Westmorland Family, which runs upmarket Tebay and Gloucester Services, has enjoyed a 1,000% increase in the number of customers signing up to receive marketing and promotional emails from the firm following the switch to a new guest wi-fi provider.
The move comes as customers increasingly expect free wi-fi to at main-road and motorway services as well as larger forecourts, particularly when sites offer food concessions, laundrette facilities, EV charging or other features that bring longer dwell times.
Previously, Westmorland experienced a modest 35% growth in customer sign-ups over three years, but with the need both to accelerate this and improve overall connectivity, it introduced a new guest wi-fi system at Tebay, Gloucester and Cairn Lodge Services, plus its Junction 38 truck stop, and Rheged, a Lake District events venue.
The firm has since gained 204,498 new customer email sign-ups in the first three years of the system being implemented, a tenfold increase over the 20,072 who opted in to receive emails from the firm over the preceding three years.
Gaining so many contacts has enabled Westmorland to segment its customer base more effectively with a view to redesigning and expanding its loyalty programme. The firm also says its new email database allows for marketing and promotional campaigns to be more targeted and bespoke for customers’ needs and interests.
Wi-fi speeds are said to be fast enough to facilitate the use of online streaming services such as Netflix, while capacity is sufficient for more than 100 people to be connected at any one time – a key aspect given the destination nature of Westmorland’s sites, and the fact that travellers often stop at these services to work.
The system comes from guest wi-fi firm Purple, which counts the NHS, McDonald’s and Harrods amongst its other clients, and offers bespoke ‘splash’ pages so customers joining the network are met with branding that’s tailored to the business they’re visiting.
Westmorland’s brand manager, Josh McHugh, said the new system has “completely changed the way we connect with our customers,” while adding that the growth in email sign-ups has “opened the door to new loyalty opportunities and stronger engagement”.
