Following Foursquare's big update to version 3.0 yesterday, the location-based "check-in" site on Wednesday announced new improvements to its business side. Foursquare is making it quicker and easier for merchants to enroll on the site, in addition to adding new ways that company owners can promote their businesses through special deals offered exclusively to Foursquare users.
First, a new self-verification process allows businesses to get set up on Foursquare quickly and start offering specials within a few days. Second, businesses can now manage campaigns at not only one venue, but across thousands of venues—an especially attractive feature for national brands and franchises. Third, Foursquare has minimized the approval time for when merchants want to run a new special, meaning they can create a new promotion and have it up and running within a few minutes, letting businesses react nearly instantly to real-world conditions. Finally, businesses will receive richer and more informative demographic data for Foursquare customers across multiple venues, another boon for large chain businesses and franchises.
Earlier this year, the company hinted at the fact that it would be improving business features when it revamped the Web pages it uses to attract new merchants and partners.
Some of the early adopters who will be giving away new specials to Foursquare users this week include Sports Authority, Applebee's, Radio Shack, Coffee Bean, Barnes & Noble, Arby's, Chili's, Whole Foods, Toys R Us, and H&M.
Foursquare currently has about 7 million users and a quarter million registered businesses. The New York City-based company launched the service in 2009.