Congratulations to all of the brick-and-mortar businesses on a successful 2018. Retail sales were up 4.3% last year compared to 2017. Even though that statistic doesn’t tell the whole story of shopping trends, last year showed us that physical stores continue to be an important resource for the average consumer. Now we are into the new year, and with it comes new opportunities for brick-and-mortar stores to improve their business strategies from last year. At the top of that list: Make sure you offer guest WiFi and get the most ROI from it.
Consumers Expect Guest WiFi
When it comes to grabbing a bite at a restaurant or finding a new clothing outlet, more and more shoppers look for guest WiFi as part of their consumer choices.84% of restaurant patrons consider free WiFi as an influencer when choosing an eatery while 96% of retail consumers prefer to shop and return to stores that offer guest WiFi.
Guest WiFi is popular because it’s a fantastic resource for shoppers to stay connected to the internet without worrying about using their mobile data. People also can lose their cell signal, especially in large concrete buildings, so knowing that there’s WiFi waiting for them to keep them connected is a reassuring bonus.
Download the ebook: Turn Up Revenue & Engagement with Guest WiFi
Offering guest WiFi isn’t just appealing to consumers. Many small business owners stand by guest WiFi as a great ROI as well as an additional tool to encourage customer loyalty. Tie these aspects in with the reasonable cost of bringing WiFi into your brick-and-mortar store and there’s really no reason not to have it.
Smart Tip: When setting up WiFi for the first time, ensuring your WiFi signal reaches every corner of your store is important so no guest loses connection. Learn the basics of WiFi setup and how to optimize your WiFi landscape.
Market Your Brand with Guest WiFi
WiFi marketing allows brick-and-mortar businesses to market and advertise their brand to guests that use free their WiFi.
Basic WiFi helps shoppers stay connected to the internet without worrying about using precious mobile data. WiFi marketing goes beyond the basics by providing a branded WiFi login page where businesses include marketing and advertising content to show off to their WiFi guests.
WiFi marketing allows guests to simply and securely access a WiFi network by signing in with contact information such as an email address or social media profile. This sign-in feature helps brick-and-mortar stores that want to build assets such as a CRM list or social media following. WiFi marketing even utilizes a URL redirect feature that takes WiFi guests to a specific webpage after signing in. By using all of these tools, you can market your store in ways you never thought was possible through simple guest WiFi.
Learn More About WiFi Marketing
Smart Tip: Get even more out of your WiFi marketing efforts by using other growing trends, such as proximity marketing and geofencing. These marketing tools work in conjunction with your WiFi signal to provide even more personalized and timely marketing content to your guests.
Guest WiFi Improves Your Customer Experience
You can use all of the marketing strategies out there to get people to visit your store, but if guests don’t enjoy the customer experience you offer in person, don’t expect them to return. WiFi is now being used as an analytics tool for retail spaces and other brick-and-mortar businesses to better understand how guests are interacting throughout the property.
WiFi analytics is great for learning analytics, such as how many guests are visiting your store at specific times, which areas of your store receive the most foot traffic, and also how long your guests visit. These insights are invaluable if you are looking to improve operational aspects of your store, such as store signage and other advertising pieces, product placement, and even create more efficient staffing schedules for your workers.
Having a near-perfect layout for your guests can be a determining factor between guests choosing your store and your competitors. With WiFi analytics, you have more insight into how your average guest behaves.
Learn More About How WiFi Analytics Can Help Your Business
Smart Tip: Double down on improving your customer experience by ensuring one thing is always running at peak performance: customer service. Customer service is a revenue changer for any business, no matter its shape or size. Use outlets like WiFi marketing or social media to encourage guests to leave reviews of your business and find out if there’s more you can do to improve customer service.
Ready to use guest WiFi for your brick-and-mortar store and get the most out of it? GoZone WiFi is here to help. Our Smart WiFi platform comes with all of the top-notch WiFi marketing, advertising, and analytic tools to make your WiFi one of the best-running utilities for your business.
