WI-FI
Are you switched on? The importance of Wi-Fi service cannot be underestimated, says Simon Vaughan, chief commercial officer at GlobalReach Technology.
Today’s consumers want to be connected where they are, with a similar quality of service to the one they’d receive at home. Our desire for public Wi-Fi when we’re eating and drinking is no different. Surveys show that a huge 61% of consumers seek out Wi-Fi when eating and drinking. Almost nine out of every 10 (87%) had used the internet at a restaurant or bar. And, in a survey of 400 small businesses, 60% said that customers spend more time and money when public Wi-Fi is available. Cafés were early adopters of public Wi-Fi, and today they are firmly established as hubs for work, relaxation and socialising. With the revenue benefit of additional footfall and loyalty from repeat customers, the quality of the guest Wi-Fi service should be as much a priority as the menu. On the other hand, a poor Wi-Fi experience is likely to drive patrons away, harming repeat business. Let’s look at the reasons why a great Wi-Fi experience is so important. POWER OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE Cafés are a destination for coffee and a connection. And regardless of how good your drinks are, the guest Wi-Fi service will also affect ratings. Besides the customer experience, cafés can make the Wi-Fi service work for them, to bring in more custom and sales.
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Quality can be maintained by working with a service provider that can help the venue monitor user numbers, devices connected, peaks and troughs in use, and in turn has the potential to manage bandwidth allocation and mitigate any drops in service (dependent on hardware support functionality). Using a Wi-Fi management platform, public services can be delivered to a chain of cafés, to centralise everything from service design to admin. They’re commonly used across a Wi-Fi estate to the benefit of the brand, allowing the owner to focus on running their café rather than technical issues. Here’s what cafés should consider. Branded service: If you want consumers to know that you’ve provided the service, brand your Wi-Fi captive portal to your venue. Most café Wi-Fi services are free, so you’ll want some kudos for delivering it. Portals tailored to each venue should allow store management to customise, adding special offers to encourage repeat visits. Learn from examples in other industry verticals where retailers have added loyalty incentives, links to their ESG initiatives and referral vouchers to support
future customer acquisition. Welldesigned portals enhance the user experience and reinforce the café’s brand identity – double win. Create a common user journey: Standardise the user journey to make sure that it aligns with your brand experience. Consider whether it should be automatic – via a simple ‘click-toconnect’ method – or if collecting consumer data is absolutely necessary. Making the login process as quick and easy as possible ensures that customers can effortlessly access the Wi-Fi service without frustration or technical help. We work with a major coffee shop brand that has made the experience as frictionless as possible, choosing not to ask for any details. The pay-off is a reputation for excellent guest Wi-Fi. If you’re a multi-store chain, there is also value in connecting the Wi-Fi