3 Ways Your Business Can Take Advantage of Check-In Services
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. CREDIT: Mobile Applications Image via Shutterstock |
Small businesses owners see big potential in getting customers to use check-in services at their businesses. As a result, more business owners are embracing these services. From 2010 to 2011, the number of business using check-in services, such as Foursquare, nearly doubled from 5 percent to 9 percent; however, over that same period the confidence business owners had in the ability to generate sales from those services grew from 2 percent to 25 percent.
Businesses are excited about check-ins in particular because they allow customers to share their location and reviews with friends. Additionally, businesses are able to get feedback from customers and create a more lasting relationship with customers from location-based services applications.
The growth of smartphones in recent years has been another big factor in the optimism business owners have about check-in services. An infographic posted on the Intuit blog revealed that more than 50 percent of the population now has a smartphone. Of that number, 74 percent get location-based services info on their phone and nearly 20 percent use check-in services. More information is in the below infographic.
[Small Businesses Dominate Mobile Apps Market]
Businesses looking to take advantage of the growth of location-based services and check-ins can do so by following these tips which were listed on the Intuit blog. They include:
- Offer a special or two: Specials can help to bring back customers that a business already has as well as new customers.
- Encourage groups: Offering a deal to a group of people encourages more people to come to the store at one time.
- Don’t give it all away: Offering more creative options to customers who check in is another way to encourage people to come to a store. Examples include allowing customers who check in to skip the line or giving them a behind- the-scenes look.
The information in this infographic was taken from several sources, including the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the New York Times, AT&T, the Houston Chronicle and Business2Community.com. The infographic was designed by Column Five Media.
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