Engaging customers on the move – Northern Rail choose CROWD Smart WiFi
Free Wi-Fi at stations will allow train operator to engage with customers and provide insight about their future needs.
“The train arriving at platform 2 is the 17.35 to Bolton”. In the past this announcement may have been the most engagement a customer could expect when standing on a train platform, but times are certainly changing with customer focused operators like Northern Rail embracing new technology. Customers at 30 stations can now connect to free CROWD Wi-Fi provided by Jade Solutions and courtesy of Northern, a Serco and Abellio joint venture. Of course Wi-Fi is nothing new, but then again CROWD does deliver an awful lot more to both the customer and Wi-Fi users than just a Wi-Fi connection.
The CROWD solution itself is a powerful Wi-Fi based customer engagement and analytics package that has been enjoying a growing reputation, particularly in retail circles, with leading brands like Clarks Shoes using CROWD across their UK store portfolio.
The Big Picture – Customer Engagement
CROWD helps companies build a picture of how their business performs by allowing personalised interaction with customers and this will help Northern deliver on their focused customer engagement strategy.
Rob Warnes, Planning and Programmes Director at Northern, said: “We keep our customers at the heart of everything we do, and we know that more of our customers than ever before want to access real-time information on the move. By providing free Wi-Fi at our stations, our customers can access live train running information, which we know is extremely important to them, as well as check their email and catch up on the latest headlines.”
The CROWD Smart Wi-Fi platform will also enable Northern to engage and interact with customers by delivering opt-in personalised promotions, offers and surveys straight to their mobile devices.
Mark Brackley, Managing Director of Jade Solutions, added:
“We are delighted to be working with a forward-thinking company like Northern Rail. We believe the CROWD Wi-Fi solution will strongly contribute towards improved customer engagement and deliver on Northern’s commitment to improve customer experience through technology. With customer satisfaction a high priority for Northern, CROWD Wi-Fi’s powerful analytics platform will deliver a deeper insight into the future needs and requirements of customers, further enhancing their travel experience.”
The Environment a Consideration
With the outdoor environment a consideration on the Northern Rail project, Jade installed state of the art hardware technology from US Cloud computing giant Aerohive, a key partner in delivering the CROWD Solution.
CROWD Account manager Rob Woollard explained further
“We needed an enterprise-grade, high performance product, which would work in the rail environment and the AP1130 access point from Aerohive was perfect, with its design suitable for high bandwidth outdoor wireless environments. Aerohive have an excellent reputation, provide great support and form a core part of the CROWD offering”
Results for Northern Rail
Northern Rail chose Jade Solutions and CROWD on the strength of both the solution and the whole service offering provided. Franck Bosch, Innovation Manager for Northern explained
“I was pleased to select Jade solutions as the supplier of our new customer Wi-Fi network. The CROWD white label solution delivered by Jade has not only improved facilities at stations but has also enhanced the user journey for thousands of Northern customers. The input from the Jade team throughout the process has been exceptional. Right from the initial project concept, through implementation to post project support, they have been a pleasure to work with.”
