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For operators, the opportunities of in-store wifi marketing
Today, being able to connect to an efficient wifi network has become an absolute necessity for a growing number of “mobile users”. This is particularly the case inside buildings, or in areas with a very large public, because users then have a speed that they often find insufficient with 3G/4G. Undoubtedly, we live in a society that has made connectivity one of its cornerstones. Indeed, an Internet access is a kind of sesame to stay in touch with the greatest interactions, opinions and information that are discussed on the Web, including the famous social media.
The services offered by UCOPIA to operators / service providers:
- Simultaneous management of several clients through a single server
- Implementation of a so-called “flexible” architecture, and therefore adaptable according to customer requirements, with centralised management or private cloud
- Simple and fast authentication
- A digital environment open to customisation, via ergonomic and efficient tools
- Collection of relevant data to better define the buyer persona and the interests of customers / prospects
- And finally, a marketing and monetisation tool for the Wi-Fi connection
“Thanks to UCOPIA, TU/E not only controls its network but is also able to measure usage and facilitate the work of the authorities in the event of an inspection.
Huub de Hessele
Technical University of Eindhoven
The Wi-Fi network: from a cost centre …
For Wi-Fi operators, this technology is of course familiar, even if it is no doubt a good idea to remind their customers from time to time that a quality “Wi-Fi installation” requires real know-how. Moreover, for these same operators, a wifi installation in a shop – or in an event setting, for that matter – represents a significant cost. At the same time, the end users of the service are waiting for a free, secure and efficient “wifi hotspot”.
This situation applies regardless of the sector or market under consideration, and it puts service providers at a disadvantage, requiring the emergence of a new business model for them. Fortunately, there is a solution, and it involves exploiting one of the cornerstones of any good 2.0 marketing strategy, namely the use of Wi-Fi as a digital marketing element.
… to a monetisable service with high added value
Operators are obviously not dealing with a single type of customer, and the diversity of their customers leads to equally varied expectations. It is therefore necessary to structure a multiple offer, but on the basis of a common solution, namely the provision of a wifi capable of supporting more than 100,000 users in simultaneous connections, and capable of coping with the most “severe” connection peaks. This is an essential criterion, as the volume of data exchanged has grown exponentially in recent years.
In any case, by enabling their customers – within a sales network, for example – to have access to such state-of-the-art Wi-Fi, specialist operators are able to offer them additional – and particularly profitable – services linked to advertising Wi-Fi, as well as to the exploitation of Big Data from “Wi-Fi analytics”.
It should be noted that by associating Wi-Fi and advertising, we are referring to the formidable – but too often under-exploited – tool that the network authentication page represents. Indeed, it is a captive portal, which can also automatically redirect to a page chosen by the company, such as a Facebook page as part of a “social wifi” strategy.
The contributions of a specialist in the sector, in terms of the effectiveness of the tools …
Since 2002, UCOPIA has built an enviable reputation as an expert in Wi-Fi marketing, a key element of inbound marketing, and to date, more than 12,000 solutions have been deployed by its teams around the world. Interestingly, many of these solutions have also been implemented as a result of mutually beneficial collaboration with Wi-Fi operators and service providers.
In concrete terms, the main advantage of a specialist such as UCOPIA lies in its perfect knowledge of all the ins and outs of its field of activity, with a clear focus on “wifi sales”, as well as on building customer loyalty through this tool. UCOPIA’s teams have all the necessary skills to operate a wifi marketing terminal so that, for example, a wifi shop can maximise the number of customers, increase the average basket, make these consumers come back and better understand their needs and expectations.
… but also network security and compliance with the legal framework
Of course, when a Wi-Fi system offers a satisfactory connection, it will appear attractive to users, and they will then be more willing to share some of their personal data. Similarly, it may be tempting to promote a new item at the point of sale through this tool, whether through the name of the network or the authentication and redirection pages.
However, while a specialist such as UCOPIA can indeed offer operators’ customers full control over their Wi-Fi network, which they can manage as they wish, its role is also to know how to secure the said network, and to operate in strict compliance with current legislation.
In fact, drawing on nearly 20 years of expertise in Wi-Fi connectivity, UCOPIA’s security experts know perfectly well how to set up the rights of each user profile, and the system as a whole, so as to avoid any form of piracy, while protecting the digital privacy of consumers – for a retailer – or of participants – at an event. In addition, UCOPIA is able to support Wi-Fi operators so that their actions comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In conclusion, operators / service providers naturally require specific developments in order to offer their customers relevant and sufficiently personalised solutions. This is the ambition of a sector expert such as UCOPIA, which benefits from know-how ranging from analytics to customer engagement methods via proximity marketing.
