Don’t battle with bookings: make online reservations work for you
As a business owner, your daily to-do list probably feels never ending. So why not think about how a digital bookings system can help alleviate some of that pressure? This piece will cover how online bookings can benefit your business by:
- Allowing your customers to book when it is convenient for them
- Freeing up your – and your staff’s – time, allowing you to get on with the day job
- Making your business easy to find for potential customers
Here are four ways that online bookings can help you grow your business:
Give staff the time to focus on number 1 – your customer
Taking bookings online frees up staff to look after your customers instead of answering the phone or processing bookings. Not only will this allow you to better organise staff and reduce workloads, it means that your staff will be able to give more of their attention to the customer that they're working with at the time, making the experience more satisfactory for all.
Take back the power and tackle your to-do list
Having a structured online calendar of bookings will also allow you to understand where there is capacity for bookings or when it’s time to close the books. It can also help you understand when service levels will be high or low,allowing you to adjust staff scheduling, inventory levels or other factors that may impact the bottom line during peak times.
Boost your revenue streams
Opening an online booking system for your customers could open up your business to a new segment of customers: by offering the flexibility to book from their sofa, rather than only when you’re physically open, you widen your potential audience and the extra revenue that generates.
Help your customers stick to the schedule
Most online booking systems allow you to automatically send confirmations to clients and reminders by email or SMS shortly before their appointment. Moreover, most modern systems will allow your clients to cancel, re-book or adjust the details of the appointment, allowing you to keep on top of your customers’ changing schedules.
With our world becoming more digital, it’s safe to say that online bookings are here to stay, now and into the future. If you are a small business owner, there are opportunities to increase customer engagement with online bookings and potentially making some extra revenue.
If you run a health and beauty salon, find out how you can jumpstart business with our top tips to using online bookings here.
