As in real life, there are many facets to business and the methods in which they are portrayed within a VR platform such as Second Life. I have created 3 basic groups.
1) The Fly On The Wall
From observations there are RL (Real Life outside the platform) companies that have ventured into SL (Second Life) that do not appear to have a goal. Many expect them to 'setup shop' and takeover with buyout, asseset stripping, buyoff etc techniques, not because they should, but because perhaps they can, given the budget ratios of RL money against the microvalued currency in game.
Some corporate companies are perhaps here to gain a 'social' perspective, when viewed from the 'availablity' aspect, whereby 'the man in the street' can make direct contact with a previously unreachable level within that company. This is also backwardly true in that those previously unreachable employees, can look out from the goldfish bowl, directly into the minds and actions of the man in the street, offering a perspective when dealing within the unique genure of the SL platform, a 'face to face' with their customers and clients. This perspective is extended whereby the corporates insulation by other forms of contact (emails, letters, phone calls and the 2D web internet) is now extended, watching their potential clients/customer actually interacting on many levels within the surrounding society on their doorstep. An opportunity for a unique perspective, especially from a marketing viewpoint.
Reaching out with 'branding', testing the water before a major launch, gaining feedback before spending the billions of RL dollars, within this micro society.. a perfect testbed?
One other aspect perceived by many, is the 1990's rush for some companies to gain a foothold on the internet whilst in its infancy, once there, looking around and wondering what would come next. Some pulled out only to arrive later once the 'platform' had proved itself. Others having to be dragged screaming, whilst having the voice of Bill Gates still ringing in their ears, stating that the Internet was just a passing phase, to make their pressence. They see the influx of corporates entering SL and other similar platforms, as being no more than them not missing the boat this time around.
2) Those with Small Business Experience
The success/failure of many business's can lay with their strategies of marketing, business plans and cashflow forecasting, supported by the product(s). Knowing your potential customers as well as you know your products is fundemental to making a successful business. Those people already armed with that vital knowledge, can find it realitively easy to setup a successful business within SL. Gaining the many advantages as described above, when viewing the unique reaction/action of the chosen market for their customers. What may cause failure, even with that successful business model strategy, is the social interaction. Failure to deal with and interact on a less than business level, with the assessibility aspect of the very genure of the platform, can very quickly become the demise of any business. Your customers are no longer 'faceless' names on an email, forwarded onto a 3rd party support company, or a voice on the end of a phone to someone who isn't really going to solve their problem.
3) The Social Based Business
For a lot of respected and well established business's within SL, are a prolifercation of non-business orientated, but none the less talented and successful bussiness people. Their foundations for creating their business has been from the social aspect. Making a lot of friends, being perceived (and well earnt by many) as fair and genuine people, that started by creating items and giving them to friends, later being convinced to open a shop and 'share' their talents with the social cocoon of the micro society. Their success was not based upon sound business models or strategies, but the social interactive skills.
Perhaps this new business frontier is a completely new learning curve for established and corporate companies, in what is perhaps going to be the forerunner of internet business as we know it today? Perhaps some of those establish and well renowed brands may suffer unless they can interact on this new social level, which has an element of chaos within the interfacing. A whole new brand of marketeer may need to be trainned in social skills to meet this new market.
