As a business owner, there are many strategies that you can use to attract and retain customers. It is essential to take time and understand these strategies and the ones that are likely to work for your business. With the day-to-day lives and operations very dependent on business internet connections, it is advisable to invest in fast and free Wi-Fi.
Offering Wi-Fi within your business increases sales and helps you gain your customer’s loyalty. Whether you are setting up a new business or looking to improve an already existing one, it is crucial to know how to set up your business WI-FI properly. This article provides a guide to setting up your business Wi-Fi to protect your data and keep your customers fulfilled.
Why Is Business WI-FI Necessary for Your Business?
Many benefits come with installing Wi-Fi within your business. The top three include:
Gain a Competitive Edge
Regardless of your kind of business, offering your customers free Wi-Fi gives you a significant advantage over your competitors who may not have one. The truth is that most customers, especially the young generation, are more likely to visit your business because it has free and fast Wi-Fi.
Better Understanding of Your Customers
Having Wi-Fi within your business doesn’t only benefit your customers, it also benefits your business. Wi-Fi offers you great and valuable insights, making it easy to understand your customers. For example, it helps you know the number of customers that come in and those that choose to connect to your Wi-Fi. This data helps you know whether you are attracting new customers.
Customers spend more time at your business when offering free Wi-Fi. As they spend more time, there is a possibility of them spending more money. They may also encourage their family and friends to visit your business, leading to more sales.
How do you set up Wi-Fi for your business?
Setting up a Wi-Fi network for your business doesn’t have to be a nerve-wracking experience. It is pretty straightforward and doesn’t need to take too much of your time. Here is a detailed guide to get your business Wi-Fi running:
Choose a Wi-Fi service provider.
Choosing the right internet service provider (ISP) is the first step in setting up Wi-Fi for your business. To make the right choice here, start by researching the internet service providers available at your business address. The most common method of doing this is searching on Google for “internet service provider near me” and finding listings of companies you can contact.
Various things that you ought to consider when choosing an internet service provider include:
- Speed
- Pricing
- Contract terms
- Assistance, your provider, offers security and
- Managed networks.
If within Fort Myers, you can reach out to Island IT Pros. They offer broadband internet connection options designed to suit your business’s needs, regardless of the size.
Get the Necessary Equipment
Business broadband internet connection typically comes with all you require to access the internet using an Ethernet cable. Nonetheless, it would be best to have a wireless router to create a wireless access point. If your business covers a large space, get Wi-Fi extenders to expand the internet coverage area.
The most practical option to get the right equipment, especially if you don’t have IT staff, is to purchase them from your internet service provider. Your provider will provide the following equipment:
- An Internet modem or router with a power adapter
- Internet cables
- Telephone cable
- Phone filters
- ADSL splitter
Consider Managed networks
Wireless broadcasting signals come with many manipulations and data theft risks. To protect you, your internet service providers will create and manage your network solution’s needs through cloud computing to protect you from them. Having this kind of managed network system helps you in the following ways:
- Offering a full suite of security measures
- Streamlining operations within your business
- Improving your business processes’ efficiency and
- Enhancing your customers’ experience.
Network security
Enhancing your business wireless network security is essential. Without the necessary security-enhancing steps, hackers can steal your customers’ or business data. One way of improving this security is to change your default service set identifier (SSID). SSID is the name of your network that allows users to find and connect to it. Ensure that you don’t stick to your default name. It could have compromising information about your network, which could make it easy to hack.
Another measure is ensuring that your router uses a more secure encryption protocol like WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) and not an outdated protocol like WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). Go to your router’s settings and search for that option to change to WPA. If the option isn’t available, upgrade your router.
Additionally, it would enhance your security to separate public and private access to your network. Have different service set identifiers (SSIDs), one for your business network and one for your guest network.
Bottom-line
Investing in Wi-Fi solutions for your business is a plus for your business. However, paying attention to a few critical details during the setup process will make sure both you and your Wi-Fi users are happy. If you are wondering where to start, go through the guide above. It will give you all the information you need to get your WI-FI connection running.
