How Companies Are Using Data From Foursquare

wjousts writes: Technology Review reports on how businesses use data from all those Foursquare check-ins. "Merchants can analyze various metrics over time, including how many check-ins are recorded each day, who the most recent and most frequent visitors are, how visitors who check in break down by gender, and what time of day the most people check in; businesses with multiple locations can aggregate statistics to fit their needs. Foursquare provides the same platform 'for Joe's coffee shop and Starbucks,' says Eric Friedman, Foursquare's director of business development, but companies use the tools and data in different ways, depending on their specific objectives. "

Comments

Re:'Biased' data

[eepok]

This information is great for overwhelming business owners with unsolicited consultant proposals!

A advertising/marketing/efficiency/etc. consultant can use all those useless measurements, make assertions about their implications, write a fancy lingo-ridden cold-call proposal (synergize your cost potentials!), and get a contract. It's great for (their) business.

Foursquare Demographics?

[JWSmythe]

    That's odd.

    All I've seen of Foursquare is that a limited number of people ever check in from any place that I've spot checked.

    Some of us cheat it anyways. There's a workaround for checking in places that you aren't physically at. So I check in at arbitrary places, preferably at or very close to government facilities that makes the tinfoil hat crowd go nuts. So, following my "trail" shows me being anywhere but where I actually am.

    I'm fond of companies tracking us and selling that information. I'm happier when I've seeded their data with so much false information that it's virtually impossible to guess which is right.

  And it's not that I'm one of the folks wearing a tinfoil hat too tight. I just like privacy. I don't think the government is following me. They already know where to find me. :) It's pesky people like private investigators working for someone trying to make easy money through bogus lawsuits. Go ahead, follow the trail. It's good for dealing with crazy ex-girlfriends too. :)

Re:Foursquare Demographics?

[alen]

just because someone cares exactly where you check in and when and exactly what you do

foursquare has a chance at being the new loyalty card where loyal customers get freebies once in a while and a way to measure feedback since people can leave comments. otherwise companies care about general customer demographics and when there are big rushes. so that say starbucks can have the most people on staff when people come into the store. i've seen some starbucks with huge lines at 3pm

Re:Foursquare Demographics?

[JWSmythe]

    Check any arbitrary location, and see how many people have checked in there recently. The numbers are generally pretty small.

    Companies already have a perfectly valid method to measure their business. They have their receipts. They know when they sold items, what they sold, how much to stock, and how many people they need working there.

    So there was a line at Starbucks, big deal. They already know how many people that they can have in lines without losing too much business. They look at their costs versus the number of people who may just walk out . If they lose 2 $5 ($10 lost) sales during the 3pm hour, but to handle the load properly they would have needed 3 more people on that shift at $10/hr ($240), it's not advantageous to them to put 3 more people on that shift.

    Business isn't about the customer experience. It's about making money. It's the same reason Disney doesn't mind having lines with an hour wait. They know you want their product, and are willing to stand in line waiting for it.

There remains questions...

[Kamiza Ikioi]

I think the biggest question is economic class. Sure, this works for Starbucks because Starbucks is a higher end retailer who's users are tech savvy. But this does nothing for Family Dollar who's users are all over the gambit. This means, then, that you can only poll a certain section of the populous, whereas, using instore data makes more since for most businesses which captures 100% of data, rather than a subset (bothers to check in) or a subset (uses Foursquare) or a subset (owns a smartphone).

The other problem is time is automatically skewed. People running to the store late night to pick up toilet paper are unlikely to check in, especially on a weekday. But those trying out a new steakhouse on a Saturday afternoon are more likely to check in. So the time data is naturally skewed to recreational times.

While I applaud this as a way to see when advertising deals on social networks may best impact your business, this by no means will help you determine if you need to make sure your toilet paper is fully stocked at 3am.

Re:My take on these types of services

[mfh]

Your anonymity here proves my previous assertions and derails your own.

Re:'Biased' data

[Registered Coward v2]

This information is great for overwhelming business owners with unsolicited consultant proposals!

A advertising/marketing/efficiency/etc. consultant can use all those useless measurements, make assertions about their implications, write a fancy lingo-ridden cold-call proposal (synergize your cost potentials!), and get a contract. It's great for (their) business.

Well, the actual value is in aggregating the data with other information to identify trends that can be applied other within the same socio-econoic demography to extract value from them by offering targeted offerings that trigger desirable pre-defined responses which result beneficial economic transactions to the offerer. By identifying such markers you can maximize the synergies inherent in the cross-functional sharing of data designed to optimize the customer experience and increase the value to the enterprise.

Re:'Biased' data

[wjousts]

I think this is a very relevant point. Any statistician will tell you that you can't cherry pick your samples of a population if you hope to learn anything about that population. Even if it's your samples themselves that are doing the picking. Much like how online polls are a waste of time.

Re:'Biased' data

[stonewallred]

Using your "good" customers to bring in new customers is a winning game, as long as you continue to provide the same level of service.

I send out and/or drop off cards to my "good" customers at least once or twice a year.

They are simple business cards with my standard business card on the front and on the back a 20% discount, parts and labor, printed on the back.

I take the time to write the customer's name I am sending them to on the card. And the letter I include with the card tells them that if they like my service to please give out the card to folks who might need my services.

And for every card that is turned in, they will get $20 bucks.

I usually spend around 300-400 bucks a year redeeming those 20 bucks a pop cards.

And they usually generate me 80-90 bucks gross profit after the 20 buck payout and 20% off per card.