Plenty of web3 thought leaders say NFTs are the next big thing for business.
“NFTs will transform how you connect with customers.”
“Every business will need NFTs.”
“NFTs are the future.”
Fair enough. But why?
People get so caught up in the “just a JPEG” argument that they miss how NFTs can be used now, and their immense potential in the future.
NFTs are so much more than “just a JPEG.” And it’s time to shake this antiquated notion.
Here are the top 4 ways NFTs can add value to your business today.
Loyalty programs are ubiquitous. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t enrolled in at least one loyalty program, whether it’s with their grocery store, favorite coffee shop, clothing store, pharmacy, or anything in between. Therefore, integrating NFTs into new and existing loyalty programs will soon be one of the most valuable uses for businesses.
Brands’ loyalty programs will be massive in web3.
You can easily integrate NFTs into your company's existing loyalty program or use them to transform your program into something wholly new and entertaining.
NFT loyalty programs are relatively easy to create. Even though every NFT is a unique asset, you don't need to design each uniquely.
Think of an NFT in this context as a digitally-verifiable rewards card. Holders can upgrade their card, sell it, or use it to earn more rewards with your brand. With NFT loyalty cards, there’s no need to design individual cards, fabricate them, or ship them to stores or customers nationwide.
Plus, you can earn royalties from them. That means when your holders level up their rewards card and sell it, you automatically get a cut of the sale. All of these elements make NFT loyalty cards cheaper than physical loyalty cards.
If you enable gamification and allow users to level up with their loyalty program NFTs, you give your customers the power of choice. They can continue earning advanced rewards with their upgraded NFTs or sell them.
That’s a substantial advantage. Because your NFT holders can sell to other customers, they’re incentivized to bring other people into your ecosystem.
This benefits everyone involved:
NFTs give their holders a sense of ownership. They feel connected to you and other holders, even if they only interact with you in a marketplace. And by creating NFT collections, you also gain access to the existing NFT community—they’re a conglomerate of smaller, dedicated, often tight-knit communities.
And they’re eager to engage with new projects that offer utility and entertainment.
Using NFTs in video games has gotten plenty of attention recently. Even if you don’t run a game studio, any brand can use gamified NFTs to make your brand more engaging.
Overall, web3 can revolutionize the gaming industry by enabling new forms of gaming, providing new monetization opportunities, increasing security and transparency, and enabling interoperability across games and platforms.
Creating engaging and interactive user experiences can be a positive driver for companies entering web3.
These can increase user engagement and retention, creating the potential for infinite monetization. Additionally, gamified NFT experiences can raise brand awareness and help to drive the adoption of web3.
NFTs can be made into tokenized in-game assets. This allows players to own and trade their items outside the core game, creating a new market for digital goods.
Video game players already collect characters, skins, and other accessories in games like Fortnite and Counter-Strike. They even sell those items in the games’ marketplaces.
As it stands, most of those items are not NFTs. That means the items are limited:
If video games turned those items into NFTs, it would unlock a new marketplace for players and game developers.
NFTs enable players to own their characters and accessories and sell them across marketplaces. You can also earn royalties from your NFTs, meaning you can earn from secondary sales across marketplaces.
NFTs open up a new way for players to earn in a game’s economy.
For example, players could work to upgrade their NFT characters, land, or other items that they then rent out to the platform or other players. In return, the owner could be rewarded with in-game currency.
This is precisely how The Sandbox economy works. Players can buy virtual NFT land and build shops, games, and amusement parks. The more players interact with the owner’s land, the more the owner earns in the game’s currency, SAND.
NFTs can be used as tickets for live events, such as concerts, sporting events, and theater performances.
Beyond these tickets becoming instant pieces of digital memorabilia, they also reduce the risk of ticket fraud since they cannot be replicated or counterfeited. In addition, they can be used to unlock exclusive experiences or access to VIP areas, adding extra utility and value for holders.
NFTs open up exciting possibilities for any industry with a ticketing system, offering novel ways to engage with audiences, monetize content, and foster creativity. As the technology continues to evolve, the potential for NFTs to impact deeper fan engagement is bound to expand, shaping the industry's future.
How could this look in various industries?
The perfect example? Paramount Pictures with Top Gun: Maverick.
After they gave Top Gun helmet NFTs to fans who attended early premieres of the movie, Paramount Pictures took things a step further. They collaborated with Dave & Busters to give NFT holders free access to the new Top Gun: Maverick VR experience in all D&B locations.
With token-gating, only those who possess specific NFTs can access exclusive live events, VIP experiences, or additional content, ensuring security and verifiability. These tokens can be sold, traded, or auctioned, providing a new brand revenue stream and fostering a sense of exclusivity among collectors.
By implementing token-gating, businesses can create a sense of exclusivity for live events, driving attendee engagement and loyalty. By leveraging token-gating for live events, businesses can:
Digital collectibles are a great way of introducing new dimensions of digital ownership, exclusivity, and authentication to your user base. As more consumers embrace digital assets, businesses should consider integrating unique virtual products, limited-edition collectibles, and digital experiences to create new revenue streams and foster customer engagement.
These unique digital assets offer companies an innovative way to engage with their audience, generate buzz, and establish a strong brand presence in the virtual realm. NFT-branded wearables, from virtual clothing to art or accessories, can be showcased in online platforms, games, and virtual reality environments.
By embracing NFT wearables, businesses can:
As businesses explore innovative ways to enhance their offerings and engage with customers, the concept of using NFTs for creating digital twins of physical goods has emerged as a groundbreaking approach. By tokenizing physical assets, companies can seamlessly integrate their digital and physical worlds, offering verifiable ownership and authentication of their products.
The fusion of NFTs as digital twins also paves the way for the development of secondary marketplaces, where customers can trade digital representations of physical goods before redeeming them for actual products. This dynamic ecosystem not only offers businesses new monetization opportunities but also provides consumers with a flexible and engaging platform to discover, acquire, and exchange items. By creating a vibrant secondary market, businesses can tap into the growing demand for unique, personalized, and secure digital experiences, ultimately shaping the future of commerce in the digital era.
Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) tokens are perfect for businesses to commemorate and reward customer participation in events, launches, or other brand-related activities. As blockchain-based NFTs, POAPs provide a secure, verifiable, and tamper-proof record of attendance, which can be collected and traded by users.
The utilization of POAPs enables businesses to:
NFTs represent cutting-edge innovation and are poised to reshape the modern business landscape. By enabling the tokenization of physical assets, NFTs unlock new avenues in asset management, ownership, and exchange. Within e-commerce, NFTs cultivate trust, authentication, and bespoke digital experiences, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction.
As NFTs gain momentum and mature, businesses across sectors must stay ahead of the curve, exploring and leveraging the opportunities this technology provides.
By embracing NFTs, companies can foster ingenuity, generate novel revenue streams, and fortify customer relationships, ultimately shaping the future of commerce and consumer interaction in the digital era.
So, what are you waiting for? There’s no better time to get started than right now, get in touch with a RECUR Builder expert today.
