because, as an evolution of Internet current, it will end up becoming a new channel of interaction with consumers from which companies cannot be left out.

According to Aedas Homes, Banco Santander, BBVA, Enagás, Esade, Meliá Hotels International, Telefónica, the metaverse represents an opportunity for many sectors, although for some it will be more important than for others. This is what these companies have stated in the latest episode of the Generation of Opportunities podcast, prepared by Europa Press in collaboration with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Carlos Sánchez Altable, a partner at McKinsey and an expert in technologies in the consumer sector, considers that the benefit of using the metaverse is clear for this sector in general and, in particular, for the field of luxury, fashion or cosmetics.

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In fact, according to the State of Technology in Fashion 2022 Report, fashion companies that focus on innovation and marketing in the metaverse could generate more than 5% of revenue from virtual activities in the next two to five years.

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

The manager of the Strategy and Digital Assets area at BBVA, Iván Moreno, has indicated that the marketing and sales areas of different corporations “can sell their products in a different way, taking advantage of the experience components provided by the metaverse”.

Brands can offer consumers “immersive, interactive and fun experiences” that connect the physical and digital worlds, and companies that hold digital assets will have a new way to monetize them through non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to said the director of Banco Santander’s Crypto and Blockchain Center of Excellence, Coti de Monteverde.

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According to Sánchez Altable, “exploring the metaverse may mean for companies to use a new channel to strengthen the relationship they have with their customers and find new customers who in a more physical environment would not relate to the brand.”

According to the participants in the ‘podcast’, this environment based on virtual reality and augmented reality technologies It will change the way people communicatesocialize, work, have fun and consume content, products and services.

From their point of view, the metaverse offers multiple uses in areas such as floor shows, medical visualization, education and training, events and shows, digital art, engineering design, telecommuting, asset maintenance remotely in the industrial sector or banking and financial advice.

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When looking for a home, you will see “for sale” signs on the street that “float almost magically on the balconies”, with the information filtered according to the requirements of the potential buyer, who will be able to make a virtual visit to the property together with “a commercial advisor who you will see perfectly integrated into the scene” although he is not physically there either, as exemplified by the CEO of Live Virtual Tours at Aedas Homes, José Luis Leirós.

WILL PRODUCE A TRANSFORMATION LIKE THE INTERNET DID

Given these potentialities, the role that the metaverse is going to have in the future cannot be ignored by companies, according to the Manager of Strategy and Digital Agenda at Enagás, María González: “It would not occur to us to ask today what the Internet means for companies, and in a few years I think we will not doubt what the metaverse can contribute either”.

“If the Internet was once a technology that produced a radical change where all companies had to transform to end up connecting with their users, now the metaverse is the next form of interaction that users will have with the Internet”, he stated, for his part, Yaiza Rubio Viñuela, chief Metaverse officer at Telefónica.

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However, he has warned that “for the Metaverse in capital letters there is still a long way to go.” “Some interoperability between the worlds will be needed” – the virtual worlds, the mirror worlds and those of augmented reality – and “we are still quite far away”, he specified in the ‘podcast’.

POSITION YOURSELF SO YOU DON’T MISS OPPORTUNITIES

Despite this, Professor Esteve Almirall, from the Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Science at Esade, maintains that companies must be prepared for the metaverse, especially those that can be significantly affected.

“You have to be there as soon as possible because, if you don’t, you’re going to lose opportunities, visibility and ‘branding’”, assured Almirall, who has underlined the need to innovate and take advantage of the metaverse to “do different things”.

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This vision is shared by Leirós (Aedas), who believes that all companies should reflect on the impact that the metaverse will have on their businesses. “In the short term there are opportunities to learn and position ourselves. In the long term, there are threats of being overtaken by the competition or even of your business model becoming obsolete”, she warned. In his opinion, “the most innovative companies should have already gone from theory to practice”.

For Emilio Capela, a partner at McKinsey and an expert in the metaverse, the first thing companies must do is understand what role they want to play in this virtual world and define what capabilities they need to generate. “There is time to prepare, but you have to acquire many skills that, today, no company has,” he commented.

TEST MENTALITY

In the same sense, the director of Social Networks of Meliá, Santiago García Solimei, recommends that companies identify what their objectives are, analyze your competitors, study trends and “do a whole holistic review of what the metaverse is.” From there, they must “understand how this new technology fits into their core business” and “use it as an opportunity for improvement,” he added.

De Monteverde (Banco Santander) is committed to exploring the opportunities of the metaverse, experimenting and learning, setting specific objectives and also seeing what can be contributed; a “test mentality” in which Moreno (BBVA) has also emphasized, since it is “a new channel”.

Source: Elcomercio

James

I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years and have written for various news outlets. I currently work as an author at 24 News Recorder, mostly covering entertainment news. I have a keen interest in the industry and enjoy writing about the latest news and gossip. I am also a member of the National Association of Journalists.