Bar and Pub WiFi

Bars and pubs have always been centers of entertainment and relaxation — but modern WiFi solutions allow you to take the customer experience to new heights.

Do cashless payment options, mobile ordering, and the convenience of connectivity come to mind? Think bigger! Your WiFi solution can allow your customers to enjoy customizable live streaming, interactive and unforgettable pub quizzes, and even vote for the next song!

Discover how WiFi can improve your customer experience and revolutionize your marketing strategies in this guide — and reap the benefits of a fully connected hangout spot!

The Essentials of Bar WiFi

If you ever feel the internet has made it harder to fill your seats, you’re not alone. Modern bar-goers may default to kicking their feet up, ordering takeout, and opening Netflix instead of immersing themselves in your bar’s vibrant atmosphere — unless you can satisfy their craving for connectivity.

Let’s look at what it takes to transform your customer experience together!

A business-grade router to ensure smooth connectivity for staff and guests.
Strategically placed access points and switches to provide WiFi coverage throughout the bar, avoiding dead zones.
A hardware- or software-based firewall is essential for providing a secure connection that protects you and your customers.
Strong security features, including WPA2 or WPA3 encryption.
A business WiFi provider. Depending on your bar’s size and needs, you may opt for a managed WiFi solution or a cloud-based option that allows you to monitor your network in real-time.
You’ll need a social WiFi provider to create a captive portal, collect customer data, and integrate with social media networks.

Bar owners must also consider their bandwidth requirements to ensure a stable connection, quality-of-service features to prioritize essential applications, and a system to segregate their internal system from their guest WiFi networks.

Every bar is unique — so your WiFi network will be, too. Your chosen business WiFi provider can help you with all your network design needs and ensure your bar WiFi network can grow as your business evolves.

Remember when you had to walk up to the bar to ask staff for the WiFi username and password — only to be met by clunky and annoying login screens? Those days are history!

Social WiFi has transformed the bar WiFi experience forever, allowing patrons to effortlessly connect to your WiFi network with their social media accounts.

That vibrant and welcoming guest WiFi portal doesn’t just positively impact the customer experience, though. It also buys you access to a goldmine of data that can form the foundation of personalized marketing campaigns.

Targeted promotions? Exclusive discount codes? Loyalty offers tailored to your customers’ unique preferences? You bet!

The added bonus? Customers who encounter a hassle-free social WiFi login portal at a bar they love are happy to show their support by giving your business a quick like or subscribing to keep up with your latest news! It’s a great way to boost your visibility and connect with your future customers!

Social WiFi is a win-win — it benefits your customers as much as you. Getting started can be a bit tricky, so here’s a quick look at the process:

Choose a reputable social WiFi provider offering features that align with your goals.
Once your account is set up, it’s time to configure your guest WiFi network to integrate with your social WiFi service, which requires setting up a new SSID.
Customizing your guest WiFi portal to appeal to your customers, introduce them to your promotions, and invite them to connect with your social media profiles is the next step.
Always set permissions to specify what data you plan to collect from customers, obtaining consent and maintaining transparency to comply with relevant regulations.

From there, bars and pubs can enable analytics and create compelling, personalized marketing campaigns that cut to the core of your patrons’ preferences. Continuous monitoring allows you to analyze how your social WiFi service is performing, allowing you to make tweaks that boost its power.

Bar WiFi Music Streaming: Setting the Mood

Your staff team. Your bar layout. The drinks you serve. The activities you host and sports events you stream. Your patrons. Everything about your bar helps to set the mood — but you already know it’s impossible to overestimate the power of music!

Imagine customer-controlled playlists controlled through your app or a dedicated device. Imagine a voting system that allows your patrons to decide which song is next on the list. Imagine the magic of letting your customers dedicate songs to their friends or dates.

Do you have a live DJ? Bring them into your digital realm by inviting customers to send special requests via your WiFi network!

Your customers won’t need any encouragement to set the mood in your bar, but imagine how cool it would be to offer discounts or free drinks to those who shape your music selection most!

Welcome to the power of bar and restaurant WiFi music streaming, where your patrons aren’t just proverbial parts of the furniture but active participants!

Best Platforms for Bar Music Streaming

Choosing the best bar music streaming platform is a highly personal process. It depends on the genre and level of control you’re after, as well as your budget — plus, streaming options vary from region to region.

Some of the most reputable bar music streaming platforms to consider include Spotify for Business, Rockbot, Apple Music for Business, SoundMachine, SiriusXM for Business, Pandora for Business, iHeartRadio, and AccuRadio.

Remember that every streaming service has unique features, licensing structures, and customization options. Review your options carefully!

Happy Hour WiFi Promotions: Sip and Surf

Happy hours pay off, increasing your sales by as much as 33 percent — and with a professional bar WiFi setup, you can make your special deals and promotions even more appealing.

Armed with the power of WiFi, you have (almost) endless creative ways to engage with your customers to make the most of your happy hour programs, but here are some ideas to get you started:

Offer customers who log onto your WiFi network and share a picture of themselves enjoying your bar a free drink.
Use your bar WiFi network to share updates about your happy hour offers instantly. You could even make special promotions available to the first 50 customers, making them more exclusive.
If you have an app, you can allow your customers to accumulate loyalty points to collect a free drink or exclusive cocktail during happy hour.
Host interactive competitions for free or highly discounted drinks.
Integrate a countdown to happy hour on your WiFi portal.

To take these ideas further, you could set up time-sensitive WiFi codes that perfectly align with your happy hour. Create buzz by printing one-time access codes on your promotional flyers and handing them out to bar-goers, or display QR codes that connect patrons to your WiFi network during happy hour.

WiFi for Pubs and Bars: A UK Perspective

The modern digital landscape has changed how we shop and socialize everywhere, but Brits have adopted online shopping faster than any other Western country. All traditional retailers who fail to keep up with the latest technologies have faced business disruptions as a result, and even the pub — that quintessential British institution — has suffered.

Don’t let the increasingly connected culture be your downfall. Embrace it!

Pub owners can leverage the power of WiFi to modernize the pub experience by:

Offering free guest WiFi so your customers can stay connected while they enjoy a pint.
Streaming live sports events through their WiFi networks.
Introducing WiFi-connected pub quizzes, trivia nights, or live music (including karaoke) events.
Enabling online reservations, including for stag and hen dos and other special events.
Inviting customers to check in on your social media profiles to share their photos and videos (and enticing new patrons to visit).
Letting customers order pub food through an online menu portal.

Finally, create a positive feedback loop by inviting patrons to take surveys where they can offer feedback — giving you an excellent opportunity to enhance the customer experience.

Conclusion

In this hyper-connected world, it’s essential for bars and pubs to embrace the power of WiFi. You gain more than satisfied customers when you transform the internet from an unwelcome competitor to your new best friend.

A fast, reliable, and secure bar WiFi network will forever change how you do business. It connects you to a world where deep insights into customer behavior and preferences allow you to craft highly effective marketing campaigns that revolutionize the customer experience.