Sean M Everett

Precisionist & Class Clown
SeanMEverett.com
Evolyte.com

Nov

02

• If I Were Product Manager: Foursquare

  People started using Foursquare for two reasons:

  1. Unexpected gift at an unexpected time – you don’t know when, how, or if you’re going to unlock another badge, but you keep checking in to make sure you don’t miss one.
  2. Social bragging – “look at me, I’m somewhere cool I either want you to be envious of or join me at”

  
  People continue to use Foursquare for these two reasons, but in the future for one other reason:

  • Discovery – learn about and experience new restaurants or bars in unfamiliar places (using their Radar and Explore features).

  
  Users are most delighted with the app (i.e., smile and show their friends their phone) when two things happen - they unlock a badge or unlock a special.
  
  If I were the Product Manager of Foursquare, I would focus on making this happen more frequently and at a deeper level.  That said, badges are special because you don’t unlock them very often, so I wouldn’t want to mess with that recipe too much.
  
  However, integrating better specials more frequently could be a boon to both the number of users and user engagement.  Imagine if you had Groupon-style deals, only pinged at you in real-time using Radar as you walked by a restaurant.  Or since Foursquare knows your preferences, it could send you a little nudge about this great special happening tonight for dinner at that little place a few blocks away.
  
  You had me at ping.  You better believe I’m eating there.  Thanks Foursquare for saving me not only time and money, but yet another fight about where we’re going to eat tonight.  That solves 3 problems in 1.
  
  Now if we could just get a deal on some well-aged, single-malt scotch…
  
  ***********
  
  Foursquare User ID #130,119
  Consumer Behavior For Startups
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