How To Set Up Free Wi-Fi For Customers?
When we talk of setting up free wi-fi for customers, it usually means setting up a hotspot at the workplace, easily accessible by the people, i.e., the customers. This enables the customers to access the internet through a wireless network free of cost when they are in your workplace to carry out their business.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Setting up free wi-fi is an emerging trend in workplaces that has seen immense growth. There are only good things to say about this addition from the increase in sales to increase customer engagement and morale. The benefits of free wi-fi come with a few crucial investments.
The entire set-up is straightforward to do with a little technical help. With a few steps, you will have set-up your free wi-fi!
Step 1: Select An Isp You Trust
The Internet Service Provider is the service that provides your establishment with the internet. Selecting a reliable ISP is of the utmost importance when you want to set up free wi-fi. Along with constant connectivity, the ISP should be affordable and meet all your requirements and needs. This brings us to the next step.
Step 2: Selecting A Viable Service Plan
Generally, ISPs offer a wide range of plans differing in speed, bandwidth, duration, data limits, etc. The bandwidth affects the rate with which data is transferred. A lower bandwidth can cause slower internet, which in turn can frustrate the customer.
Thus, selecting a plan which offers high speed, high bandwidth at a lower cost will be in your best interest. It would be best if you never looked down on speed, which can affect customer satisfaction to a large extent.
Step 3: Setting Up Proper Hardware
To create a wireless Local Area Network, installing a modem and one or more routers is needed. A modem acts as a hub that relays the signal to the routers for better connectivity. The connectivity can deteriorate over distance sometimes. Hence multiple routers are used to strengthen the signal.
The placement of the routers should be planned out well in advance before installation. Mapping out places with the maximum crowd is essential. Another thing to keep in mind is that the modem and router should be compatible with the ISP selected.
Step 4: Minimizing Security Risk
Free wi-fi often poses a security threat to your workplace. But fear not, it is an easily solvable issue. The solution is setting up a separate public network protected by a strong password and enabling WPA/WPA2 encryption! This keeps the internal system away and safe from the customers and minimizes risk to a large extent. One reason to increase network security is that hackers usually target free public networks; this can put sensitive information at risk.
Step 5: Hiring A Local It Company
An IT company can be hired to create a network mesh using the hardware available. This mesh envelopes your entire workplace such that a customer can access the internet from all of its corners. They can also set up a perimeter engulfing just your workspace, ensuring no other outsider can reap benefits of the free network except your customer.
Step 6: Designing A Log-In Portal
This is the website the customer will use to log-in to the wi-fi. When the customer clicks on the wi-fi network, a welcome screen should pop up. It contains rules of usage and terms and conditions of using the network.
This will prevent the usage of a network of illegal browsing/ downloading by the customer. You do not want to be responsible for your customer’s online conduct.
Step 7: Blocking Certain Content
You never know what a customer may be using the open network for. To keep this in check, specific applications and websites can be blocked on your services. For example- On college premises, access to sites like Facebook and apps like WhatsApp are blocked. Sometimes even websites that consume a large amount of bandwidth are blocked to inconvenience the other users.
Step 8: Letting The Customer Know About The Wi-Fi
The promotion of the fact that you are providing free wi-fi should be the cherry on the cake! Flashy, attention-grabbing signs can be put up around the premises. If access to the internet is to be permitted to everyone entering your workplace, a sign can be put up, which tells them about free wi-fi and displays the password.
If it needs to be restricted for certain specific users, the password can be acquired from the concierge or the receptionist on the front desk.
Once set-up, the entire aftermath is quite a smooth sailing. The initial investments will seem small compared to the exceptional outcomes. The customer can connect their phones, laptops, or tablets to the network and carry on with their work without any disruptions. An increase in customer satisfaction, in turn, helps in the positive marketing of your establishment.
It increases customer productivity during long waiting periods. For more information on xfinity modem login find out more in the given link. Free wi-fi may also act as a crowd attraction, which can help expand your reach to a wide range of people.
The ”Free wi-fi” strategy has helped companies from small-scale start-ups to large scale multinational companies. If implemented correctly, it can help you too!