foursquare is a mobile dapp with 35 million consumers to find check inon interact with local establisment nearly a millon businesses are represented on foursquare which has notched over two billion check ins in the company brief history.
Social media marketing isn’t just for e-commerce companies. Bricksand-mortar businesses can flourish by claiming their location page on Foursquare, interacting with customers, and offering Foursquare specials for newcomers and regulars. As online activity continues to migrate from the desktop to the smartphone, Foursquare’s reach and value will only increase.
Foursquare supports seven types of specials for a business owner to promote to its clientele. It charts these deals on a continuum of customer acquisition versus customer retention:
Newbie Special. Unlocked for a first-time check-in. (“Welcome new customer! Save 10% off anything in the store, today only.”)
Friends Special. Unlocked when a set number of Foursquare friends check in together. California Pizza Kitchen, for instance, offered a 20% meal discount when three friends checked in as a group.
Flash Special. Like an early bird or happy hour special, this is unlocked for the first people to check in after a specific hour. The first ten Foursquare users to check into Penn Museum’s 2011 Summer Nights series received a free drink. The Sports Authority awarded a $20 gift card for its first checkin after 11 a.m.
Swarm Special: A group discount, it’s unlocked when a given number of people are checked into the same location at once. They don’t need to be friends on Foursquare.
Check-In Special: A frequent-buyer reward, this offer is unlocked every time the customer checks in.
Loyalty Special: Foursquare says this can be “like a coffee shop punchcard where you might get something free on your tenth check-in.” Another angle is unlocking a special for those who check in frequently in a given period, say three times in a week.
Mayor Special: Mayors are royalty, says Foursquare, so there’s an offer type exclusively for them. As there is only one “mayor” per establishment (your most frequent customer of the past 60 days), you can afford to go big. The Avalon Hollywood nightclub lets its “mayor” under the velvet rope, sans cover charge, naturally. The Redwood, California, Whole Foods Market gives the “mayor” a free cup of coffee every visit and a free slice of pizza every tenth visit.