Foursquare is a location-based service that allows users to ‘check in’ at various locales.  For small businesses, it can be a powerful and inexpensive tool for adding loyalty rewards and communicating with your most plugged-in customers.  Whether you’re thinking of giving Foursquare a shot or already have your location added to the service, there are a few basic steps that any small business owner should take to ensure a positive Foursquare experience:

• Claim your venue. In order to create Specials for your visitors, you need to claim ownership of your venue.  To claim your venue, visit the web version of it at http://www.foursquare.com and provide Foursquare with some basic verification information.  A few weeks later, you’ll receive confirmation and your account will be upgraded with venue analytics (see who’s checking in, and when) and the ability to add and modify Specials.
• Create an employee check-in policy. If you’re using Foursquare for customer loyalty rewards, it’s probably best that you ask your employees not to check in at work.  If you’re an office-based business, Foursquare can still boost your visibility, and you can always use the service to create rewards for enthusiastic employees.
• Reward your Mayor. It’s tempting, when faced with the Foursquare ‘Create a special’ screen to create easily attainable, generic rewards.  Resist this temptation.  Instead, create amazing Mayor rewards, and use Foursquare to build competition and community around your most passionate customers.  The more they’re thinking about your business, the more likely they are to discuss it (free marketing!).
• Sometimes the best Special is no special.  Ever see that one store where everything’s always on sale?  Do you trust their standard pricing?  Nope.  Don’t be that store on Foursquare.  By using Specials sparingly, and making the rewards associated with them real and valuable, Foursquare users will know that when they see the Special banner at your establishment, it’s worth checking out.

Foursquare and its competitors are all still relatively young and immature as services, so there’s not a ton going on for business yet.  As they continue to grow and improve, the analytics and offerings are likely to improve and crystallize, but usage by large businesses will increase as well.  If you’re a small business owner, the time to get on board with location-based services is now, so get to it!