Guest WiFi is a customer data acquisition tool
In today digital world, businesses rely on multiple touchpoints to engage their customers and to collect their data too: web site, e-commerce, social networks, mobile app, POS, kiosks. Each acquisition touchpoint is designed in the overall brand strategy around customer data, to ensure consistency and simplify data unification.
However, customer data acquisition doesn't just happen. Customers don't give up their data for anything neither they spend time filling forms just for fun. You need to give something back, the customer needs to see a clear benefit in sharing data with a business, such as receiving discounts, prompt information about programs, or to unlock better experiences.
All brands invest money to collect customer data. We browsed the website of more than 50 retail brands and took a screenshot of their home page. On each these website, you'll get a notification that invites you to leave the email or fill a form in exchange for a promotion (discount on the first purchase, free delivery, etc..). In this collection, you can see a list of home pages of retail brands eager to collect customer's email in change for a discount or promotion.
Guest WiFi is a customer data collection tool as all the others but specialized and perfect to collect data of in-store customers. Business needs to proactively bring in-store customer to register in the guest WiFi, by taking some actions.
Let them know there is guest WiFI
First of all, you should let your customers know that a free guest wifi service is available. The basic minimum initiative is to install signage around the location, at the door and inside, to inform customers.
Basic signage includes:
- stickers to the windows of the store
- messages on digital signage screens
- totems
Educate store associates
Train your store associates, explaining to them how the guest WiFi onboarding works and how to proactively inform and explain the customers to join the wifi. Everyone walks around looking to heir phone today, and the customers would appreciate a simple hint "you know, there is free wifi here, and you also get this and that if you join it".
Incentivize customer with promotions
you need to give a reason to your customer to connect to the guest WiFi, and that reason is less and less related to getting faster and cheaper internet access.
You need to position the guest WiFi as a digital touchpoint in the physical store to provide the customer with a connected experience.
The most common techniques to engage a user in and experience are providing him enough benefits to overcome the inertia and justify the effort of performing the action. Exactly as you may be doing already in other channels, you should offer discounts and offers to your customers to sign-up on guest WiFi.
You also need to give your customers a compelling reason to collect their data and opt-in. The brand trustability is a key factor but it may not be enough to convince them, a promotion it is much more effective.
For example, you could create a discount program on a purchase by delivering a discount code when the customer signs up on the guest WiFi.
The promotion should be sponsored with signage inside the store and confirmed visually to the user when he connects to the guest WiFi. For example, you can create a nice confirmation page and publish it using the Advertising tool in the Login Attempt trigger.
Once the user completes the sign-up, you can send him an email with the promotion using the Triggered Campaigns tool.