Fried Logic

Foursquare: Adding Value for Enterprises

For individuals, Foursquare is an application most commonly accessed on a smart phone that allows users to check-in at specific locations, earn points, show customer loyalty, and share the information with other Foursquare users. However, there is more to it than meets the eye.

A couple weeks ago, I tuned into an Awareness webinar on Foursquare marketing presented by Jason Keath, founder of Social Fresh. He had an insightful perspective about the value of Foursquare for enterprise business.

For those of you who are not familiar with FourSquare, it has many unique elements:

• Check-ins/Shouts: This is a status update that lets other Foursquare users know where you are. For example, if I were at Starbucks I would update my Foursquare status to say I was at Starbucks, along with the specific location of the Starbucks.
• Tips/Layers: Once you check-in at a certain location, you can leave a tip about that location for the next person who checks-in. For example: “Get a great discount if you ask about their fall special”.
• Badges: Some locations award you badges for checking in. These are usually just fun for users to collect.
• Mayorships: The person who checks-in to a specific location the most is awarded the title of mayor.

Keeping these basics in mind, there are many ways Foursquare can be a great tool for your business:

• Look at check-ins at your location, and reach out to these users. This is a way to keep an existing customer or grow a new customer relationship.
• Most users push their shouts or check-ins to Twitter and Facebook, and this is great word of mouth-advertising. Users may encourage friends to join them at their location, or it simply shows their loyalty. This provides great word of mouth marketing and third-party credibility.
• Businesses can take note of, and possibly implement, recommendations left by Foursquare users. Also, businesses themselves can use the tip box to send out tips to users or ask users to leave comments and suggestions.
• Many businesses recognize users who have established mayorship at their location, since, as a loyal customer, they could be one of the location’s best spokespeople. To keep this customer, they might give that person a special discount or free item. Recently, Starbucks gave Foursquare users a dollar off Frappuccinos to location mayors. Other businesses reward users just for checking in.

According to Keath, Foursquare helps keep your business top of mind for customers in conversations with friends and decisions after they have  left the location – and I could not agree more.

I had not considered Foursquare as a business tool before attending this webinar, but I’m fascinated with the unique and creative opportunities it provides for businesses to connect with customers.

How have you seen Foursquare used at your favorite locations or how have your businesses have engaged in Foursquare? Leave your comments below!