What Are The Business Benefits Of Offering Free Wifi?
A WiFI revolution is overtaking the world and, as a business owner, you have probably begun pondering the rationale of providing free WiFi at your business premises. This is as good a time as any to consider the idea.
After all, free WiFi is no longer the domain of coffee shops and libraries. Today, all styles of eateries, from posh restaurants to fast food joints have taken to providing free WiFi to their customers.
And you might be questioning the logic of this trend. After all, the internet might be free for the customers visiting some of these establishments, but the businesses are still incurring those costs at the end of the day.
What possible reason would compel anyone to offer free internet to their customers? If you are one of those business owners that has chosen to reject this concept as a whole, it would behoove you to take a breath and reconsider the issue because offering free WiFi at your store might be one of the best business decisions you could possibly make.
The Draw of Free WiFi for customers
Most people like to point towards the free marketing opportunities made available to those businesses that offer free WiFi, and there is merit in that argument. You can always craft a custom splash or landing page for your customers to ogle at every time they connect to your WiFi.
Additionally, the branding options are definitely attractive, especially if you remember to associate your store with the name of your network.
However, even the marketing opportunities pale in comparison to the true benefit that you will elicit from giving your customers free internet access, the benefit in question being time. If you want to succeed as a business owner, it isn’t enough to simply attract new customers to your store.
“Nowadays, people expect to be able to connect while they are out and about and without offering a good WiFi service you may be turning away customers unknowingly.”
You need your customers to spend as much time as possible at your premises, and that is what free internet can do for you. Free WiFi gives customers as good a reason as any to spend as much time as possible at your business premises. And the more time they spend hanging around your café, probably because they are glued to the screen of their chosen device courtesy of the free internet on offer, the more money they are going to spend.
The data speak for itself; nearly 70 percent of all customers spend more time in establishments that have free WiFi.
And if that wasn’t enough, realize that by providing free WiFi, you are able to actually collect data from your customers, this including their email addresses (legally, of course). This is data that you can use to track your customers, determining how frequently they visit your establishment and how long they stay.
This is information you can use to customize your services and offerings, taking advantage of those customers you know are drawn to your free internet.
And do not forget all the market opportunities; sure, it might not top the list of reasons to avail free WiFi to customers, but marketing still matters. By providing free WiFi, you can keep all connected customers apprised of all your special discounts and offerings, notifying them about promotions, coupons and any other aspect of your business that might suit their interests.
Sure, it is true that free WiFi can enhance a customer’s experience at your establishment. But do not be fooled into thinking that only the customer benefits from this deal. Free WiFi can do wonders for your business.
Source: smallbusinesscan.com
