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Whenever I talk with small business owners who rely on appointment scheduling, there’s one key thing they’re all looking for: more time to do the work they enjoy, and less time spent on the logistics of getting there.
Finding the right tools to schedule appointments with clients can have a profound effect on your business. If you can automate your calendar, it saves you—and your clients—extra time and energy that can be refocused on the actual services you offer.
Scheduling tools like Acuity Scheduling enable clients to book with you straight from your scheduler, and free up your time to be reinvested in other business goals. From automating emails and intake forms, to integrating payments, you can use scheduling tools to create better efficiency in your business.
Make self-scheduling self-explanatory
It’s crucial that your scheduler provides clients with all of the details they’ll need to make an informed decision about booking appointments with you.
Anticipate your clients’ questions and set expectations by sharing clear information about what services you’re offering, how to schedule them with you, and what to expect from appointments with you.
For example, the scheduling page for a fitness instructor who offers virtual and in-person classes could include information such as: details about what differentiates each class (i.e., a private beginner lesson or intermediate group class), which classes are held virtually and which are held in-person, how long each class lasts, and the pricing for each class.
By putting extra care into clarifying the details of your services up front, you can make your scheduler unique to your business, and build efficiency into client booking.
Integrate with a payment processor
Clients are more likely to honor an appointment when they’ve provided payment information up front.
When you integrate your Acuity account with a payment processor, you’ll be set up to accept payments or partial deposits from clients right at the point of booking. It’s a safe, quick, and easy way to get paid for your services—and ensure that clients recognize the value of your time.
With Acuity, you can integrate with either Square, Stripe, or PayPal, which gives you options for finding the payment processor that best fits your business needs.
Automate your intake forms
Gather the information you need to know about your clients before their appointments, so you can give them the best experience during their scheduled time with you.
By attaching customized intake forms to each of your services, clients will be prompted to fill out the forms at the point of booking. This builds more efficiency into your schedule—and streamlines a client’s experience with your business—by reducing time spent following up with them before the appointment, or taking up valuable time during the appointment to fill out more forms.
You can also customize intake forms for each of the different services you offer, so you get the right client information for every appointment type. For example, the intake form for a hair salon could include questions about the client’s hair type for all services, but might be customized for hair coloring services with additional questions about the client’s coloring history.
Customize your appointment emails by type of service
Keep communication with your clients consistent with automated email confirmations, reminders, and follow-ups that are tailored toward each of the unique services that you offer.
By delivering information specific to each service, you’ll help your clients feel more prepared and reminded at the appropriate times for each type of appointment. Upfront customization of your emails to clients will save you time down the line, and work to deepen your relationships with new and existing clients.
Once you’ve customized them, you’ll be able to automate all of your emails, while still giving clients the feeling that they’re connecting personally to your brand.
Ready to streamline your workflow? Set up your own online scheduling tools with Acuity Scheduling.