Retail WiFi Marketing: Leverage Your Guest WiFi

WiFi is everywhere these days. If you’re eating out, you’ll join the complimentary WiFi. If you’re on the bus, you’ll stream music on its complimentary WiFi. And if you’re shopping? You’ve guessed it; you’ll be using WiFi, and that’s where retail WiFi marketing comes in.

You’ve come to the right place if you run a retail business and aren’t already utilizing guest WiFi. We can help you take your WiFi game from zero to hero. It is one of the most useful things for your business and is low-cost to set up. You can collect customer data and feedback through retail WiFi and get demographic insights.

It’s time to shake up your strategy. And in this guide, we’ll give you all the best insights to get the ball rolling. Get ready to learn all about cost and benefits, and have some ideas to nab for immediate inspiration.

Here’s what you need to know about using WiFi marketing as a retail business.

What Is Retail WiFi Marketing?

Retail WiFi marketing is a way of using WiFi for marketing purposes in a retail business. This typically works by setting up a public network and protecting it with a captive portal.

Then, customers can use your network to stay connected while they shop. You can see why it would go down a treat and boost customer experience!

WiFi marketing is an umbrella term at heart, as anyone (and everyone) can use it. However, it is particularly popular and beneficial in the retail industry.

The reasons why you may want to set up WiFi marketing for retail may vary. You may use WiFi retail marketing to improve customer experience through feedback. You might also use it for proximity marketing or to collect contact details for future campaigns through captive portal systems. We’ll cover the possible benefits of this strategy in retail stores later.

However, know that using your internet to market your business is a popular strategy in retail and beyond.

As we said, this type of marketing usually involves just developing an existing public network. If you already have a staff internet network, you’ll just make this faster and stronger to cope with more users.

So many retail businesses already own WiFi, making this a tiny step to take in the grand scheme of things. You are building on existing foundations, a huge reason why so many people love internet marketing.

3 Ideas for Retail WiFi Marketing Solutions

Enough of all the definitions, though. Let’s talk about solutions. There are so many ways that you can utilize an internet network to gain success for your retail business.

In this section, we’ll cover the top three ideas for retail WiFi marketing solutions. You can pinch one or all of them — we don’t gate-keep good marketing tips here. Dig in and enjoy.

1. Use a Captive Portal

This is a huge one. Using a captive portal in your retail stores helps you collect phone numbers, feedback, email addresses, and demographics.

It also adds another layer of security with things like guest logs. A captive portal is an essential component of every robust Internet marketing solution.

A captive portal system works by temporarily blocking WiFi access when customers go to join. Instead of allowing immediate access, guest users have to fill out a form with details of their choice. You can ask for all sorts of details, which come in handy for building future marketing campaigns.

2. Analysis Software

Another potential retail WiFi solution is analysis software and user recognition. This helps you create social profiles and better understand customer movement and demographics. You can even get feedback about things like foot traffic.

A key part of retail businesses is understanding your target customer. And how better to do that than through analysis?

Look into user recognition and analysis software for your retail business and its internet. This software often syncs with a captive portal system as well.

3. In-Store Cafes

This is a slightly rogue WiFi marketing solution, as it has nothing to do with technology. Instead, take advantage of the fact that people want to sit down and enjoy your WiFi with additional services.

Certain retail stores, including supermarkets and clothing chains like Primark, now offer in-store cafes.

Did you know that 79% of consumers consider WiFi availability when choosing where to shop? People want to sit down and use WiFi, so let them do so, but also monetize the situation by selling them refreshments.

It’s a really clever way of approaching the question of investing in WiFi marketing. It will definitely attract more network users. You can even introduce things like loyalty cards.

Don’t get stuck brainstorming technological ways to maximize your internet. Get thinking about “real-world” marketing solutions as well.

3 Benefits of Retail WiFi Marketing Analytics

Let’s get back to the serious data stuff, though. As sweet as it is to think of marketing solutions that piggyback WiFi but involve in-person services, nothing beats analysis.

In short, the benefits of calculating WiFi analytics are incomparable.

Honestly, we can’t wait to run you through these top three benefits of retail WiFi marketing analytics. Check out what you stand to gain from investing in your retail business and its internet.

1. You Understand Customers Better

By analyzing your WiFi marketing results, you can better understand your customers. Retail is all about connecting with your target customers.

You can set up a captive portal with demographic data collection or even measure when people join.

WiFi marketing analytics are fantastic for getting that edge on understanding your customers better than competitors.

2. You Can Encourage Customer Loyalty

A huge benefit of marketing analysis is that it allows you to invest in customer loyalty. When you track customer behavior and patterns, you spot where people fall through the gaps. This is a great chance to invest in customer retention.

For instance, you could reach out via their volunteered details to offer an exclusive deal.

Having WiFi marketing analytics is like always keeping your eye on the ball. You can see where to invest in customer loyalty. With the details you collect, you can easily reach out to customers to create and recruit loyalty programs.

3. It’s Low-Cost

Marketing can be expensive. However, WiFi marketing analysis is a minimal financial investment. This means that it’s suitable for all sorts of retail businesses, big and small.

It’s also highly suitable to run alongside other campaign strategies, like email and SMS marketing. It is a great investment. This strategy can cost as little as $20 monthly on software to upgrade your existing WiFi to a marketing system.

From there, you immediately funnel valuable data like email addresses and demographic details into other marketing streams.

The Cost of WiFi Marketing in Retail Business

It is important to understand costs before embarking on a new marketing campaign. So, what is the cost of WiFi marketing in retail business?

We’d budget between $20 and $100 monthly, depending on which marketing software you choose. Some software goes even higher than that.

Here are the main things you’ll have to budget for when setting up WiFi marketing for your retail business:

• A network with an ISP if you don’t have one already.
• Any necessary extenders if your coverage is patchy or slow.
• WiFi marketing software, usually on a monthly subscription basis.
• Staff or you can set up all of the above in your own time.

Beambox: Finding the Best Software for Retail Marketing

You must find the best software for you and your business. With the right software, you can collect valuable data and grow through WiFi marketing. The right software will help you to branch out and complete other marketing campaigns.

For instance, neatly arrange collected email addresses and phone numbers so you can use them for email or SMS campaigns.

At Beambox, we can help you with exactly this. We offer all-in-one WiFi marketing software to help you rocket your business to new levels. You can personalize a captive portal system and make use of an engaging dashboard and databases.

Start your Beambox free trial today, and we’ll start your retail WiFi marketing journey together.

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