Depending on the sector you work in, December is either the make or break month for you, or is your quiet season.

I’ll never forget the demands of the job at John Lewis when I worked there in December. It was relentless and the energy levels had to be right up there if you were to deliver as expected.

At the same time though, I also remember the times in retail banking when customers were not interested in doing any business and it was the quiet season. While they were relaxing days, you were sweating on how you’d hit target.

So what can the busy businesses do to make December work harder for them? Apart from huge footfall and money through the till, how else can you profit from the silly season. Well, thankfully Fusion WiFi have a tool that can turn your WiFi into something that works harder for you and can generate more business all year round.

The problem businesses face during this busy season is that everyone is too busy to stop and engage with their customers. With so many people to look after and get through the door, the ability to learn anything about your customers and build a relationship is lost in the drama of the day. After all, if you don’t know anything about your customers, what can you do to encourage them to revisit you and spend more money? Moreover, how at risk are you of them transacting online in the future and never returning to your venue?

What if you could automatically capture the details of your customers instantly, automatically and affordably, without you even having to speak with them? Well you can, and what’s more, your WiFi network can do it all for you, assuming you’re in the 99% of business that now provide free customer WiFi.

It’s a demand of consumers now to be connected. The sharing generation is upon us and people feel disconnected from society if they are unable to get online, interact and engage with the web. So you should be providing free WiFi (in case you’re not already) because people demand it and not everybody can rely on large data packages and 4G coverage. So if you are providing free WiFi, you deserve something in return.

Fusion WiFi will get you your customers data in return! Free WiFi access in exchange for Social Media information. It’s like a social currency.

If you change your WiFi login process to allow authentication by Social Media, the user authorises you to capture their public details. And just like that, for every customer that used your WiFi network, you all of a sudden know their name, email address, date of birth, interests, marital status etc etc. The list goes on and on. Key marketing information for you to start interacting with your qualified existing customers and build a relationship with them through engagement.

Collecting the data is only the first part of the process, because data is only so good if you know what to do with it. Strategic e-marketing to encourage customers back to your venue goes a long way to encouraging return visits. That is a skill in itself (and something we love to help clients with), but with a growing database of your customer information, you have a larger audience to build you pool of loyal, returning customers.

It’s a simple change to your existing free WiFi network that makes your life a lot easier and ensures returning customers once the mad rush of December is over. Returning customers make me and businesses very happy! It means everyone is doing a great job.

So enjoy the Christmas season and I hope you’re busier than you’ve ever been. But when you take a moment to think what could be better, don’t forget that those people at Fusion have something smart to make sure January isn’t a quiet month.

Merry Christmas

Paul Webster

Paul Webster

Chief Operating Officer

COO at Fusion WiFi, Consultant at Silicon South. Proud Yorkshireman & Student of the Polish language.

Director, shareholder who’s responsible for shaping the financial and strategic direction of the business. Assisted other founding directors in getting the product to market and winning deals.

Excited about what the future holds and helping more businesses realise the potential of free WiFi. Social WiFi is the future of venue experience.