Grow Your Local Business with Online Scheduling

Online Scheduling Removes Roadblocks 

Take a moment to think about how your customers currently book appointments with you. It probably looks a little something like this: 

1. Customer locates your phone number, picks up the phone and calls your business (during business hours only) 
2. Customer may need to leave a message and wait for a return call, depending on your availability 
3. Customer speaks with your business, tries to makes sense of their own calendar while listing to your open appointment times 
4. Customer books an appointment and (hopefully) makes a note of the date and time 

When you look at the process mapped out this way, it’s obvious the experience is not very efficient or customer-centric. A lot can go wrong, from your customer never reaching anyone at your business to noting down the wrong appointment time. And don’t forget, these days many people prefer not to handle business by phone.  Some customers simply won’t reach out to you for an appointment if they’re forced to make a phone call. 

You can remove these roadblocks and inconveniences by use online booking.  When you employ an online scheduling tool, the process looks like this:

1. Customer clicks a link your website or on your social media pages (available 24-hours a day) 
2. Customer views the available appointment times at their leisure and then selects a time that works best for their schedule 
3. Customer receives a confirmation email and/or text message with the appointment date and time details 

It’s clear the online scheduling experience is much smoother and far more customer-friendly than the traditional route. 

Automation Reduces Missed Appointments 

Many businesses struggle with customers who miss appointments.  These no-shows are a pain for a variety of reasons; mostly they're just a big waste of time and money. 

While some missed appointments can be attributed to customers changing their minds, the majority are simply scheduling snafus and forgotten commitments. 

Online scheduling tools can help with this problem using automation. As part of the booking process, these applications collect your customer’s email address and phone number. Once the appointment is scheduled, a confirmation is generated. Then, as the appointment date draws near, you can configure most scheduling tools to generate a reminder message. This automation will greatly reduce the number of missed appointments you see from clients.

Implementation is Simple

Adding an online scheduling option to your local business website is usually a straightforward process that doesn’t require a lot of technical know-how. Once you’ve decided on a scheduling application and complete the sign-up process, you’ll gain access to a widget or plugin (provided by the scheduling platform.) The widget/plugin is then installed on your website, often by simply copying a piece of code and pasting on your web pages.

From there, you can configure the scheduling settings according to your preferences, such as available time slots, appointment duration, and how you receive appointment notifications.

If you’re teamed up with a digital marketing firm like Locallogy, the process is even easier—just let your partners know you’re interested in adding an online scheduling tool to your website and they’ll take if from there.

Use Online Scheduling to Grow Your Business 

Online scheduling is a simple way to enhance your customers’ experience and increase the likelihood that they’ll do business with you. It’s also a great way to keep those calendars full while also helping your office fun more efficiently.

If you make appointments with your customers, whether they’re initial consultations, service calls, or anything in between, an online booking application can help your local business. 

What to learn more about online scheduling?  Locallogy can help! We implement online scheduling tools for our clients and we use them in our own business. Drop us a line for more info.