With recent news showing a staggering 100 pubs closing every month in Britain, Wireless Social - a wi-fi solutions company, looks to have developed an offering that could drive footfall to pubs with a simple tick of a box.
When customers access a pub’s wi-fi using Wireless Social, they are asked to share their social information and, in doing so, give Publicans access to a wealth of insight into their customers’ likes, dislikes, hobbies and other places they like to visit. If used correctly, communications based on this knowledge can be personalised to customers, bringing about a whole new engaging way for pubs to speak to them, much like retailers do.
Publicans know the ever burdening pressure of driving footfall from punters each week and the costs associated with refits and marketing that can solve these problems short-term. Customers are becoming more used to linking with brands through social media and Wireless Social optimises that data capture experience.
While word of mouth recommendation is decreasing across the hospitality sector, customers are now turning to social media for suggestions of where to eat or drink outside of their home. If pubs are tuned into how their customers are using Facebook to make recommendations, there is no-doubt it will enhance how they target their customers with information that’s relevant to them.
Julian Ross, managing director of Wireless Social, commented: “It is really important that pubs and pub companies start to pay attention to their customers, otherwise they run the risk of being one of the many pubs boarded up. Social media is here to stay, so now is the time for pubs to act accordingly and use it properly.
One such pub company, that has jumped on-board with this progressive solution, is long-established British brewery and pub company Wadworth. Ross continued, “Wadworth is a pub company that is really leading the way. The technology brought to them by Wireless Social encourages guests to follow the pub’s social media accounts without being intrusive, it builds brand loyalty by triggering customer-specific notifications and informs marketing initiatives. Promotions are targeted to the right people at the right time because customers can be identified through age, gender and social likes.”
Established in 2013, Wireless Social is now proud to be working with over 2,000 hospitality clients across the UK and beyond. The core technology is provided by Purple Wifi and operates in 74 countries worldwide. Through the use of social media, Wireless Social helps to build relationships between businesses and their customers by offering a wi-fi platform that collects consented customer data, allowing more targeted and meaningful marketing communications.
