When you move your business’ scheduling online, it can open up a whole new world for you and your customers. Many businesses still do their booking process via the phone or in person. Whether this is because they haven’t found the right online scheduling tool or they just don’t know where to start, implementing an online scheduling strategy is essential for making it in the modern business world.On average, Americans spend 23 hours a week communicating on the internet between social media, emailing, texting, and other forms of online communication. With the movement towards doing business on online platforms rapidly increasing, it’s time to think about moving your company’s scheduling to the digital realm. Not only can online scheduling save you time and money, it can completely change the way you run your business. Below are 5 ways that moving towards online scheduling can transform your business for the better.
Free Up Your Time Moving your scheduling online means far fewer hours spent on the phone or in person making appointments. It may not be realistic for some businesses to move their scheduling online 100 percent, because in many industries clients still want to call or book appointments in person. For companies that find it possible to move all of their scheduling online, they report saving anywhere between 10 to 20 hours a week. With this kind of free time, you can have more hours in the day to work on growing your business.
Generate More Revenue Online booking is a great way to help your business grow and generate more revenue. There are several ways you can use online booking to your advantage, such as allowing customers to pay for their appointment via credit card when they book it. This not only gives you instant revenue, but allows you to hold the customer accountable for late fees, rescheduling fees or cancellation fees. You can also give your customers the option to purchase gift cards or special promotion packages online. This way your customers feel like they are in control of the scheduling process and are more willing to spend money on their appointments.
Happier Customers If there’s one thing that all customers want, it’s convenience. Not only do customers want convenience, they want convenience on their own terms. With online scheduling, you can give your customers the convenience to book an appointment whenever and wherever they want. They no longer only have the option to book an appointment during business hours, or whenever the phone line is free. With online scheduling you essentially eliminate phone tag between you and your customers and you give them the freedom they crave. With more freedom and control over how they book their appointments, your customers are going to be happier overall with their experience from the very beginning.
Fewer No-Shows Several businesses who implemented an online scheduling plan saw 50 percent less no-shows on their calendar. No shows can cost your business a lot of time and money. In fact, no-shows have been reported to cost businesses billions of dollars every year. Online scheduling can reduce your number of no-shows by helping you enforce a no-show policy. Charging fees or only allowing a partial refund for no-shows will give your customers an incentive to stick to their appointment time, saving you valuable resources.
Integrate Your Scheduling As business owners we’ve all been there, having too many things in too many places. Scheduling can become confusing when you’re using several different tools like your email, the calendar on your phone, and your website. With online scheduling, you can easily integrate the software into other tools that you use on a daily basis such as Google, Outlook, Office 365 and even iCloud. This way there is no overlap between business and personal use when it comes to your online calendars. Online scheduling tools also allow you to see appointments as they are booked in real time, and get notified when an appointment is coming up or canceled.Moving your business’ scheduling online is one of the best things you can do for your company and your employees. Online scheduling can save your business time, money and valuable resources, leading to happier customers and more revenue. Online booking tools like Book Like A Boss allow you to keep all of your calendars and appointments organized in one space. If you’re a company with a need to make appointments, online scheduling is the perfect way to transform and grow your business.
