Are you part of the Wi-Fi workforce

For many freelancers or those owning their own consultancy or small business, utilising a coffee shops free Wi-Fi is far cheaper than renting an office space. And why not? If you work independently or with others but again, they work at their own premises or home, why do you need an office with expensive utility bills when you can camp out at the local coffee house and use the Wi-Fi for free and let’s face it, the coffee is better too!

For the larger chains like Starbucks and Costa, Wi-Fi is free and for most cases, unlimited, leaving the Wi-Fi workforce free to make camp for a few hours to deliver their latest project. Simply grab your coffee, find your table, open the laptop and deliver the clients proposal in the comfort of the air con and endless pastries and refills.

But, where does this leave the smaller independent coffee houses which are often more limited on space. They already need to foot the bill for the free Wi-Fi access but can also lose out on custom if all the tables are filled with the Wi-Fi workforce. Non Wi-Fi users can also feel uncomfortable coming in to sit and enjoy a coffee which their neighbours tap tap tap away on their keyboards.

But what’s the answer? Many coffee shops in San Francisco are now limiting their free Wi-Fi access to a few hours a day or only making it available through a different passcode each day which is only available if you make a purchase. Therefore ensuring that customers wishing to use the Wi-Fi can, but not to the disadvantage of other customers. Others are keeping some of their tables laptop or tablet free zones allowing those that want to grab a quick lunch more chance of getting a table.

There is also a Wi-Fi etiquette, the ratio to which you purchase coffee or snacks to the time you spend at the establishment. For many, this varies on the coffee shop. If it’s a larger branded establishment then the ratio is less compared to a smaller independent which needs and values its customer.

Some coffee houses have even become Wi-Fi free zones ensuring that customers can reside in a technology free area with nothing more than the grind of the coffee beans or background music to break their conscious. Which for some, is appealing, but those which are meeting in the middle, accommodating both the Wi-Fi users and those that just want their cup of coffee or lunch are really on to the winning combination. One coffee house owner even saw a jump in profits between 15-20% purely by ensuring they accommodated both types of consumers.

So, consider your solution carefully. Monitor its use. Recognise your cliental and ensure your product offering is as enticing as your Wi-Fi strength.

City of York, the best connected city?

This week The City of York revealed it wants to be the ‘Best connected City in the UK by the end of 2015’. Quite a goal for a city which doesn't yet have 4G connectivity. However, it has been awarded £2.7 million in funding as part of the Super Connected Cities Programme which will allow it to install large television screen in city areas, Wi-Fi and provide digital education.

Working with equipment supplied by Ruckus Wireless, York hopes to bring in a scalable network that will reach the outskirts of the city as well as inner city areas. Even providing free Wi-Fi to skate parks, open air theatres and shopping areas.

The council’s hope is to enable residents and visitors to the city access to all the relevant information services allowing them to have the ultimate ‘visit’ to the city. Which makes sense, if you’re travelling somewhere new and you need to know where to go for dinner, see if there’s an offer on at the local theatre or even too check train times, why should you have to use your own data bundle? Surely this information should be made available to you, for free?

And with the information being made available wirelessly, this will also afford the council the luxury of reducing its printed material. Who needs a printed map of the city when you can connect for free and follow your phones sat nav? The end of printed voucher codes for restaurants, just connect and show your code?

Is there a downside? We can’t see one. Shops will gain footfall as people are more likely to stay longer browsing your store if they can connect for free. Restaurants and coffee shops will see punters staying for longer drinking their coffee and ordering another. And teens will always be happy to download the latest track to play while using the local skate park.

                                                                                     

With cities growing at an outstanding rate and house prices still at a high despite the global recession it’s also only right the council are pushing the Wi-Fi further afield than just the town centre locations. Not only does this allow you to connect without being in the centre of town, but it also allows those premises on the outskirts to advertise their wares and encourage footfall. Out of town shopping centres usually frequented by the masses on Sundays for DIY missions become a more social area with the use of free Wi-Fi, soon a coffee shop pops up and the DIY shop becomes far more pleasurable than just a trip for a pot of paint.

Many often comment the internet has made us less social with people communicating via email, text or social networking sites rather than face to face. Which in one aspect is certainly true but, by bringing Wi-Fi to outside space, and making it free, it allows users to interact and connect socially.           

                 

With Wi-Fi being rolled out across town centres and cities up and down the country, we are soon to become a truly connected nation. And don’t be fooled that this will only appeal to the youth market frantically tapping into their phones. The 60 plus surfer will also be able to connect using their phone or laptop. Why stay in and surf online when you can pop into town and connect wirelessly for free and grab a sandwich and meet your neighbour at the same time.

With money comparison sites dominating the internet and social networking sites the most frequently visited of all, councils need to ensure they take their piece of the Wi-Fi pie and offer their residents an exceptional level of coverage. The benefits far outweigh the initial cost and with the government keen for us all to be connected may even be free. 

News just announced, Google will be providing up to 10 times faster Wi-Fi into US Starbucks chains. Starbucks has commented that its free Wi-Fi is one of the predominate reasons customers stay longer in its coffee houses and why it has become the brand of choice for Americans looking to do more than just grab a cup of coffee and go.

Google will also be looking to develop the Starbucks’ Digital Network, the first page consumers will see when they are given the opportunity to connect to the free wireless network. What an opportunity! You cannot escape this page; want to use the Wi-Fi? Then you have to type in your details; agree to the terms, conditions, and type in the password.

So how could this affect your business? I have recently upgraded my phone, now, whenever I walk into a coffee house, store or building that offers a Wi-Fi connection up pops the screen to log in and connect.

Then, I have the standard fill in your details screen. Now here’s the real opportunity to target your users. You can gather their email address to be used for future campaigns, tick. Target them with the latest in store offer, log on to our Wi-Fi, oh and here’s an extra 10% off today or fill in this survey and get a free filter coffee top up? The possibilities, as they say, are endless.

But it’s the follow through that really matters. It’s using this data to further improve your business. So last week your user connected to your Wi-Fi while having their MOT. But did you follow up with an email 11 months later reminding them to come back to you? This is the real crux of the matter. Providing free Wi-Fi costs a company money, therefore it has to offer something back to the business.

If you’re a coffee house this is obvious, it means people stay longer drinking their coffee and probably order another or a sandwich. But, are you likely to stay longer while having your car fixed? Probably not, but you may pick up some oil if an offer pops up, or book in for an air con re-charge as part of your service? It’s the added extras that bring people back to your business.

Having time off work to get your car serviced or MOT’d isn’t always possible, but saying you need to pop out, but you will log and do some work whilst having your car serviced makes it that little bit easier.

And we all have a coffee or lunch break, but how many of us really take it? Somehow, the act of checking your emails while you actually finish a sandwich rather than picking at it at your desk makes it that little bit easier to stomach. There are also countless studies to say how leaving the office even for half an hour can boost your productivity considerably.

So next time you pop out for a coffee, don’t feel guilty, just tell your boss Starbucks Wi-Fi is faster than the office and suggest they call APC Solutions to deliver a faster network?