Delivering exceptional customer experience in the metaverse

When Facebook announced its name change to Meta in October 2021 the concept of the metaverse was born. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined his vision for the metaverse.  The metaverse brings together the online, virtual and augmented worlds to enable people to connect in deeper and more seamless ways.

Since this announcement, business sectors have been looking at the opportunities the metaverse provides. The contact centre industry is no different.   Enghouse Interactive CTO Alex Black, explained more in a video interview with CX Today, focusing on the practical considerations around delivering CX in the metaverse, highlighting four metaverse customer experience tips:

1. The metaverse is not new, so learn from the past

Many of the concepts behind the metaverse, such as a virtual world where people’s avatars can meet, interact, and live, is not new - Second Life, an online virtual world launched in 2003 and grew to a million regular users within ten years. Many brands were keen to get involved, with virtual job fairs and ordering pizzas online for delivery in the real-world. While the metaverse is a step on from Second Life, much of the underlying theories are similar, so what worked with Second Life is likely to help you when it comes to developing your strategy for the metaverse.

2. Understand customer preferences before jumping into the metaverse

Given how much is being written about the metaverse, it is easy to feel pressured to dive straight in. However, deciding whether to get involved (and when and how) should begin with understanding your customers and their preferences. Will they be joining the metaverse and expecting you to communicate with them in new virtual worlds? Don’t commit your resources until you are sure that there will be opportunities to interact with your customers in the metaverse.

3. Metaverse CX: If you decide it is for you immerse yourself fully

Early adopters of the metaverse are likely to be deeply committed to the concept, and they will not want brands to just pay lip service to the community’s values but companies that want to immerse themselves fully in the experience. So, if you decide to join make sure you have the resources to commit fully. Ensure you select agents that will be happy to ‘live’ and interact in the metaverse to handle these CX enquiries, as well as having the necessary skills and understanding.

4. Start with Augmented Reality, not Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is a central to the vision of the metaverse. However VR adoption is at an early stage with the exception of communities like gaming. Augmented Reality (AR), which superimposes computer-generated content on the real world, has much more immediate applications in the area of customer services. Most phones now have AR capabilities linked to their camera, which provides a ready-made way of reaching consumers. AR can show you how a sofa or carpet would look in your room or provide on-screen support on a customer’s smartphone to fix routine issues with appliances like washing machines or boilers.

Organisations shouldn’t automatically rule out (or rule in) joining the metaverse, but instead take a strategic approach, based on customer preferences and needs. Only then can they reap the rewards by delivering a relevant, personalised, and exceptional customer experience.

Find out more about the practical CX applications of the metaverse by watching Alex’s video interview with CX Today:

Want to know more? Find out how you can use AI chatbots and virtual assistants to reduce customer response time by contacting us or call us on 0333 6000 360.

Find out more about how converse360's platform integrates with Enghouse Contact Centre.

Source information provided by Enghouse Interactive:  https://enghouseinteractive.co.uk/blog/