Salesforce has launched a new NFT management platform called Salesforce Web3, designed to help its clients create token-based loyalty programs. With Salesforce Web3, businesses can mint and sell NFTs, monitor blockchain activity, and view real-time customer data. The platform was launched today with subscription tiers, following a pilot program that involved 257,000 transactions with clients such as whiskey brand Crown Royal, clothing brand Scotch & Soda, and toy company Mattel.
One of the main benefits of using Salesforce Web3 is the access to first-party data. As regulations shift and companies like Apple change the rules around cookies, Facebook and brands don’t want to spend all their money with some of these organizations. The crypto wallet becomes really powerful so companies can directly engage with customers and have access to that first-party data. This was stated by Adam Caplan, GM of Web3 at Salesforce, in an interview with Decrypt.
Caplan believes that crypto wallets are the new cookies, and Salesforce is aware of the user privacy implications. The platform has built-in tools to enable wallet owners to share all their information if they want or just a little information. Salesforce is blockchain-agnostic and only supports proof-of-stake chains. Most of its customers use Ethereum or Polygon.
Salesforce Web3 offers clients the opportunity to build NFT loyalty programs that can be used to drive personalization, community building, excitement, and engagement of their brand with target audiences. Customers have claimed over 20,000 Crown Royal minted digital collectibles that were tied to the brand sending care packages of Crown Royal alcohol to active military members. Meanwhile, Scotch & Soda worked with Salesforce to launch its free NFT loyalty program called Club Soda 3.0.
However, Caplan sees the revenue-generation potential of NFTs as only part of the overall picture, with the other part focusing on customer engagement. He mentioned that there’s so much passion around blockchain and NFTs (both good and bad, especially over the past couple of years with all the craziness that has happened) that Salesforce prefers to avoid using industry jargon, not only to minimize friction but also because of the baggage they carry.
Salesforce has developed its own Web3 Advisory board and Ethical Use Advisory Council alongside its consulting partners, such as Accenture and Deloitte Digital, AE Studio, Media Monks, TIME, and Vayner3. The company had more than 400 employees who signed a petition in February last year in protest of its attempts to launch NFT initiatives. Salesforce took this feedback seriously and engaged with the employees who had concerns, which impacted its roadmap and approach to its NFT initiatives.
Salesforce sees brands in retail and consumer goods, media, and fashion as the top targets for its new NFT management software. This is because these brands have the greatest potential to create meaningful loyalty programs using NFTs by tapping into the passions of their target audiences. Caplan mentioned Nike and Starbucks as two Salesforce clients making admirable moves in the Web3 customer loyalty space, though neither are yet subscribers to Salesforce Web3.
In conclusion, Salesforce Web3 aims to help businesses create and manage NFT-based loyalty programs that can drive customer engagement, personalize the customer experience, and capture first-party data. This platform has the potential to disrupt the customer loyalty market and raise the potential of blockchain technology as a tool for building brand loyalty. Salesforce is blockchain-agnostic, conscious of the user privacy implications and has built-in tools to enable wallet owners to share all their information if they want or just a little. Salesforce prefers to avoid using industry jargon and focuses solely on giving customers an enjoyable experience.