Why You Need Online Appointment Scheduling Systems for Your Business!

Why You Need Online Appointment Scheduling Systems for Your Business!

by | May 24, 2022 | BLOG, Business Tools, Online Business Manager, Productivity | 0 comments

For any business that requires clients to make appointments, an online scheduling system brings many benefits. They’re a straightforward, efficient solution that can improve business productivity by streamlining processes.

Some of the top benefits of online appointment scheduling include:

  • Less time spent answering calls for booking enquiries. This means you can be more productive in other areas of your business.
  • Your diary is managed on one system, rather than going back and forth between different ones. Again, this saves time and improves efficiency.
  • An online booking system is always operational. This allows potential clients to book an appointment whenever they want, 24/7. It also increases your sales because you are not restricted to working hours.
  • Clients can easily make bookings thanks to the convenience of online appointment scheduling. It is also easy cancel or reschedule. This increases client satisfaction with your services and your business.
  • Less ‘no-shows’ – clients who use online booking systems tend to keep their appointments. This may be due to interactions with their own online calendar or email, as they are reminded ahead of time that they have a commitment. You can also set up text alerts for your clients. With less ‘no-shows’, you don’t miss out on revenue due to clients not turning up.
  • Many scheduling apps or software come with additional features that bring a deeper insight into your business. For example, it may gather details about your clients that you can use to understand them better, and ultimately create services to better meet their needs.

What is the best appointment scheduling software?

There are many different booking applications out there, and what works for some might not be the best for others. Also, you will need to factor in considerations such as price, usability and decide what features you need. Here is a quick overview of some of the most popular appointment scheduling systems.

  • Calendly – one of the most popular apps, Calendly has a minimalist interface that makes it appealing and easy to use. There are also mobile apps and plug-ins that make sharing your schedule simple.
  • ScheduleOnce – this integrates with many other apps and is good for teams. You can easily add booking pages to your website as well as send calendar invites. There is a free plan available.
  • Acuity Scheduling – this is a versatile and adaptable app that can handle a wide range of appointment scheduling situations. There is a seven-day free trial period, however there is no free plan. They offer email and chat support to customers.
  • Simplybookme – what makes this app different is that it has usage-based pricing. In each pricing plan, you can select a set number of features. They provide customer service via email, chat, and mobile applications.
  • YouCanBookMe – allows you to connect your calendar and only share the times you want with your clients. They book directly into your schedule. Clients receive their own notifications, reminders, calendar invites, and other services.
  • TidyCal – a simple way to book and schedule meetings. It also integrates with many other office apps and can be customised. You can add TidyCal to your website using a simple widget.

An appointment scheduling system will let you and your clients know where you stand. When your calendars are synchronised, clients are reminded to arrive on time for their appointments and you can plan your day accordingly. This gives you more time to focus on other tasks that are essential to your business.

As an online business manager, I’m here to help you implement methods that will improve how you run your business. If you would like advice on scheduling systems, or any other business operations and processes, feel free to book a call!

Tips and Tricks to Put Your Social Media Marketing on Autopilot

Tips and Tricks to Put Your Social Media Marketing on Autopilot

by | Jul 13, 2021 | BLOG, Guest Post, Social Media, Tips | 0 comments

Guest Post by Scott Cross

Know Your Target Audience

If you want to make social media marketing as easy as possible, the very first step is to understand who your target audience genuinely is.  In other words, you need to know the average age, gender, geographic location, hobbies and interests of your ideal customers.  Your ideal customers are the people who are most likely to interact and make a purchase or transaction with your business. 

Whether you’re using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social platforms, you should have access to some basic audience analytics and insights. Before you can sit back and have your social media on autopilot, you’ll need to dig into your analytics and learn as much as you can about your target audience.  You might have some older audience members, some younger, some male, and some are females, which can make honing in on your ideal customers tricky.  But the idea is to get a better idea of who is most likely to interact with your brand.  By understanding who your audience is, you’ll be able to make better, more informed decisions about your social media marketing.  And, by making better social media marketing decisions, being active on your social platforms will be easier and your efforts will resonate better with your audience. 

Create A Social Calendar

Another major hurdle when it comes to social media marketing is knowing what type of content to post.  That’s why we highly recommend that you create a social media calendar outlining all content that you want to post for several weeks to a month in advance.  When you do this, you can plan your content out around any upcoming holidays or industry events that might be relevant to your business. 

Finally, don’t forget to include your branding such as your logo on your social media to make your company more memorable to your followers.  Create a business logo here. 

Use A Social Media Scheduler

The final step in putting your social media on autopilot is to start using a social media scheduler.  With tools like Buffer or Hootsuite, you can schedule your social media posts days, weeks and months in advance.  You can also set it up so that your posts will go live not only on one platform but all platforms where your business is active.  Once you do this, rather than logging on to social media every morning, you’ll only need to take time to work on your social media once every now and then.

Automatic Social Media Marketing For Business

One of the most common complaints we hear from business owners is that they find it challenging to balance maintaining their presence while overseeing their day-to-day operations.  However, in today’s digital landscape, social media is one of the best ways to connect and engage your target audience.  Therefore, it’s crucial to study your audience, create a social media calendar and then get started sharing content regularly so that your business can stay engaged online.  And at the same time, you can focus on the things that matter most!