Below, we are going to take a look at the arguments for and against paid and free WiFi at your business. 

Advantages of free social WiFi

Offering free social WiFi is extremely beneficial. You will increase consumer satisfaction and have the potential to develop a loyal consumer base. Customers will be happy that you have gone to the effort of providing this service free of charge. It is little things like this that make all of the difference. This is especially the case for businesses whereby dwell time can be an issue.

You will see that your business value soars. It is also worth bearing in mind the fact that free social WiFi is something a lot of customers have actually come to expect. In addition to this, if you offer free social WiFi then there will be a greater number of people who use your WiFi platform, therefore you will be using the marketing benefits associated with it on a greater number of customers. Your branding impact will be felt a lot more. 

Disadvantages of free social WiFi

Well, the disadvantage of offering free social WiFi is, of course, the fact that you are paying for a service but you are getting nothing in return in terms of direct money. However, this does not mean that you cannot use your WiFi in order to make money. The marketing potential is massive and thus you do have the opportunity to increase business income via using the free route.

Nevertheless, this is one of the reasons why businesses are put off. They see the start-up cost and the fact that they won’t get anything immediately in return and therefore this does not seem to be a viable solution for them. 

Advantages of paid social WiFi

The benefits associated with paid social WiFi are pretty self-explanatory; you benefit from another money making avenue. Learn more about leveraging tech at your business. Every time someone accesses the internet you will be reaping in the pounds. You can offer an array of different packages. Consumers may pay per the hour or by the day. This is largely dependent on the type of business you run. If you are dealing with a waiting lounge or a retail store then paying by the hour is a good option.

However, if you run a hotel then you will be better off giving your customers the option to pay by day. In fact, the most beneficial route to go down is providing several different bundles. This means people can have a selection of different time periods. You could also offer different deals, such as purchase two hours of social WiFi and get your third hour free. 

Disadvantages of paid social WiFi

A lot of people get extremely frustrated by companies who charge them for accessing their social WiFi. In fact, they see it as a bit of a nerve. Why should they have to pay for internet access when they are using the services of your company in the first place? Surely it should be complimentary? This is the thought process a lot of consumers have, especially considering the fact that the internet is viewed as more of a necessity rather than a luxury nowadays.

Furthermore, you are making the process of internet access more segmented which can lead to greater potential for problems. You need to decide how users are going to pay for the service. You can offer an online payment option whereby individuals pay via debit cards, credit cards or PayPal. However, you then have the issue that consumers don’t always trust online payments.

Alternatively you can offer pin codes to any customer who pays you directly. Customers often see this as an added hassle. In addition to this, there is always the chance that a pin code won’t work from time to time and this will increase consumer dissatisfaction.