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Places

What a good first GoWith Places offer looks like — and three that don't.

Peak-hour percentages are the classic first-offer mistake. Quiet-hour anchors, seat-hold slots and a signature-item freebie work better — every time.

A slow morning at a cafe with a book on the table

The composer is permissive

The composer will let you publish '20% off, every day, all day, cap 500'. It's a legal offer. It's also almost always a bad one. Here's how we'd think about it, from working with the first cohort.

1. Anchor to quiet hours, not peak

The whole insight of a footfall programme is that most cafes are half-empty at 4pm on a Wednesday. That is exactly when a GoWith meet is easy to send. An offer that runs 2–6pm on weekdays converts customers you didn't have. An offer that runs Saturday 8pm burns margin on customers who were coming anyway.

2. Use a signature-item freebie, not a percentage

'Free cold brew with any main course' is stronger than '15% off the bill'. It's easier to explain at the counter, easier to remember on the way in, and shows off what you're actually good at. A percentage says 'we can afford to lose a bit' — a freebie says 'try this, you'll be back for it'.

3. Set a cap you'd be sad to hit — not one you can't hit

The daily cap isn't a fraud guard, that's the redemption system's job. The cap is a margin guard. Pick a number you'd be genuinely pleased with — 15 meets a day, or 25, or 5 — and let it hit. Every day you hit the cap is a day you know the offer worked.

Three shapes to avoid

Percentage-off with no minimum bill. It's a coupon, not an offer, and it invites solo customers with a tea to claim it and leave.

Weekend-only percentages. You're paying for customers who were coming. Save the weekend for reserved seating instead — it costs you nothing and gives the meet a story.

Cap of 1 per day. You will hit it in the first hour, the next twelve bookers see 'today's limit reached', and none of them come back.

The insights page shows a partner their slowest windows and nudges them to open offers there. That's the number worth pointing at.