What Metaverse Means for B2B Enterprises

Who would have thought that the fictional virtual world created by famous American writer Neal Stephenson in a novel published in 1992 would be seen as a reality one day? And enterprises will compete against each other to create a 3D virtual space to fuel business growth. Just 30 years after the publication of his hit novel ‘Snow Crash’; the world seems fascinated with his ideas. From Microsoft’s Satya Nadella to Facebook’s (now META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, they are not just talking about Metaverse but also investing heavily in it.

Numerous prominent B2C enterprises have already taken the plunge to make the best of Metaverse. Whether it’s Meta’s (Facebook) $10 billion/year pledge for its Reality labs division, Gucci’s virtual concept store, or Walt Disney’s proposed virtual theme park, B2C brands are leveraging the potential of Metaverse to a great extent.

But what about the B2B world? Is there a scope for B2B enterprises to gain big from the buzzing metaverse technology? The answer is YES. Metaverse has the potential to revolutionize the functioning of B2B enterprises. It offers numerous advantages that we present to you in this blog. But before we go deep into the core subject, let’s understand what metaverse is and why it is becoming popular?

Metaverse is a virtual world but looks like a real one where people can shop, play, work, do business, and even socialize. In short, Metaverse allows you to do things that you can do in real life. It creates a compelling virtual world using effective usage of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Blockchain. It is a far more immersive and engaging way to connect with people residing in remote locations.

According to experts, it is believed to reduce the gap between remote and in-person interactions to boost user experience and engagement. Metaverse allows enterprises to meet in interactive 3D virtual environments without leaving their homes. It is set to bring a new era to the internet and is considered as one of the fundamental pillars for establishing Web 3.0.

Recently Mark Zuckerberg created a buzz on metaverse while executing the rebranding of its famous social networking platform and said, “Our hope is that within the next 10 years, the metaverse will reach a billion people, support jobs for millions of people and host hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce.”

B2B marketers usually have limited marketing avenues to create better brand awareness about their products and services. Enterprises that deal in B2B often opt for conferences, one-to-one meetings, trade shows, expos, exhibitions, etc., to reach out to potential buyers. Pandemic has forced us to look for something more innovative, compelling, and an advanced approach where people can come, interact and participate in business activities from distant remote locations that are more advanced than traditional methods. Metaverse fulfills this need. It allows enterprises to have their own virtual storefronts, digital employees, and virtual currency to do business. People from all across the oceans can come together and engage without being physically present there.

There are various ways through which the metaverse can revolutionize the functioning of the B2B world. Let’s explore that.

One prominent research revealed that face-to-face interaction is 34 times more effective than text-based conversation. The rise of metaverse gives B2B marketing professionals a unique opportunity to explore its facets for having more engaged conversations between enterprises to establish and nurture enduring relationships. Collaborating with new people is one of the most important pillars of B2B marketing strategy and metaverse allows you to connect and collaborate with people in the most fascinating ways possible that were hard to even imagine before.

People can get the feel of being physically present at a remote venue and interact with fellow members very engagingly. Enabling the B2B metaverse for B2B marketing helps enterprises conduct virtual events like product showrooms, virtual conferences, educational sessions, expos, etc., to network with global audiences in order to scale up business growth.

Advertising is a vital part of any B2B marketing strategy. It gives businesses distinct exposure and pulls the attention of potential customers. Using metaverse, B2B marketing professionals can sponsor metaverse events and create targeted ads to reach millions of users present in the metaverse universe. And since metaverse is still in its nascent stage, B2B enterprises will get the first-mover advantage to create a robust and loyal customer base to expand their business impressively.

B2B enterprises, by executing various marketing operations in the metaverse can not just gain the attention of industry giants but also find people that might one day become customers. It’s a great avenue for B2B marketing professionals to do lead prospecting in the most efficient, easy, and engaging way than any traditional methods.

It provides B2B marketers a unique opportunity to explore a new market and tap into new sources of revenue by meeting potential buyers. Salespeople can conduct various operations using digital space and connect with people worldwide without leaving anywhere. It improves their productivity and results in better results. Further, B2B Metaverse strengthens the purpose of B2B marketing by allowing remote users  to have a 360* immersive experience of products and services. It helps potential buyers understand the products and services in greater detail and get deeper insights without hassles.

Moreover, Metaverse enables B2B enterprises to significantly reduce their traveling costs, which eats a significant portion of a company’s revenue to attend/conduct various global events. B2B marketers can save a considerable amount of money, from airfare, hotel fare, and road transportation, to any logistical issues.

Not just B2B marketing teams get something meaningful with the usage of the metaverse, but HR departments are also empowered with it. Training that takes herculean efforts, time, and money can be made easy using metaverse. Using metaverse-based training simulations, employees can get deeper insights into the subject and learn new skills. Teams sitting at different places can also efficiently share ideas, discuss tasks, take updates, and give feedback in a face-to-face virtual space with much comfort and convenience.

There are various metaverse platforms for businesses like Sansar, Somnium Space, Decentraland that are gaining popularity worldwide. Many more advanced platforms will be launched in the future as giants are putting their bets on metaverse. From Google, Microsoft, Meta (Facebook), Adobe, to Nvidia amongst others, the race to innovate something compelling and never seen before has just started. It will be interesting to see how technological advancements in virtual space will further augment the prospects of the B2B world in the times to come.

As far as the possibilities of metaverse for the B2B world are concerned, they seem endless and extremely alluring.