Ripple executive Monica Long says there are some things companies can do to incorporate crypto and blockchain.
While the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have greatly cooled off in 2018, the digital financial revolution is still ongoing. Many financial institutions are slowly getting involved in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and many businesses have a major crush on blockchain technology. Monica Long, the Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Communications for Ripple, has some thoughts on how businesses can incorporate these exciting new technologies.
To Blockchain or Not Blockchain
It seems that every major company is bullish on blockchain technology. Just today, Live Bitcoin News reported that India was celebrating the first trade finance transaction via blockchain taking place in the country. This trade was executed between British banking giant HSBC and Reliance Industries.
However, Long suggests that companies take a hard look and see if blockchain technology can actually help them or not. She says:
It’s important to remember, that you don’t need the Blockchain for everything. While some may be tempted to jump in for the buzz, building a long-term and trusted brand, means focusing on solving real world problems for customers; not jumping on the latest bandwagon.
The Ripple executive stresses that a company needs to fully understand their target demographic. If their core customer base dislikes doing things in a high-tech manner and prefers old-fashioned ways of doing business, then deciding to dive into blockchain or accepting cryptocurrency may only serve to confuse and alienate them.
Be Involved
Long suggests that companies become proactive and get involved in the crypto community. She suggests firms have dedicated representatives become regular fixtures on popular crypto-themed forums. While learning about the ecosystem, the representatives can also glean what the community is looking for when it comes to business and crypto.
She also suggests creating subscriber lists of customers who do wish to see the company offer cryptocurrency as a viable payment method. This list could be used to announce special developments or promotions of the cryptocurrency/blockchain kind to customers who are eager for such content. Subscriber lists may be old-fashioned, but they still work and offer a gauge of interest from customers.
The Ripple executive finishes her thoughts by saying companies should dive in and begin accepting cryptocurrency once they believe cryptocurrency is the future. However, Long does promote caution in making sure to select the right exchange to use and to do test runs to ensure that transactions will go smoothly.
Long also stresses the promotion done by a company accepting cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. The company should go all-in on promotion and seek to become a thought leader for that particular space. Transparency is vitally important between the company and consumer as to how cryptocurrency will be integrated into the company’s processes; this will create trust between business and customer.
Overall, these are some interesting thoughts from Ripple’s Monica Long. It is interesting for her to note that not every business will benefit from adopting cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
However, her words of wisdom should be taken to heart. Ripple has been on a tear this year, adding bank after bank to their network. The San Francisco-based company is expanding and is planning on opening an office in Dubai due to their entry into the Middle East market.
Do you agree with Ripple’s Monica Long? Let us know in the comments below.
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