NFT Loyalty Program Guide: Elevating Customer Engagement

Loyalty programs are one of the best marketing strategies to secure customer loyalty and give back to your loyal customers. This strategy is beneficial for both your business and your customers. You create a way for your customers to become loyal, to continue shopping from your business and to aim to receive all benefits from your loyalty program. They, in return, receive discounts and additional benefits for the products they would buy anyway but they also get reassured, that the brand they believe in, sees them and appreciates them.

With statistics showing that, as of 2023, the average American is signed up to approximately 17 loyalty programs, it comes as no surprise that loyalty programs are indeed important for businesses and their customers. However, with the world being digitized rapidly, and many businesses are thriving to create a Web3 presence, loyalty programs are being replaced by NFT loyalty programs.  

NFT loyalty programs enable a plethora of opportunities for businesses and ease the whole loyalty program process, which this guide will discuss. This NFT loyalty program guide is also all about showing you how and why NFT loyalty programs are emerging and how to make sure your business can benefit from them too.

Unlocking the Digital Frontier: Introduction to NFTs and Access Control

Non-fungible Tokens, or NFTs, represent digital assets of all sorts. These can be soundtracks, digital art, videos, token-gated access to communities and so much more. They are secured on blockchains, which are digital ledgers with a very secure and decentralized nature. Because NFTs are based on those blockchains, the sense of security is highly elevated around them, so there’s no way for them to be altered or even hacked and stolen.  

The blockchain’s system is decentralized, which means that anyone connected to the internet and the blockchain can acquire information about different assets. Owner and transaction history are always visible to everyone, so the method of proving the ownership of a specific asset is quite transparent.  

All these factors lead to a perfect system for accessed control through NFTs. This way, a loyalty program powered by NFTs becomes more accessible for businesses and promises a certain sense of security for customers. You can create a whole map of benefits for your loyalty program and decide which NFTs access which benefits. Next, let’s see how the traditional loyalty program compares to an NFT rewards program for more insight.

NFT vs Traditional Loyalty Programs

We are used to loyalty programs being tailored to specific parts of businesses and through specific requirements. For example, a supermarket might only offer a loyalty program on their food range, and you’d have to buy over $100 to receive 10 points. Ultimately, you’d have to repeat that 10 times to receive a benefit of 10% discount on your next shopping. What most traditional loyalty programs fail to do, NFT programs get to offer.  

Through NFTs, loyalty programs have the space to explore with creativity and to offer customers a range of benefits, not only on discounts, but also through experiences and virtual reality assets for example. An NFT loyalty program can also provide customers with an additional loyalty program NFT from time to time, which can bring them further (or even more) benefits.

NFTs won’t fill your wallets with multiple different physical cards that you have to show in store to get a discount, nor will they take up storage on your phone for loyalty program apps. They provide a fully digitized experience, and because all NFTs are stored in your wallet, you will need one app to show all your NFTs at most. Traditional loyalty programs have access control too, but it is a basic username and password verification method. A more improved version is that of the NFT loyalty program, through a secure blockchain verification system and the ability to access the decentralized ledger and its transparent records.

Use Token Gating for Better Consumer Engagement

Token gating is a strategic approach which businesses can take on to enhance consumer engagement. By implementing token gating, you can incentivize and reward your consumers’ interactions, creating a sense of exclusiveness and loyalty to your brand. This method involves granting access to certain content, promotions, or experiences only to your customers holding specific tiers of your own NFTs. 

You can leverage token gating across various platforms, such as websites, apps, or social media channels. For instance, offering exclusive discounts, early access to products (like merch), or premium content in exchange for tokens can motivate your loyal fans to actively participate in purchases or to share your content with friends and family. Additionally, your business can gather valuable data on consumer preferences and behaviors through the token accumulation process, enabling more personalized and targeted marketing efforts.

Token gating is the best way to create an elevated sense of value for your products or services, and if you’re wondering where to start with it, DigitalArtists.com can guide you on the right path. You don’t need any Web3 knowledge or skills, just the ambition to bring success to your business through token gating and the right mindset to collaborate with the experts behind DigitalArtists.com.

Benefits of NFT Rewards Program in Business

Your business can implement an NFT rewards program and give back to your community of loyal customers, and if you still haven’t secured one such community, they are the best way to do so. Technology, and especially Web3 technology, enables your business to get to know your customers better. This way, you can enhance what sort of rewards they receive, tailored to their tastes and expectations.  

Through these personalized rewards, your customers will know that your business knows them and caters to their needs. This also includes one-time rewards which you can drop to different customers based on their wish lists and/or buying behaviors (they buy perfumes only, so you can gift them a perfume sample pack).

Token gated experiences are a great incentive for your customers to acquire your NFTs. Whether your business is in music, sports, fashion or any other industry, there are always opportunities for exclusive events to a specific number of your customers. NFT token gating is a process where access to certain products, services, or experiences is restricted to individuals who own a specific non-fungible token (NFT).  Of course, when customers move to a loyalty program through NFTs, they would still expect to receive discounts on products, so your business should always try to cover this aspect.  

Membership programs within an NFT loyalty program can also be beneficial for your business and your customers because you will have a secure income from them, and they will have a reward for it occasionally (weekly, monthly, yearly). And lastly, what many businesses are already doing is to give back to the environment. Your business can give your customers the choice to swap a tangible reward for an environmental benefit, like planting 5 trees instead of receiving a perfume sample pack.

How NFTs Boost Loyalty and Profits for Your Business

Your business can generate extra revenue streams through the previously mentioned offers. However, something very important to consider is how to properly implement these offers in your business and how that implementation works best for you and the further benefits of it.

NFTs aren’t physical products you can put on your shelves in-store and sell to your customers. But they can bring many other benefits to your business, which will help it grow. The following six examples will show you how your business can convert them into profits through an NFTs loyalty program.

Enhanced Customer Loyalty

Lock your customers in by giving them irresistible benefits and forming a loyal community. Create the desire in them to always look for your products and offers first and to never turn to your competitors by delivering an outstanding NFT loyalty program. As a result, you will stand out from the crowd with the best brand awareness strategy.

Increased Engagement

Improve how customers engage with your business through a single NFT loyalty program. Provide them with different opportunities for engagement, like exclusive events, NFT holder only access to product voting or even through feedback gathering. By giving your customers the voice and chance to interact with your brand, you can increase their overall desire to engage with it.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

The word-of-mouth marketing strategy is one of the best marketing strategies your business can benefit from, and it’s free! Fix the issues that your customers face in a fast and uncomplicated way, provide them with a brilliant online and/or in-store experience, create memorable experiences and products and encourage reviews. These cost-effective efforts will result in great customer satisfaction, and once you have satisfied customers, you can expect them to spread the words to family and friends of the excellence of your brand.

Exclusive and Creative Offers

The world of NFTs will provide your business with the playground to offer your customers exclusive and creative offers like no other business out there. You have the choice on what to offer and how it is presented. Additional benefits are collaborations with extraordinary creatives which can create stunning visuals to accompany your NFTs and to elevate their quality. This is a great way to also promote your business to the designer’s audience and vice versa.

Monetization of Digital Assets

NFTs give your business control and verified ownership over your NFT loyalty program and its contents. Prices, terms and conditions, accessed control and royalties are all in your hands. As a business, you might have a main source of income already and are looking to expand this. Through NFTs, you can generate an additional revenue source by selling them to your customers. But even more, you can receive royalties through any secondary sales of your NFTs on the market, and you decide what percentage of the sale price you receive.

NFT Loyalty Program Examples That Businesses are Already Using

NFTs aren’t a new concept on the market, and many businesses have already taken on the benefits they come with. There are constantly newer business models emerging through NFTs, and NFT loyalty programs are certainly one of the more successful ones of those. With already many use cases recorded of different businesses, from various industries, it is safe to say that this concept is of a promising standard for your business. The following NFT loyalty program examples are leading use cases in how your business should handle the opportunities that come with NFTs in order to grow to an even better success level.

Starbucks

Starbucks launched its Web3 membership program – Starbucks Odyssey – in December 2022 and released its first NFT collection called The Siren Collection on March 9^th. The collection consists of 2000 visually unique NFTs which were sold in under 20 minutes. Each NFT costed $100, presumably bringing Starbucks $200,000 from the drop, and were sold to a total of 1,164 owners. 

Starbucks details its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey https://t.co/iVCB9AhpkO by @sarahintampa

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) September 12, 2022

The Siren Collection brought buyers 1,500 points to their Odyssey memberships. Additionally, members can receive more points by making purchases or completing puzzles and games. The whole point of the membership is that through points, one can get on a higher rank, thus receiving greater benefits. These can be virtual classes, merch, or even a trip to a Starbucks farm. This membership idea is perfect for building a loyal community of Starbucks fans who will compete to gather more points to get access to various benefits. But it is also a great way to generate additional revenue streams, which Starbucks has successfully done.

KIKI World

Kiki is a brand that tapped into the Web3 community to revolutionize the way the beauty industry engages with its customers. The KIKI World Pass is a great NFT loyalty program by the Web3 beauty brand KIKI, which creates a loyal community through NFTs. Customers who sign up for the platform receive voting rights to products. The products with the most votes get released as actual products for the community to buy.

One of KIKI World's defining features is the ability to vote on products.

Let's talk about why voting is so important for beauty, & how we plan to leverage web3 technology to make everyone co-owners of their favorite products 🧵 pic.twitter.com/vE7Kf6qT7G

— KIKI World (@kikiworld_) May 22, 2023

By voting, customers receive points which they can then exchange for further benefits. These benefits include branded merch, beauty products and, of course, NFTs. While the company has delved into other NFT related projects, this one stands out the most because of its community inclusivity.

KIKI is a mastermind in harnessing the power of a loyal customer base, and by releasing the products its customers want to have the most, and vote to show it, KIKI creates a continuous loop of releasing products that are sure to sell.

Scotch & Soda

Scotch & Soda is an Amsterdam-based luxury clothing brand which also joined the Web3 world through its Club Soda 3.0 loyalty program community. The club launched along with 1,000 NFTs labeled Founder’s Pass NFTs which bring benefits to token holders like exclusive experiences, events and offers from Scotch & Soda.

TIME TO MINT! Mint your free Founders Pass NFT and gain access to Club Soda 3.0. Be sure to start minting ASAP as they’re only 1,000 NFTs available. Go, go, go: https://t.co/rdYmQu7WxW#NFTs #FREEMINT #NFTCommunity #Web3 #freemintNFT #NFT #ScotchandSoda pic.twitter.com/IPuevH6WFW

— Scotch & Soda (@scotch_soda) September 19, 2022

The 3.0 community is a successor to the previous Club Soda community. Whilst the above-mentioned benefits are like the original Club Soda benefits for NFT holders, the new version has more advanced community-oriented benefits to offer. These allow members to co-create along with the creative minds behind Scotch & Soda on various projects. This is a great way to establish a loyal community by giving a voice to members, offering inclusivity and engagement with the business’ customers.

Soapy Joe’s

Soapy Joe’s is the first car wash business in its industry to expand into the Web3 space. This alone is a great statement, because it only shows how inclusive NFTs are and how any type of business can really harness their power for success. The Summer Passport promo ran between 1^st July and 30^th September 2022 and offered NFTs in the form of Soapy Joe’s staple air fresheners, considered collectibles by fans for a long time. Soapy Joe’s is located within the San Diego area, with 16 locations, which are represented on each of the 16 different NFTs offered in the limited-time NFT loyalty program.

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A post shared by Soapy Joe's Car Wash (@soapyjoes)

The promo includes four different ranks – four visited locations, eight locations, 12 locations and finally, 16 visited Soapy Joe’s car wash locations. Each milestone brings car washers four different NFTs, of their newly visited places, but the other benefits are different. The lowest tier gits them a branded hat and keychain and 50 cent per gallon gas discount through the end of the promo. The second-tier gifts fans a branded 15-inch plushie. The 12 visited locations tier brings customers a San Diego daycation – a breakfast or lunch for two and tickets to a local theme park. And finally, the highest tier which really pays out, is that rewarding an annual membership to Soapy Joe’s, which comes with free car washes for a year, and an entry to win $5000.  

Soapy Joe’s has not only created a great incentive for its current customers to visit it even more often with the idea of winning certain gifts and NFTs, but it has also created a more accessible way for people to earn NFTs. With a lot of its locations not far from each other, and the two furthest points being roughly 2hrs away from each other, visiting almost if not all the locations and earning 16 NFTs along with amazing benefits. A great way for a non-traditional Web3 industry to break into the web world and show businesses how it’s done.

Burger King

Everyone knows Burger King and its delicious burgers, and with so many fans worldwide, and competitors like McDonalds and Taco Bell entering the Web3 pool, it’s clear why Burger King too would try to join the crowd. Additionally, the food industry has great potential to benefit from NFTs and loyalty programs, of which this use case can be a great example. The campaign titled Keep It Real Meals was launched in September 2021 to promote how Burger King was eliminating 120 artificial ingredients from its menu. 

Instead, it wanted to promote a healthier list of ingredients for the customers and for looking out for them. The campaign worked by introducing QR codes on nearly six million meal boxes, across 7,000 locations. When scanned, the QR codes gifted customers with one out of three variations of one of three collectible NFT artist sets.

We teamed up with @BurgerKing for a gamified #NFT experience. Get your #KeepItRealMeals box & scan the QR code. 🔥

(No pur. nec. 50 US/DC 18+. https://t.co/3OXSrY8Zsm acct reg req. Ends 10/10/21 or when Game Pieces exhausted. Rules, entry, odds & details https://t.co/vIdNx0HQzT) pic.twitter.com/ZRwkYMGKs4

— Sweet (@sweet) September 21, 2021

Celebrities Nelly, Anitta and LILHUDDY revealed their names, Cornell Haynes Jr., Larissa Machado and Chase Hudson on the boxes, as part of keeping it real and revealing their true identities behind the stage names. Each had three variants of their NFTs, and if collected, a customer could receive one of Burger King’s amazing benefits. This could be a BK 3D digital collectible, autographed BK merch, or even bigger benefits like a phone call with one of the celebrities or free Whopper hamburgers for a year.  

This NFT loyalty program shows how great it is to collaborate with celebrities to attract hype around your campaign, and how by providing your customers with the chance to win amazing prices, they can become more interested in buying your products even more and becoming your loyal customers.

How to Add NFTs to Your Loyalty Program

These NFT loyalty program examples can be pretty convincing, and you might have started wondering how to add NFTs to your business’ loyalty program. If that’s the case, then your business should be happy to have you, because you show a great mindset and determination to bring more success to it. To launch your loyalty program, you would need to create a proper strategy, choose how your NFTs will be made and by whom, to launch your loyalty program and to monitor and amend it, should it need that. 

Wanting to implement a great NFT loyalty program in your business doesn’t neccesarily mean you have the right tools and experience to do it. But the best way to go around that is to trust the creatives behind this NFT loyalty program guide, namely Digital Artists. At Digital Artists, your NFT loyalty program will receive the best care in terms of design, launch and monitoring from industry experts. The whole process is transparent, so you can relax and watch as your business flies off into success. Getting in touch with Digital Artists is a very easy step when you think about the opportunity of working together to create a brilliant NFT project for your business.

The Ways NFT Loyalty Programs Are Changing Businesses

NFT rewards programs are an exceptional way to change your business in a successful way. The benefits and use cases shown in this NFT loyalty program guide have been proven to work over time. Having those examples to show you where your business could stand is essential for you to realize the power that NFTs hold for you.  

There are many different offers you could choose from, like discounts, token gated experiences or membership programs. There are also a lot of different benefits for your business, like the monetization of digital assets or word-of-mouth marketing. But ultimately, all of those are pointed in the same direction, and this is the creation of customer loyalty for your brand through NFT loyalty programs. 

Customer loyalty means that a community of loyal fans will always be there to support your business even when new products are launched. All in all, having a loyal customer base is one of the most important aspects of a business, and a great NFT loyalty program is one of the best ways to secure that for yourself.

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