How To Make Online Scheduling Work For Your Business

Once upon a time, a rustic wedding venue was losing clients left and right — they just didn’t know it yet. 

As many of you are aware, part of planning a wedding involves touring venues… Lots and lots of venues. But this particular rustic wedding venue had no online system in place to allow customers to book a tour on their own time. Instead, the venue relied solely on in-person and over-the-phone booking. 

What’s more, this wedding venue was being ghosted constantly. People would book appointments, but then they’d no-show on the day of! 

Because their current system was wasting their time and money, the rustic wedding venue called in Wild Fig to assess their situation and implement a solution. We knew immediately that they needed an online scheduling system, complete with automated follow-up reminders to banish the ghosts!

Once the online scheduling system went live, our wedding venue made a shocking discovery — not only did they see a serious increase in the number of booked tours, but many of their new bookings were being made in the middle of the night! (We’re talking 1 or 2 in the morning!) 

As it turns out, lots of people plan their weddings outside of working hours. Who’d have thought?

What is Online Scheduling?

When it comes to leading prospects down the sales funnel, everybody knows that you want to make it easier, not harder, for people to buy from you. So when it comes to scheduling appointments, whether it’s a free consultation or exploratory call, it’s a great idea to make the customer experience as convenient as possible. 

According to research, 40% of appointments are booked after business hours. That means that if you’re relying solely on in-person or over-the-phone appointment booking tools, you’re missing out on 40% of potential customers’ business. That’s a lot of money to leave on the table! 

And that’s where online scheduling comes in. 

Online scheduling for businesses refers to the process of allowing customers or clients to book appointments, services, or reservations through a digital platform, typically a website or mobile app. It eliminates the need for time-consuming (and time-dependent) methods of scheduling, such as phone calls or in-person visits, by providing an easy way for customers to select available time slots and make appointments at their convenience.

How Can Online Scheduling Benefit Your Business?  

We’ve talked before about the benefits of business process automation. Online scheduling is a great example of how BPA can be used to increase your revenue, save you tons of time, and build better relationships with your customers. 

Increased Revenue 

According to research, businesses gain an average revenue increase of 27% when using online booking systems! 

Your customers have hundreds of options to choose from in the marketplace, but if you make the purchasing process easy from the start, you’re giving them the incentive to stick with you until conversion. This translates directly to an increase in revenue. 

Furthermore, an online booking platform is in operation 24/7. That means clients can book appointments with you at any time — not just during business hours. With automated scheduling tools, you’ll never miss another client!

Saved Time 

…Not just for the customer, but for you! Instead of having to call or email back and forth to schedule an appointment, customers can simply use an online scheduling tool to book an appointment at a time that is convenient for them. This makes the scheduling process more efficient for everyone. 

(Bonus Time-Saver: With automated reminders and follow-ups — a feature included with most online scheduling tools —  you will also see a drop in the amount of cancellations and no-shows.)

Better Relationships With Customers

By offering customers the ability to easily book appointments anytime and anywhere, you can show your customers that you value their time and energy as much as they do. Providing a great customer experience signals that you’re concerned with more than just making a sale, that you’ve put in the extra effort to make the experience seamless.

On another note, nothing can hurt your relationship with a new customer like accidental schedule conflicts, cancellations, or rescheduling. These problems can be a thing of the past with online scheduling, as most scheduling tools show a business’s real-time calendar availability to customers when they book. 

Finally, automated reminders (which also come with most scheduling tools) also help demonstrate proactive communication. All of these features will help you build long-term trust with your customers. 

Online Scheduling Tools & Features

There are so many online scheduling tools out there, it’s hard to know which one is best. Here are some tools you can research to get started: 

• Square Appointments: An intuitive online appointment management software with an interactive calendar, embeddable booking widgets, and appointment history tracking. 
• Acuity Scheduling: A flexible appointment scheduling system that supports branded reminders, payment processing, and time zone adjustment. 
• Calendly: A team scheduling and appointment management tool with calendar integration, reporting options, as well as custom notifications. 
• HubSpot: A free meeting scheduler that talks to the apps your team already uses and is connected to your HubSpot contacts database.

Whichever tool you choose, you want to make sure that your scheduling platform should offer a variety of features that help you streamline the booking process, including:

• Calendar integration: The appointment system should synchronize with the business's calendar, ensuring that only available time slots are displayed to customers. This feature prevents double bookings and provides real-time availability updates.
• Booking options: Customers should be able to choose from a range of services or appointment types (if you’re offering different services), select a preferred date and time, and even choose a specific staff member if applicable.
• Automated reminders: For better communication, the platform should be able to send automatic notifications and reminders to customers about their upcoming appointments via email or text. 
• Online payments: If you need your customers to make payments at the time of booking, make sure your online scheduling tool offers this feature.
• Customer management: Some online scheduling tools are also wider customer relationship management (CRM) platforms that can store customer information, including contact details, appointment history, and preferences, to allow more personalized customer interactions.

Want Help Leveraging Online Tools For Your Business?

There’s no doubt that online scheduling tools and CRM platforms have revolutionized the way businesses manage their appointments and interact with customers. The convenience, efficiency, and time-saving benefits of these tools are undeniable. 

But many business owners are unsure of what platforms to use, or even how to use them to their fullest potential. If that sounds like you, Wild Fig Marketing has your back! Schedule a 15 minute exploratory phone call with us today. During the call, we can walk you through the benefits of using a CRM platform, discuss which features would benefit you most, and, if you want to invest in a paid platform, we can even snag you a nice discount! (Yup, you heard that right!)

Don't miss out on the opportunity to streamline your scheduling, enhance customer relationships, and focus on what you do best – serving your customers. Schedule an appointment with Wild Fig Marketing today and unlock the power of automation for your business!