Many of those marketing strategies and tactics that the mainstream media and marketing gurus talk about just don’t seem to work in the hands of most small business owners. Why is that? How can you make these new marketing tactics work for your store or restaurant?

Let’s take a look at a concept called permission marketing. New age marketing guru Seth Godin has popularized permission marketing and is the cornerstone of much of today’s social media marketing effort. But let’s be real: how do you make permission marketing work for your small business?

First, let me explain a bit more about permission marketing. It is one of the most important marketing concepts today. Popularized by Seth Godin, permission marketing focuses on marketing to those who want to hear what you say. Instead of spending ad dollars on a billboard or TV ad that people are compelled to see, the highest ROI and best return on your marketing investments is to market to those who voluntarily sign up to hear what you’re saying. You have to say.

Seth defines permission marketing as: the privilege (not the right) to deliver anticipated, personal, and relevant messages to the people who really want to receive them.

Twitter, Facebook fan pages, blogs, and email distribution lists are all forms of permission marketing. However, location-based marketing is a new permission marketing asset that can pay huge dividends for forward-thinking social media marketers.

Location-based marketing with Foursquare or other similar services creates a permission asset that small businesses can use to deliver value to customers. Customers voluntarily download the app and voluntarily register with your store and as a reward you can give them unlocked deals and promotions.

This embodies a permission asset because customers voluntarily sign up for these services to access the offerings it offers. Similar to Groupon. Using Foursquare for business growth is centered on the same principles: giving consumers the deals and specials they seek instead of punching them in the face with ads and billboards.

The dividends and conversion rates of these services are much higher and the benefits to your business are much greater because you are targeting marketing to “hot” traffic that is already interested in what you offer, as opposed to “cold” traffic. “which is not. I don’t mind

Location-based marketing for businesses is a great way to create a new and highly effective permission marketing asset that can really expand your customer base and drive sales.