As a retailer, it is critical to stay ahead of the competition. Competition from both brick-and-mortar merchants and internet retailers is severe. A strong retail business and high-quality products are insufficient; you require something else to bolster your marketing efforts. WiFi marketing is the solution, providing your retail companies with the resources necessary to comprehend your clients, provide them with an engaging real-world experience, and foster genuine loyalty. Finally, WiFi marketing has the potential to boost your retail business significantly, and we’ll demonstrate how.
How Does WiFi Marketing Work?
When a retailer offers free WiFi in exchange for a customer’s contact information, this is referred to as WiFi marketing. Retailers then utilize this contact information to send marketing campaigns to these customers, such as email newsletters and SMS (text) messaging.
With WiFi marketing, clients must first complete a registration form or visit a landing page before they can begin browsing the web on your store’s WiFi network. They will be able to access your store’s WiFi once they supply the contact information you want and agree to any additional terms and conditions.
You can decide which webpage loads first on a customer’s device immediately after connecting successfully. For instance, you can direct anyone connecting to your free WiFi to your website. Additionally, it is typical to drive users to a dedicated webpage that has links to your website, social media accounts, or even a unique offer.
WiFi Marketing Provides Accurate, Real-Time Data on Your Customers
When it comes to acquiring personal data, online retailers have it easy. Customers’ progress and progress through the sales process can be tracked beginning with their first interaction with an online store.
However, the fantastic news is that WiFi marketing provides this same advantage to in-store shops.
When customers connect to your in-store WiFi, they contribute valuable information about themselves, including their age, social demographics, and email address. This data alone is valuable, as it provides you with the tools necessary to start growing an email list. However, the data obtained when users log in and utilize your store’s WiFi is even better. This may include utilizing GPS and beacon technology, which enables you to track dwell periods and hotspots in your store, as well as provide location-specific messaging to clients exploring specific departments or products in real-time.
For your clients:
It adds value. Have you ever experienced a store where cell phone reception was non-existent? In-store WiFi enables customers to stay connected when they might not do so otherwise. Additionally, it enables them to conserve data.
They can maintain contact with you. Their interaction with you does not end when they leave your store using WiFi marketing. By gathering their contact information, you can develop your relationship by reaching out to them with customized offers, rewards, and even event invitations.
For retail Business establishments:
Your consumers will stay more comfortable and spend more money with you. One of the primary benefits of providing free WiFi is that customers are more likely to stay. According to a 2015 poll, over 60% of businesses reported that customers spend more time in-store when they offer free WiFi. Additionally, they reported that 50% of clients spend money. Additionally, you can impose time limits, requiring users to provide extra information or follow you on social media to avail your free WiFi.
It provides you with an abundance of customer data: WiFi marketing provides you with customer email addresses and phone numbers at its most fundamental level. However, it can potentially reveal a great deal more. You can determine when consumers visited your store, how frequently they visited, and whether they visited multiple locations. Additionally, more complex software may enable you to track their foot activity and deliver push notifications with special offers based on their location in your business.
You can develop more meaningful relationships with your customers. WiFi marketing enables you to stay connected with clients long after leaving your location. Additionally, the data you’ve gathered enables you to send more effective marketing campaigns, which benefits your bottom line.
Six Ways WiFi Marketing Can Help to Scale Up Retail Business
1. Create a Customer Friendly Environment
From social media to shopping, smartphones have become an integral part of our everyday lives, and we rely on WiFi to make them as convenient as possible. Resultingly, clients are more likely to patronize establishments that provide free WiFi. On that premise alone, it’s easy to understand why your company should provide WiFi to clients, but there is another critical factor as well.
Reliable WiFi establishes your retail store as a destination worth returning to, providing significant value to your clients every time they come. Even better, providing WiFi to your consumers encourages them to check in and tag your establishment, thereby spreading the word about your business across their social networks.
Configure your WiFi network: You’ll need an internet plan, a functioning router, and a modem. Ascertain that the WiFi network you intend to use for WiFi marketing is public rather than private.
Purchase WiFi marketing software: WiFi marketing software lets you collect client contact information when they login to your network. Before proceeding to the next steps described here, you’ll need to enable software and verify it functions properly.
Promote your free WiFi: Once you’ve established your network and registration page, inform your clients. Put up prominent signs identifying your WiFi network in high-traffic areas of your store and promote it on your social media channels.
Utilize loyalty tools to create targeted marketing campaigns: After amassing some client data, leverage commitment software to scale your business by making targeted SMS text or email marketing campaigns. You may even build a different category in your email marketing platform for customers that use WiFi marketing, as you already know they’ve visited your store at some time. Sending marketing initiatives will assist you in growing your business by cultivating a more invested and engaged audience.
2. Utilize WiFi Marketing to Compete With Online Retailers
How many times have you visited a physical store just to read an online evaluation of a product and then left the store to purchase it online?
The wonderful thing regarding WiFi marketing is that you can leverage this frequently irritating pattern. When combined with beacon technology and location tracking, WiFi marketing is a goldmine for in-store sales.
What is the critical factor? Sending customers relevant and real-time offers Encourage them to read internet reviews before making a buy, but also make it simple for them to make a transaction with you right then and there. WiFi marketing enables you to send a real-time offer or an in-store-only discount on the exact item the consumer is searching up online right then and there, increasing the likelihood of closing the transaction.
3. Try To Get Social & Other Online Reviews
Every firm understands the value of evaluations in terms of fostering growth. They’re critical for increasing brand awareness, generating new leads, and establishing the critical social proof that convinces buyers to visit you in the first place.
WiFi marketing enables you to solicit consumer feedback easily. Customers can be contacted quickly via email or SMS to provide feedback on their in-store experience, either while still in the store or soon after purchase. It’s also simple to automate follow-up by soliciting product reviews or asking customers to share their experiences on social media.
4. Send Marketing Messages and Emails To Engage Your Customers
No customer wants to be bombarded with generic marketing messages. Customers increasingly expect a high degree of involvement from businesses, and the ability to create a customized marketing experience for each customer makes your marketing more relevant and effective.
WiFi marketing enables you to efficiently leverage (and develop) user data on purchase history, demographics, customer spending, and customer behaviors to send targeted and personalized messaging to every consumer. This enables you to target customers with enticing upsells, relevant loyalty offers, and discounts they’re interested in, significantly increasing their effectiveness.
5. Use WiFi Marketing To Guide Your Customers through Sales Funnels
WiFi marketing is an excellent way to expand your brand’s reach. Just as restaurants leverage internet delivery apps to expand their venues, retail business establishments can leverage a combination of in-store and online applications or purchases to boost their market share.
WiFi marketing makes it simple to push clients to new platforms, from social networking apps to online commerce. When a consumer checks in, you can offer new apps or use email or SMS data to conduct targeted marketing communications that bring customers to your online store, thereby increasing online sales.
Maintaining a new and competitive online retail business is critical, so carefully explore tactics to broaden your market reach.
6. Keep Tracking Your RetailROI WiFi marketing
Social media check-ins, WiFi log-ins, and WiFi location monitoring provide dependable methods for measuring customer traffic in your brick-and-mortar retail store. This enables you to more precisely evaluate client acquisition costs, sales conversion rates, and expenditure per customer, resulting in accurate and trustworthy ROI estimates.
Consequently, you’ll know precisely what works and what doesn’t in your store, from social media marketing to storefront displays. WiFi marketing significantly improves tracking, reporting, and implementation—great news for your marketing dollars.
The Essentials of In-Store WiFi Configurations
Using a reputable supplier for your in-store WiFi is critical for maintaining the security of your customers’ data, instilling confidence in your consumers, and maintaining your network compliant and operational. Choose a reputable ISP and a high-speed package with plenty of bandwidth—you want customers to have faith in your WiFi. To ensure the security of your business’s WiFi, create a public wireless network for clients, giving them the trust to deliver you with their personal information.
Additionally, utilizing a ‘Captive Portal’ method is suggested. This requires a login from your consumer, which allows you to collect their information while also identifying every user on the network.
How to Increase Customer Use of WiFi
To ensure that WiFi marketing benefits your retail business, you must encourage people to use it. Investing in a reputable provider is critical since it instills confidence in your customers’ network, increasing their willingness to log on and share their data.
Ensure that you market your free WiFi frequently and consistently at crucial spots throughout your store, such as the entrance and the checkout points. Additionally, you may highlight and promote your store’s WiFi connectivity as a significant selling point on social media and any advertisements you run. Customers will look for it, so make it simple for them.
Additionally, you can run promotions to provide a 10% discount to any customer that logs into your in-store WiFi. Collecting client data is critical for business growth, so take the time to collect those logins.
Final Thoughts
That is all. WiFi marketing should be a critical part of every retailer’s growth plan. When combined with excellent customer data to create an engaging experience for your customer, WiFi has the potential to drive growth and build a loyal customer base.
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