The last time we talked to Joe
Sorge,
he had just pulled off one of the best
examples of using Foursquare to drive sales
by hosting a party for customers to earn the Swarm Badge, which netted his restaurant,
AJ
Bombers
, an 110% increase in sales. Last Friday on
Foursquare day
,
Sorge
set out to top his previous efforts, this time using Foursquare and a boat. He held an event at his restaurant that allowed customers to earn
Foursquare's
"I'm On A Boat!" Badge
, which requires users to
check-in
to a location that has been tagged "boat."
Sorge
partnered with a local outdoor retailer to have boats at
AJ
Bombers, so that customers could earn the badge.
I talked with
Sorge
about this event. Once he decided what badge he was going to help his customers earn, it took a couple of days of work to organize the most successful single-day Foursquare-based restaurant event. This past Friday, more than 231 people had
checked-in
to
AJ
Bombers'
"I'm On A Boat!" Badge party
. The event resulted in the single best day of sales ever for the restaurant, and
Sorge
said he even had to turn away customers because he didn't have the room to accommodate everyone.
Video of Joe Explaining The "I'm On A Boat!" Party
The Difference Between a Social Media Event and a Marketing Stunt
Some marketers may argue that event marketing is nothing new and that using a location-based service like Foursquare is just adding a new wrinkle. This is the wrong assumption. In interviewing Sorge, my biggest takeaway wasn't that Friday was his biggest sales day ever, it was that Saturday was his 5 th biggest sales day ever and that Sunday was one of his best as well. He explained that during the weekend, not special had happened to caus this burst in sales, especially considering professional sports teams were playing out of town and the weather wasn't particularly good. Sorge believes that the word-of-mouth buzz created by Friday's event and the speed in which it traveled online generated his best weekend ever.
Marketing stunts can drive a single day of traffic, but social media events can build sustainable and real-time word-of-mouth results that can have an impact on long-term sales.
Deconstructing Successful Foursquare Marketing
With stories like AJ Bombers, it is likely businesses will want to determine how they can duplicate this success. Let's look at some of the factors that allowed Joe to be successful.
-
Build a Community That Can Support Events
--
Sorge's
Fourquare
events weren't his first attempts at social media marketing. He had been using Twitter and
Facebook
to communicate with customers and build a community that could become passionate about social media-related events and help him promote them.
-
Do Something Valuable for Customers
-- Who is on a boat in mid-April in Milwaukee? Nobody. It was unlikely that
AJ
Bombers' customers would have any other way to earn the "I'm On A Boat!" Badge if
Sorge
hadn't stepped in and created the opportunity. By identifying this opportunity, he was able to create a situation that excited customers around a goal.
- Give People a Reason to Talk -- While having an event and using Foursquare is great, AJ Bombers took it to another level by taking pictures and video of customers and encouraging them to do the same while at the event. This led hundreds of images to be shared online via sites like Flickr and Facebook and allowed non Foursquare users to learn about AJ Bombers.
Where Do You Go After a Boat?
Coming up with this idea and using it to achieve sales records is an incredibly difficult thing to top. I asked Joe what he was planning to do next. His answer was surprising. While he is still thinking about mobile, he is going in a different direction. He said that over the next few months, customers at AJ Bombers will be able to pay for their bill and tip their servers via text message through a partnership he is working on with Venmo .
I am guessing for Sorge's next big Foursquare event, the only thing customers will need to bring is a phone.
How are you planning to leverage Foursquare and other location-based services to market your business?
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Joe Sorge 8:22 AM on April 20, 2010
Kipp, thank you so much for sharing our story with your readers. As you and I discussed yesterday, we're often having so much fun with all of this, that we forget about the real sustainable business model that exists by virtue of employing social media tools as your primary marketing focus.
A huge thank you to our very loyal customers and staff as well as the guys at Foursquare for making the event possible.
Alexis Ceule 8:34 AM on April 20, 2010
Brilliant!
Kelly 8:36 AM on April 20, 2010
Thank you for sharing this real and creative example of how to utilize social media. One of the largest hurtles for many business owners is the "how" factor when it comes to social media. Continuing to "show the how" truly helps.
Pat Canella 8:56 AM on April 20, 2010
This is excellent! I'm actually doing a case study about business and foursquare for my senior thesis (undergrad) and this gives me proof that it really works :). Hey Joe, not to sound forward, but can I use you in my case study in the future?
Search Engine Optimization Vancouver 9:22 AM on April 20, 2010
Great post! I always wondered if you can take 4square to every business out there. Wonder if there is any help for business that are online only? Somebody should create 4square for online business :)
Mike K McClure 10:10 AM on April 20, 2010
Thanks for sharing, this is great stuff. We're working with a restaurant client of ours on a foursquare strategy and promotions ideas. Already had talked about the swarm badge idea, but this is a good reminder to find ways to think beyond what you think your limitations are. "I'm on a boat" badge idea is truly inspired. Also, thanks for the insight on the difference between a promotoin event and a social media event - good info to remember!
Matt Hendrick 1:25 PM on April 20, 2010
This is such a great example of a restaurant maximizing the potential of Foursquare - 231 check-ins is awesome! I've heard a lot of similar success stories from 4SqDay, which reinforces why it's such a good channel for small businesses to reach new customers. We recently added support for Foursquare to our TurnSocial toolbar, and have had great feedback from customers who want an easy way to show off their customers Foursquare check-ins, along with Yelp reviews and more, directly on their website.
At the end of the day, we're still in the infant stages of the LBS market...I'm excited to see how Foursquare continues to evolve their platform!
Russ at AirCut 1:29 PM on April 20, 2010
I am so proud of what Joe has done in Milwaukee. As a fellow Milwaukee native heavily involved with social media here, case studies like AJ Bombers getting the national spotlight lifts the game up for all of us. Keep at it Joe, and I am proud to say that, I too was "on a boat!" at AJ Bombers on Foursquare day.
Tony Meister 6:33 PM on April 20, 2010
Being a Milwaukee native makes this story ever so sweet for me. This is like living a modern "Happy Days" since the vibe at AJBombers is like no other. You feel part of a movement in a way and it is all tied to the creative use of new media tools. I wouldn't have patronized the establishment that night had it not been for the lure of the badge. Indeed creative and pioneering. Thanks for posting Hubspot and we'll see you at #unGeeked next month!
Joe Sorge 8:14 PM on April 20, 2010
Wow! thanks for the comments. We're honored to be highlighted by Hubspot for this event, but it must be said again, it's the unbelievably supportive nature of the community in Milwaukee and the social media community as a whole that makes this ship sail! Pun Intended, ha.
Jim Raffel 9:53 PM on April 20, 2010
Great write-up of a great well run event. Joe's organizational skills continue to amaze me.
Thanks for linking to the video I pulled together. I love how even in the middle of the event Joe finds time to rock the boat and laugh as he says "and I'm in a boat" kinda says it all.
Matt Jacobson 12:17 PM on April 22, 2010
These types of stories make me proud to live in Milwaukee and be a part of what's happening in the social media scene. Walking in to AJ Bombers, there's just a different feel from other restaurants. You know you're going to run into someone you recognize from Twitter and you know the food is going to be fantastic. The whole experience is very exciting. I can't wait to see what they come up with next!
Caroline Cooper 1:48 AM on April 23, 2010
Great simple idea, which demonstrates with a bit of imagination can be achieved. Well done
Jared 12:29 PM on May 07, 2010
While tradeshows are becoming less and less effective I think Foursquare provides an interesting opportunity to engage with attendees while they are at the show. If you can organize a promotion around people "checking in" at your booth it may create a unique type of buzz around your company.