Online scheduling: A new industry standard

We’ve watched online scheduling explode over the last three years. It’s not surprising – Mike started this company based on the idea, after all – but it is big news for small business. The technology has been evolving and it’s quietly creating a new industry standard. Whether you’ve already got scheduling software or not, keeping an eye on how it’s changing is an important way to give yourself an edge.

Next Big Things

Online scheduling isn’t the first piece of technology to shake up the small business landscape. Over the last decade we’ve gone from phonebooks and flyers to websites and social media. You can be forgiven for getting fed up with the technology treadmill, but that does’t mean you can just jump off. Not if you want to be successful in the long run, anyway.

Businesses that embraced the web – by building solid websites and being smart about social media – have reaped the rewards. Online scheduling is moving in the same direction, and it has a lot more direct business beenfits than an awesome social media plan. You’ll save time and money, reduce no-shows and you’ll meet the needs of some special clients.

It’s Here To Stay

Online scheduling is a service that your customers have come to expect. It’s not a deal breaker for most people, but there’s going to be a day where not having an online scheduling system will be like not being on Facebook. I’m not saying you’re going to go out of business overnight because you’re not taking appointments online, but you’re not doing yourself any favours by ignoring it.

It’s also evolving and the online scheduling forms that were the standard a few years ago already look so outdated that you might as well be asking people get in touch with you via telegram. Cloud-based is the standard these days and alternative pricing models – like the one BookedIN uses – are becoming increasingly common. If you’ve had a scheduling system for a while, it might be time to shop around again.

The bottom line is that online scheduling has become common in the small business space and it’s not going away. It’s still early in the boom and it’s always better to be in front of a trend instead of playing catch up. Stay competitive, save yourself from some common appointment scheduling headaches and reap the rewards.

-Cody P.