Schedulicity’s posterous

With the holidays fast approaching, here are some tips to make sure you are 'top-of-mind' when your clients are thinking about their purchases.

1.      Send out one of our holiday marketing templates with information on the services and promotions you’ll be offering on the weekend of ‘Black Friday’ (11/27).  The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year.  Make sure you’re in your clients’ minds if you plan on working those days. Include in your message that you will give discounts to those who schedule early.  And remember, the ‘Schedule Now’ button is included in all your templates so that your clients can immediately book services with you when they see your message.

2.      Send out one of our coupon templates on ‘Cyber Monday’ (11/30) with a discount on services you may be offering for the month of December.  Suggest in your message that your clients forward this on to their friends who may also be interested.  Remember, ‘Cyber Monday’ is the Monday after ‘Black Friday’ and is the beginning of the online holiday shopping season.  If your clients are online, make sure they’re thinking about your services!

3.      Create holiday-themed online promotions that automatically display when your clients are getting ready to book your services online.  They take only minutes to create and could generate significant holiday revenue for you.

4.      ‘Green Monday’ (12/07) is the busiest online shopping day of the year.  Once again, if your clients are going to be online, this may be a good day to have a special offer or promotion sitting in their inbox when theey’re thinking of gifts to purchase for their friends and families.

5.      Dec 14^th, or ‘Brown Monday’ is typically the last day for free shipping offers of online purchases.  Those who have waited a bit late may be receptive to ideas that you send them in a ‘Late Gift Ideas’ email.  And those ‘gift ideas’ could have a lot to do with your services.  Just sayin ;-)

Just read a very good article on Massage Magazine’s website entitled ‘Extend Simple Pleasures to Expand Your Revenue’ by Mia Kyricos.  Although Mrs. Kyricos presents some very useful and compelling business ideas, I am continually surprised that the client scheduling process is not one of the main issues addressed.  A massage therapist’s service begins the moment a client thinks about booking that service – not after they walk through the door. Let me explain.

Not so long ago, it seemed that most massage therapists were so busy that losing a client or two was almost a blessing that enabled them to keep their sanity and a little free time.  That has all changed.  Now, losing a client or two can mean the difference in paying the rent, mortgage or car payment.  In times like these being able to capture the impulse of your clients not only shows that you value their time, it also guarantees that you will keep their loyalty.  Their convenience is the key to your business.

I am obviously biased as I work for an online scheduling company but I work for this company because I believe in this service.  Everyone knows the ‘phone tag’ scenarios of leaving messages and having them returned when you’re unavailable only to find out that they’re busy during the time you’ve requested.  Once upon a time, that was the only choice and people dealt with it as a necessary evil.  Those days are gone!

People can now buy products online at 3am or book complete vacation packages in minutes.  If you do not give your clients the ability to book your services online at their convenience, they will soon find someone who will.  The online scheduling revolution for small businesses has arrived.  It’s here because it’s affordable, it works and it gives both service professionals and their clients complete satisfaction.  Get your clients in the door as quickly and easily as possible and then you can ‘Extend Simple Pleasures to Expand Your Revenue’.  

1.      In order to send clients to your facebook fan page, you need a fan page.  It’s easy to do if you don’t already have one.  Here’s a link from facebook to help you.

2.      Once your fanpage is set up, go to the email marketing section within Schedulicity and click on the ‘Invitations’ section of the email marketing ‘Template Categories’ and choose the ‘Connect Online subtab. (See pic #1 below)

3.      To link your clients to your fanpage, you will need to copy the URL or web address that is associated with your fan page.  (See pic #2 below)

4.      Once you begin crafting your message, be sure to paste the link to your Facebook fan page so that clients can go directly from your message to your fan  page.  (see pic #3 below)

5.      The best part about this invite to your Facebook fan page is that it also includes a ‘Schedule Now’ link that takes your clients directly to your online scheduling page as well.

"I have been playing with your system, and so far I am VERY IMPRESSED!  I have tried about 15 different online booking systems, and this is the easiest (and cheapest) one I have found.  Not only has it been easy to set up, it is also very easy to navigate on the user end.  I have tested your system for problems that I have run across in all other systems, and it has passed every test.  I am so excited to be using your service, and I am sure my clients will love it.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" 

Sincerely,

Erin Parish, LMT, NCMTB 
Caring Touch Massage, L.L.C.

This email was redistributed with the permission of Erin Parish.

I just recently received this list from Sheri Geyer of Atlanta, Georgia.  She’s a certified life coach who also owns and operates a hair studio.  This is a smart, busy woman who uses online scheduling for both of her businesses.  She was kind enough to allow us to share with you her ’10 Reasons To Offer Online Scheduling To Your Clients’.  So here is part 2 of Sheri’s list:

1.      Burn the Pencil and Appointment Book. In a few years, they will be obsolete.  Customers are going to gravitate to what is new and innovative and that will most likely be the businesses that offer them the convenience of 24/7 online scheduling so they will not be limited to only calling during actual business hours.  We will look back and determine the appointment book to be as useful as a rotary phone is today. 

2.      Stay on the Cutting Edge.  Many businesses are offering the convenience of online scheduling of appointments, even orders.  Imagine the chaos, if we had to go back to booking airline flights with an agent over the phone ~ no way!

3.      Promote a Professional Image.  Many times my clients have commented on the convenience that online scheduling offers them.  They usually say things like “I wish other service businesses would provide this professional service.”  They are glad that I have listened to their needs and made the effort to provide them every reason to remain loyal to me.

4.      Be Intentional In the Moment.  When your customers are conveniently using your online scheduler, you can focus on the client you are serving during their scheduled appointment time.  No more interruptions by the phone. No more concerns that if you don’t answer the phone you will miss a customer.  You can build rapport and really enjoy the time you spend with your clients without fear of loss of business.

5.      Eliminate No-Shows.  The best online scheduler will retain customer emails and phone numbers and build a database for you.  This serves a two-fold purpose.  You have the information necessary to contact your customer if you need to and they are providing you with a “virtual” handshake that they will show up for the appointment they’ve scheduled.  Just by virtue of the fact they have provided their personal information in setting up their account, lets you know they are serious and intentional in their efforts.  They will receive confirmations and reminders and you will receive notifications of their scheduled appointments.

I personally recommend the best I’ve found, and in 30+ years in the hair industry and nearly 6 years of shop ownership, I have heard, tried and seen them all.   You owe it to yourself to check out Schedulicity.  They provide the premium package for service businesses at unbelievably affordable pricing and a free introductory period for you to learn and in turn, educate your clients.  Sign up with Schedulicity, fire your appointment book and get your life and game back on!

I just recently received this list from Sheri Geyer of Atlanta, Georgia.  She’s a certified life coach and she also owns and operates a hair studio.  This is a smart, busy woman who uses online scheduling for both of her businesses.  She was kind enough to allow us to share with you her ’10 Reasons To Offer Online Scheduling To Your Clients’.  So here is part 1 of Sheri’s list:

1.      Cut Loose from the proverbial “ball and chain”.  With offering the option for clients to schedule online, you can be anywhere during your “down time” and have the assurance that your clientele has 24/7 access to your calendar.  They can compare your schedule with theirs and set up a convenient time for their haircut, massage, manicure, etc. anytime they choose.  No more phone tag.  No more calls to see what you have available only to have to call you back in 5 minutes after comparing what they have available and how it can work. 

2.      No more sitting by the phone waiting for your day to line up.  Announce the information to your clients on voicemail where they can go to click on your “Schedule Now” button for their appointments.  If your online scheduler offers an option for email marketing, and it should, make your announcement via email so they will have the link.

3.      When you are off work or on vacation, you can have your online scheduling aka virtual personal assistant work so you don’t have to. It’s awesome coming back from vacation to a full slate of scheduled appointments and happy customers who aren’t frustrated because you were “out of touch” for 8 days.

4.      “Lucy, You Got Some ‘Splaining’ to Do”. [Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy =) ] No more having to explain why you are coming in or leaving at a particular time.  Your online scheduler can provide you with the ability to set up your schedule each day according to what is convenient for you.  You can set it around your appointments, your kid’s soccer game, industry shows you would like to attend, and even, a sit down lunch.  It’s your business, plan as you choose.

5.      Adjust Your Days. If you want to work longer hours and fewer days, you have the choice.  Or maybe, you would like shorter hours on more days.  Maybe you are planning for a week off, work more days and hours the week prior to and after you return.  The sky is the limit in your life when you have online scheduling for your service business.

To learn more, go to www.schedulicity.com

As I am involved with an online scheduling company, I hear stories all the time about the types of phone scenarios that Hair Stylists, Massage Therapists, Personal Trainers, Life Coaches, etc… find themselves addressing almost daily.  From listening to a ringing phone while you’re with a client to returning phone calls in the evening when you would prefer to be with family or friends, answering phone calls while you’re at work is not productive and returning phone calls in the evening is not fun.

I’ve even had service professionals tell me that they end up feeling they should explain why they may not be available while trying to find a time that works for the client.  This is a WASTE OF ENERGY for both the client and the service professional and it always leaves me with the feeling that the service professional is trying to schedule the client.

Give your clients the immediate satisfaction of seeing and booking your available times at their convenience and you’ll be rewarded with:

·         A great experience for your client the moment they decide to book with you.

·         Less phone tag

·         Not having to explain why you’re not available

·         More time with family and friends

·         More energy to do what you love (and get paid for)

·         More business

To learn more about online scheduling, go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info

If you are a service professional and you accept appointments from clients you can now run your business from your iPhone or Blackberry. 

Schedulicity has a mobile web application for its online scheduling platform that will allow you to view your weekly and daily schedule at a glance.  You can also view reservation details as well as create and cancel reservations in seconds.

Your clients can also schedule your services from their iPhone or Blackberry.

So, if you’re a Massage Therapist, Stylist, Personal Trainer, Life Coach, CPA, etc… go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info and sign up for a test drive.  Once you get your temporary username and password, use your smart phone to go to schedulicity.com, log in as a ‘business user’ and check out how easy it is to now run your business from your phone.