FourSquare has now launched their business tools and analytics. These tools had been in development for a while, and business owners now have the opportunity to claim their listings and begin taking advantage of the many exciting opportunities offered by FourSquare.

So what does this mean for business owners and managers? In a nutshell, you can now offer unique incentives for your customers, as well as track traffic patterns from locals who have been checking-in at your venue.

With a plethora of data with regard to who is checking in and when, it only makes sense that businesses would have access to data regarding who has been checking into their location, how often and what days are the most popular. These analytics will allow them to monitor patterns across the social media platform and potentially develop specials on nights that may be a bit slower – great opportunity to build incentives on days that typically don’t attract crowds.

Additionally, when users check into your location, your special incentives will pop-up as they arrive. For instance, FourSquare currently allows business owners and managers to specify the following types of specials:

Mayor Specials: unlocked only by the Mayor of your venue. Who’s the Mayor?  It’s your single most loyal customer!

Check-in Specials: unlocked when a user checks in to your venue a certain number of times.Frequency-based Specials: are unlocked every X check-ins.

Wildcard Specials: always unlocked, but your staff has to verify some extra conditions before awarding the Special.

And more to come!

For those of you who haven’t ever seen the mobile application, below is a screenshot from the iPhone, courtesy FourSquare. As the user finds their particular location, they select the check-in button. Once they’ve checked in, your incentive will pop-up.

Marketing continues to become more interactive as mobile applications grow in popularity. If you haven’t figured it out by now, mobile marketing is the new frontier.

So claim that business listing and be sure to ask for your FourSquare window cling – you just might be the hippest business on your street…for now.