Are NFTs the New CRM?

NFTs you’ve been hearing a lot about them, but now it’s time to learn how NFTs are about to disrupt Customer Relationship Management (CRM)!

You’ve heard of NFTs. But what exactly are they?

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique digital items, created (minted) on top of the Ethereum blockchain. As opposed to fungible items, such as currencies, non-fungible items can’t be divided, nor can they be substituted. Since each NFT is unique because of its verified digital ownership record, it can’t be replaced by, well, anything else. 

NFTs are much more than digital art. They come in the form of music, GIF files, Tweets or even collectible digital trading cards. Why should digital goods, like a CryptoPunk NFT, be any different? 

Thanks to their unique nature, NFTs act as a conduit for storing media and data, serving as a CRM toolkit for brands to offer new kinds of rewards and perks to their customers. With Bored Apes Yacht Club, for example, customers are ingrained in the BAYC community simply because they are given hand-tailored experiences that are only available to community members.

In principle, these NFTs can go up in value, sometimes dramatically, while having the advantage of being fully tradable.

To put the magic of NFTs further into perspective, if you’re comparing an NFT photo to a physical photo, you’re thinking inside the box. That’s why it’s critical to realize that NFTs stand out because they contain tamper-proof digital footprints of a long trail of ownership information, as well as any information pertaining to the NFT itself. 

You can’t really ever get that with fungible photos, or even digital copies, can you?

Customers First!

NFTs have come a long way in a very short amount of time. Their potential to disrupt our collective experience with the brands and products we know and love is colossal. Consider that all of these brands and businesses are doing the utmost to take advantage of the long-term potential of NFTs for their customers. 

Yeah, that’s us!

Building a strong community around a brand is no easy feat. Most brands spend the entirety of their shelf-lives serving their customers the best possible experience possible. Much like loyalty rewards points, brands use different approaches to building a loyal and valuable fan base and this holds true for any industry.

And not only are businesses developing in-house mechanisms to use NFTs to connect with customers, there are also specialized agencies, like Arianee, that maximize the NFT-Customer experience by tailoring unique ownership experiences for businesses seeking to hop onto the NFT CRM (customer relationship management) bandwagon.

The Data Connection

NFTs have a very special property, the ability to internally store any type of data that traditional loyalty and member programs can’t. Take POAP for example, an NFT platform that is shaking up the events management industry. POAP maintains a laser focus on connecting event goers with authentic and rewarding experiences. The startup has essentially revolutionized the way we experience events that we attend, by providing NFT tokens as rewards.

Since data stored within NFTs can’t be tampered with, the end result is that there really is no way to pretend to have attended an event. As a result, this creates exclusivity for someone who did attend, granting them a unique POAP token that asserts authenticity.

NFTs Fuel Better Relationships Between Brands And Customers

But this is only the tip of the digital iceberg. All of this metadata serves multiple purposes but most important among them are: proof of authenticity (provenance), proof of attendance (presence) as well as proof of ownership (possession).

Beyond ownership and authenticity of assets lies a whole new realm of experiences for customers. Brands are actively connecting with their customers and audience by offering exciting NFT rewards like limited-edition gifts, exclusive events, celebrity experiences, giveaways and that’s just the beginning.

As a recent example from the entertainment industry, Kings of Leon recently released their entire album as an NFT – going so far as offering additional perks to their most loyal fans. The group released loyalty-reward type tokens that included a special album package, a front-row for life package, and exclusive bonus tracks and videos.

Each of the sectors within the entire entertainment industry is hustling to become the first of its respective formats to use NFTs to reignite their fan economies. Walt Disney Co. is capitalizing on the NFT trend by issuing exclusive NFT rewards to fans of its Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In fact, Binance was recently the first to win a bid in hosting an NFT marketplace dedicated to the entire Marvel empire.

NFTs & CRM: So What Lies Ahead?

The burning question when it comes to NFTs is: are they going to last? 

The truth is, thanks to their signature design and mechanisms, their long-term value will likely be extremely significant. Sure, they aren’t quite mainstream yet but think about what could make them adopted by the mainstream. Gaming NFTs could bridge the gap between the public and mass adoption of NFTs in general. 

Metaverse projects and gaming companies have all been actively using NFTs as reward incentives to keep users coming back for better, richer experiences. Usually, as players advance in the games, new collectible NFT tokens can be claimed. Many of these tokens also happen to be desired by fellow gamers, with the hopes of building their own personal token collection within their favorite games.

Now more than ever, people crave that feeling of belonging to a digital community. The excitement of being able to forge a deeper connection with our favorite brands, businesses and celebrities is a tangible feeling that NFTs deliver on. By driving engagement and pushing the boundaries on how we actually interact with our favorite brands, NFTs are quickly phasing out the old era of engagement.

Alright, we’ll stop saying NFTs, but you got it, now go ahead on your journey! And don’t forget to secure your precious Non-fungibles.

Knowledge is Power.