10 reasons retail businesses must be on Foursquare

26-Mar-2010

1. Create customer loyalty
2. Promote your business for FREE
3. Create word of mouth referrals
4. Entice people in the local vicinity to visit your business
5. Give your local area a reason to talk about your business
6. Track where your customers are coming from
7. Let your customers to create a buzz about your business
8. Customers can track where they have been therefore first time customers have your details if they forget your business name
9. The ability to reward your loyal customers and demonstrate how much you value them
10. It's fun

What it is and how does it work

Foursquare is a location based game.  Basically you register your location and business information on Foursquare and when people visit your business they “check-in” and this is registered against your business, each time they check-in they earn points and badges encouraging them to check-in often.  If they visit your location the most, they become Mayor of that location or business.

It also lets visitors recommend things other people should do and track what they have done.

We are focusing on becoming Mayor in this example, however the more you use Foursquare the more you will find new ways to promote your business online.

How to translate that into dollars

Registering your business, actively promoting you are on Foursquare and rewarding your customers who repeatedly visit your location will have the following effect:

• If someone checks-in nearby, your business will be promoted with recommendations and your “Mayor Special” announced, encouraging people nearby to visit and therefore purchase.
• Recommends what they bought while they were there EG Must try the salt n pepper squid, best in Sydney
• You can offer special deals for your most loyal customers (Mayor) EG Get FREE large pizza when you dine in.
• Businesses will be able to recognise loyal customers, gain insight into total check-ins, deals redeemed, who’s visiting, how often, where they’re coming from, and where they’re going next, it is fully measurable.  This helps you work out where you are getting your customers from and therefore target them, saving you time and money.
• Promote your business among groups of friends, they are very social and word of mouth spreads. Word of mouth is the best way to get new customers and it is free.
• Create competition between groups of friends and customers to become Mayor of your business.  You will get repeat customers all vying for the status of "Mayor".
• By tracking what businesses they have visited they will have a record of where they have been so if they forget the name of your business they will still be able to find it.  How many times have you heard "I went to this great Italian restaurant in Summer Hill but I just can't remember the name of it".  No lost first time customers.

Local businesses have an unbelievable opportunity to take advantage of this program to connect with customers ready to buy in their local area. There’s a very dedicated group of users ready and willing to check-in and use the game, and the best part is that they are a very active social bunch, so you could find your coffee shop, chemist, news agent, bar, hotel, or clothing store the talk of the town.

How do I get started

First start with a Mayor special, this could be a free coffee with purchase of a piece of cake, a free order of chips with any burger purchase, a free Daily Telegraph with the purchase of 10 instant lottery tickets.  Something to encourage them to return and order again whilst getting a freebie to boot.

Register with Foursquare as a user - http://foursquare.com

Then register your business and add your specials - http://foursquare.com/businesses/

Promote the fact you are on Foursquare on your coffee cards, in your retail shop near your cash register, through your newsletter, in your shop window or on your blackboard, anywhere your customers might look.  Encourage and educate your customers about the Mayor special.

Once someone becomes Mayor, promote who that person is, make a big poster or write it on a blackboard and place it in a prominent location, make a big deal out of it so everyone knows that to be Mayor is special, you get special treatment and special discounts.  This will create envy amongst your customers to compete for Mayor.

Check Foursquare regularly to find out who is Mayor and how many visitors you have had from Foursquare users.

It is as easy as that, so why aren't you doing it?

Read more about the possibilities of Foresquare

Charlie O'Donnell: Why Yelp (...and Every Single Retail Establishment) Should Support Foursquare
http://www.thisisgoingtobebig.com/2009/07/why-yelp-should-support-foursquare.html

Mashable: Foursquare: Why It May Be the Next Twitter
http://mashable.com/2009/07/25/foursquare-app/
 
Ad Age: Building an Army of Hyper-Local, Mobile-Connected Advocates
http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=138305

Techcrunch: Foursquare Shows The Business Potential Of Location-Based Services
http://mashable.com/2009/09/21/foursquare-for-business/