Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Multi-channel marketing communications - all in one!
Foursquare for your Business
Posted by 
on Thursday, July 29, 2010 
at 9:25 AM 
in 
The next time that you visit the interlinkONE offices here at 21 Concord Street, you may notice a new decal at our front door. Yes, next to our QR Code is a sign encouraging you to check-in via Foursquare.
Foursquare is a location-based service application that helps people share information with their friends. Primarily, this information pertains to where someone is and what they are doing (i.e. “At 1:30 PM, Jason Pinto just checked into Starbucks”). By providing this sort of real-time data, Foursquare helps people to connect with friends and associates that may be in the area. Or, they may simply be exposing a new business to someone that may one day be visiting.
From a business perspective, this can very helpful. If someone checks-in to your business, their friends may find out in a variety of ways — via the Foursquare application on their phone, but also on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Yes, when someone checks-in to your business, the name of your company/location/event will now reach many other people — without you needing to push your message.
Screenshot of the Foursquare application on a Phone
This type of application may certainly provide more benefits for some businesses than others. For example, if you own a coffee shop, restaurant or a bar, you could truly increase foot traffic with an app such as Foursquare. Throughout the day, each potential visitor and customer at your business could expose your company name to all of their friends, and possibly increase the chances that one of their associates will swing by and make a purchase.
Another way that businesses can drive traffic with Foursquare is by offering special promotions.
A recent example of this is the restaurant Chili’s. Here is a quote from the article:
“Foursquare subscribers who check in at Chili’s will receive a free order of chips and house-made salsa. Participating locations will be demarcated on Foursquare with a “special offer” flag whenever a guest is within 200 yards of the restaurant.”
So, should you start to make Foursquare or another location-based service application part of your marketing efforts?
This recent article and study may help you to answer some of those questions. The bottom line is this: while usage of applications like this may be small right now, we are all becoming more and more dependent addicted to our smart phones. We are using them to update our social media pages, to text, to read blogs, watch videos, and to find our way to our next spot. Location-based service applications will help us in our daily routines. They may help us to explore and find hidden gems. They may help us to save a bit of money by receiving special deals and discounts.
Call me crazy, but I truly believe that more and more people will take advantage of helpful options such as those.
If you are a business, you may certainly want to look for ways to take full advantage of this emerging opportunity.
Tags Christmas in July!
Just like the title says it was Christmas in July for me today! I received a great surprise in the mail this morning while in a marketing meeting. It was a package from my favorite cookie company Cheryl & Co. (If you have never tried these cookies before definitely put it on your bucket list!)
The package contained a box of 6 of their cookies. Also, there was small card with a message from the salesperson that I did business with last year while ordering our company holiday gifts.
Why did I think this package was so great? Well, because for one thing I wasn’t expecting such a nice treat (Hint, hint to my boyfriend)! But I really thought this was a great marketing effort. I have ordered from them multiple times. Yes, they have a great product, but their customer service is absolutely excellent. This was another example of that.
This treat helped to put them back in my mind… Sure, it’s July. But before we know it, it will be time to order treats for our customers once again. Also, their package prompted me to go check out their website to see if they have any new items that I may not have seen yet.
So…. When it comes to your marketing efforts, are there any small things you can do today to get your customers thinking about you in a good way?
Tell Me What You’ll Give Me
In today’s world, it is commonly accepted that most people are a bit more cautious before they purchase items. Sure, we are all prone to the occasional impulse buy – after all, we’re only human (“Wife = more concert tickets!?!?! Me = sorry, honey. It happened. Again.”)
But for the most part, we are all pausing and doing a bit more research before we actually put money down to acquire a product or a service.
For companies that are selling, it is vital to share as much compelling information as possible in regards to what you can provide.
I recently received a subscription renewal form from The New Yorker magazine. For a low-price of $39.95, I would receive the obvious: a one-year subscription. Now, I love that magazine. However, there are a lot of other magazines that I enjoy. I can’t buy them all. So, the question is — why should I pay for The New Yorker?
Well, I think they did a great job of trying to push me to reach for my wallet. They provided a list of additional benefits that I would receive as a subscriber, other than the obvious. Below is a picture of the list:
Image from New Yorker subscription form
If you are a service provider that is trying to sell print or other marketing-related services to your clients, this example may prove helpful. Perhaps you only sold the printed pieces in years past. But now, you are trying to sell a marketing campaign or solution.
If you simply sell it as “a postcard with a Personalized URL”, you may not be providing enough of an incentive.
For example, you could list out the following benefits:
- Direct Mail piece with multiple calls-to-action (Web, Phone, BRC)
- Hosted landing page that allows people to respond via the web
- Real-Time Access to Reporting Dashboards to see who is responding
- Ability to Instantly Route Leads to Multiple Sales Reps
- Lead Qualification based on Answers
- Automatic Fulfillment (Hardcopy and Electronic options)
- Viral Marketing plug-ins (“Tell an Associate” option)
- Integrate with Social Media (Ability to share the Response link on Facebook, Twitter, etc)
- Multi-Channel Approach (email sent out to non-responders of the direct mail piece)
These are just a few of the additional benefits that many service providers can offer their clients today. While listing those may not guarantee you sales, it certainly may help your prospects to truly visualize what they could receive by purchasing your services.
Sir Speedy of Tampa using interlinkONE’s Software
We are happy to share a new case study for you to enjoy.
WhatTheyThink.com has just posted a new case study that tells how Sir Speedy of Tampa is using interlinkONE’s QReateAndTrack QR Code Software to better their customer service.
“Sir Speedy of Tampa will use the application to expand its marketing and fulfillment services, increasing sales opportunities and enhancing the scope and profitability of its customers’ sales and marketing campaigns. Sir Speedy selected interlinkONE’s QR Code solution for its ability to offer marketing solutions that truly manage and measure each component of the campaign from start to finish.”
Click here to read the Case Study
Warehouse/Ordering: State Restrictions (Feature Highlight)
In the business of collateral distribution and fulfillment, it sure would be easier if all users could order and receive the same items. The company managing the inventory would have a lot less stress.
However in many industries, that is not the case. Financial Services and insurance companies have many rules that dictate which collateral can be shipped to people, based on the State that they live in.
Many of our service provider clients have received business from companies in those vertical markets. One way that our software supports them is via our State Restrictions feature.
In the Inventory Management section of our software, users have the ability to create and define details of the products that they are responsible for. This might include reorder points, descriptions, print instructions, and order approval rules. Users can also define if a product (or kit) is restricted to specific States.
If a product is restricted to specific States, our Order Placement/Shopping Cart pages will honor those rules. Users will only be able to view and order products that are available to the applicable State. This helps to ensure that any laws surrounding distribution of that sensitive literature are honored.
Another example of how this feature may be used is if a person orders a kit. Let’s say someone orders the “Welcome to ACME Insurance” kit. This kit might include a generic Welcome letter, a What’s New document, and perhaps a description of the various insurance options that are offered. But if the person lives in the State of Massachusetts, the system could automatically inform the warehouse that they must include a supplement that provides state-specific guidelines when they ship the order.
