Recently, I was listening to the radio on a warm Sunday morning. I was cleaning my house while listening to some tunes playing on Radio 538. When the commercials brutally interrupted the fine playlist, I was intrigued. A commercial, by a financing company, gave an example of a business owner saying: “I should be getting into the Metaverse in a couple of years. That means I have to hire 2 dozen software engineers now!”. Of course, we all agree that software engineering takes time, and getting a business ready to enter Metaverse does not happen overnight. But the future of Metaverse is still so uncertain. So, when is the right time to start taking actions? When should companies set aside resources to take the next step?
I thought I had found an insightful article. In a September Gartner Blog, Robert Hetu writes about Should Retailers Take The Metaverse Plunge? Hetu starts by explaining Metaverse, and illustrating the challenges and contemplations businesses face. You’d think Gartner would give some recommendations like “Start saving money” or “Hire software engineers”, but no such thing is true. The article concludes: “Gartner recommends that retailers take a strategic and measured approach that will support learning, customer and associate experimentation and opportunistic revenue exploitation.” (Hetu, 2022). In other words, they don’t know either.
I recognise that the journey towards Metaverse or technological innovation is different for every entity. But how are companies supposed to take strategic and measured approaches, when the majority does not even understand Metaverse? I reckon that once they understand Metaverse and where it is headed, they are too late to step in at a time that is of competitive advantage.
A different article, by Valerie Zeller from Sciforma, identifies two kinds of Metaverse. First, the Metaverse as outlined by Zuckerberg, virtual-only life. Second, a 3D, virtual environment that can be utilized for marketing purposes and even new commercial channels – Balenciaga’s digital-only fashion (Zeller, 2022). The first is more difficult to understand and more of a long-term vision for Metaverse, compared to the latter. The latter is a useful distinction of Metaverse. That means that businesses should be investing resources into Metaverse now.
I think that utilizing the early adoption of Metaverse as soon as possible will most likely provide businesses with competitive advantage of early-movers and first-entrants in the development of Metaverse. But, companies should recognise that if Metaverse remains a Hype, rather than a Prediction, the innovations costs may not be outweighed by revenue.
Hetu, R. (2022, September 6). Gartner Blog Network. https://blogs.gartner.com/robert-hetu/should-retailers-take-the-metaverse-plunge/?_ga=2.233581529.696785290.1665395241-305281627.1665395241
Zeller, V. (2022, August 29). What Does the Metaverse Mean for Businesses? – Sciforma. https://www.sciforma.com/blog/what-does-the-metaverse-mean-for-businesses/
Well written article! I think this is a very relevant topic on which people have many different opinions. Last week, I attended an event about brands, media and technology where the chief digital officer of Balenciaga spoke about their project on Fortnite. He proclaimed as well that the campaign with Fortnite was not yet focused on making revenue, more on customer engagement, and to see how and to explore what they could achieve with such a campaign. In his opinion, the campaign was successful, as Balenciaga gained a lot of attention and were able to reach a new customer segment. He then described that he believes that there are opportunities for brands on the Metaverse but that this will take time and that these are not clearly defined yet.
I think that companies which believe there are opportunities for their businesses within the Metaverse should definitely make an effort to innovate. The mass will slowly adopt Metaverse and I believe that the earlier you explore your options, the more you will be able to learn about what role your company can play within this new digital environment and become successful. You state that the majority of companies are not even aware what the Metaverse is, but isn’t it their own responsibility to educate themselves when it comes to digital innovations? It is true that companies should be wary of the risks, but aren’t there always risks involved in investments?