People are checked in.. Now what.

Many people see check in data as some what of a commodity. I agree. The check in is merely the indicator of a persons presence the new "log in" if you will.. In days past if we could get registered users on our site we would be able to tailor the site experience based any number of attributes.

Just like planning how to tailor a web experience a brand has to determine what to do when a person checks in to a location. Do you want to tally the number of times a person has visited and reward. How about about offering some unique piece of content or incentive. What ever the case people must see the value if you want them to use it more than once.

At the moment each location platform has its own check in data. Having to manage data for each location increases overhead and reduces chances of timeliness and relevance of location based content. This is an opportunity where open data standards would make it easier to manage a digital overlay to physical locations.

Even with open data standards "Check In" data needs to be combined with more than just geo location in order to increase relevance. Enter Facebook and their open graph. Connecting the check in with your profile adds a whole new dimension to location based relevance. Assuming part of your location based strategy is to deliver content of any type using profile data gives you the ability to segment people and increase relevance.

As you begin to plan for location based interaction make sure to clearly define the value exchange and understand how to couple profile or behavioral data with the check in to increase relevance.  

Do you see FaceBook places as a help or hindrance to having better location based data?

In Store: The other side of Location Based Services

Much of the conversation about location based services cover the landscape of GPS based solutions. GPS is great when you are in proximity to a location but misses the opportunity to pin point once you are in a physical location like the check out isle.

The flip side to the GPS location based platforms is the “In store” LBS, which uses things like wifi triangulation or other proprietary technology to pinpoint a customer. These solutions allow you to essentially tag locations in your store and when people walk by you can serve content based on their interest.

Shopkick is a good example of an in store app. If you have not seen ShopKick here is a great video from TechCrunch of a live demo walking around Best Buy.



Another interesting platform is a service called Zulutime which enables a store with small wifi nodes. These nodes can be placed thru out the store or on shopping carts and managed thru a cloud service. Once the nodes are in place a retailer can then overlay digital content thru out the shopping experience.

Enabling a location can create new opportunities for in store advertising and a value added to those companies who supply products to the store. Think of it as the digital end cap of this isle brought to you by Sony.. Where I see some real power with in store LBS is building custom apps that connect with a traditional rewards program and other historical customer databases.

Using a in store solution with a custom app might also allow brands to figure out a way to allow redemption from a phone. This is one of the issues that has yet to be resolved and will be a key tipping point for real time redemption.

Getting Closer: Future Check in

TechCrunch published a preview of an Iphone app called future check in. This app runs in the background of an Iphone with iOS4 installed. This is the first limitation. But lets stay with what is working.

A point of friction in the process for users is that they must explicitly check in to a location. Future Check in allows you to store your favorites and be checked in automatically. This is a great feature but also runs the risk of checking you into a favorite place that may be next door. A current limitation with GPS based solutions is the accuracy of your location.

What's still missing for me is the ability to set your preferences for the types of specials you receive and an interface for managing your rewards. This is a great step in the right direction to eliminate the need to pull you phone out and physically check in..

Have your employees “Checked in” to your location marketing program

Many large brands are experimenting with location based marketing tactics to increase sales and customer loyalty. Lets skip the technology conversation for a minute and discuss the communication and training.

If you are a corporate marketing person with a large network of physical locations the temptation to add these to a location database with special offers for locals is all to tempting.

One key to any successful promotional campaign is making sure your employees understand the rules for redemption. Most established brands have training and communications processes in place. In many cases you can simply piggyback on these process but when rolling out something in a new medium like Foursquare, Twitter etc some additional training on the technology may be required.

According the recent Forrester reporting on location based social networks 84% of the Internet population is unaware of location-based services. It is very likely 99% of your employees fall into the 84%. While your front line employees do not need to be experts with the technology they should at a minimum understand the terminology.

In a large national chain some ways to train employees on the cheap could be videos on the corporate intranet or assigning a regional new media person. What ever path you take for training if you want these marketing tactics to work you need to think global but act local. Without proper awareness on the front lines even the most well conceived plans will fall short.