Too many businesses are still using outdated appointment scheduling methods.
Call-based scheduling and paperwork approaches might still have fans, but they’re time-consuming and cost-prohibitive. Small companies have no room for this antiquated approach to appointment scheduling.
To help your small business thrive, appointment scheduling software is a must. It puts less pressure on your customer service teams and eliminates the chance of crossed wires and double bookings.
Moreover, scheduling software makes it easier for remote teams to stay connected.
Need more convincing?
Read on for nine reasons why appointment scheduling software is the right fit for a small business.
- 1. Increased revenues and upselling potential
- 2. Better customer relations
- 3. Less time wasted
- 4. Make significant savings
- 5. Automatic appointment reminders
- 6. Prompt payments
- 7. An effective marketing tool
- 8. Ready access to a wealth of customer information
- 9. Streamlined customer experience
- Start using small business scheduling software today
1. Increased revenues and upselling potential
Small business scheduling software is an effective tool for boosting revenues.
If a customer fails to show up, you can quickly charge them for the inconvenience. You can also monetize late cancellations by charging a penalty.
People can also use online scheduling software to upsell their services.
Use online forms to offer additional services and products.
For example, can you offer equipment rentals or other hospitality services? Spotlight these for a quick and easy way to make a premium profit on every booking.
2. Better customer relations
Some small businesses may resist managing their customer’s time.
However, taking the initiative can pay off.
Online scheduling makes it easier for customers to access and utilize your services.
An automated approach also lends itself well to last-minute bookings. A dedicated app lets you connect with clients looking for same-day services.
By honoring last-minute arrangements, small businesses will set the gold standard in customer relations.
As a result, they will quickly grow your client base and ensure high retention levels.
3. Less time wasted
Many businesses still make use of traditional appointment scheduling methods.
However, these manual approaches put considerable strain on customer service teams.
In addition, scheduling an appointment is time-consuming. What’s more, there’s always room for human error.
If you want to free up your workforce, it’s time to embrace one of the appointment scheduling software solutions out there as well as a modern document management system.
Scheduling software makes sense for small businesses and customers alike. All your customers need to do is select an available time and date that suits them.
Then, once the appointment is approved, you can send a confirmation email.
For remote employees, scheduling software is just one of many innovative tools to streamline workflows.
💡 Pro tip
Looking for an online tool that makes it easy to schedule and host internal team meetings or external meetings with clients? Get in touch today and request a demo to find out how our scheduling and meeting management tool can help your team.
4. Make significant savings
Time savings instantly translate into money saved.
In addition, by freeing your staff from manually scheduling appointments, you can reduce staffing to other tasks.
In the United States, approximately 37 million small businesses have less than 100 employees.
If you want your business to thrive, it’s never a good idea to spread your remote workforce too thinly.
5. Automatic appointment reminders
If you’re struggling with no-shows, small business scheduling software can help you take charge of the problem.
It’s a very effective tool for dealing with repeat offenders, with automated SMS and email reminders helping cut cancellation rates.
Sometimes, a client can’t make it to a pre-agreed appointment. As such, it’s a good idea to make rescheduling as straightforward as possible.
Use scheduling software that makes quick work of cancellations and rescheduling.
This way, you’re less likely to encounter regular no-shows and loss of revenue.
6. Prompt payments
A significant benefit of online scheduling systems is that customers pay for the service upfront.
Prepaying for appointments is now the standard.
Offer customers multiple payment methods to increase revenue potential and speed up the process.
Even if a customer cancels their meeting before attending, you’ll have a deposit locked down to boost your revenues.
7. An effective marketing tool
Nowadays, more than 77% of small businesses use social media as a marketing tool.
You’re cutting off a lucrative revenue stream if you’re not integrating online scheduling with your business website and social media channels.
Make sure you give priority placement to scheduling buttons.
They make life easier for your customers.
The more links and pages a user has to click through, the higher the drop-off rate you’ll encounter.
Online appointment scheduling isn’t just a service; it’s a valuable sales and marketing tool.
Use it to capitalize on those customers likely to make an impulse decision.
8. Ready access to a wealth of customer information
Data analysis is crucial in improving the customer experience. However, you’ll first need to compile that goldmine of information.
The good news is that centralized customer data is a standard feature for some appointment scheduling software.
Each time a customer makes a reservation, the system logs and updates their information.
This data can help you fine-tune your marketing campaigns and improve your business strategy in the long run.
9. Streamlined customer experience
Even if you’ve replaced phone-based communications with email correspondence, you’re still light years away from automated scheduling.
Endless back-and-forth emails eat into everyone’s schedule.
By automating and streamlining the experience, customers are served better, and your teams don’t have to contend with time-consuming pleasantries.
Furthermore, there’s no room for miscommunication and human error.
Start using small business scheduling software today
Considering the benefits outlined above, it’s not hard to see why appointment scheduling software is becoming popular among business owners.
Once a preserve of big business, nowadays, even smaller operations can put automated scheduling to use.
By streamlining appointment scheduling and removing the human element, smaller companies can focus their attention on what’s important.
Ready to embrace the automated scheduling revolution? At 3veta, we can help.
Greg Tuohy
Greg Tuohy is the Managing Director of Docutec, a business printer and office automation provider. Greg was appointed Managing Director in June 2011 and is the driving force behind the team at the Cantec Group. Immediately after completing a Science degree at UCC in 1995, Greg joined the family copier/printer business.