A Genius Way to Benefit from Offering Free Wi-Fi

Posted by barblog on Dec 30, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Marketing, bar owner | 17 comments

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As you know, despite it seeming to be a very divisive issue with you, I am in favor of offering free Wi-Fi as a standard part of your business offering; as standard as toilets, seats and electricity.

Having walked the length and breadth of Cork City (Ireland) over the weekend, I can tell you, that not many businesses offer free wi-fi, and those that did weren’t bars, restaurants or cafes where I could actually sit down and use my laptop.

How did I know who did and who didn’t offer free wi-fi? Well, like a growing number of the population, I have an iPhone. In fact I can bet that most people looking for a free wi-fi hotspot have an iPhone too. You see, the iPhone is de rigeur hardware for us mobile office types and it has a great feature – a wi-fi hotspot locater. All I have to do is stand in the middle of the street and I will see something like this:

Those networks with a padlock symbol alongside them will not allow me to connect without a password, yet those without a padlock are either free networks or will be presenting me with a pay screen once I do connect.

I walked the streets of Cork with this screen constantly changing as new networks appeared and others went out of range. What was most surprising was that those bars and restaurants with a visible connection were locked and out of my reach. You might be thinking these establishments simply gave out passwords to customers, but the few that I ventured into told me that the connection was their office connection and not available to the public!

I am not the only one walking around looking for a connection. Trust me. I am one of many mobile office types flitting from meeting to meeting, city to city looking to continue my business as I travel and this is how we find a connection when we need one quickly. We are also guaranteed to spend money with you too once we find a good free open wifi hot spot.

So here’s what you need to do:

1. Unlock your Wi-Fi Connection so that it is available for everyone.
2. Rename your Connection so that it appears on an iPhone or wi-fi finder device like this:
   • John’s Pub – Free WiFi
   • John’s Pub – Free WiFi/Great Coffee (if this fits)
   • John’s Pub – Free 4 All Wi-Fi
3. Be sure you mention your business name so that in a crowded street with many connections, the mobile traveler will know it’s you offering the connection.
4. Advertise on your website/door/menus/receipts that you offer free Wi-Fi.
5. When adding your business to local online guides and directories, always mention the free wi-fi so that if a potential customer googles “Free Wi-Fi Cork City” you will appear in the first few results.

I am writing this post today from a bar that I found by googling this very thing and as of now have spent the equivalent of $15 on snacks and drinks. I’ll be back too and will be sure to tell me fellow mobile workers of this little gem!

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