The Island Grill Chain: How we’ve used FourSquare in our Marketing

We got permission from Online Marketing Manager for Island Grill, Denise Lyn to publish this email discourse. It’s a pretty good follow up to a post we did late last year on “FourSquare 101 for Jamaican/Caribbean brands”
IG: We LOVE Social Media. We see this as being much more than marketing. It is a true conversation with our customers, where we can get immediate feedback about our customer experience. People give us in-depth information about what they think and we can ask them questions to understand better, so it is very helpful research. And most importantly, if someone has a complaint, rather than have them tell 10 friends, we can JOIN the conversation and fix the situation immediately.
Foursquare is one of the social media avenues we can use to connect with customers and we do recognize does have huge potential in the Jamaican marketplace. We are excited about Foursquare’s potential and like many companies, because all of this is new, it is for us to find the best way to use it. As we did with Facebook, we learn as we go.

Q: How has your company integrated Foursquare Technology into your day to day business?

IG: We tested Foursquare over a two month period. We awarded the “Mayors” of each location a free meal every Friday at noon.

Q: What are some of the benefits of using Foursquare to your company?

IG: It is an ideal marketing tool because it allows you to connect with loyal customers when they are IN your establishment.

Q: What has been the response of customers?

IG: Response is still fairly limited, it may be partially because both customers and businesses are new to the idea. It may also be because you need a smart phone to access the coupons.

Q: Has there been any major challenges or setback to using the technology?

IG: Yes right now it does leave a risk to fraud. This could be overcome if the coupons on the phone could be swiped like a UPC label at the register. Hopefully that feature will be coming soon! It also is more limited in reach right now, as you need a smart phone to enjoy the full benefits.

Q: Is Foursquare technology a viable option for businesses in Jamaica?

IG: It is. It is to find the right offer that works for you and create excitement with customers who are visiting you. It can deepen the customer connection.

Q: What prompted your organization to start supporting foursquare?

IG: Ingrid Riley at Connectimass, helps us to keep our eyes open to the new opportunities of social media! She is a great resource.

Q: What has the uptake been like locally?

IG: Like anything new, it is growing steadily. When we began with Facebook a year and a half a go we had 300 fans. Now we have 81,000. You have to be clear on your strategy, in terms of how it will benefit your business. That said, if you use it regularly and create word of mouth excitement – it WILL grow.

Facebook is developing “Places” in the US, which is similar to Foursquare and works with Foursquare, so this concept is definitely something that has been recognized as a great way for customers to share things about their favorite businesses. We are hoping “Places” will be launched in Jamaica soon too.

Q: If the uptake has been less than stellar, describe the ideal scenario in which foursquare would enhance the customer experience with your organization?

IG: I think for our investors to be happy, we’d need less risk to fraud. It would need to link with our Point of Sale System (what we mentioned earlier about the UPC type scan).

I think it would also be fun for our customers to increase the value of the offer depending on how many coupons they redeemed. All of this would need to be linked to our Point of Sale System.

Q: What are some of the rewards that you currently offer to the different class of foursquare users?

IG: We’ve stopped using Foursquare until we can figure out how to make it work better for both our business and our customers. Previously we were using it to tell anyone entering our restaurant that free samples were available, when we had sampling events. We also awarded the mayor of each location a free meal every week on Friday at noon over a two month period. We stopped doing this as we got complaints that not everyone could participate, because they didn’t have smart phones and the same people were winning each week. Once more people are using Foursquare it will be more exciting for all parties involved I think.

Q: Do you actually advertise the fact that your institution supports foursquare? If so, how?

IG: When we were using it, we let our fans on Facebook & Twitter know.

Q: What do you think needs to be done to enhance support for location-based services locally?

IG: I think the things mentioned above. Also, if it was more like Facebook Places where people could post pictures as they “check in”, it makes it fun to share with friends. They can say “look what I received from Island Grill”

FourSquare Updates Their Specials
Foursquare Specials were primarily for Mayors, people who checked in the most within the shortest time period. Trying to claim the mayor-ship of your local (and popular) bar, cafe, restaurant is no small feat. Thankfully, Foursquare has added the ability to list multiple Specials with their 3.0 update, which means that deals and offers can now extend to less rabid users.
Here’s a breakdown of the new array of offer types:
• Flash Specials — can be restricted by time/date and first X users
checking-in
• Friends Specials — unlock deals by checking in with several friends at once
• Swarm Specials — swarms can include a check-in total for multiple business locations
• Newbie Specials — lure first time check-ins
• Loyalty Specials — reward your regulars
• Mayor Specials — you can still pamper your number one fan