Recently, many exciting technologies have ushered in a new age of CRM. Plenty of innovations have pushed the envelope when it comes to customer engagement, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are one of the most interesting ones. So, how can incorporating NFTs help with boosting CRM engagement?
Below, we’ll explore different ways to apply NFTs to enhance customer engagement:
How to Implement NFTs in Your CRM Strategy?
Today, you can use NFT technology to create unique digital assets in limited editions. Even though they’re not physical objects, their limited nature creates scarcity and a sense of urgency. As a result, the prospect of owning certain NFTs can be exciting for your target audience.
However, while we’ll explore various ways of boosting CRM engagement through NFTs, bear in mind that there are no catch-all solutions. You need to adapt your approach to NFTs to your specific industry. With this in mind, choosing the right CRM is essential before implementing NFTs as part of a customer engagement strategy.
Fortunately, these days, you can find specialized CRM systems for most industries — each of which has different features that help companies in specific niches. For instance, modern moving companies often use one of the top moving CRM solutions to manage customer relationships, track customer interactions, and integrate new technologies effectively.
Through NFT-based gamification, moving companies create collectible NFTs that customers earn by completing specific actions. How does this work in practice? For example, a customer could receive an NFT for providing feedback online. These NFTs could be exchanged for discounts on future moving services or products — like gift cards or packing materials.
As a result, your customers will feel like your brand has gone the extra mile. In an age of ever-competing brands with a global reach, this kind of personal touch can help you stand out from the crowd.
Personalized Collectibles
These days, businesses collect more consumer data than ever before. And this is especially true if you’re an online brand. Thanks to modern tech, you can easily tap into your consumers’ previous interactions with your brand. Plus, you can glean valuable insights from your target audience’s online behaviors.
Based on this and your general brand image and marketing strategy, you can create popular NFT collectibles that speak to your target audience. Besides aesthetics, you have all the info you need to create something your consumers will genuinely want to own — even in a digital format.
Also, you can tie the ownership of these NFTs into other rewards. For instance, they could be tickets to limited virtual events or vouchers for special discounts. If you’re launching a brand new product, the NFTs could act as early access passes.
Sure, you could do all of this without NFTs as well. But that’s not the point. In practice, the unique nature of NFT ownership elevates your brand image in the eye of your target audience. They’ll feel appreciated because they have something no one else does. And your services and products will appear more customer-centric. Plus, you’ll get bonus points for being ready to embrace innovative new technologies.
Improving Customer Engagement Through Gamification
Gamification in loyalty programs is nothing new. Elements of gaming and achievement have been an integral part of customer engagement for ages. After all, these elements speak to people’s innate disposition towards play and competition.
In short — every activity is more engaging when playing for points. However, when you introduce NFTs to gamification, boosting CRM engagement is possible on a whole other level.
On the one hand, blockchain gaming creates another layer of interaction between you and your consumers. You can generate achievement ladders for basic interactions your customers would engage in any way — and stimulate them to engage more by scoring points for each interaction.
On the other hand, you can introduce unique NFTs for customers as rewards for these “challenges”. Suddenly, the points your customers are gathering don’t appear to be mundane or arbitrary. They become a gateway to tangible rewards — even though they’re digital.
Of course, this kind of CRM strategy works even better if you’ve managed to foster a community among your customers. That way, they can compare the digital collectibles they’ve won with one another and spread positive word of mouth about your brand in the process.
Naturally, proper design is crucial here. You need to ensure the NFT rewards are in line with your brand image — including its values and visual identity.
How Does This Work In Practice?
If all of this sounds too vague, we’ll explore how major brands and organizations are already using NFTs to boost CRM engagement in practice.
In 2022, the Australian Open decided to use NFTs to increase user engagement with their tournament. Normally, tennis fans rarely engage with their brand beyond buying tickets and merchandise and attending games.
However, they decided to create a unique NFT collection that speaks to their target audience — AI-generated virtual tennis balls. Each of these was created with a distinctive pattern and color palette, making every one of the 6,000+ NFTs unique.
Still, this virtual art wouldn’t be enough to engage tennis fans on its own. Instead, the Australian Open found a way to tie it into the actual tournament.
They plotted the tennis court and divided it into small areas, each of which corresponded to one of the previously generated NFTs. Once the tournament began, fans who bought an NFT would be notified if the ball fell on their “patch” of the court.
When that happened, the fans’ NFTs would also be updated with real-time information about the game.
Conclusion
Ultimately, NFTs have value through scarcity, aesthetics, and usability. These factors aren’t always represented equally within specific NFTs. To succeed in boosting CRM engagement through NFTs, your brand will need to figure out what to focus on.
For instance, Nike bought a design studio called RTKFT to create sneaker NFTs for their fans. These primarily focus on aesthetics because that’s something Nike’s target audience cares about. On the other hand, the Australian Open example shows how usability can bring more subjective value to a different type of target audience.
If you choose your priorities properly, though — the rewards in terms of customer engagement can be immense.
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