XR in the B2B Space: A Business Outcomes Game - MetaVisions #29

The B2C market for XR (Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality) devices has seen tremendous growth over the last 5 years, mainly due to Meta’s fearless substantial investment in this space and a large catalogue of VR games and mods. The Meta Quest line-up now outsells traditional hardware like Xbox consoles, suggesting that XR could one day rival smartphones and laptops. Equally important is the B2B market, where I’ve seen significant maturing among resellers, OEMs, ISVs, and clients over the past two years. However, there is one mistake that is still quite common…

Business Outcomes are the name of the game

Yes, XR experiences are cool and exciting, many business leaders I have spoken to became interested in Spatial after watching pieces of ‘IronMan-like’ XR content on LinkedIn. This initial spark of interest is valuable. But when working with enterprises, we must remember that almost everything revolves around increasing business outputs or reducing costs. This can be applied to all sectors, for example:
Healthcare: How can I accelerate the training of new staff to increase patient capacity without proportionally increasing training costs?
Construction: How can I provide builders with more information onsite to help them work through projects faster while also reducing our material waste?

Many players in the XR space tend to lead marketing and conversations with ‘Look how innovative our tool is; you get to do x, y, z,’ rather than ‘Our platform can reduce time-to-work by x%, saving £x per employee.’ This misalignment often stems from the (stereotypical) stakeholders who initiate discussions in the XR space - passionate technologists that are individual contributors or small team managers who want to use more tech in their work. As they are passionate and excited, cool features that your product has may be enough to get their buy-in. These stakeholders are great to have on your side, they will be more than happy to champion your product and talk to others in their company about it, and they might even hold enough budget to do a PoC!
Proof of Concepts are essential for a successful customer journey but are often a graveyard for (commission and bonus) dreams, as most PoCs don’t transition into multi-million £ projects.

Once you have your ‘champion’ inside an organisation and are able to engage with decision makers to discuss larger deployments, whether post-PoC or initially, the conversation should move away from the excitement and passion for technology and become business-oriented. Continue to highlight your product's innovation and its impact on customer and employee experience and business processes, but always tie it back to achieving business outcomes.

For example, if pitching a VR entertainment platform to American Airlines, I might start by showcasing how epic watching a movie on a 400-inch virtual cinema screen could be for their Premium Cabins. However, I would then shift the focus to how this improved customer experience differentiates them in a commoditized market, increasing demand for Premium Cabins. I would highlight the profitability of Business and First Class customers compared to Economy passengers, then use data to show the potential £GM increase from a x% rise in premium seat bookings, and provide the proposed £ investment needed to achieve this increase. Simplified, but if done well and your solution is genuinely beneficial, the data will support a positive ROI, driving the business case for investment in your product.

In conclusion, the excitement and innovation of XR technology can be used to spark initial interest among business leaders, but to secure larger investments, demonstrating clear business outcomes is a must. Whether it's accelerating training in healthcare, optimizing processes in construction, or enhancing customer experiences in aviation, always tie your XR solutions back to tangible business benefits. By shifting the conversation from 'cool features' to 'measurable results,' you can build a compelling business case that is relatable and important with decision-makers. Remember, in the world of B2B, business outcomes are the name of the game.

See you soon,
Davi, MetaVisions