I’m in the online scheduling business, and I spend a lot of time looking at websites for salons, massage therapists and dozens of other small businesses. Over the last two years I’ve started to notice a few trends; the most significant being that a lot of those websites suck.
We think you might be addicted to animated .GIF's.
It’s understandable, since small businesses are working on limited budgets and there’s not a lot of overlap between acupuncture and web design. It’s also not a universal problem, because I’ve come across some truly brilliant small business websites. I’m just saying that – statistically speaking – a dog groomers website is more likely to be a train wreck.
Of course, I’m not just here to criticize. As a licensed practitioner of web marketing and an amateur connoisseur of small business websites, I’ve identified three things you should keep in mind for your next website redesign.
Flash Is Trash
I visit YouTube when I want to watch a video on the Internet, not the website for my local salon. There is apparently some confusion on this point, since so many salons, spas and alternative healing practices include them. I understand the appeal, since it’s an opportunity to show off your facility and set a relaxing tone. Unfortunately, your users probably don’t appreciate it as much as you think.
Even if you give them the option to skip it, you’re just slowing down their search. You may think it’s just one extra click, but so is hitting the back button. There’s also the practical matter that anything you include in a flash video or menu doesn’t get picked up by Google, which could be hurting your ranking.
Information Up Front
Alright, I’ve skipped the smooth jazz and stock photography parade, so what do I see on your front page? If the answer doesn’t include your hours, location and a quick breakdown of the services you offer, you got the question wrong.
I’m not saying your page should be a blank slate with your hours and a Google Map, but you do need to keep in mind what your visitors are looking for. They want to know where you are, what you do and when you’re open. Including that information on the front page answers those questions as soon as they land. Forcing them to click three different tabs to answer those questions will drive potential customers away.
Simplify Scheduling
Once your visitors know who, what and where they’re ready to start booking appointments. No matter what you’re using for your scheduling, you need to make it clear what how you want your customers to book. The easier you make that, the more appointments you’re going to book.
If you want customers to call, don’t include your phone number under a generic ‘Contact’ tab; paste it on the front page with the prompt to “Call For Appointments”. If you’re using online scheduling, choose an application that’s easy to use and embeds a button on your front page. Long forms or e-mail re-quests will drive customers to businesses with easier options.
Whether you’re launching a new site or tweaking your existing one, keep these things in mind. In the meantime, tell us what you hate to see on a website. Embedded music? Stock photography? Company blogs, perhaps?
-Cody P.
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We talk a lot about how online booking can save you time and money, but the people you have to make happy are your customers. Any change you’re going to make to your business has to bring in more business, or it’s a moot point. So, let’s look at three kinds of customer that will be a lot happier once you start using BookedIN.
- Earn extra points by figuring out which is which!
The All-Nighter
Whether they work odd hours or are natural night-owls, we all know at least one person that consistently replies to e-mails or posts on Facebook at 2:00 AM. Before the rise of online scheduling they were stuck leaving voicemails or sending e-mails and hoping for the best. This is how some truly epic games of telephone tag got started, which is a game nobody likes to play.
With public booking, these nocturnal characters are free to book on their own schedule. You’ll find appointments in your calendar in the morning rather than a little blinking light on the answering machine and they’ll be confirmed instantly, rather waiting for a phone call.
The Browser
The browser doesn’t know exactly what they’re looking for, so they want to hear all the options. They’ll ask for a list of available times and services, then cross-check with the list of staff that’s available that day. They’re great customers, and you don’t want to be rude, but they can take up a lot of your time. They’re going to keep calling whether you use BookedIN or not, but when your busy you’ll have somewhere to send them so you can get back to the customer in front of you.
It’s a win-win, since they’ll have all the information in front of them and be able to browse to their heart’s content. This also works for long-term planners when you’re a little too busy to break out the book for next June.
The Tele-Phobic
Some people don’t like talking on the phone and nobody likes to break bad news. When you put both of those things together, it can make cancelling an appointment over the phone a real challenge for your customers. Granted, you’d rather they never cancel appointments in the first place, but it’s going to happen. Wouldn’t you rather know that wait for a no-show?
By sending reminders and confirmations with links that let customers cancel and reschedule, you’ll give them a way to break you the bad news without picking up the phone. You’ll also be reminding the people who intend to keep there appointments, since there’s nothing worse than forgetting you’ve got an appointment until 20 minutes after it started.
These are just a few kinds of clients that would rather book with a business that offers online scheduling. It’s not a silver bullet, but it can keep you ahead of the curve or keep you competitive with businesses which have already made the jump.
-Cody P.
Hungry for more? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
“Talking Shop” is series of posts focused on small businesses, their challenges and their successes. Just a little inspiration, motivation and education we thought you might like. You can read the previous entries here.
Some people have always known what they wanted to do when they grow up, but most of us figure it out along the way. For Renee Michelle, it was a little of both. She’s always done her friends’ hair, but decided to study biology with the intention of becoming a physical therapist before returning to her first love, which is hair and makeup. Now she’s running Dyehard Beauty Studio from her home in Dyer, Indiana while juggling family and a second job. She’s a case study in going it alone and has big plans for the future.
She’s been running her one-woman show for 14 months now, but she hasn’t always flown solo. She got her start working at a Paul Mitchell salon in Chicago after graduating beauty school in 2003, but decided she needed something a little closer to home once she was pregnant with her son. She spent the next 7 years working at salons around northwest Indiana, while also finding the time to get certified as a Nursing Assistant. Early last year she decided to take the plunge and open her own salon.
It feels kinda homey.
Balancing Act
The most obvious challenge was balancing the needs of her family and the dream of owning her own shop. The most obvious answer was to bring them together and start small, which she did by setting up shop in her own home. She currently serves about 30 clients per month working on Saturdays and doing the occasional remote booking. She specializes in coloring and hairstyling, but added airbrush makeup so she could be a true triple-threat.
The Personal Touch
Rather than focusing on traditional marketing, Renee has opted to slowly build her “best book” through referrals and exceptional service. Since she doesn’t expect too many walk-ins to come knocking on her door, she has time to meet personally with every new client to get a sense of what they like, want or need. It’s time-intensive, but she gets a lot of repeat clients.
She’s confident that she’ll continue to grow her business, since she knows first-hand how frequently clients try new salons and how powerful a good recommendation can be. Of course, there are business challenges other than getting people in the door. Luckily, her Monday – Friday job as an administrator at the University of Chicago has taught her some of the accounting and other skills she needs to run her own business.
Thinking Long-Term
She may be brushing up on her accounting skills and growing her client-base, but Renee also has ideas for where she wants this business to go. Her original concept was a traditional, multi-chair salon, but she’s started thinking a little smaller. Working alone, or with a few choice partners, will allow her to keep offering the personal service she loves as well as maximize her on-location bookings.
The goal is to work weddings, TV shoots or other opportunities that call for full salon treatment on the move. It’s a less saturated market, but breaking into it calls for a unique blend of networking and marketing. Like everything else she’s done, this will be a slow burn, but it has a lot of potential.
Going For It
Renee is still learning a lot of the lessons that go with owning your own business, but the lesson everyone can learn from her is that there’s always a way to make it work. Whether you’re just getting started or have been working for a while, you can always decide to go for it.
-Cody P.
For more small business stories and other useful tips, follow BookedIN on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
“Talking Shop” is series of posts focused on small businesses, their challenges and their successes. Just a little inspiration, motivation and education we though you might like. You can read the previous entry here.
When most people think of making a career change, they assume that means moving from a cubicle to a corner office. For Suzette Sandrin of Heaven on Earth Spa in Kelowna, BC it meant moving from the hospital to the hospitality business.
“People weren’t always glad to be at the hospital, but they were always happy to be at the spa.” she said, referring to her customers.
Now, why can't hospital rooms look like this?
If that sounds like a bigger change than most people make, it’s because it was. Suzette left behind an 18-year career as a nurse to move to Kelowna – with two teenage boys in tow – and buy Heaven on Earth Spa in 2003. She didn’t have much business experience, and her husband initially had to stay behind for professional reasons, but she figured things out quickly. It didn’t take long before she was managing 13 staff members, had line-ups out the door and was turning away 30 – 40 call per day.
Pounding the Pavement
Suzette did it all the old-fashioned way; by pounding the pavement and building a community. As soon as she landed in Kelowna she sought out local breakfast clubs – the kind where local business people meet and discuss – to help her connect with the community. She also applied some of the lessons learned in her previous career to boost business by heading into local hospitals and handing coupons to people who could use a little pampering; overworked nurses.
Hooking into Tourism
Suzette learned quickly that tourism was what made Kelowna tick. With a population that nearly doubled in the summer, she decided to reach out to local hotels. After a lot of legwork and a some financial investment, Heaven on Earth became the go-to spa for four premiere hotels in the Kelowna. Her spa was listed in the room directories and recommended whenever someone needed a massage. She also made sure her promo material was in the other 70 hotel lobbys in the city.
The Personal Touch
All the hotel promotions, plus a lot of pavement pounding, built Suzette a client base of 16,000. She used that database to do traditional e-mail marketing, but nothing has been as popular as good ol’ fashioned birthday coupons. Suzette would print and mail them out at the beginning of each month; a little personal touch that went a long way.
“People still love to have them in their purse,” she says.
Dollar Discounts
Suzette also discovered her customers prefer discounts in dollars rather than percentages, as a “$10 Off” always got more people through the door than a “%10 Off”. Of course, based on the fact that Heaven on Earth’s Groupon deal sold out instantly, people were always happy to save a few bucks.
After 8 years of hard work, Suzette built Heaven on Earth into one of Kelowna’s most sought after spas. She recently sold the business to an ambitious set of new owners that share the same spirit and energy. They have already launched a new Facebook page with many other exciting changes sure to come. As for Suzette, she’s looking forward to spending more time with her family, doing charity work and seeing where her next challenge may lie.
-Cody P.
For more small business stories and other useful tips, follow BookedIN on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus.
The updates are coming fast and furious from BookedIN these days! We’ve just rolled out another one of your most requested features; external calendar synching. With this you’ll be able to view your BookedIN appointments in most desktop calendars such as Outlook, iCal (mac) and Google Calendar as well as native mobile calendars on iPhone and Android devices.
To sync your BookedIN resource schedule, click Settings, select Resources tab and click the “iCal” link for the resource you want to sync. Then just copy and paste the URL into your personal calendar.
It's just that easy!
For calendar specific setup instruction see the How-To section of our support site.
As usual, we want to hear what you guys think of our new features, so sound off in the comments below!
-Cody P.
