The internet is a fantastic place to advertise and promote your business. More and more salons and spa’s are moving forwards with technology and using the internet as an active business platform.
This blog looks at the pro’s and con’s of online booking.
Open 24/7
Many people go online during unconventional business hours. Anyone who surfs the internet past 5pm is less likely to get through to a business they have found to book their service or treatment. Almost every home in the UK has some sort of internet connection and statistics show that Brits are more likely to book online than remember to ring the next day. An online booking system will allow for you to take bookings in real time around the clock, 7 days a week.
Self creating client cards
Any client that registers online with you, should automatically have a client card created for them on your system. Create mandatory fields for your customers so that you can collect as much client data as possible without actually having to do anything yourself. When your clients log back into your system, they will be able to see previous appointments they have had and with which staff member.
Client control
You may feel slightly anxious that your clients have free reign of your diary. With most software providers, this isn’t the case. You can specify which members of staff can be booked, certain times of the day that clients can book their own appointments and select which treatments and services are bookable. For example, any treatment or service that requires a patch test may be listed online, however the client is instructed to call the salon or spa to actually book this appointment.
Decrease your workload without losing the customer service feel
Many salons and spas have online contact forms for clients to fill out. These forms cannot display clear availability nor do they allow for online payments or direct booking. Online booking takes out the middleman; you. Your clients can browse through the available appointments, choose their staff member and appointment time with a click of a button. They will receive a personal email confirmation once they have placed their booking. Add merge fields to your online booking to ensure that personal touch. Make your website flow by ensuring that your online booking feature is in the correct font and colour scheme.
Worried about no-shows?
We know some clients may get ‘click happy’. Customise your online booking to reduce your no shows. You can edit your payment settings to take full payment, deposits or newly registered client deposits. Run weekly online booking and no-show reports through your software system to ensure that the numbers are low. Appointment reminders are also a great way to ensure that your clients turn up for the service that they booked through your website. Check with your current software provider about client card settings; if you do have problems with the same client you should be able to prohibit them from booking their appointments online.
Online booking is a great way to move your business forwards. For more information about Premier Software’s online booking system, please call 01543 466 580.