Why Consider online scheduling in the first place?Scheduling appointments is the heart of many consulting and service businesses. After all the hard work it takes to reach customers interested in taking the next step, scheduling should be as simple as possible. If visitors find you online, do they hesitate to call? Letting customers self-schedule sounds great, but is it right for your business? Make scheduling easyRather than having customers calling and fumbling through an automated phone system (which is hopefully smart enough to understand what they want), or being put on hold while they wait for a 'live' person, why not make it a little less painful by enabling them to schedule their own appointments online? There are many scheduling apps that allow customers to easily book an appointment and even re-schedule without any fear of double booking, freeing you up of some valuable time! So what's the big deal? Is it right for your Business?Scheduling is inherently complex. Offering customers the convenience to make, change and cancel appointments 24/7 is a great concept, but deciding to make the transition can be a daunting. One of the biggest fears of allowing customers access to schedule their own appointments is the loss of control over the schedule. Thankfully, most software is designed with parameters allowing you to set what customers can and cannot do. And yet online scheduling is not for everyone. Making modifications to an existing scheduling process can require major organizational changes. This is a valid concern. Making any kind of change has a learning curve and painful adjustments, but taking into consideration the benefits after the transition can help you determine whether or not to move forward. Some businesses can easily justify the time and effort, but for others, it's simply not feasible. Some of the advantages....So you're considering it. Let's look a little further. What are the advantages and are they worth implementation? Ideally the advantages work in every situation, but an advantage can have a negative impact as you will see in the comparison.
Possible disadvantages....Many disadvantages can be limited with a processes such as setting parameters or allowing double booking, but they all have pros and cons depending on the business type, so view this list while considering your specific business.
What else should be considered....
So what next?Do some research! Make a list of the 'must have' features and compile a list of providers that fill that need. It's worth the time to demo the products before choosing, especially if you have a complex scheduling process.
I've listed more than a dozen scheduling apps below to get you started. Hopefully there's something that suits your needs. Most have a free basic version or Free Trial period for premium plans. I don't have any affiliation with any of the products below, so there is no bias or promotional incentive. I'd love to get your feedback on any of the products you have tried.
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