If you haven’t yet started a discussion about how location-based applications can help your business, consider this a friendly wake-up call.
Applications like Foursquare and Gowalla are powerful tools that, when used properly, can provide increased exposure for your business and breed customer loyalty. For example, when I attend my weekly Dale Carnegie Course, hosted by Dale Carnegie Training of Southeast Michigan, I “check in” at the class location using the Foursquare app on my phone and indicate the reason why I’m checking in there. I might say, “Preparing for my impromptu speeches,” or “Talking about a topic I’m passionate about tonight!”
When I do this, a tweet is sent out to all of my followers on Twitter, letting them know that I’m taking a Dale Carnegie Course. Perhaps one or two of them have never heard of Dale Carnegie before. Or maybe two or three of them are now curious about what I’m learning about in the class and how much it costs. All of a sudden a conversation begins about Dale Carnegie because of my check in.
Think about how this might be impactful in your line of work. If you own your own restaurant, having 10 of your customers check in every day means that potentially hundreds, if not thousands, of people are noticing your restaurant. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool — it’s well known that people are more likely to patron a business if their friends have recommended it or vouched for it in some way.
The best way to get people to check in at your place of business is to ask them to. Having a simple sign, like the one pictured here, can be a friendly reminder. Some businesses offer discounts to those who check in, or for those who check in the most, a.k.a. the “mayor” of a business. Rewarding people for their patronage is a quick way to keep them coming back, time and time again.
So can you think of an application for this tool in your line of work? Share it with us in the comments.
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Michigan. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter.
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