The in-store WiFi portal to optimise the customer experience

The possible uses and benefits of a wifi hotspot

• create a unique in-store experience
• reconciling on and off-line paths
• provide a direct communication channel
• offer dedicated services to each customer
• find new value niches

For physical shops, it is crucial to understand that the wifi network is used in different ways by their customers and prospects. For example, in addition to price comparisons, consumers are also looking for critical reviews – both positive and negative – of the products and/or services offered. Wifi accesses also involve discovering the respective websites of the points of contact and sales where the Internet users are located, as well as looking for special offers and discount coupons that can be used in the shop. Of course, the list of these uses is not exhaustive, and it may evolve as new technologies are deployed, such as augmented reality, to give just one example.

In their experience, many specialists in NICT (New Information and Communication Technologies), including the company UCOPIA, have noted that the installation of wifi in a shop quickly translates into a return in hard cash for the store. However, it was necessary for the deployment of the said wifi to take place within the framework of an overall marketing strategy, including both the CRM and the e-commerce site, and for consumers’ expectations to be met with responses that were as personalised as possible.

Under these conditions, a “wifi installation” is able not only to direct customers and prospects to certain areas of the shop, but also to increase the average basket, maximise the chances of building loyalty, and even generate revenue through advertising on the authentication and redirection pages.

Wi-Fi marketing, a key lever

Within the framework of personalisation and improvement of the user/customer experience – it being understood that it is possible to distinguish between UX (User eXperience) and CX (Customer eXperience), but that we will be content to group them together as CUX within the framework of this article – it is more crucial than ever to know one’s buyer persona well. Proximity marketing via wifi has an important role to play in this respect.

In concrete terms, this means first of all using the authentication page as a “captive portal”, where the user can choose either to enter a login and password or to use a social network to connect more easily and quickly. In the first case, the page in question can be very useful in conveying one (or more) commercial message(s), while the “social media” component obviously opens up access to an impressive amount of key information about its current and potential customers. Let’s not forget that the name of the network itself can be a tool, mentioning a promotional offer or a competitive advantage, etc.

In addition, the customer experience can also be enhanced on the redirect page, with, for example, the highlighting of a customer service department that is particularly attentive to its users, or “bonuses” to reward loyalty, and not forgetting links to other “targeted” pages.

Calling on UCOPIA to optimise the customer experience

In the space of a decade, communication channels have multiplied, on the one hand, and on the other, they have undergone significant changes, sometimes imposing on companies profound changes in their respective ways of dealing with the new consumers of the 21st century.

With regard to wifi marketing in particular – whose role in improving CUX is, as we have seen, essential – UCOPIA has solid experience in this field, since this specialist was created in 2002. Since then, some 12,000 solutions have been implemented in the four “corners” of the globe, each time with the aim of achieving double satisfaction:

• That of the client, of course, so that he can turn his WiFi point into a new distribution channel, capable of positively differentiating him from his competitors, but also so that he can take advantage of all the data collected to enrich his database and his knowledge of his customers and prospects
• That of the end user, too, because the latter will consent much more readily to the sharing of some of his data – in strict compliance with the RGPD – if he has the benefit of high quality Wi-Fi, which is much more efficient than the operators’ 3G and 4G networks

UCOPIA would like to remind you of a striking statistic: almost one out of two mobile users say that no more than one day goes by without connecting to a Wi-Fi network, whether for personal or professional reasons. This is a mine of valuable information – to better inform its CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, refine its persona profiles, etc. – and it is also a tool for improving the quality of its services. – It is also a formidably powerful communication tool, provided that a real strategy is developed and deployed around it.