Wi-Fi as a marketing tool

[Silist]

Would any of you consider providing free wi-fi to your customers as a marketing tool to attract and retain customers?

[Duane]

I already have DSL in the store for the video feed, for $500 in equipment I now can offer free wi-fi for the students with their laptops. Now I just need to set it up.

Duane.

[petefritz]

who are your customers?
every mat has a personality, and customer base.

I doubt most mats need wi-fi to entice customers. Your customers come because you are close and offer them machines they need, a clean store, and has a/c. the rest is just fluff to make your competitors feel jealous

[Silist]

You are true. Except, you won't need to spend $500 for equipment. You should be able to get Wi-Fi up and running for no more than $350 if you want to authenticate your users. If you want the advantages of authenticating them, you could setup a wireless router for around $100.

[Silist]

That's true that every mat has a customer base. But, if your located near a university or professionals, it's a service that would keep them coming to your mat vs. the guy that's just down the road or a couple quarters cheaper per load. Also, you could attract customers that are a little farther away if they can be productive in your mat vs. the one accross the street from them.

[Duane]

Silist,

You are correct, I could have just put in a $50 wireless router and opened it up. However, with a number of apartments close by my store would soon become an ISP for several people. With proper equipment I can set up accounts and limit the access time, number of connections, broadband width, etc., with ease via their mac address.

And since I have two other businesses (next door) interested in broadband for their stores, I will be giving them each and ID for them to log on and charging them $15 each per month. In 18 months the revenue generated will have paid for the equipment.

I can also access the router from home through the net. So if someone from the apartment comes in and gets the current password from my LED sign, I can see that there is no one in the store (with a laptop) and I can suspend their log on from home.

My customer base is mostly college students and most have a laptop with a wi-fi card. After posting a notice on the bulletin board in the mat asking if anyone would like the ability to connect to the net via their own laptop, the response was very positive. And when my neighbors inquired about permanent accounts that would pay for the equipment and then for a good portion of the DSL expense, it was an easy decision.


Duane.

[thelaundrydoctor]

I agree, I have Wi-Fi in my store, I am using a cable connection not DSL so I have plenty of band with, I split of the comnnection with a router giving me an additional layer of protection,and am renting one of the router connections to a neibour business for $40.00 month. My real comment is I don't think it as a good marketing tool, I see it as a coutomer loyalty tool, I have been running it for six months now and have not seen any new business from it. Iam in a in a young profefhional 'hip" area of Minneapolis, If any area would demand this service my customers would.