How many times have you, at the end of a busy day (week? month? year?), got to the point on your to-do list where you need to make a hair-dog grooming-dentist-doctor-exterminator-repair appointment but it is, of course, after regular business hours? So what happens? That item remains on your list and, maybe worse, gets shoved further and further down the list. This is aggravating. As for that hair dresser, dog groomer, dentist, doctor, exterminator or repair person, they are missing out on your current business and might lose your long term business if you find someone who provides their service but is easier to do business with – by allowing you to set appointments when you want, online.
Just imagine it is in the evening, after the kids are in bed. You are comfortable on the couch with a nice roaring fire and your laptop (or iPhone) open. You have your beverage of choice at your side and you are able to actually cross items off your to-do list as you make the appointment to get your hair colored and for your son to get his hair cut (finally). Your beloved mutt desperately needs a bath after the recent bad weather – in a zip you have a grooming appointment set for tomorrow. To be able to make short work of your to-do list at your leisure…what a wonderous thing!
But wait – you are a small business owner, too. Maybe you aren’t a hair dresser, dog groomer, dentist, doctor, exterminator or repair person (because if you were this story wouldn’t make sense – you wouldn’t make an appointment with yourself!) but you are an accountant, lawyer, designer, photographer or personal trainer. You have customers that have the same problem you do – they have making an appointment to see you is on their to-do list but are too busy (or can’t get thru for some reason) to make an appointment by phone during regular business hours. What is the cost to you of all those missed appointments? And as more and more people move to using the Internet for convenience what is the cost going to be in the future?
If you haven’t considered adding self-service appointment scheduling technology to your website, now might be the time to do it. In my next post I’ll talk about some of the vendors out there and the features of their services. In the meantime, enjoy the fire and the beverage and think about how making it easier for your customers to do business with you could help you bottom line.
Patti Bunker is the president and founder of Clearly Simple Solutions, a technology advisory firm located in Atlanta, GA. She is an executive with over 25 years of technology experience in corporate America, as a consultant and in commercial software development. She understands both business and technology. Her broad background and varied experience enables her to see easily see the big picture and apply technology creatively to support business goals. Because it is about the business, not the technology. Now she applies that experience to help smaller businesses to benefit from technology. The result is Clearly Simple Solutions.
