2021 has been another year that has been difficult for businesses as many are still feeling the effects of the ongoing global issues. This has led to many looking to diversify their offerings to create new opportunities. One resounding area of growth that many have been capitalizing on is the introduction of cryptocurrency and NFTs, also known as Non Fungible Tokens.
Samsung is just one of the names that have announced that they will be offering their customers the option to purchase some of these verified digital assets via their latest line of smart televisions. Rather than being fungible, like cryptocurrencies, the NFT is a piece of digital content which, although linked to the blockchain, are not interchangeable, meaning no two can be the same. Therefore, these unique digital items are proving to be very valuable and very popular.
However, while NFTs are being bought and sold and raising funds for the businesses involved, they’re also benefitting other areas of business in different ways. In sport, NFTs have taken off and some are known as fan tokens, with early adopting soccer clubs around the world being the largest beneficiaries of their introduction to date, and it’s prompting other clubs to follow suit. The use of fan tokens in football benefits two types of business; the provider and the club around which they’re based. Supporters who purchase the tokens are afforded access to VIP experiences as an extra reward on top of their unique digital asset, increasing engagement with their clubs, enhancing the brand, and developing loyalty. For soccer clubs themselves, partnering with Socios, a global brand, opens up them to different markets across the world.
It highlights that there are more uses for the NFT that your business could benefit from, so we’re going to look at some of those options.
Securing Fundraising
If your business is going well and you’re considering expanding your current premises or opening a new location. The sales of an NFT, linked to your brand could be a way of launching a low-cost funding alternative similar to that of a Kickstarter. However, the benefit is that purchasers know exactly where their money is going via the transparency of the blockchain, it would be possible to set up milestones which only withdraw their donations once a milestone is met, with the NFTs being linked to smart contracts.
Growing the Business Community
Utilizing NFTs could grow a community group of businesses in the local area. Think of a scavenger hunt map as an NFT, gamifying the experience for customers visiting businesses, with rewards at each stop. Think of it as a way of driving customer traffic to each of the locations, with all making not only money from the purchase of the NFT, which is unique to each purchaser; the businesses will also get the added footfall and potential in location sales too.
Charity Champions
Creating NFTs to sell to raise funds for charitable organizations has been done in the past to great effect, most notably by Taco Bell. The NFTs branded around the popular food business were sold to raise funds for local charities. This could be done similarly with your business, having NFTs designed for your brand. It increases your business profile and could potentially present a significant sum of money to help the people who may need it the most and enhance people’s brand loyalty to your business in the process.