Schedulicity’s posterous

I recently had an interesting conversation with the CEO of Schedulicity and one of our executive advisors.  We talked about customer service in various industries and how horrible it’s been for the past 10 to 15 years - and how Social Media is finally changing all that. 

Before e-commerce took over the world, people had face to face business interactions in small towns and big cities all over the world.  Often, there was an actual relationship between buyer and seller that led to a sense of accountability if something went wrong or if the buyer was unhappy.  In these scenarios, a physical presence and/or an existing relationship helped resolve any customer service issues before they became, well, an issue.

When e-Commerce came along, product cost became king.  Companies reduced customer service budgets and personnel drastically in order to remain competitive.  Customer service budgets and personnel were drastically reduced in order to remain competitive.  Customers had to get used to negotiating the labyrinth of 6 different telephone prompts just to leave a message while knowing that the chance of a return phone call was remote, at best. 

All the same, companies didn’t suffer too much from this because unhappy customers didn’t have much of a platform to voice their discontent.

Then along came Social Media to recalibrate that relationship.  Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are allowing unhappy customers to do major damage to some very large brands.  On the plus side, the same platform can elevate brands that provide great customer service: think Zappos. 

Providing such a high level of service requires a commitment from the top.  It requires CEOs, CFOs and COOs to see Social Media as the front line of the service department.  It requires hiring good people, paying them a good wage and treating them like they’re an integral part of the team.  It requires finding people who care – and you can’t teach that!

Providing great customer service is its own reward, both on a personal level and a corporate level.  No one can ever fault you or your business for trying to help people.  And as everyone in our company knows, care, patience and assistance turns your customers into your champions – and that’s invaluable!

I love my home state of Montana and I’m proud to see it progressing in its current direction.  It’s become a hotbed of High Tech while retaining its ranching/cowboy/outdoor roots.  It really is the best of all worlds for me.  It is toward that end that my #vivaviernes (#followfriday) theme is devoted.  Here are my suggestions:   @TechRanchMT – One of the driving forces behind all this new High Tech Development and a huge overall supporter of MT businesses. http://www.techranch.org   @MontanaBusiness – incredible resource for businesses currently in Montana or consumers looking for information about Montana businesses.  And if you’re a business looking to relocate to Montana – This is your site. http://www.mtbusiness.com   @EdibleMissoula – Wonderful resource which celebrates local, seasonal foods.  Every city in the US should have a resource like this. http://www.ediblemissoula.com/content/index.php   @SwapMammas – Anyone who’s ‘on a mission to make GIVING the new vice’ should be followed. (period) http://www.swapmamas.com/   @StudioMontageMT – My last MT biz is a Salon/Spa in Great Falls .  They just started tweeting today and they deserve our support right out of the gate.  They have a beautiful website and a portion of their proceeds goes to fight Breast Cancer.  http://www.studiomontage.net/   To any businesses out there thinking of relocating to our beautiful state - do it.  It’s a wonderful quality of life.  It’s a place where children are too involved in outdoor activities to get in to trouble.  It’s a place that only takes one visit to start preparing your move.  By the way, if you come – contact me!

After reading a thoughtful article on the Amazon-Zappos merger by Businessweek’s Sarah Lacy, it struck me that this merger was not about making Amazon bigger or Zappos more accessible.  It’s not about products at all.

Zappos owns the service niche and Amazon, who did a good job as well, has now bought that niche. This merger was all about owning the service category because service is the new black. It strengthens relationships and creates brand loyalty. 

So how does that little anecdote pertain to online scheduling?  Well, in the same way that the Amazon-Zappos merger is not about products, online scheduling is not about the calendar – that’s the secret.  Online scheduling is about strengthening relationships. It’s about being respectful to your clients' needs.  It’s about giving them 24hr access so that they can book services with you at their convenience.  It’s about allowing them to book from their iPhone or Blackberry without having to make a call.  It’s about making sure that every aspect of your interaction is easy, convenient and professional.

By offering online scheduling, you will not only create undying client loyalty and lots of word-of-mouth references, you will also receive fewer phone calls and have more time to spend with friends and family.  If this sounds a bit like a pitch, it is.  But I only pitch it because I know it to be true.

To find out more, go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info

It just hit me yesterday that I follow lots of Smart, Busy Women.  This #vivaviernes is devoted to that theme

• @ginidietrich – Smart info, great blog.  Changing Public Relations to Communications – which is what it’s all about. Here’s her website:  http://www.armentdietrich.com/ Don’t miss the ‘Learn about our culture’ video.

• @thekaitlin – smart, thoughtful,engaging interactions.  Love the Hippie/Lawyer/Tech/Triathlete combo thing she’s got goin’ on.

• @MsLatina – Another smart, engaging, Latin woman who is raising two boys on her own and is ‘On a mission’ to live a full, rich life on a smart, frugal budget.  Great info, Great tips.  Check out her site: http://latinaonamission.com/

• @LunaSerena – Just one more smart, beautiful latina whos bilingual tweets keep me engaged, informed and entertained on a daily basis.

• @intrmissionmssg – My last smart, busy women is a mobile massage therapist in Manassas, Virginia.  Anyone dedicated to helping people (and driving to their homes or business) deserves notice in my book.  Check out her website as well: http://lila.massagetherapy.com/

Once again, so many others that I wanted to mention but I will save those for next week.

In reading Amy Roberts article in Massage Mag entitled Combat Massage Business Lethargy, she states, “the key to a successful marketing system is to have it automated as much as possible”.  I wanted to jump through the screen to let her know that we understand the importance of the relationship between a Massage Therapist and their clients.  That’s why we created Schedulicity.

 The combination of online scheduling and email marketing allows both the Massage Therapist and their clients the ‘Me Time’ they both need so desperately.  The Massage Therapist doesn’t have to worry about spending hours in the evening returning phone calls and explaining why they weren’t available and the client gets immediate satisfaction the moment they wish to schedule some ‘Me Time’.

Here’s the best part... Now that you have a system that is keeping track of all your appointments, it’s also keeping track of all the information associated with those appointments.  You can now generate a list of people based on their birthdays, services they’ve booked, keywords, zip codes, etc.. and send them a targeted email message or coupon with just a few clicks.  That email will also include a link for them to book online with your business.  This has an enormous impact on repeat business and strengthening the relationships with your clients.

To learn more about what the combination of online scheduling and email marketing can do for your massage business, go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info

To take a test drive, click here

This is my first blog post recommending people that I enjoy interacting with on Twitter.  I suggest you follow these people for the following reasons:

• @Julito77 – For 3 years I lived and worked in Spain and Cuba.  My brother is married to a ‘Cubana’ and lives in Mexico and my sister is a Spanish teacher in San Antonio so I have some deep Hispano/Latino ties.  So, one day I decided to do a quick twitter search for some spanish words, I was curious about the hispanic presence on Twitter.  Fortunately, I stumbled upon #vivaviernes.  Just the name got me going because it is so much more festive than #followfriday.  I then connected with @julito77, who is the father of #vivaviernes, our interactions are awesome and it made me realize that interactions on Twitter, even when there may be some business involved, are a natural Latin experience.  Let me explain – when doing business in Latin countries, the business part almost always takes place at the end of the meeting, which sometimes may take hours.  You talk about life, family, sports, weather, news, music, etc... you eat, you drink and then, and only then, once you have made a real connection with the person, you can finish with the business part..  I love that and that’s what I’m rediscovering with @julito77 - Thank you!

• @SarahRobinson – I suppose other people were creating the #ff or #vivaviernes blog post instead of just listing names on Twitter but Sarah’s blog post explaining why she was recommending people was the first I had seen (@julito77 – saw your’s next).  The idea really struck a chord with me as I was trying to find a better way to recommend people that I enjoyed interacting with that wasn’t diluted to the point of irrelevance.  Also, just knowing that I’ll be putting this list together every week makes me read tweets more closely and truly consider all the people that I interact with.  Thanks Sarah

• @lacouvee – New wonderful twitter friend that is fun to read, very engaging and puts me back in touch with a big part of my life – France..  Spent 5 years there and I loved it all.

• @AliciaCaine – A no-nonsense, fresh, frank provider of interesting information and honest feedback.

• @skariann – Bright go getter who has an enormous future – fun to watch it happen

So many others that I wanted to mention but I needed to slow down a bit and holdover some of that exicitement for next week.  Cheers and Thanks to all!

One of the most common themes that I hear from people who provide services to other people is that they’re working too much, spread too thin or spending too much time taking care of others instead of themselves.

 I once got some life advice in one of the most random places.  I was on a flight from Paris, France to Shannon, Ireland and the flight attendant was giving the normal pre flight instructions when she said something that I heard a thousand times but had never truly understood.  She said, “When traveling with children, attend to your own mask first”.  Wow! That was a revelation. 

At that time I was working as a Tour Guide and I had just finished a trip with a group of very needy adults (very much like children).  It was at that moment that I realized that I would soon be of no use to anyone if I didn’t look after myself.

From that moment forward, the “attend to your own mask first” phrase has been my Mantra.  Finding time for yourself is not selfish, quite the contrary.  Providing quality services to people requires extreme mental and physical energy.

Also remember, your client is coming to see you for some ‘me time’.  Don’t make it difficult for them to schedule an appointment with you..  No one likes an answering machine or a busy signal.

An online scheduling system will give both you AND your clients the 24 hour convenience and ease that will provide you both with ‘Me Time’.  You get the free time in the evening with family and friends instead of listening to messages and returning phone calls and your client gets the security and the excitement that comes from knowing they have just scheduled some ‘Me Time’ for themselves.

You will both be rejuvenated by the experience!

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

When I was a child I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents and they always had people over for dinner parties.  When the doorbell rang my Grandfather was quick to welcome them inside, escort them to the living room, pull out a chair and offer them a plethora of drink options – alcoholic or non-alcoholic. 

 Both he and my Grandmother would then spend the next hour asking questions about how that person was doing.  How’s the job, the kids, the new house, the neighbors, etc...  Their interest was genuine and their concern for others was obvious to everyone – that’s why the house was always full.  The conversation always stayed lively throughout the evening and when the party was over, everyone left feeling rejuvenated from the quality time they had spent together.

That’s how I view Social Media.

 I’m not saying that anyone who throws a good dinner party will be a Social Media expert.  I’m saying that the elements of care, courtesy, concern and interest are fundamental to the approach one needs in order to be successful at connecting with people - whether at a dinner party or on Twitter. 

So, my question to you is.... “How are your dinner parties”?

Every now and then you may want to offer a special promotion on Twitter for a particular service within your business.  A great way to do this is by going to your online scheduling page and preselecting the service and stylist.  You can then copy your URL and paste it in to the shorten URL portion of a Twitter tool like Tweetdeck.

You can then create a tweet announcing your promotion for that service and attaching the newly created link.  Now when people see your tweet, they can click on the link which takes them directly to your online scheduling page.  Since the service and stylist have been preselected, they are only left to choose date and time in order to book the appt.

Doesn’t get much easier than that!

1. Get on Twitter - obvious I know but someone would have pointed that out had I forgotten it.
2. Get Tweetdeck - It will allow your to follow feeds about your city or neighborhood which will, in turn, help you find people in your area who are active on Twitter.
3. Create Google Alerts for the things that interest you (i.e. Massge, Health, Fitness, etc..) AND things that may be interesting to your current and potential clients.  Tweet about your finds and attach the shortened link (via the 'Shorten' link in Twitter) and try not to use more than 120 characters so that others can easily retweet your contributions.
4. Follow influential people and organizations in your industry and engage them in real conversation.
5. Promote yourself and your business but in only 1 out of 15 or 20 tweets!  When you decide on a self promotion, always include a shortened link to your online scheduling page so that clients book with you when you are 'top of mind'.