Online booking solutions offer a host of benefits to businesses. However, how do you select a quality system from the tons of software platforms out there? We help you by providing a list of the top features and factors that you should look for to select the best available system for your needs.
The booking page should be intuitive
You can get more bookings if your booking page is intuitive, clean, and well designed. Keep your booking process simple and utilize a customizable page that you can easily incorporate in your site. You can get attract your social media followers by adding the page to your Facebook account as well.
Online payments and refunds
The software should enable you to take payments from clients when they make the booking. Post your prices clearly on your site so that clients know how much they need to pay. Advantages with payment processing are you can take secure payments ahead of the appointment and do not have worry about it when the client comes for the service. Plus, the system should allow you to take payment in a host of currencies as well as effortlessly process refunds.
For more information how you can minimize no-shows with 10to8 check out our other article.
Anytime booking
You can get a lot more business by enabling your clients to book online. This is because even today a good percentage of local businesses do not have a website. Therefore, you can beat the local competition by offering this facility. Make things easy for the customer so that they prefer you instead of going to a competitor.
Anywhere access
Many business owners need to constantly travel to meet clients and for other purposes. Therefore, you should be able to access and view the booking system from your mobile device. This way, you can keep yourself updated all the time. If a client cancels a booking, you can get to know it wherever you are. The advantage is you will not find yourself in a situation where you rush back to your establishment from a far-off place for an appointment, only to learn the client has canceled it.
Sell your brand
Market your brand through the online booking system. This will tell prospective customers that you are a trustworthy and reliable business. Publicize your brand and services so that your clients can learn about your establishment through the personal messages, texts, and email confirmations you send to them.
Free unlimited texts
Avoid systems that limit or charge you additionally for appointment reminder texts. These texts are important to minimize no-shows, so go for a solution that offers unlimited free text reminders.
Offer real-time bookings
You should enable your clients to make changes to their bookings in real time to avoid double bookings. Adjust your calendar view for your business requirements so that you are able to fill last minute slots.
Make use of SEO
Use SEO strategies to make your website rank high in Google search results. This will enable prospective customers to find you easily on the internet which will boost your number of bookings.
Develop your preferred type of system
No scheduling system can cover everything. Therefore, you should be able to seamlessly integrate the platform with other applications such as Google Sheets and MailChimp email software via Zapier. You should be able to tweak the solution to arm it with all the features your business needs.
Communicate with the online community
Along with the system, you should be able to access and communicate with users, clients, and other business owners through the online community. This can give you fresh ideas and help you learn about the latest trends that you can apply in your business. Plus, the software website should offer detailed guides as well as helpful videos to enable you to maximize the potential and features of the solution.
Make it simple to do business with you
The system should allow your clients to easily book the services they need, while you should be able to manage the admin aspects effortlessly. Therefore, to boost your business you need to find and invest in a modern, professional, and organized online booking platform.
10to8 is the answer
You don’t have to look far to find a robust online booking solution that offers all the above essential features. 10to8 is that system and the best part is it is free forever for small businesses. Visit the product website, learn about all its functionalities, and sign up for free.
You can integrate 10to8 with more than 350 apps
To add to the integration feature referenced above, you will be glad to know that 10to8 can be integrated smoothly with more than 350 business apps. This can enable you to run your business efficiently and minimize repetitive work at the same time.
You can use Zapier to integrate 10to8 with the other software systems you use so that new bookings and new clients in 10to8 trigger actions in other platforms such as Google, Twitter, Quickbooks, Evernote, Xero, Insightly, Infusionsoft, MailChimp and more.
These integrations can help you to automatically perform the following tasks among others:
- Send a follow-up message after an appointment is completed
- Send a customer satisfaction survey after an appointment
- Block time in your 10to8 calendar when you get a booking on another calendar you use such as Google Calendar
- Produce invoices by adding new clients to your accounting system
Case studies
Now let’s look at how 10to8 users are utilizing integrations:
Luke is an independent osteopath who uses 10to8 and Google Calendar to keep his personal and clinic diaries in sync. He uses 10to8 calendar while his employer clinic uses Google Calendar. Luke solved the issue by integrating 10to8 with Google Calendar. Now, all appointments he gets are automatically recorded in both calendars which means he doesn’t need to worry about double-bookings.
Kate utilizes 10to8 and SurveyPal to receive comments from her physiotherapy patients. She was facing a major problem getting feedback from her patients especially during peak times. Kate integrated 10to8 with SurveyPal, as a result now patients automatically get questionnaires after their appointment. Kate can easily view their comments in a single place and follow up on them if needed.
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