The financial technology industry is constantly evolving and one way that is impacting marketing is Blockchain. While Blockchain is well known for its role in creating cryptocurrencies it is being shown to have plenty of potential outside of crypto. Blockchain is a ledger system that doesn’t need to be stored at a single location rather, it can be distributed to every user so that every transaction can be verified by everyone who has access to the file. Blockchain will have an important part of user experience in the future.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is essentially a database that stores data in the form of a block. What makes it unique is that Blockchain is a decentralised ledger which means it can operate as a database across multiple computers and other devices. This means that every verified transaction or even data exchange is stored as ‘blocks’.
The block contains various things such as transaction data, cryptographic hash if a block is preceding the current block and the timestamp of the block. This all makes the blockchain much more secure and reliable. The blockchain database is a decentralized database and rather than having a centralized system that contains all the data, the blockchain uses peer to peer network.
These networks are stored in many different locations across the globe. The only way to interact with the block is to solve a math problem that is generated spontaneously. Once the block is verified, it is added to another block is a form of chain and this is called a blockchain.
Blockchain has many different uses in daily lives, as the database is used everywhere all over the world. The most suspected use of the blockchain is in the marketing field. Blockchain is suspected to take over the marketing field in the future and eliminate digital marketing from the internet.
What is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is one of the ways blockchain is used in today’s world. Cryptocurrency is a type of currency that is purely digital. There is no physical cash or coins required in the cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency is more like a digital wallet that uses blockchain as its fundamental base. They are used as federal currency and are used as a medium of exchange in today’s world.
The methods of working for cryptocurrency is simple. It works on the ground of blockchain. Whenever a transaction request is made through bitcoin, a block is generated by a P2P network. The transaction is then transferred to the desired person who verifies the bock. Once the block is verified the block is added to the existing list of blockchain. Then the transaction is made between two users. If the block isn’t verified, then the transaction is declined for the person.
Just like the blockchain, there are many other advantages of cryptocurrency such as transparency security, and so on. Cryptocurrency has no physical form and requires no middle agent such as banks. The way of exchanging cryptocurrency is secure and reliable.
Why is Blockchain Marketing the Future?
The main reason why blockchain should be a part of the marketing industry is because of the three main advantages of blockchain marketing. These 3 points give them an immense advantage over digital marketing and also forces people to prefer blockchain marketing rather than digital marketing. Let’s see the 3 benefits of blockchain marketing.
Transparency
The last advantage of the blockchain is transparency. The blockchain user has a record of all the transactions that occurred on the blockchain. No information is concealed from them and they can view everything that is going on their blockchain. This increases the trust of the user towards the blockchain.
Immutability
Another benefit of the blockchain is that the data is immutable. Once the block is verified by the user there is no to change the information that is inside the block. No one can hack into the blockchain since the data is stored in the P2P method. If one hacks into the database, then the hash of the blockchain changes on one node. Next time, that node tries to connect to another node, it will be identified as a fraud node and the information sharing will be denied to that node. This guarantees safety and prevents data leaks.
Decentralization
The blockchain is a decentralized database. It is not centralized. This means that one server doesn’t host all the information and there is no need for the person to get information from the server and use it as per their choice. In short, the main thing that blockchain does is remove the centralized database or what we commonly know as the middleman. The blockchain uses a P2P network. The information is stored locally and if a person wants to get information, then they could do it without any problem or without needing any permission from the middleman.
Due to these benefits, the marketing industry is slowing shifting towards blockchain marketing. In the marketing industry, data is something that matters more than anything. Data of the user, private data, or company data is the main thing that is required in the marketing industry and so it is important to have the security of the data.
Performance and Speed
Blockchain is fast and efficient. Manual data entry is tedious and prone to error. Think about it. How many typos do you typically make writing an email? Most organizations maintain multiple record systems for different tasks. For example, an ice cream store may use one record to track the amount of ice cream and supplies they purchase, another to track hours their employees work, and another to track sales. Reviewing separate records takes up a lot of time. With blockchain, all this information gets stored and verified as it gets generated.
Blockchain’s verification speed has vast benefits. For example, a simple stock purchase can take up to a week to verify using current methods. Several forms, organizations, and a ridiculous amount of acronyms are involved in the process. With blockchain, there is no need for third-party verification because all the information needed to complete and verify the transaction gets included in the ledger. That means stock transfers can happen almost instantaneously instead of a full week later. Talk about some serious returns!
Is Cryptocurrency Right for Your Business?
The growth rate of cryptocurrency and the adoption of blockchain technology by businesses may be the final nail in the coffin for paper transactions. Most businesses and banks are already moving toward digital-only, and as accessibility and popularity for digital currency grow, it is likely to be the future.
1. Cost-Effective Business Transactions
Businesses lose a lot of profit due to middleman transaction fees. The average business pays fees for credit card acceptance directly to the credit card company, on top of fees for using a third-party payment processor. This can add up fast.
However, the blockchain technology that supports cryptocurrency can cut out the middleman, thus increasing your profits by avoiding high transaction fees.
The decentralized nature of blockchain transactions can save you up to 5% per transaction. And with no middleman, you don’t need to wait days for transactions to process.
2. Enter the Global Marketplace
Cryptocurrency adoption makes international transactions easy by minimizing the cost and time involved in processing them.
You can accept payments internationally with cost-effective fees and little to no processing wait times. This makes your business a go-to for many digital currency holders abroad.
By accepting cryptocurrency, you are also able to make payments to international vendors easily. This can cut international purchase costs for your products, impacting your bottom line in a very positive way.
From gaming to medical marijuana, there are a number of industries already benefiting from digital currency adoption. It is even profitable to have a cryptocurrency portfolio to create passive income for your small business.
3. Real-Time Digital Currency Exchange
Waiting for your funds to the process can be frustrating, especially if your operating costs are high. By accepting cryptocurrency on your website, you can avoid long transaction times. Typically, digital currency transactions occur in real-time, or within minutes.
Digital currency transaction times do depend on the type of currency you choose to accept. For instance, Bitcoin Cash is slightly faster than Bitcoin transaction times. Ripple takes up to five seconds, while Litecoin processing takes two to five minutes.
Businesses that accept the digital currency can get instant gratification on every customer purchase. Each transaction is also more secured due to the blockchain verification process.
4. More Secured Transactions with No Chargebacks
All digital currency is supported by blockchain technology that offers the most secure form of payment ever conceptualized.
For each and every transaction, a block is created, verified, secured, and enforced. This protects businesses from chargebacks because customers need to show proof of funds before the transaction is completed. This is far superior to traditional transaction processing currently in place.
The records on a blockchain are secured through cryptography. Network participants have their own private keys that are assigned to the transactions they make and act as a personal digital signature. If a record is altered, the signature will become invalid and the peer network will know right away that something has happened.
How Blockchain Can Help My Business
If you start accepting bitcoin as an alternative payment, your business could then start experimenting with a blockchain application that is increasingly novel but still has a low level of complexity — a private blockchain ledger to record all transactions. Once you have a good handle on these more simple applications, consider using more complex blockchain applications like smart contracts. The possibilities for how blockchain can help improve business processes are endless — it’s just a matter of how much effort and money you want to invest in an application right away.
The security offered by the blockchain is top tier and therefore to get better security of their data, people turn to blockchain in marketing. The other advantages such as transparency to the user, the benefit of branding by blockchain, and consumer information to users are slowly changing the pace of blockchain in the marketing industry.
