Friday Feature: Appointment scheduling with Custom Features [Video]

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No two businesses are the same, you already know that the way to get more clients is to differentiate yourself from the competition. If you have a unique service or approach, your appointment scheduling software should help you highlight it.

Even small cities and towns can host dozens of hairstylists, fitness centres, medical centres, or dentists, so customising your client approach is key to gaining the high ground. Customisation using adaptable features can help your online booking software reflect the unique aspects of your business.

 Customisation enhances both business and client experience

Different service industries all have their preferred common features, but it’s how they use them that brings the individuality to each booking site. While different sectors need varying combinations of customisable features, there are certain features that almost everyone wants in their appointment scheduling software.

Accept Payments

It’s not surprising that this is a popular feature across the service sector. Accepting and making payments “seals the deal”; your business has already been paid and the client secures their booking. No-shows are reduced because paying for things tends to motivate a client – although, this isn’t necessarily true for New Year inspired gym memberships.
Many things depend on accepting payments such as memberships, subscription services, and selling additional products and gift vouchers.

Intake Forms

Time is a precious commodity, these days and no one wants to feel like they have to show up early to complete a questionnaire, or worse, waste their paid session time doing it. However, getting to know your client is a vital business process. It works both ways; a busy practice with strictly regulated sessions can’t afford to waste essential minutes that will throw their schedule out of sync.

There is a need for many sectors of the service industries to ask questions, whether it’s a personal trainer asking about medical conditions and physical limitations or a doctors office asking questions about the impending visit. Doctors, dentists, and other medical practitioners can combine this with SOAP (with or without encryption) to help keep their patient details complete.

Calendar Sync

This one is just for the business side of things, but it’s a good one. Service providers are people too, with lives outside of work (Scandalous! My amazing masseuse is human!). Ensuring two-way calendar synchronisation means that therapists, trainers, and counsellors won’t miss a scheduled appointment, but the business won’t show them as available when their external web calendar has a ‘busy’ entry.

Cancellation Policy

If you’re being honest you’ll admit that you don’t want clients cancelling their appointments at all, but it happens. Being firm, but fair in your cancellation policy can work well with the acceptance of payments; No deposit refund if you cancel less than 48hrs before your appointment. You can even have the cancellation policy in place but disable the client cancellation function.

Custom Pages

Why does a business need a website? The answer is simple; customers have begun to demand an online presence and also online booking. If you follow the argument, why does a business need a website AND an online booking system? While there are several ways to integrate the SimplyBook.me booking system (Plugin, Javascript widget or button) with an existing website, it still means maintaining two separate systems.

If you can add customised pages to your booking site, to include everything you would want on your business website, you can control everything from one place. Okay, you still have to keep your social media presence up, but that’s the price of doing business in the digital age. If you want to combine everything in one place you can even use the Custom Domain feature to turn your appointment booking site into a fully functional and professional website with your own domain name

Why do I need customisation for my appointment scheduling site?

Why wouldn’t you customise your appointment scheduling software? You’ve bought a domain name for your business and personalised a website for your professional purposes. You have even customised your social media pages: Why would you leave your booking site like a generic afterthought?

Take a look at 50+ customising features to benefit you, your clients, and your business –>>