InsideOutdoor | SPRING 2022 14 By Bruce Christian What if a retailer had access to a solution that would allow it the opportunity to create and send different individual messages targeted to each customer the comes into the store? From a marketing perspective, it sounds like the ultimate advantage, and this capability is available now by using data gathered through a store’s Wi-Fi and then using the data to sell products. It’s called monetizing your Wi-Fi. “This is really changing the game,” said Shawn Nace, sales engineer for Telesystem, an Ohio-based provider of communications, networking and security. “You’re changing the conversation from having that Wi-Fi being a CAPEX and OPEX for a business to something that is going to provide real insight and breakthrough revenue streams for the business.” Almost every place of business nowadays has Wi-Fi, whether it’s a restaurant, a retailer, a large entertainment venue such as a baseball stadium or a basketball arena, said Nace. “And they all have Wi-Fi not only for their employees but for their customers.” In turn, Wi-Fi has become a large expense for businesses, but they need it to ensure their employees and customers can operate hand-held devices, laptops and even point-of-sale devices. “Customers need the Wi-Fi so they can browse the internet, use social media and other things, perhaps take phone calls while they are in your place of business,” Nace said, and then presented the twist. “But what if you can use that same infrastructure you have in place to create new revenue streams; to engage your customers more effectively; to learn more about your customers?” Wi-Fi can be used to access valuable data and analytics that can help build detailed visitor profiles, which allows the company’s marketers to better understand, for example, how visitors are moving around a space. Typical customers that could benefit from this kind of information include retail, health care, municipal governments, office spaces, hospitality, restaurants and large public venues and malls. License to Wi-Fi Nace said the solution Telesystem offers is a software as a service (SaaS) that lives on top of the Wi-Fi TECH SAVVY Monetizing Your Store Wi-Fi
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTg4Njc=