Why you need an appointment booking system
Do you run a service-based business? Perhaps you're a coach or a consultant?
Maybe you're a personal trainer or a massage therapist? Or perhaps you're a tutor, or providing some type of medical services? Regardless of the type of service you provide, you need a booking site that not only you can rely on, but makes it easy for your clients to book and pay for your services.
So in this video, I'm going to show you
how to create your own custom booking site, so you can proudly share your link with your customers. Now, first things first, you may be asking yourself, can't I just use something like Calendly for my booking page? Well, you could, but you know what?
Then your booking site is going to look like, well, everyone else's booking site, and they're going to come to a screen just like this, and you're going to have very limited options to present to your clients.
Instead, wouldn't you rather build something that is customized to your needs, and actually looks like a full-fledged booking site, which makes it very easy for your users to book the services and have you list the services that you provide.
So, in order to create a booking system which will make your clients want to book with you, we're taking a look at SimplyBook. SimplyBook is an online booking system specifically designed for service-based industries.
That's right, for collecting payments, for integrating with social media and giving you very in-depth reporting capabilities. This is so much more than just setting up a quick meeting with a client or a colleague. This is a full-service online booking system. So let's take a closer look.
Custom templates and style for your site
So here we are within my SimplyBook account. And right off the bat, there is a large number of templates which we can choose from. In fact, you want to make sure
that you don't look like a cookie cutter or like everyone else. You can choose from one of these existing templates, or start to customize your own down below. So whether it's a banner image, look at all the different color options that we have.
We can even customize the calendar layout as well. But the bonus is that it also gives us a nice preview down below. So here, for example, is what my services will look like, but how will they look like on the phone? Well, they look great and easy to get to and navigate.
Best of all, I can actually play with this in the mobile mode so I can see what my users will experience. I find that many booking tools promise a great mobile experience, but only a handful will deliver. But before we dive deeper into the features on the back end, let's take a look at what your users will experience.
Appointment scheduling user experience
Here we are within an example booking page, which I've created in less than 30 minutes. And yes, this is one of just many templates. And within each template, everything is customizable.
Everything, from the text color, to the background, to the layout of the screen in front of you. And the great thing is, is that you can add so much further details than just a plain Calendly page. So for example, I can add a full description over here.
I can include my opening or operating hours, and all of my relevant contact information. In fact, what you can do with SimplyBook is even replace or use it as your primary website.
Over here on the left-hand side, you can see I've added a few additional pages, but I can add as many different or additional pages as I like. But of course, when you're a service-based industry, first and foremost is to get your clients to book now.
So let's go through the process. I'm going to start by selecting that book now button, and I'm presented with the different options. So here I have three different service options available.
And of course, I can give each a full description, but this is a lot more detailed, right? It's got the price of everything, it has how long the duration is of all of these different engagements.
The additional benefit of using a tool which is specifically designed for service-based industries is that you can walk them through a specific workflow.
So as you can see here on the left-hand side, even before I choose my selected service, I can see the order of what's going to happen. I'm going to start with a service, then select a provider, and then select the time. So for example, I'm going to start with selecting
this coaching opportunity here. And now, it's given me the choice as to who would I like to do that coaching session with? So you can add a full description of your employees, or you can skip this step altogether if you are the only service provider.
Remember, all of this, including the workflow order is customizable. So I'm going to select, Jane, in this case, and I'm brought up to her calendar. So I'm going to pick something, oh, maybe next week on the 12th of May.
And here are the available start times. 10 to 11 looks good to me. Perfect. Now, I'm brought to a screen where I can fill in my contact information. Bonus, this will create an account so they can come back in, review all of their bookings and their history, and then, of course, you get to keep all this valuable information as well.
Over here on the right-hand side, I can purchase this and confirm my booking, and I can ask them questions such as, would they like to opt in to my mailing list or maybe some other promotions which you would like to add as well.
Last but not least, I'm going to confirm this booking. And then I can proceed with the payment side of the transaction. Now, you don't have to accept payments if you don't want to, but of course, SimplyBook is designed so you can integrate your payment processor.
Now, when I go over to my bookings, I can see a full list of all of the things that I've booked with this business. So if I want to maybe book multiple coaching sessions in advance, I can do so. And I always have a place where I can come back and review that information.
This can really make your business stand out and look more professional, because your clients can then log back in, manage all of their bookings, and see a history. It's so much more than just one and done.
They now have a place where they can manage both their existing and future bookings. On top of that, SimplyBook makes it easy for them to book an additional service with you, which, of course, is going to be helpful for any business.
Last but not least, they make it easy for your clients to add that booking to their calendar, regardless of the type of service which they are using online. How important is it that they have the correct information, and that they can add it easily to their calendar?
Editing and viewing appointments
Now, back within the administration page, SimplyBook makes it easy for us to see all of our bookings. So for example, here I have both of my service providers, Jane and Brad, and I can see how they're booked later this week. This can be especially helpful
if you accept phone reservations or changes via the phone. So for example, if someone calls in and says, I can't make it for 10:00 AM. Can we do 11? All I need to do is click and drag it, and I can move it that quickly, that easily.
Or I can quickly and easily see where all of my service providers are available. If someone is requesting for 9:00 AM on that day, I can tell them that Jane is booked, but I'd be happy to book them at 9:00 AM with Brad.
All I need to do is click on that space, and I can instantly start to book that appointment right over the phone or in a manual fashion.
Dashboard view and custom reporting
The SimplyBook dashboard also makes it super easy for me to see all of my relevant information. So for example, here on the right-hand corner, I can see all of my upcoming bookings and my recently added bookings.
And if I scroll down, I can see some relevant information, which will help me make changes in the future. So for example, I can see my most popular services for this month, and I can also see that Jane has about 75% of all of the bookings so far. So helpful data, helpful information,
which I can use to optimize my business.
Add-ons and integrations
Now, something that I appreciate with any piece of software is when they allow you to choose which features are enabled or disabled for your use. So for example, instead of having everything listed on the left-hand side, and you only using a fraction of those features, SimplyBook allows you to enable or disable certain things
that are specifically needed for service providers. So for example, if you'd like to add an intake form, where you're asking specific questions to your clients, you can enable this.
Multiple locations and you need to change based on the services or service providers, you can do that as well. In addition, SimplyBook allows you to create memberships, and perhaps even restrict certain services only to certain members.
And, of course, it has SMS or text messaging built right in. So if you'd like to send reminders or send special promotions through text messaging, you can do so as well. So if you are needing a booking system that will increase sales for your service-based industry, be sure to check out SimplyBook.
Click the link in the description below to start your free trial today, no credit card required. And if you enjoyed this video, you'll love the other content right here on the Simpletivity channel.
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