Yesterday Salesforce unveiled its NFT Cloud to enable brands to mint, manage and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) via the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform. Initially, the offering is in a closed pilot phase, with the wider rollout expected later in the year. The launch has progressed despite objections from a group of Salesforce employees in February.
The pushback was the result of concerns about scams and the impact of blockchain on the environment. In response, Salesforce touted that its NFT Cloud will only support sustainable Proof of Stake blockchains but hasn’t revealed which ones. As part of the pilot, customers will see the emissions impact of using the blockchain and can offset the emissions through “trusted, high quality carbon credits.”
Salesforce has also committed to prevent its product being used for fraud.
NFTs as rewards provide customer insights
Many brands have now launched NFTs across a broad range of industries, from fashion and music to fast food. While consumers view NFTs as collectibles, from a business perspective, many brands consider them part of their loyalty and rewards strategy.
Another aspect of brand issued NFTs is the potential to garner customer insights. Most blockchain transactions are fully transparent. So by accepting an NFT reward, a customer is providing their wallet address. That means they’re sharing not just who they are but what other brands they may have engaged with, which can be seen from their wallet. For example, Publicis Sapient is exploring NFTs to track sales across different channels.
Currently, data gathering from NFTs won’t always work reliably because of the fragmentation of blockchains. Still, over time it could be a treasure trove of data, which in turn could trigger a different kind of pushback.
