Spiro Pappadopoulos

You spend time on promoting your restaurant via social media right? Then why are you among the restaurants/bars/cafes that do not give free wifi to your guests?

In case you are missing my point: Your bar or restaurant needs to offer free wifi, period. 6 Reasons Why:

1) It costs so little. You already have Internet access at work right? If not please close this browser immediately and accept my apologies and condolences. Anyway, your connection is paid for, the only investment you need to make is (maybe) in a new router that can grant public access. Today there are routers that require zero set-up and have a guest access feature that allows you to securely share your wifi connection with guests on a separate wifi network. Such as the Cisco-Valet Plus Wireless Router which offers a password you can give to guests to log into the guest account. It is easy to setup and costs $78 or so. I use one at Evenfall and it is very easy to manage. So for $78 you can start sharing worry free.

2) Sharing your Wifi encourages social posting. After all you do to promote your place socially, make it easy for the guests to check-in etc when they are there. Wifi offers better speeds and encourages a quick share session.

3) People who use Wifi will come more frequently. I never used to go to Starbucks, then I heard about the free wifi, now I find myself there about two times a week, sometimes I take my mac book and drink a coffee or two and do some writing, or work for one of my clients, or my own businesses right in Starbucks. Now I may only spend $10-12 bucks a week there but that is just me. I imagine there are plenty of new Starbucks customers who may be more inclined to visit now. Again the ongoing cost is no higher than now… think about it. Check out this video from a Starbucks, full of people on their computers and phones:

4) It is more important than ever to offer free wifi because the mobile carriers are switching their Data plans and they are going limited. So data lovers feel a subconscious nervousness about using heavy data on the road. If your place can be a mental data oasis that they can stop by, spend a few bucks, and use wifi that is great for you. It is also bad for you if the guy down the street does it and you don’t.

5) You can advertise it. In fact make sure you advertise it. Even if you don’t relate there are people out there who will love that they can use their devices at your establishment. So get the word out. Menus, signs, a line in an email, twitter feed, facebook page… let people know. If of all your contacts 20 become more regular customers is that a plus? Yes it is.

6) People stay longer when you offer wifi, and they buy more. Now I am not suggesting this is a panacea for a horribly run business, or a bad idea, but you aren’t reading this blog because you don’t care or have no clue. An remember a nice crowd draws in other business too… so share your wifi.

What are you saying to your guests that open up their phone and see that you in fact have a wifi network, and it is locked so they can’t use it? Its a bad vibe… so do what you have to do to offer a free wifi connection to your guests. The router I mentioned before (Cisco-Valet Plus Wireless Router) is literally plug and play. But if you want to go even cheaper than that, get a wireless router and plug it into your current router and set up an open wifi network on that one for your guests. It really is that easy, and it will pay for itself really really fast.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, hit me up here, or @spirocks on twitter. And if you have a desire to give your restaurant a technology makeover that will save you money and bring in more business, ask me what Guestfeed can do for you, here or @spirocks I love to converse.

Exceptional service doesn’t just start when a guest arrives anymore: These days it starts online when a guest is choosing where to eat.

Here are Six ways to make your ‘Social Service’ exceptional:

1) To begin with your social presence should be welcoming, friendly, and courteous. You want people to feel your humanity in your responses to them, in your broadcast about what you do, and in the way you translate your passion for what you do. One example of this can be found in a post I wrote about real time customer service. Notice the tone and approach taken with the customer, and most importantly the outcome. Because the response was prompt, courteous, and friendly. She will return and likely with a greater connection to Evenfall than before.

2) Your social presence should be knowledgeable in your niche (whether a burger joint or a caviar shop). You should be a beacon of information that help people learn more about what you do in your niche, and what others are doing/writing/saying about that niche. If you make hamburgers, you would explain why you chose the type of bun you had, and share stories about the world record breaking burger in New Mexico. You want to develop a reputation as a source of honest commentary on your topic.

A Mediterranean Restaurant, establishing its authority via twitter…

3) Your social presence should also be efficient, and that means being respectful of peoples time, not loading them up with post after post about what you are doing. It is a balancing act that you understand as soon as you come across someone who does too much of it.

4) Your posts will serve best if they are well timed, reaching your guests at the times they are most likely to be making a decision about where to go, what to eat, etc.

Note the timing, the photo, and the brevity.

5) One of the most crucial is to be consistent, your social presence can not offer great service unless it is. People with passion for what they do, do it all the time. Even if you don’t have a passion for social media marketing your business, if you do it at all it needs to be consistent.

6) Exceed Expectations with your social interaction, reach out to guests quickly that ask about something you do. If you do it will lead to amazing guest experiences that will translate into loyal customers, and the creations of ‘social evangelists’ like in the post linked to here.

These six steps can lead to an amazing following online, and most importantly at your business. It is what we do for our clients at GuestFeed everyday so I know it works. If you would like to chat about it I am always up for that here or over on twitter @spirocks… till then happy holidays.