Using Your Wifi to Attract Customers, but Not in the Way You Think

Are you swayed by the lure of free WiFi? Would you choose a coffee based on the availability of WiFi? Perhaps you prefer to shop at a Mall that offers free WiFi so you can check online for deals, or post a photo of an awesome part of the floor on Instagram.

Sometimes the offer of free WiFi is enough to help us choose one business over the other. You will often see a sign on the door that showcases the generous gift of internet.

Why not turn your WiFi signal into a location based marketing tool?

Even if your business does not offer WiFi to it’s clients and customers you still use it to attract business. Most businesses will have some kind of WiFi whether it is available to customers, or if it is for employees only. Whether it is locked down or open to the public your business can take advantage of this technique.

When someone is out and about, and needs to connect to the internet they will check for a hotspot so they can save on their data plan bandwidth. Often people will have their smartphone set to automatically display nearby hotspots. When this happens people are presented with a number of hotspots with odd names.

The name of your Network should be a call to action.

Imagine a person is in on vacation and needs to choose between 2 restaurants for dinner. They grab their smartphone and head to Yelp to find a few reviews to help them decide. They pick up their phone and see some suggestions for hotspots to connect to. The hotspots all have the standard nonsense names  except one that is called: “BBQ Pit – Burger Special.”

Something simple like naming your WiFi network with a special offer or an invitation could be the deciding factor of whether someone decides to use your product or service over a competitor.

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1 thought on “Using Your Wifi to Attract Customers, but Not in the Way You Think”

  1. Now that is some out of the box thinking. It had never occurred to me to use wifi as a marketing tactic. Although you are quite right is suggesting that people choose cafes based on wifi availability. That is a must for me as I’m often there to work. As such I’ve spent 100’s of dollars at the Cafe formerly known as Mirage on Goldstream (I still don’t know the new name).

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