Two articles that aren't directly about cupcakes, but about Foursquare and loyalty programs, mention cupcake bakeries and should be of interest to anyone running a retail business.
From "Foursquare puts its data to work to grow," USA Today:
With so much activity spinning through its digital system, Foursquare — like social-gaming player Zynga and others — hopes to mine the rich vein of data it collects on millions of consumers and merchants. A new feature is expected next month, but Crowley declined to comment on it.
"People are slowly beginning to realize we are more than a check-in service," says Crowley, underscoring Foursquare's reliance on making better use of data and the shopping habits of its millions of customers.
The future of Foursquare could well turn on so-called predictive services. When someone shows a fondness for a certain type of sushi on a late Tuesday night in New York City, for instance, they will be notified via Foursquare of a similar restaurant in other cities...
Maria Baugh, co-owner of Butter Lane Cupcakes in New York, says most of her customers use Foursquare as a check-in service, but they are increasingly using its "tip" feature to suggest what to do or try at a particular place.
From "A mobile app simplifies loyalty programs for smaller merchants," Internet Retailer:
Swirlz Cupcakes honed its cupcake recipe years ago, but its search for the right way to reward its loyal customers has taken a little longer. Now, with the emergence of smartphones and mobile commerce apps, Swirlz Cupcakes has cooked up a loyalty scheme that tastes just right.
“We always wanted to incent our customers with some type of rewards program,” says Jamie Finnan, manager of the Chicago-based bakery. “We really hated the idea of printing cards.” Many retailer loyalty programs use plastic cards that contain a bar code or magnetic stripe to identify customers to retailers. Not wanting the hassle of issuing cards to customers, Finnan opted for a smartphone-based rewards program called Paycloud offered by Sparkbase, a stored value services company.
Finnan wanted something that was simple for customers and his staff to learn. Customers download the Paycloud app to their iPhones or Android devices. Upon opening the app, users are prompted to create an account, which is necessary to track eligible transactions at Swirlz and other participating merchants. Paycloud works with multiple merchants, which means consumers can enroll in loyalty programs offered by merchants, but they only need to supply their personal information once when they set up their Paycloud account.
Find out more about Butter Lane at butterlane.com and Swirlz at swirlzcupcakes.com. And for those who are all, "Who cares about social media? We want cupcakes!" here's one from Swirlz, via their Facebook page. It's their chocolate champagne cream cupcake, available in gluten-free as well as regular, for sale only on New Year's Eve, December 31st. "Rich chocolate cake, filled with champagne cream, a layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache, champagne buttercream swirl, dipped in chocolate and topped with a golden chocolate plaquette!" For the vegans (not pictured): "Our vegan gluten-free option will be Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter! (Banana cake, layer of chocolate, peanut butter frosting and dipped in chocolate)."
From "Foursquare puts its data to work to grow," USA Today:
With so much activity spinning through its digital system, Foursquare — like social-gaming player Zynga and others — hopes to mine the rich vein of data it collects on millions of consumers and merchants. A new feature is expected next month, but Crowley declined to comment on it.
"People are slowly beginning to realize we are more than a check-in service," says Crowley, underscoring Foursquare's reliance on making better use of data and the shopping habits of its millions of customers.
The future of Foursquare could well turn on so-called predictive services. When someone shows a fondness for a certain type of sushi on a late Tuesday night in New York City, for instance, they will be notified via Foursquare of a similar restaurant in other cities...
Maria Baugh, co-owner of Butter Lane Cupcakes in New York, says most of her customers use Foursquare as a check-in service, but they are increasingly using its "tip" feature to suggest what to do or try at a particular place.
From "A mobile app simplifies loyalty programs for smaller merchants," Internet Retailer:
Swirlz Cupcakes honed its cupcake recipe years ago, but its search for the right way to reward its loyal customers has taken a little longer. Now, with the emergence of smartphones and mobile commerce apps, Swirlz Cupcakes has cooked up a loyalty scheme that tastes just right.
“We always wanted to incent our customers with some type of rewards program,” says Jamie Finnan, manager of the Chicago-based bakery. “We really hated the idea of printing cards.” Many retailer loyalty programs use plastic cards that contain a bar code or magnetic stripe to identify customers to retailers. Not wanting the hassle of issuing cards to customers, Finnan opted for a smartphone-based rewards program called Paycloud offered by Sparkbase, a stored value services company.
Finnan wanted something that was simple for customers and his staff to learn. Customers download the Paycloud app to their iPhones or Android devices. Upon opening the app, users are prompted to create an account, which is necessary to track eligible transactions at Swirlz and other participating merchants. Paycloud works with multiple merchants, which means consumers can enroll in loyalty programs offered by merchants, but they only need to supply their personal information once when they set up their Paycloud account.
Find out more about Butter Lane at butterlane.com and Swirlz at swirlzcupcakes.com. And for those who are all, "Who cares about social media? We want cupcakes!" here's one from Swirlz, via their Facebook page. It's their chocolate champagne cream cupcake, available in gluten-free as well as regular, for sale only on New Year's Eve, December 31st. "Rich chocolate cake, filled with champagne cream, a layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache, champagne buttercream swirl, dipped in chocolate and topped with a golden chocolate plaquette!" For the vegans (not pictured): "Our vegan gluten-free option will be Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter! (Banana cake, layer of chocolate, peanut butter frosting and dipped in chocolate)."
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