I’m almost certain that you’ve used one before. Wi-Fi solutions are used by millions of different types of organisations across the world.
Ever used the free Wi-Fi at the pub? At the airport? On the bus? Wi-Fi solution. See? They’re literally everywhere.
So now that we’ve established you’ve used one before, how about we delve into why you should deploy a managed Wi-Fi solution.
It’s not just about offering your customers or clients ‘Free Wi-Fi’, there’s so much more to explore here.
We’ll start off with the most obvious case-uses and pivot to more niche deployments.
1. Capture Data & Marketing
Data capture is the reason you need to log in or sign up sometimes. When you do that, you’re usually handing over your personal data to the company providing the ‘free’ Wi-Fi.
Remember, if something’s free… chances are, you’re the product.
From a business point of view, it’s a fantastic way to gather the email address and contact details of your customers / visitors and re-market to them in the future.
Just make sure that when you do this, it’s GDPR-compliant. If not, you could find yourself in hot water with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office).
When you get your system with BDR Group, then we’ll always make sure your solution is compliant with data protection laws.
So, we briefly touched down on re-marketing… what is that? Don’t worry if you don’t know. Re-marketing is the process of marketing to existing customers or prospects who have visited your website / workplace.
You can easily set up email marketing campaigns and even upload the data to Google Ads to enhance your PPC campaigns.
Put simply, data capture is a very powerful element of digital marketing. Depending on what data you capture, you can also build a digital profile of what your best customer.
For example; if you capture DOB, then you can figure out the average age of your visitors.
2. Add a USP to Your Business / Site
One of the biggest attraction points for Gen Z and most millennials is ‘free Wi-Fi’ – it’s even a feature search option on Google Maps.
Introducing a connectivity solution like this gives your business an upper hand on your competition. Let me explain why.
Let’s say you’re a pub in the UK. Your pricing is competitive in the local area. The pints are nice too. But the 4G signal is rubbish. Because the signal isn’t great, younger customers vouch for the big chain pub in the town centre.
By offering no-cost Wi-Fi connectivity for your customers, you’ll pull in new and younger customers who are going to want to stay for longer… and who just want to put their #drinks on their Instagram story.
Equally, if you’re not a customer-facing business, you can make visiting your office a better experience for meetings and clientele meet-ups.
It’s like my ma always told me: “Dress to impress” – dress your business up to impress your clients, partners and or patrons.
3. Protect Your Business
You’ve got a password on your private home Wi-Fi right? I hope so. Anyway… the same principal applies for your business.
There’s no way you’d leave your Wi-Fi open for anyone to do anything on your internet connection. Having an open Wi-Fi also means that you’re more exposed for hacking attempts and gaining access to your devices / network.
Never, and I mean never leave your internet connection unprotected.
With BDR Group behind the scenes, we can split your connection into private (work-only) and public (customers & visitors) networks. Keeping everything separate and protected.
Cybersecurity isn’t the only item to consider too. Unfortunately, people use the internet to access illegal data, commit fraud and other crimes. Sometimes these people use public wi-fi solutions to do this.
With data capturing turned-on and with a split network, you’re in a better position to deny any responsibility and work with law enforcement in handing over the captured data (if needed).
Whilst it’s usually medium to large businesses that deal with this (think airports, large hotels, etc.), it’s still good to be prepared and protected.
4. Upsell on Landing Pages
Ok, so let’s say I’m at a hotel and I’ve signed into the Wi-Fi solution and the first thing that pops up is a landing page.
On the landing page is a special offer for breakfast in the morning… ‘I wasn’t planning on getting breakfast’ I think to myself, but it’s a discounted offer and it’s easy to buy on my phone, so why not?
That’s the power of having a great landing page for your customers to land on when they sign into your public Wi-Fi.
It doesn’t stop there, you can create a bespoke landing pages for customers to leave reviews, order food / drinks to their table, learn more about your products and so much more.
You’re essentially delivering adverts directly to your customer’s phone screens / computers. You can even show them different offers, depending on what site they’re at or network they’ve joined.
5. Add a New Revenue Stream
‘Free Wi-Fi’ doesn’t have to be free. It could be that you could limit the speed and bandwidth for free users and offer faster speeds for a small fee.
Or you could just make the whole thing chargeable. Completely up to you.
Charging for your Wi-Fi could be something you might want to do if you’re a hotel or a business where you’re going to have customers using it for an extended period of time.
If you’re a restaurant, pub or short-visit business, then you probably want to offer the service for free or potentially create a password for the solution.
As a hotel, event venue or a business with a lot of visitors, you could open a new revenue stream for your business. By offering super-fast broadband connectivity and Wi-Fi to the public at a cost, you could find yourself generating a healthy revenue.
Summary
There are many different reasons to use a Wi-Fi solution for your business. Here are some companies that could best benefit from a connectivity system:
• Hotel
• Pub
• Restaurant
• Office Building
• Event Venue
• Bus / Train / Public Transport
• Local Government
• Banks
• Retail Stores
