Should you be offering free WiFi to your customers?

Not so long ago, free WiFi was only offered by large chains, but with the availability of WiFi spreading, is it time for you to offer free WiFi to your guests? Due to connected smartphones and a large portion of the population enjoying super-fast broadband at home, customer expectation has risen, so if you want to remain competitive, you might want to consider incorporating public WiFi into your network solutions…

Customers spend more time in your premises

In a recent study, 62% of businesses stated that customers spent more time in their premises once they offered publicly accessible WiFi. The same study also found that half of those customers spent more money too. A popular misconception of offering WiFi is that customers will simply take up space and not spend much just to access the WiFi, but very few businesses actually see customers spend less, and by offering WiFi in the first place, you’ll be attracting customers into your premises who perhaps would not have come in otherwise.

Increased foot traffic

Offering free WiFi doesn’t just simply mean you’ll be attracting more passersby. Today, a lot of consumers use apps at their disposal such as Yelp and Google Maps to look up businesses. Some of those potential customers are likely to be searching for specific amenities such as free WiFi. By offering reliable and free WiFi, you will quite literally be putting your business on the map for those who might not have noticed you otherwise.

Customer tracking

Offering free WiFi doesn’t mean you have no control over the network connection, in fact you can use it to accumulate potentially valuable customer data. All you have to do is set up your website as the homepage, and get your customers to fill out a signup form in order to access the WiFi. It’s a simple and quick way to expand your marketing contacts and will allow you to target them with special offers and add-ons that they may not have been aware of otherwise.

At RHM Telecommunications, we’ve helped countless businesses set up a fast and reliable WiFi network that can be accessed by members of staff and customers alike. So if you’ve been thinking about the benefits that offering free public WiFi could bring to your business, then contact us today to see how we can help.