MerchantCircle Jumps on Game Mechanics/Mayorships
After a two week beta period, MerchantCircle is out with a new mayorship title for its SMBs that are the most “networked”.
One mayorship is given for every city/town, and is achieved by engaging in the standard b2b activities of the site (connecting with other merchants, inviting others to join, etc.). This is all managed through a dashboard where merchants can view points, leaderboards and top chanllengers for mayorships.
Like on foursquare, this is meant to create a sense of competition that drives engagement. But beyond the game mechanics seen on Foursquare and other recent success stories, mayors are also given a financial incentive to the tune of free advertising on MerchantCircle.