Why guest WiFi can be a powerful restaurant marketing tool

When you’re launching a new restaurant, your to-do list is a mile long. In addition to a well-thought out menu, perfectly trained staff and on-trend decor, you also need guest WiFi ready to go from your opening night. The reason? Guest WiFi has the power to transform your restaurant’s marketing, giving you the tools to attract new customers, raise your restaurant’s brand and create loyal and engaged diners from day one. Here’s how your restaurant can implement WiFi marketing techniques that will really work, adding that extra spice to your marketing.

What is restaurant WiFi marketing?

WiFi marketing is where businesses and restaurants provide complimentary wireless internet access to their customers. Customers may use their email addresses to log-in and sign up – a win-win for both consumers and restaurant. While customers are provided with WIFi, operators can use email addresses for lead-generation and retention, giving the restaurant the capability to send relevant offers to encourage return visits. 

For a new restaurant, WiFi lets you create an opted-in database of customers primed to receive your marketing messages, making engagement and repeat visits much more likely. Beacon technology can also be used with WiFi to target nearby customers with instant offers, helping you increase that all important footfall. Customers love free WiFi. They’re more likely to visit your restaurant if you offer quality guest WiFi, so it’s a marketing stream you really can’t afford to ignore.

5 ways for any new restaurant to use WiFi marketing

Here are 5 ways WiFi marketing will help you create a stellar marketing strategy, giving you the tools to target new customer leads, as well as building a database of engaged and loyal diners. 

1. Use proximity marketing to go hyper-local for your restaurant

By using location beacons in combination with WiFi, you’ll be able to send promotions and marketing messages to customers close to your restaurant, encouraging them to visit you there and then. This hyper-local marketing is the perfect way to send an instant lunch special offer or promotion, increasing customers acquisition at key points in your restaurant’s service. As a new restaurant you need to compete with established local brands and venues, so this is a great way to up engagement and get customers to notice you. 

2. Data generated from guest WiFi will boost your future campaigns

As a new restaurant, your historical and behavioural data will be limited, making it harder to inform future campaigns effectively. WiFi solves this problem for you. Offering your guests free in-house WiFi gives you the chance to collect valuable customer data including email addresses, time spent in your restaurant and demographic information that can inform your menu offerings. This is vital for any new restaurant, letting you know exactly who your customers are, so you can segment, target and market your restaurant in the future to them much more effectively. 

3. Use your restaurant WiFi to encourage vital online reviews

Online reviews are absolutely essential for any new restaurant, adding to the social proof that encourages people to visit you. Customers looking for a new place to eat, or searching for a nearby restaurant will look at the reviews on sites such as Tripadvisor or Facebook. This makes it really important for you to continually encourage new reviews. Luckily, WiFi makes this really easy. As well as being able to ask for an immediate review while your diners are still inside your venue; you can also send carefully timed and triggered review requests via SMS or email once they’ve left.  WiFi marketing gives you the tools to automate this process, allowing you to build up a strong review base much more easily.

4. Use WiFi to encourage social media interaction

Restaurants and social media are a powerful combination. The social nature of restaurants and the sharing focus of Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook means it’s important you encourage social sharing from your diners if you want to get noticed. Offering quality guest WiFi makes it a great way for your diners to instantly and easily share photos of your food, video clips of their experience and connect with other social media users while they’re in your restaurant. People love to connect on social media, and combining this experience with a new restaurant is ideal for content generation that works. This all increases the online profile of your restaurant brand, upping your social proof and helping you stand out against your competitors.

5. Use WiFi to automate real engagement with your restaurant

When automation is done well, it creates loyal and engaged customers that want to keep returning to your restaurant. WiFi makes marketing automation easy. Data collected from when customers log-in and use your WiFi gives you the tools to easily segment, personalise and drive future interactions with you.  This type of personalisation makes every interaction with your restaurant relevant for every customer, increasing their loyalty and making it more likely they’ll return. For example, you can send an offer email on their birthday or automatically ask them if they need to book a table for the future. You’ll also be able to tailor any specific offers based on their purchase history with specific and automatic push notifications, making upselling much easier. Adding value to your customers this way will keep them coming back.

New restaurants need to embrace WiFi marketing

For any new restaurant start-up, getting noticed and creating a loyal base of diners is essential for success. It’s a competitive environment, so you need to do everything possible to stand out.  Wi-fi marketing gives you the tools to create creative, data driven marketing strategies that are relevant to every single customer, increasing footfall and your brand awareness. For any restaurant, it can’t be ignored