Your business depends on its ability to innovate. If you’re unable to keep up with customer demand and the trends that your competition follows, then you’re doomed to fall behind and out of favor with buyers.
One trend that many companies have already adopted is offering free in-store Wi-Fi to guests.
There are currently 9 billion Wi-Fi enabled devices today, and 82% of customers will consult their phones during a shopping experience. This means there’s a major opportunity to reach customers where they are (on their phones) and provide a service they increasingly expect.
Adding free Wi-Fi isn’t just a perk for customers, it’s also a benefit for your business.
Here’s how you can tap into Wi-Fi marketing and turn customers into repeat buyers and loyal fans.
What Is Wi-Fi Marketing and Why Is It Important?
When most business owners think about offering Wi-Fi in their businesses, they often focus on the effects it has on customer behavior.
More than 60% of businesses say customers spend more time in their locations when they offer free Wi-Fi.
For restaurants and bars, this extra time increases the average ticket through the purchase of additional drinks and desserts bought before customers leave. For retailers, this means customers spend more time looking at their items, increasing the average sale when they find more products they like.
However, there’s an additional benefit to offering free Internet access within your business: Wi-Fi marketing.
Wi-Fi marketing means treating free customer Wi-Fi as a channel to engage your customers and promote your products and services.
Wi-Fi marketing is the difference between viewing free Internet access like an expense versus seeing it as an opportunity to increase customer loyalty and bring new buyers into your store. Those who use it wisely will see results, while those who ignore it will wonder what they’re doing wrong.
Gather Data to Improve In-store Operations and Promotions
On the surface, offering free Wi-Fi to customers in your store may simply feel like a way to offer value to your customers. While yes, it is a way to benefit shoppers; Wi-Fi actually benefits businesses even more than customers.
The immense value businesses get by providing free Wi-Fi in their store comes from the data they can collect through the system.
Through Wi-Fi software, you can track and monitor foot traffic and trends in your store. When customers log in to free Wi-Fi, you can track how they move throughout the store and create heatmaps that show where they spend the most and least amount of time.
Being able to see how customers move around in your store helps you improve your in-store operations and promotions. You can identify busy times that require more staff and see the areas in your location that customers miss or don’t spend much time in.
This information also helps as you can use it to set up geofences that trigger notifications or change digital signage content when shoppers enter a certain area in your location. This data can also be tied to shopper profiles so you can send email and text marketing campaigns about products on display in areas where individual customers spend the most time in your store.
It’s a powerful way to personalize the shopping experience for each customer.
Learn About Your Customers
When customers connect to your Wi-Fi, they don’t need to create a login or try to remember a password whenever they return. They can log in through their Facebook profiles, which increases security for your business and allows you to access significant data about your customers.
Through Facebook logins connected through your Wi-Fi, you can better understand the demographics of customers, their interests, and their behavior. You might discover that younger audiences are likely to return more often but spend less than older audiences.
Brands can use information collected through Facebook logins in a variety of ways. You can order certain items that you know will be popular and create promotions based on demographic data. What started as a customer service opportunity becomes a way to improve overall marketing and advertising campaigns.
With Wi-Fi marketing, your efforts become more strategic with an in-depth look at your customers.
Instead of guessing who their customers are and what they want, brands can target their shoppers based on demographics and interests.
Send Push Notifications to Customers Near or In Your Business
As your customers log into your Wi-Fi service, you can start to send push notifications marketing additional products or services to them.
For example, customers near or in your store could receive push notifications that you’re having a sale or enjoy exclusive coupons on your items. These notifications increase the return rates of customers and grow your business by attracting people who might not have come in that day.
You can also use very specific in-store geofences to trigger personalized push-notifications to shoppers as they move throughout your store. For example, if a customer walks into a beer section in a grocery store, you can send them coupons or marketing messages for products that match the customer’s previous purchases.
Exclusive codes are also highly trackable, so you can see exactly how effective the push notification is.
Push notifications can also boost in-store sales with deals and upsells sent to customers while they’re inside. For example, an auto dealership could promote air filter replacements or discount oil changes for waiting customers. Additionally, restaurant owners could promote seasonal dishes to boost ticket sizes and keep customers there longer.
Share Information on Login Landing Pages
Like your other marketing channels, Wi-Fi marketing is an opportunity to share information with customers that they otherwise might not have known. Through the creation of dedicated landing pages, you can promote unknown products and services, share facts about your brand, and provide news updates to customers.
Some business owners use landing pages to let customers know about holiday hours, while others use the space to upsell to people who are waiting in line.
You don’t have to decide on a landing page and stick to it. On the contrary, many business owners change their landing pages seasonally or even weekly. Others create multiple landing page offers and A/B test which ones work best. This allows them to constantly improve up their marketing efforts to maximize results.
Market Other Channels for Additional Engagement
Brands can also use Wi-Fi marketing to connect with audiences after they leave your business and sign off of your free service. Some companies use their landing page promotions and push notifications to encourage customers to sign up for their newsletters or connect on social media. They might even go so far as to add an incentive for doing so.
If you can increase the size of your email list and social following through Wi-Fi marketing, you can continue exposing your brand to customers even when they’re miles away.
You can alert them to new promotions or simply remind them that you exist — meaning they stay top-of-mind are likely to return. In this way, your Wi-Fi marketing becomes a top-of-funnel sales tool. A simple click in the store paves the way for return visits and increased customer loyalty in the long-run.
The Benefits of Wi-Fi Marketing Outweigh the Investment Costs
When you calculate the return benefits of investing in Wi-Fi marketing, the investment costs decrease significantly. Wi-Fi marketing can increase the number of customers to your business, build brand loyalty, and grow your average ticket. All of these factors benefit your bottom line.
If you’re interested in testing free Wi-Fi within your business to reap the benefits of Wi-Fi marketing, contact Spectrio today. We can create a plan for your business and help you turn Wi-Fi into a sales tool for your brand. Get started with Wi-Fi Marketing.