Wifi has become an expected commodity to many business places. Coffee shops and cafes are notorious for offering these hot spots, but nowadays there are operations in almost every business category offering the luxury. In fact, wifi helps businesses connect with their customers, attract customers and even increase sales.
Think about it: you are a small automotive repair shop. When you offer free wifi, your customers sit on your internet connection for a half hour while they get their oil changed. This is your opportunity to capture your captive audience. Maybe it is a branded landing page. Maybe you can use this to upset services – like a special deal to conduct a tune up after the oil change for an extra fee. Not every auto shop around offers wifi, so clients continue to come your way to use your wifi while work is performed on their vehicle. This is customer retention.
You may find that as a small business owner, that you would like to offer this commodity for your clients. Before you do, there are a few things that you should know.
#1. There are risks. You will need to consider cyber security. If you need advice on cyber security coverage, please give Miller-Schuring Agency a call so that we can confirm your proper coverage. You should also draft an agreement that customers must accept before accessing your network. This helps limit your legal risk should they break the law or act inappropriately on your connection.
#2. There are technology factors to consider. The connection should be fast enough to keep your customers engaged. If the connection is too weak to link to or too slow to populate customers will be frustrated. If the connection isn’t good, consider no connection at all for your customers.
#3. Keep it simple. You will want a separate network and a simple password to access it. This will be your guest network. If your internet demand increases significantly, you may need to upgrade your service.
