The Internet is now a necessity, not just a convenience.
In December 2003, United Nations adopted the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Declaration of Principles which among other things, reaffirmed the importance of freely disseminating information in order to maintain and strengthen human rights for many people around the world. This declaration includes freely accessing the Internet for business and for personal information.
Thus, free Wi-Fi is becoming the norm.
For the most part, free Wi-Fi allows people to chat with each other on the spot. For businesses, however, it is an excellent way to make customers more loyal to a brand and in some industries and sectors, users even expect free Wi-Fi. Free WiFi is offered by different countries, sectors, and industries around the world and it has been shown that it is beneficial to both the customers and the businesses that offer it.
Free WiFi wasn’t as popular as it is now because a few years ago, having the Internet alone was an expensive thing and it was tricky to install it and along with all of this, the good performance and security that we get today wasn’t guaranteed back then.
Due to these economic and security reasons, companies avoided providing free Internet to their customers but as online penetration increased and the Internet became cheaper, secure, and more affordable, businesses and countries all over the world started to it free to their customers.
From a totally business perspective, the benefits of offering free WiFi to customers are numerous. Brand association and building, opportunities for personalization and customer retention are a but a few.
Customers love free Wi-Fi. The first benefit of offering free WiFi to customers for businesses is that customers love the benefit and they prefer places or services where they can get free access to the Internet.
Let’s take the example of buses. Most passengers check their social profiles on buses while they are going to work or elsewhere. A bus service that offers free WiFi without the need for configuration through 192.168.0.1 can attract customers and customers would prefer that bus service over other bus services since they won’t have to pay for anything.
Everyone loves free Internet and when companies and businesses offer it, people stick with that business and prefer it over others.
A great way to promote your business. Offering unburdened Wi-Fi to customers is a great way to promote your business. When a business offers free online connections to its customers then it can promote its business through those Internet users. One of the major challenges businesses face in this digital age is getting genuine and good user reviews from customers. Online reviews means a lot because most users do a quick search and read comments before they go out to buy anything.
By offering free Internet to customers, businesses are indirectly providing a way for customers to read and discern or make and propagate reviews. By facilitating Internet access companies can also redirect users through a Wi-Fi portal to Google Reviews or other reviews websites and ask them to rate services. Redirecting users can be done through the default gateway address of web routers 192.168.1.1.
Offering free Wi-Fi to customers, also promotes the business. A customer’s words mean a lot and it is up to the company to make their processes work for the benefit of customers so that they can get good reviews which in turn will help convince other consumers to buy their products/services.
Helps retain customers. Another benefit of free WiFi is that it encourages customers and consumers to stay a bit longer than usual, which means that they will more likely buy your products/services. For instance, if a restaurant offers free Wi-Fi to customers then the customers are going to stay there for a longer period and during their stay, they will order more things and spend more than they normally would have.
Free Wi-Fi helps to retain customers because if customers get a good experience during their first visit then they will most likely come back again. It helps to gain the loyalty of customers and every business out there wants to have a loyal customer base.
Increased customer satisfaction. If you offer free, high-quality internet to your customers then customer satisfaction will increase along with loyalty. One of the things that customers nowadays assess is whether they are able to get free, high-speed internet or not. Customer satisfaction increases if they are able to get free, high-speed internet with good connectivity.
For hotels and restaurants, this is the major assessment point for customers along with other things like free parking. Making free Wi-Fi available will result in more satisfaction from customers with the business and they are more likely to spread the word about the offerings a company has in terms of products and services.
Helps to increase sales. Last but not least, offering free WiFi helps to sell more. It is one of the best ways to attract customers and increase sales. Offering the internet in this age is a very strategic move because for many consumers the internet has become a basic necessity and they want to access it everywhere they go. Businesses that are aware of the importance of free WiFi are able to sell better than their competitors who are unaware of the potential of free WiFi.
Offering a fast, stable and more importantly secure Internet connection for free, does not only sell better but also develops branding, manages a business’ reputation and promotes the brand.
