For businesses struggling to generate a buzz without much money in the marketing budget, Foursquare might be the answer.  It’s low-cost and low-effort, but it gets the name out there through a very credible source – best friends.

Foursquare is a mobile phone application which allows consumers to tell their friends where they most like to eat, shop, hang out, and just generally live their lives.  They “check in” to their favorite spots, and the application notifies their friends via social media including Facebook and Twitter.

Consumers like it because it’s a game.  They earn points and badges each time they visit check-in locations, and if they check in enough, they can even become “mayors” of their favorite spots.  How’s that for customer involvement?

Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most inexpensive, believable ways to create a solid company image because the opinion is coming directly from potential customers’ peers.  This is the same concept, except customers are now sharing their experiences with 500 of their closest Facebook friends.

In exchange for this free publicity, many businesses provide frequent customers coupons and discounts to reward their loyalty and keep them coming back for more.

Getting started with Foursquare is easy.  Businesses only need to register the company name and location, and Foursquare guides owners through the rest, starting with ad specials.

And the best part of all is that Foursquare is completely free – at least for now.  Foursquare is helping other businesses generate profits and they reserve the right to do the same for themselves in the future.  But for now Foursquare is a cheap and innovative way to generate buzz and start building a loyal customer-base.  

Check it out and let the customers start checking in.