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IF A RESTAURANT’S WIFI ISN’T MAKING MONEY, IT’S NOT WORKING HARD ENOUGH
By Debbie Hall Many restaurants, bars, and lounges consider marketing a necessary evil. While it has the potential to bring in more customers and lead to increased profit, it can also be challenging and complex to manage, especially in the digital age. In the past, marketing may have been as simple as interior and exterior signage, a few promotional posters, and collecting business cards in a fishbowl on the counter. Now, the most competitive businesses are the ones with the most customer data, allowing them to target their marketing communications across a myriad of digital channels at the click of a button. But what if it didn’t have to be that hard? What if it all started with something most restaurants already have set up—guest WiFi.
Guest WiFi has evolved to be much more than an access point to the Internet. While this often-untapped channel is most likely being used as a quick way to promote the business at sign-on, the reality is that guest WiFi networks at business locations have the power to generate real revenue—making them a crucial part of a restaurant marketing plan. “As a marketer, I’m always thinking about the channels I can use to engage the customer,” explains Megan Wintersteen, Vice President of Marketing for Adentro. “When I first learned about WiFi marketing, a light bulb went off, and it just made so much sense because it’s a channel that customers actually want to interact with.” It also has big benefits for business, as well. More than 96% of
November Issue 2021 v Food & Beverage Magazine | Page 34
