Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
If you have been reading my blog posts for the last few months, you know that I am a fan of social media, and location-based social networking sites, in particular.
In a previous post, titled “In the Spotlight: An Introduction to Foursquare for Business,” I wrote about some of the ways that businesses can use Foursquare to market their products and services.
In that post, I pointed out that businesses can offer Foursquare specials (e.g., mobile coupons, prizes or discounts) in an effort to get customers to visit their physical locations more often.
PlacePunch
In today’s fast-paced world, innovative startups often find a way to take a good thing and make it even better.
In the realm of location-based marketing, PlacePunch is one of those innovative startups.
PlacePunch is an Atlanta-based company that was formed in the summer of 2010 with the help of Shotput Ventures, a technology startup accelerator located in Atlanta.
According to placepunch.com, “PlacePunch is a location-based marketing platform that enables businesses to drive more customers to their venues, build customer loyalty and gain new insights into their customer base. PlacePunch includes tools to run loyalty and marketing programs that integrate with Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter and other location-based social networks.”
An article on techcrunch.com, titled “PlacePunch Launches Location-Based Marketing Platform For Foursquare, Twitter And Facebook,” that was written by Leena Rao, gives further insights into how companies can utilize PlacePunch’s services.
According to Rao, businesses can create custom loyalty programs that offer rewards and coupons to customers just for checking in on various location-based social networking sites. PlacePunch provides the infrastructure to run these programs. Businesses can also run personalized messaging programs through Twitter that allow them to communicate with their customers who check in at specified venues. For example, you could set up a recurring tweet to welcome your customers when they check in at your venue.
“PlacePunch also provides a dashboard of reports and analytics to help businesses learn more about their customers and venues, including demographics, time of check-ins, and more,” Rao explains. “And the bootstrapped startup has signed on InterContinental Hotels Group as a client.”
However, it was the way that another one of their clients used their services that really caught my attention.
Check In to a Concentrics Restaurant and Get Rewarded
According to its Facebook page, Concentrics Restaurants, founded in 2002, has “some of the industry’s most unique and electrifying restaurants.”
Their Facebook page describes their restaurants like this: “Each with its own mesmerizing design and unparalleled approach to food, these dining sensations are setting creative trends in both the hospitality and wine industries across the country.”
When it comes to loyalty programs, they are definitely doing some innovative and creative things, including utilizing PlacePunch’s location-based marketing expertise to reward customers who check in on Foursquare, Facebook, Gowalla or Yelp. (Note: I am not sure what effect, if any, the recent changes that Facebook has made regarding check-ins will have on this program. If you have an answer, please feel free to let me know in the comments section below.)
A blog post on placepunch.com, titled “Concentrics Restaurants Debuts Loyalty Program Powered by PlacePunch,” written in October of 2010, states that, “Using PlacePunch, Concentrics will be able to reward customers for checking into its restaurants with Foursquare or Facebook Places. For every 5th check-in via Facebook Places or Foursquare, Concentrics customers will receive the choice of any beer, wine or dessert, under $9. For the 50th and 100th check-ins, Concentrics customers will receive 50% off their check. (Max discount of $25.)”
When customers sign up for this loyalty program, PlacePunch keeps track of how many times they check in to participating venues on Foursquare, Facebook, Gowalla or Yelp. When customers qualify for rewards, they receive an email inviting them to redeem their reward at a participating Concentrics restaurant. In order to redeem the reward, customers must use their mobile device to show the email to their bartender or server.
To find out more information about Concentrics Restaurants, visit their website: concentricsrestaurants.com. (Note: You might want to check out some of the other offers that are currently available, including their “Circle Concentrics” loyalty program.)
Conclusion
Location-based social networking sites give businesses another opportunity to reach their customers wherever they are.
This includes giving businesses a very cool, technology-enabled way to offer deals that reward loyalty and encourage customers to visit their physical locations more often.
Innovative startups, like PlacePunch, have found ways to take a good thing and make it even better.
Several different businesses, including Concentrics Restaurants, have utilized PlacePunch’s expertise to help them with their location-based marketing efforts.
When customers sign up for the Concentrics Restaurants loyalty program and check in at any of the seven participating Concentrics restaurants via Foursquare, Facebook, Gowalla or Yelp, their check-ins are tracked by PlacePunch. After the 5th check-in, customers receive an email that invites them to redeem their reward (i.e., any beer, wine or dessert, under $9) by using their mobile device to show the email to their bartender or server.
If you own a restaurant, you might want to take a page from their playbook and offer a similar type of loyalty program.
Although I don’t have access to any of the actual data that could be used to measure the ROI of this loyalty program, I can tell you from personal experience that when I lived in Atlanta, I visited each of the seven participating Concentrics restaurants as a result of the rewards that they offer when customers check in at any of these restaurants on Foursquare, Facebook, Gowalla or Yelp.
I have also recommended all seven of the participating Concentrics restaurants to friends and family who have visited Atlanta in the last few months. And, I am willing to speculate that others have probably done the same thing.
In my opinion, the PlacePunch-powered loyalty program offered by Concentrics Restaurants is definitely one that you should check into.
For additional information about this loyalty program, click here.
Photo credit: A Year of Yesterdays on Tumblr.
Clik here to view.
