Guest Wi-Fi
At the recent Western Regional Convention for the Arizona Dental Association, I attended several seminars and workshops. During these learning sessions I was struck by how many participants openly checked their cellphones and I-Pads (taking notes perhaps) during the presentations. As one who has given corporate presentations to large groups of people for over 20 years, I have to say that at first I was shocked at how impolite to the presenter this behavior seemed to be.
The presentation I attended had to do with using social media, marketing, branding, etc to grow your practice. The presenter, Rich Hirschinger, seemed to roll with the audience and even embrace their use of social media during his presentation. It was at that moment that I realized two things 1) I had been out of the presentation business for longer than I thought and 2) Rich was a genius. My first reaction would have been to use the standard line “could you please silence your cell phones during this presentation” and demand full attention from the audience. But how could you give a presentation on social media and not encourage your audience to use the tools that they brought with them?
The brilliant part was when the audience was going to Rich’s Facebook Page and throwing him a “Like” while they listened to him give pointers on how to promote your business using Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. So the next time I give a presentation, I intend on embracing social media, not pretending that it does not exist.
Ok, so now back to my original topic of Guest Wi-Fi. One of Rich’s ideas was to give your patients the opportunity to use their down time in your reception area productively by making a guest wi-fi available to them while in your office. Not only that, turn it into a marketing event by labeling your new network something similar to the keywords used on your website.
So with the help of my friends from Phoenix PC Networking we were able to setup a guest wi-fi at our locations in both Phoenix and Paradise Valley so that our patients and guests can enjoy full use of their mobile devices while spending time with us. We don’t ask our guests to “check their devices at the door”, so why not give them the opportunity to get full use of the technology? FYI, the networks we set up are completely separate and distinct from our confidential, encrypted network information used by our office. We take information protection very serious and this independent wi-fi maintains the integrity of our systems.
Ok, so a picture of the ceiling in my office is a little cheesey, but visuals go a long way. So if you are in Phoenix or Paradise Valley and you need a root canal (or not), come on by – anytime spent waiting will be productive for you. We look forward to seeing you soon..
KC
