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For many businesses, getting appointments booked is a huge time and money sink. Here’s how appointment software can reduce friction for everyone.
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There are a ton of great tools out there that can help make it easier to run your small business. Some of those tools, like small business credit cards, are helpful for pretty much everyone.
Other tools, however, are really only useful for certain types of businesses. But, if you happen to run one of those businesses, they can be really useful.
Appointment software is one such tool. If your business runs on appointments, having a scheduling system that works for you is vital. Taking advantage of good appointment software can help in myriad ways, from reducing the time you have to spend on the phone, to even improving conversion rates.
1. Reduce time (and money) spent on scheduling
Without appointment software, you’re either making appointments yourself — or paying someone else to do it for you. Either way, you’re using resources that could likely be put to better use elsewhere. Good software will eliminate the need to have a human constantly available to make appointments, freeing you (or your staff) up to focus on tasks that need extra attention.
Additionally, the extra organization and tracking tools built into most good software can help you save time and money elsewhere. You’ll be able to see what’s on the agenda in moments, get close-to-real-time updates, and create more efficient staffing or scheduling strategies.
2. Improved customer experience
Good appointment software will likely make your customers’ lives better as much as your own. For one thing, software also gives you automatic adaptability; good interfaces will work on both desktop and mobile, and across operating platforms.
Plus, making online appointments is inherently quicker and easier than tracking down the right number to play “20 Questions” over the phone. And your customers are less likely to forget the appointment later, as the software will typically include tools like automatic reminder texts or emails.
3. Better conversion rates
Improving the user experience is absolutely a win from a customer service standpoint. But it can also have an excellent impact on your conversion rates. The less friction your customer needs to overcome to book an appointment, the more likely they are to do so.
For example, potential customers are far more likely to make an appointment if they can do so from your website — at any time of day — instead of needing to call during business hours.
Online scheduling software can also eliminate the unnecessary back-and-forth trying to find a convenient time (and potentially giving up before they get there). Customers can scroll your calendar and easily choose what works best for them.
4. Fewer scheduling errors
It is remarkably easy to get a name or number wrong over the phone. (There’s an entire game called Telephone dedicated to how garbled things get this way!) Appointment software that allows the customer to book their own appointment can reduce these types of errors significantly.
5. More data
Gathering good marketing data about your customers is becoming increasingly important — and easier than ever. Everything they digitally interact with can help you pull in new insights into your customers’ behaviors and your own marketing strategies. The best appointment software will include tools for analyzing the data from your appointments, from tracking your busiest days and times to discovering your most popular services.
A win for everyone involved
If you rarely need to make appointments, then paying for appointment software isn’t going to help your business much. But for companies that rely on appointments to operate, good software is becoming a mandatory part of the business. And that’s a good thing, in my opinion, as it makes things easier not just for you, but also for your customers.
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