The phygital world is transforming customer experience

Are you ready to get phygital in the metaverse? To some, the metaverse is the stuff of science fiction movies: a virtual world where you can immerse yourself in other cultures, explore new worlds, or just escape from reality for a while. But to others, the metaverse is no longer something relegated to the realm of fantasy – it’s becoming a reality, and businesses need to start paying attention. 

But how do the physical and digital worlds intersect and what does that mean for customer experience? 

Buckle up, because in this article, we’re going to explore how the metaverse is changing customer experience in the phygital world for everything from marketing to e-commerce. 

Phygital world – where digital and physical experiences collide

Digital and physical worlds used to be two very different things. But with the advent of new technologies, they’re starting to merge into one – a phenomenon known as the “phygital world“. 

This is transforming customer experience, as companies race to create immersive virtual realities that let customers truly immerse themselves in their products. And the metaverse is at the forefront of this trend – especially in retail. 

So what does the metaverse have in store for customer experience? Isn’t it just a place for youth to play virtual games? That’s one of many use cases. To understand the phygital world, let’s first revisit the concept of the metaverse. 

The metaverse is like a digital parallel universe where users can create, share and interact with content and other users. Think of it as the internet 2.0 – an immersive, virtual world that blurs the lines between reality and cyberspace. 

And while it’s been around for some time now, its potential to revolutionize customer experience has only recently begun to be realized. 

Customer experience pain points in the physical world

When was the last time your business made fundamental changes to your customer service model? In the physical world, businesses work to solve for customer experience pain points every day that were designed for the “old ways of working”. Even the most well-thought-out customer service plan isn’t fool-proof and, as a result, customer experience pain points in the physical world haven’t really changed at all – ever since the dawn of the Internet. 

Here are some of the most common customer experience pain points customers are facing today in the physical world.

• Difficulty finding products they’re specifically looking for: In the physical world, businesses often have aisles and a layout that can be confusing to customers. They may not know where to find what they’re looking for or they may get lost while trying to navigate the store. This can be solved in the digital world by having an interactive map of the store that customers can use to find what they’re looking for. 
• Not being able to find the information they need before making a purchase: In the physical world, businesses often have a lot of information that they need to communicate to customers (e.g., product details, pricing, etc.), but it’s not always easy for customers to find. This can be solved in the digital world by creating a central repository for all of this information that is easy for customers to find and access. 
• Long lines and wait times for checkout or customer service: In the physical world, businesses often have long lines and wait times because they can only serve a certain number of customers at a time. This can be solved in the digital world by using technology to automate the customer service process. This would allow businesses to serve more customers at a time and reduce wait times. 
• Customer dissatisfaction with products or services post-sale: In the physical world, it’s often difficult to return or exchange products that customers are unhappy with. This can be solved in the digital world by creating an online marketplace where customers can easily return or exchange products they’re not satisfied with.

Sound familiar? It’s fascinating to think that not being able to find a product or enough information about something is still an issue in today’s connected world, but it is. That’s why the potential of the new phygital customer experience can be intriguing. Especially if you think about using it as a clean, new way to approach age-old problems.

Digital transformation for phygital customer experience

The key to designing phygital customer experiences is to start from the ground up. An immersive experience like the metaverse can’t be retrofitted on top of old omnichannel models. 

And why would you want to anyhow? New experiences deserve new processes. 

Before you begin designing the future state, use a tool like user journey mapping to establish a baseline to understand the possible customer touchpoints in the physical journey from initiation through to post-sale. Consider how customers interact with each other differently in the metaverse vs. the traditional inbound and outbound digital channels such as social media, email marketing, chatbots, onsite content, and ads.

For example:

• If metrics like customer engagement frequency, time on site, are important, consider how gamification in the metaverse could be used to design a new customer experience – or even employee training for new hire onboarding or professional development.
• If metrics like customer sentiment and net promoter score are important, consider how your live support agents can use VR environments for real-time immersive engagement for resolving disputes or answering questions.

These are but a few examples of how phygital companies can design new experiences for their customers. Whether it’s automating certain tasks where it’s most needed or providing a more personalized, immersive experience, when you’re reducing friction, everyone wins.

The future is phygital

We’re not in (physical) Kansas anymore, friends. 

Whether you’re a gamer, an online shopper, or just someone who likes to watch movies and TV shows, or a business looking to transform your brand and deepen customer experience, the phygital world is something you should keep your eye on.

What other customer experience pain points do you think could be solved in the digital world? The blending of digital and physical experiences can pose a unique opportunity for businesses to create an even more seamless customer journey where customers can interact with brands in a variety of ways that are both convenient and engaging. It’s also changing the way consumers experience the world around us, and it’s only going to get more popular in the years to come. 

Are you ready for the phygital future?