Are You "Checked In" - Location Based Apps

Location Based Apps, Check In!

As marketers we are always tasked with figuring out how to allocate our budgets and most effectively and spend our funds wisely to generate sales.  We must also try to stay on top of the trends and newest applications that can potentially drive business.

One area I believe will grow exponentially fast in the coming months and years is location based apps.  These are applications for mobile devices that allow you to "check in" to tell your friends and colleagues where you are.  For businesses, this becomes a new marketing tools where your customers vote for you and your brand by showing up in your retail store.

Two of the better known of these type services are Foursquare and Loopt.  Right now, the number of users of these tools is still minuscule:  Foursquare, only about a year old, had less than a million users as of March 2010 and over 2 million currently, but is estimated to be adding 15,000 new users every day (http://bit.ly/bpAqtY) .


Businesses are figuring out how to engage you even more by incenting members with real values and rewards, not just recognition (Foursquare appoints people "mayor" of locations based on the most check ins for a particular location over the last 60 days).  For example, Gap recently offered a 25% discount on clothes for all customers who check in using Foursquare at their retail stores (http://bit.ly/cGKEX4).

My favorite provider of incentives for content, Izea, recently launched WeReward, an application that rewards you for check ins.  You can earn 25 points for a check in at Domino's here.

What I believe makes this area most exciting however is the improvements in the technology that will make these type of applications easier to use and more prolific beyond the iPhone and Android apps.  RFID (radio frequency identification) applications from companies such as Votum Technology will simply recognize you when you walk in to a retail location using a key card or RFID tag.  So no logging in to check in.

A brand new entrant is already making inroads here.  Shopkick emits a high pitched sound that automatically checks you in when the app is opened on your phone .  This new service, launched August 17th, features points earnings opportunities from retailers such as Best Buy, Macy's, American Eagle Outfitters and Sports Authority (http://bit.ly/9hiEOp).

The big challenge with these applications for business will be how to use them as a value driver for loyalty and repeat behavior as well as to shift market share and gain new business without degrading revenue.  We should also ask ourselves if the ROI of these will exceed that of other marketing tactics.  Perhaps the answer is a resounding "yes" and the new advertising model further reduces traditional advertising spending, both on and off line in favor of direct incentives and relationships with customers.

Are you "checked in?"