Our culture is defined by connectivity. Since the advent of the Internet over the past 25 years, the way that shops and restaurants attract and sustain customers has changed. In a sense, it’s similar to the old-fashioned word-of-mouth approach. However, there are many more words, many more mouths, and an infinite number of ears.
Below, we will explore how social media affects your business; then we’ll conclude with why WiFi is a MUST in your store or restaurant. You can also learn more by visiting MyLocalWiFi.com.
Let’s Look at the Growth of Social Media
Social Media provides a way for customers to interact with businesses in real-time. Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn and other social media outlets allow for instantaneous connections, reviews, and conversations about places and subjects of interest. Social Media has been seen by some as the biggest shift in culture since the Industrial Revolution.
Did you know as of 2014, 93% of marketers use social media for business; 70% of marketers have used Facebook to successfully gain new customers? YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Web, where over 2.5 billion videos are uploaded every MONTH.
Keep in mind that it’s not just young people who are texting and sharing that are highly involved on social media. Increasingly, people over the age of 50 are finding the beauty of what social media can mean to them and their children and grandchildren.
Social media is here to stay. With that said, if you own a business and have not yet created an online presence that includes the use of Social Media, now is the time. Everywhere you look people are on their smartphones and tablets, gathering information that they love to share with everyone they know. If you want to be successful in business today, you must have a Social Media presence. By promoting your business on social media, there are a ton of ways to involve and influence those who will be visiting your pages regularly. Make use of special offers and online sales exclusive to your “Facebook friends” for instance; freebies or giveaways are a great way to get you noticed quickly. With a well-thought out marketing plan, it will become easy for you to always give your customers a reason to return with unique calls-to-action.
If a customer has an unsatisfactory experience, Social Media can provide you with the tools to make things right. Show them that you value their patronage, and provide a discount or free service to make up for a disappointing experience. Turn the gripe into authentic appreciation, and at the same time get valuable feedback about what your business is doing right and wrong.
WiFi Can Help You to Exceed Your Customers’ Expectations
As a business owner, you can now connect and attract new customers like you never were able to before. Any store, restaurant, or cafe can benefit from connectivity.
By having free WiFi in your place of business, you have just given your customers another great reason to be there. Having WiFi in your shop allows for your customers to get reviews on items they may be interested in purchasing, and even do some comparative shopping to discover the best deal. You may think that this access to information would drive business away, but the truth is that they will be inside your shop, they will see what items you have available that they can purchase immediately, and they will be inclined to shop. It’s always better to see something you want and can take home that instant, especially when you see that ordering it on-line is the same price and you’d have to wait a week for it to arrive at your home.
Have you ever been at a restaurant and wanted to quickly access information – maybe just look up a piece of trivia that you happen to be discussing with your dinner companion? WiFi makes this possible. People also like to share photos with their friends, and having WiFi makes it quick and easy to pull up photos and show them to others.
More and more, having access to WiFi is something everyone has become accustomed to expecting. WiFi is available in many public places already, and on private and public transportation, so why not incorporate it into your business, too?
Use WiFi to Turn Your Customers Into Loyal Followers
Give your customers a push when offering them free WiFi in your place of business. Offer them your free password for “liking” you on Facebook or following you on Twitter, etc. It might seem like something you’d rather pass on because it will not work, but the beauty of the whole thing is that it does work. People look at it as you giving them a free service; and they’ll be back for more.
Let your customers know that you are on TripAdvisor or Yelp, and ask them to leave a review then and there! When people have had an exceptional experience, they will want to let others know. When they thank you for your service, your customer support, your fine cuisine, or your attention to detail, let them know that you’d be delighted if they could post a review!
By offering free WiFi you can also ask people to fill out a simple form with their name and email address on it. Email marketing is just another way to get your business to the next level by having customers sign on for special offers or a weekly newsletter from you. Again, it’s all about the interaction, the connectivity that was never possible before. Social media has changed everything.
Provide WiFi and Be THE Discerning Place to Go
Branding used to mean having the best quality of items and being competitive in your pricing. But, with the rise of social media, all that has changed. You are letting people know that giving them free WiFi is as basic a thing as providing them with all of the other amenities that just go along with your particular business.
Do competitor’s offer free WiFi? Because if they do and you don’t, you know where your customers will be heading, no matter how nice of a place you have. Research has found that in a business where there is no WiFi provided, one in ten people will actually leave.
We live in an age of wireless wonders called smartphones and tablets, Macbooks, and Apple watches. Nobody ever uses a phone booth anymore. By offering free WiFi you have just stepped your business out ahead of your competition. There are people who will settle for nothing less than total connectivity all of the time. Don’t let them down.
Remember being active on social media and having WiFi in your place of business is all about making connections. Keep your customers happy and they’ll thank you for it, tweet about it, post a review, and share a status update. Speak to one of the WiFi Marketing experts at MyLocalWiFi.com to learn more.
