WiFi Marketing: From Wireless to Real and Rewarding Connections

Going wireless is now the norm, and not the exception. For businesses who want to keep up with the latest trends in marketing, WiFi marketing is an innovative solution with amazing benefits that go both ways. Beyond simply attracting more customers by providing free guest access to WiFi, your business WiFi hotspot can be used to enhance customer experience, build customer loyalty, and grow your customer base through WiFi-based interactions.

WiFi Marketing Basics

WiFi marketing, at its core, is simply business advertising through your WiFi hotspot. It’s the latest innovation in smart marketing that leverages the full potential of localized wireless internet connections.

With guest WiFi access, an establishment’s guests can stay connected with family, friends, or work through free internet access; this access also becomes a crucial point of contact between the guests and the business in terms of targeted information exchange. Through an establishment’s WiFi hotspot and with the help of a WiFi marketing software, the business can harness valuable customer data and insights, and use these to communicate targeted content directly to the devices of visiting customers.

How does WiFi marketing work?

With a WiFi marketing software, a business can customize their WiFi login page (or captive portal) so that customers must first interact with the page, view content, or provide contact information before they can log into the guest WiFi network.

This customized WiFi login page presents plenty of opportunities for the business to advertise products or services, show guests special promos or offers via a splash page, ask guests to engage with the business via social media, or even have them complete a survey or a form that requires an email address. Only after a guest has browsed the page content or completed a “task” will they be able to continue with the guest WiFi login process.

Another way to use WiFi marketing is by limiting the sites, apps, and content that guest WiFi users can access, i.e., only your online store and mobile app. This option has the obvious downside of turning away customers who may want to be able to surf the web as they normally would; but it also provides a better opportunity for a business to drive customers towards targeted content, such as promotions.

Guest WiFi marketing benefits for both businesses and customers

Guest WiFi marketing is a win-win marketing solution for everyone — your guests get free WiFi and you get customer data and more. A basic wireless connection can transform a business-customer relationship into something that’s mutually rewarding.

Why should you offer free WiFi to your customers?

Any business worth its salt, particularly brick-and-mortar ones, must evolve with the changing times — and in today’s digital age, this means going digital and wireless. Nearly everybody wants to stay connected to the internet wherever they go, and getting free access to an establishment’s WiFi hotspot is a perk that all customers have come to expect. You can help your guests find you easily by adding your business to Google Maps, but they will most likely change their mind and patronize another establishment if you don’t have free WiFi.

Many customers value free WiFi access so much that they don’t mind exchanging contact information for it, viewing targeted content, or engaging with the business’s website in some other way. So in addition to attracting more customers to your store, guest WiFi access will also encourage them to stay longer and you can use your WiFi as a marketing platform.

Guest WiFi marketing benefits for the customer

Guest WiFi marketing is not just about what an establishment can get from customers in exchange for free WiFi access; here are some of the ways that customers can also benefit from it.

• They can enjoy faster internet than what they get from their service provider.
• They can save on data usage, so they don’t have to worry about data caps, limits, and costly data top-ups.
• They have a more enjoyable experience and stay longer at an establishment, according to more than 60% of businesses with free WiFi which reported longer customer visits.
• They can enjoy privileged access to special offers and promos.

Guest WiFi marketing benefits for the business

Providing guest WiFi can be an investment that delivers substantial returns to a business. Here are the benefits of guest WiFi marketing for a business establishment.

• Free WiFi increases in-store visits and sales.
• Guest WiFi marketing helps you understand your customers better through a wealth of customer data, such as key customer demographics and shopping behaviors. You can use your insights to create enhanced customer profiles. Foot traffic data (how customers navigate your store, where they spend the most time, where the highest conversions occur, for example) can help you redesign your store layout and visual merchandising and make them more effective.
• You can get actionable data to help you improve your targeted marketing strategies on your social media pages, website, Google search, etc.
• You can passively and effortlessly grow your mailing list.
• You can easily promote a product, service, campaign, or event, among others through a customized message on your splash page, targeted ads, email, etc.
• A WiFi marketing portal allows to completely control guest internet access. You can restrict certain websites, control download speeds, or limit the number of devices that can connect to your WiFi.

White label social WiFi marketing

White label social WiFi marketing lets you fully brand and customize your WiFi marketing platform. You can use your logo, custom domain, and completely configure the entirety of the client-and-guest experience as you see fit. With a fully custom-branded WiFi marketing platform, you can take advantage of the following:

• A WiFi marketing solution that’s branded.
• Use your own domain for your captive portal.
• Collect and analyze actionable insights in real time so you can optimize your WiFi marketing campaigns.
• Manage your own WiFi advertising network, from running ads to CTR tracking.
• Conveniently set up, manage, and track your marketing campaigns anywhere in the world.
• Update your existing marketing database automatically with user and demographic data of guests connecting to your guest WiFi and build and expand your marketing list.
• Tap into additional communication channels to engage with your guests, such as via SMS, email, social media, ads, and many more.
• Easily generate and access guest data.
• Increase guest engagement, enhance guest experience, and build customer loyalty.
• Invite guests to engage with you on social media so you can boost your social media presence.
• Increase foot traffic, customer visit times, and sales.
• Manage existing coupon and loyalty promos in real-time.
• Automatically initiate your Messenger and WhatsApp chatbots.
• Get instant feedback from guests.
• Integrate directly with online review platforms.

How to get your customers to use your WiFi

Sometimes, customers don’t even bother scanning an area or an establishment for guest WiFi access. Or potential customers can easily walk past your store because they’re unaware of the WiFi perks you offer. To maximize the potential of your WiFi marketing, you need to get your customers to use your WiFi.

Make sure people know you offer guest WiFi access with in-store signage showing the universal WiFi network icon. Encourage everybody to connect to your WiFi by incentivizing said connection, i.e., offer a discount or a free gift to guests who use your WiFi network.

If you’re just launching your WiFi marketing platform, create an event around it. Generate buzz on your social media pages and in your community. This will not only increase foot traffic but also effectively let your community know that you have embraced wireless technology and that you always prioritize the needs of your customers.

WiFi marketing solutions

Sure, you can just slap a sign on the wall that says “Free WiFi ‘’ and displays a QR code or print your WiFi password on receipts to limit access to paying guests and be done with it. Or you can leverage your guest WiFi advantage further by utilizing it as a marketing platform. With a WiFi marketing platform, you’ll have opted-in customers, the ability to harness customer data and insights with their consent, a non-intrusive means of delivering marketing content directly to their devices, and so much more. For startups that are still on the planning stage and still crafting their business plan, make sure to add WiFi marketing to your overall marketing strategy.

A WiFi marketing solution that best suits your and your customers’ needs require a partnership with a company that can deliver your tailored solution. Choose a fully customizable guest WiFi system, such as Beambox, to enhance your guests’ WiFi experience the way you want.

Connect, capture, and keep more customers with Beambox, an all-in-one WiFi marketing platform. Delight your customers with WiFi that remembers and welcomes them each time they visit; build a loyal following on your social media via a customized captive portal login; understand the people who appreciate your business with smart marketing tools integrated into your captive portal; and establish a perfect online reputation with customer reviews.

Beambox has an existing client base of over 3,000 venues, and our customizable WiFi marketing solutions have been used in impressive and rewarding ways. You can drive sales with time-sensitive deals and promos, boost social engagement through Instagram or Facebook contests, and climb up on online ranking platforms through real-time customer reviews.

Beambox is an all-in-one WiFi solution that accomplishes all of the above and more. Accelerate your business growth — start your Beambox free trial today!

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