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The Washington Network Shows Small to Mid-Sized Businesses How to Offer “Free Wi-Fi” to Their Customers The Right Way

SMBs Turn to The Washington Network For Best Practices on Attracting Clients

ALEXANDRIA, VA — August 18, 2014 — The Washington Network, Inc., an industry leader in unified communications, announced today that the company is educating its customers on a breakthrough development in high-speed wireless Internet, which can increase the number of customers that many small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) attract. The breakthrough is called Hosted Wi-Fi, which is essentially a private Internet hotspot for SMBs to offer to their customers. By offering customers free WiFi, a business can regulate and optimize Internet data usage and even create a private network for them to use. The overarching benefits of this technology is that it attracts new people to your location, it gets people to stay longer and gives them a reason to come back next time. 

With the overwhelming majority of people simply expecting free Wi-Fi everywhere they go, it’s no wonder that this technology has taken off. Most business owners simply use the standard Internet provided to them by ISPs, and they’re missing out on the high performing Internet connectivity that customers have come to expect. Furthermore, standard Internet lacks safety controls, which can be very dangerous for business owners. For example, if even one customer visits a dangerous site and contracts a virus, it could spread quickly to the rest of the network. By utilizing Hosted Wi-Fi safeguards like firewalls and blacklisted sites, businesses can eliminate these risks before they become a problem.

The central reason to offer Hosted Wi-Fi to customers is that it increases profitability. The longer that a business has a customer at its location, the greater the likelihood of purchases, brand education and return visits. The value of having a customer at your location is incredible, because businesses have so much time to engage customers and opportunity to influence their purchasing decisions. For example, a café that has Hosted Wi-Fi can provide secure, high-speed Internet for the growing remote worker population. The longer a patron remains at the shop, the more likely they are to buy additional goods and refer friends.  Another example, are hotels and motels who simply need to offer Hosted Wi-Fi in order to attract guests in the first place. For many business people this is a “deal breaker” and acts as one of the key factors in their decision to stay at one hotel versus another. This easily overlooked addition to nearly any business can increase revenue and bottom line profitability.

 Businesses spend tens of thousands of dollars on building extravagant websites, which only retain customers for an approximate 10-20 seconds, according to research by Chao Liu and colleagues. When someone visits a physical location, business owners can captivate their attention for hours at a time. Meanwhile, business owners can influence their customers’ purchasing decisions the entire time. For its minimal cost, this investment makes sense and it’s no wonder businesses are working with The Washington Network to deploy this powerful technology.

 

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON NETWORK, INC.

Founded in 1987, The Washington Network, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia, provides computer networks, VoIP phone systems, IT support and other technology solutions for associations and businesses in the Washington, DC Metro area.

Serving clients without a large in-house IT staff, The Washington Network lowers operating costs while increasing worker productivity. The company’s flat-rate managed services include remote network monitoring, preventive maintenance, help desk, redundant back-ups and on-site support.

A member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, The Washington Network has been honored as the Chamber’s Professional Service Business of the Year.

Through its strategic membership in the Technology Assurance Group, The Washington Network serves and supports clients with multiple locations across the U.S. and Canada.

The Washington Network is located at 30 South Quaker Lane, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. For more information on The Washington Network, call 703.212.7100 or visit www.WashingtonNetwork.com.