Scheduling is like bookkeeping, tedious, time-consuming, and a necessary part of any business.
But what if it didn’t have to be a burden? Instead, you could set it up in a way that streamlines your operations, making the lives of your staff and customers easier.
You want to know how many reservations your business gets daily. However, if your staff is constantly returning calls or emailing updates about their availability for an appointment, it will cause problems for both parties involved.
Want your business to thrive? Use an online scheduling tool. It’s one of the best tools for managing appointment scheduling and ensuring that your clients get what they need from working with you. Why should you use an online booking tool? Here are five reasons:
1. Clients Can Schedule Themselves Across All Locations
Online scheduling software allows clients to book appointments independently without going through you or your staff. This is incredibly convenient for both you and the client. Many clients prefer this booking method because it gives them more control over the process and makes scheduling multiple appointments back-to-back easier.
You can also use this same software for multiple sites if you have multiple business locations. This means that your employees can see what appointments are on the calendar when they log into their computers — and even where they are taking place.
2. It Saves You Time
Managing an appointment book can be complicated for a business owner trying to balance customer service with marketing activities. An online booking tool makes it easy for customers to schedule appointments online or through the mobile app instead of calling or emailing the business owner directly.
This will save you time that would otherwise be spent returning calls from customers who want to schedule appointments but aren’t sure what day or time works best for them. Not only does this free up your time for other tasks, but it also helps eliminate confusion about how certain days might work better than others in terms of availability for both parties involved.
3. It’s Customizable
You can customize an online scheduling tool like a cheat code for your customer service. Regarding your scheduling needs, one size doesn’t fit all. With the right tool, however, you can tailor it to your specific situation. Some examples of ways you might want to customize your tool include:
- Providing both yourself and your customers the ability for a two-way sync, with communication flowing both ways for updates from either party.
- The ability to adjust your messaging and approach based on your audience type. Some audiences may call for a more formal approach, while others might only require an informal one.
- Giving your customers time slot options that work for your schedule.
- Implementing booking page templates that allow you to create multiple booking formats you can plug in, depending on the booking a customer wants to complete.
4. You Can Send Automated Reminders
Once your client has booked an appointment, there’s a chance they may need a reminder as the date approaches. An online scheduling tool can minimize the number of missed appointments with automated SMS reminders. A study in the healthcare industry found that even one missed appointment can increase a client’s likelihood of not returning by up to 70%. A separate government study found that automated reminders can reduce no-shows by up to 20.99%.
An automated reminder is a text message sent to the appointee before the appointment. It keeps the client on track without burdening your staff. You can set the time frame — the day before, the morning of, or whatever time frame you feel comfortable with.
5. You Control Who Sees Your Availability and Appointment Time
With online scheduling tools, you control how much potential information customers see about your business and how they book appointments with you. You can control who sees your availability. You can only allow certain people to see what time slots are available on a given day or week through a personal dashboard. You can also prevent people from booking appointments at times that aren’t available.
Partner With the Right Online Booking Tool for Your Business
When booking appointments, your business can’t afford to take any chances. That’s why you should use an online scheduling tool. It makes life easier for both you and your clients. The key is to find the right tool for your business with the versatility to meet your unique needs.
Apptoto is the flexible, customizable scheduling tool you need to delight your customers and your staff. We’re offering a 14-Day FREE trial for businesses wanting to take a test drive. Sign up today.
