Soft launch of Purple Freemium product model at Web Summit 2013, Dublin
We’d barely begun talking about our plans to roll out a free version of Purple WiFi when we were inundated with requests. Safe to say it’s going to be popular! We’ve therefore decided to tell people more about our free product at Web Summit, Dublin this week.
It was always our intention to give away free WiFi hotspot software. We believe that WiFi is a valuable asset, it is a powerful marketing and analytics tool. We want to give that power back to small businesses. The Purple WiFi Free product allows small venue owners to take full control of their WiFi at no cost to them. Purple provides a very attractive free alternative for venues, compared to other other WiFi providers.
What’s in it for Purple WiFi?
Firstly, we’re a global business, we are currently replicating our model all over the world, working through the channel with high calibre partners such as Cisco and Ingram Micro. We aren’t interested in making money from lots of small venues. What we do want is to build our brand, not only in the UK but worldwide, and giving away a reliable, market-leading entry level product allows us to do this.
Secondly, as small businesses start to recognise the benefits of social WiFi and want to have more direct access to their customers through the Purple Portal, a percentage are likely to upgrade to our Premium product, which is a paid service, still affordable to many at £25 / €29 / $39 per month.
So why should venues offer a free WiFi service?
Customers expect free online access wherever they go. Many small businesses are offering insecure services or none at all, simply because the owner of the business doesn’t know where to start. Our free hotspot service can be set up in four simple steps:
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Sign up online with Purple WiFi
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Download software on to an existing wireless router
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Follow the Purple Portal 3 step widget to customise settings
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Tell customers they can access free, safe and secure WiFi, and generate Facebook “Likes” and Twitter “Follows” for your business
Guests log in to the hotspot using their social networking credentials, such as Facebook or Twitter log in details or, if they prefer, a traditional form. From this information the business can understand who is visiting and using the hotspot, how long they are online for, their age, gender and any other relevant information that they offer in their social networking profile. All of this is delivered in easy to digest data within the Purple Portal, creating a clear picture of customer footfall.
All the visitor has to do is “like” or “follow” the business, which highlights where they are using Purple WiFi. By sharing this with their wider Facebook and Twitter circles, the venue is given instant promotional access to more potential customers.
Loads of businesses have signed up to find out how they can download the software already and we will be providing more information on the site in the coming days, so watch this space!
Come and see us on 31st October at Web Summit 2013, Dublin on stand 324B in the Enterprise SaaS zone.