By: Sarah Buckholtz
June 15, 2022
“Excuse me. What’s your WiFi password?” How many times have you or your staff been asked this question by customers? The integration of the internet into the modern business model has shown no signs of losing connection.
Every business from coffee shops to breweries to public transportation and beyond are all optimizing free WiFi access to accommodate people’s desires for strong reception. While you have their attention, you might as well get a business opportunity out of it, right?
Nowadays, companies need to be able to provide easy access for their customers, and that’s where WiFi marketing comes into play.
Let’s dial in to the benefits WiFi marketing can bring your business in 2022.
What We’ll Cover in This Piece:
What is WiFi Marketing?
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
WiFi marketing is a new strategy where breweries, bars, and restaurants provide free internet access to their customers. In return, these businesses use that medium to communicate messages and promotions and capture customer information.
We’re seeing a shift from leveraging traditional marketing methods to using the internet, social media, and other applications to promote products and services.
Here’s how it works: Customers connect to your WiFi by entering a password you provide them while in your establishment. Once they have the password, they’ll be directed to conditions of usage, policy, and terms. Finally, customers will register with either their social media account or email. It’s that simple!
Not only does WiFi marketing bring the benefits of WiFi to your customers, but it also allows you to capture valuable analytics and contact information, keep track of in-house promotions, and push context-sensitive messages based on their location inside your restaurant.
Why Invest in a WiFi Marketing Strategy for Your Business?
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
WiFi marketing enables shoppers to access your store’s WiFi, aiming to increase the number of new visitors and their conversion rate. With this strategy you can get data on new customers and learn more about existing ones through their online behavior, among other things.
Here are four more ways WiFi marketing can improve your business:
Customer Attraction
WiFi marketing allows you to target your consumers as they enter your business. Why is this helpful? You could, for example, send them a message specific to their shopping needs in order to capture their attention and boost sales opportunities.
Increased Sales
Since you already have them connected to your internet, this would be a great opportunity to directly push sales, deals, exclusive offers, etc. Draw attention to upcoming ticketed events, merch sales, special releases, and more!
Some companies have also added features like pop-ups that will display products with high customer ratings, creating a sense of urgency or fear of missing out.
What makes it easy to market sales to customers at this point is a speedy and secure internet connection.
Build an Audience
Requiring customers to access your WiFi via their social media or email account means you can start building a list of potential customers. From this information, you can customize outreach in two different ways:
First, you can connect with them via email, offering them a unique code for a discount or early access to an upcoming event.
Second, you can create a targeted social media post that interacts with your consumers through questions, sponsored posts, ads, or surveys.
Grow Your Online Presence
If you have a WiFi hotspot in your establishment, use it to attract more customers. Building a custom-branded splash page (an introduction page for your website) will redirect customers to your Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, and Twitter pages, helping your business gain more likes, subscribers, and reviews.
Perk up your online presence by promoting your business’ social media pages or review sites to increase the visibility and popularity of your business.
How to Secure Your WiFi Network for Yourself and Your Customers
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Giving access to the internet is an important strategy for many businesses. It’s also important to take steps to secure your WiFi network for you and your customers.
Once you’ve decided to offer public access to your restaurant, bar, or brewery WiFi, you’ll need to take a few steps to prevent hackers from intercepting crucial financial information.
Amp up your network security by administering the following:
- Change passwords frequently
- Put your router in a safe and secure place to prohibit customer interference
- Set up firewalls
- Create separate networks for your POS to prohibit hackers from stealing private information about your business or otherwise
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