The metaverse has created a lot of buzz over the last few years and the hype is real. The next big technology platform is set to dominate the way the world interacts. It is estimated that by 2024, the metaverse could become a nearly USD 800 billion industry. This growth will bring new opportunities for businesses to expand their reach, optimize their operations, and explore new recruitment strategies such as Centralized and Decentralized Recruitment. Therefore, to cash in on the opportunity and enhance business growth, businesses need to invest in it.
The metaverse is a relatively new concept and businesses do not know how customers will behave on this immersive 3D platform. Customer care teams will need to modify their processes to offer customer care in the metaverse. They will need proper training to excel at it.
The Building Blocks of Customer Support in the Metaverse
There is a need for a new customer support solution that minimizes frustration and costs. The metaverse can help, as customers are thrilled about this new development and plan to spend more time there.
How can customer service teams adjust their processes to provide good customer experiences in the virtual world? The answer is already there. Artificial reality and remote video software are important tools that can help. For example, customers can use their smartphones to video call agents for support using remote video technology. The agents in return can offer a link to their AR-enabled video that can help customers troubleshoot their issues. Agents and customers can also see each other face-to-face through this software, leading to a more empathetic connection. The outcome is hassle-free and helpful customer support leading to satisfied customers.
Customer Care in the Metaverse
The Metaverse continues to bridge the gap between virtual possibilities and reality. It combines multiple technologies such as AR, MR, AI, live streaming, and others to offer an extraordinary experience to customers.
It is important to understand, however, that customers do not behave in the metaverse in the same manner as they do in real stores. Therefore, businesses need highly trained customer service teams that can offer tech-powered support to customers in real time before, during, and after a purchase.
Moreover, customer care in the metaverse offers many opportunities to businesses that wish to create optimal customer experiences. Customer support in the metaverse will be different. It could use overlays, back-end integration, and holograms to resolve customer issues faster.
Let us have a look at some instances of what customer support in the metaverse may look like.
Interactive Problem Resolution
Consider a scenario where a customer wants to set up a new printer. Instead of connecting via live chat or phone, the metaverse will enable the customer and the customer care representative to be in the same virtual space where they can troubleshoot the issues through real-time demonstrations. Both can work together without any physical contact, via their digital avatars.
Moreover, imagine a customer who experiences a disruption amid his virtual reality (VR) experience. Instead of taking off the headset and contacting customer care from a separate device, the metaverse can provide an opportunity for this customer to get support inside the virtual world. This is just one example of how the metaverse could transform customer service, and businesses need to prepare for this shift by training their employees on how to handle different scenarios, including dealing with an insubordinate employee.
Employee Onboarding and Training
Envision a virtual world where employee hiring and training can take place just like the real world. Employees could be onboarding or receiving training from any geographic location, but in the metaverse, it will seem like they are in the same room as everyone else.
Through this enhanced digital experience, new hires can present their questions face-to-face and get to interact with other employees. Similarly, offshore recruits receiving training in the metaverse will get to experience the actual workplace environment without using conventional software like Zoom or Teams.
Omnichannel Support
The metaverse can help take the omnichannel existence of businesses to a completely new level. Omnichannel is the availability of multiple channels through which customers can reach out to the brand to make a sale. Metaverse is the newest addition to the omnichannel network and the most promising one due to its amazing advanced features.
Conclusion
Providing a good customer experience is the ultimate goal of any business. For a brand to be successful in this virtual world, it needs to understand customer behaviors and buying patterns and use those to offer meaningful customer experiences that will enable it to attract and retain customers.
