schedulicity

Happy Holidays from Schedulicity

December is a month for giving and Facebook is a wonderful way to promote your favorite Schedulicity businesses. Say 'Thank You' by spreading the word and shining a light on those who do so much for others!

1.      Send out one of our holiday marketing templates with information on the services and promotions you’ll be offering on the weekend of ‘Black Friday’ (11/27).  The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year.  Make sure you’re in your clients’ minds if you plan on working those days. Include in your message that you will give discounts to those who schedule early.  And remember, the ‘Schedule Now’ button is included in all your templates so that your clients can immediately book services with you when they see your message.

2.      Send out one of our coupon templates on ‘Cyber Monday’ (11/30) with a discount on services you may be offering for the month of December.  Suggest in your message that your clients forward this on to their friends who may also be interested.  Remember, ‘Cyber Monday’ is the Monday after ‘Black Friday’ and is the beginning of the online holiday shopping season.  If your clients are online, make sure they’re thinking about your services!

3.      Create holiday-themed online promotions that automatically display when your clients are getting ready to book your services online.  They take only minutes to create and could generate significant holiday revenue for you.

4.      ‘Green Monday’ (12/07) is the busiest online shopping day of the year.  Once again, if your clients are going to be online, this may be a good day to have a special offer or promotion sitting in their inbox when theey’re thinking of gifts to purchase for their friends and families.

5.      Dec 14^th, or ‘Brown Monday’ is typically the last day for free shipping offers of online purchases.  Those who have waited a bit late may be receptive to ideas that you send them in a ‘Late Gift Ideas’ email.  And those ‘gift ideas’ could have a lot to do with your services.  Just sayin ;-)

Just read a very good article on Massage Magazine’s website about ‘Extend Simple Pleasures to Expand Your Revenue’ by Mia Kyricos.  Although Mrs. Kyricos presents some very useful and compelling business ideas, I am continually surprised that the client scheduling process is not one of the main issues addressed.  A massage therapist’s service begins the moment a client thinks about booking that service – not after they walk through the door. Let me explain.

Not so long ago, it seemed that most massage therapists were so busy that losing a client or two was almost a blessing that enabled them to keep their sanity and a little free time.  That has all changed.  Now, losing a client or two can mean the difference in paying the rent, mortgage or car payment.  In times like these being able to capture the impulse of your clients not only shows that you value their time, it also guarantees that you will keep their loyalty.  Their convenience is the key to your business.

I am obviously biased as I work for an online scheduling company but I work for this company because I believe in this service.  Everyone knows the ‘phone tag’ scenarios of leaving messages and having them returned when you’re unavailable only to find out that they’re busy during the time you’ve requested.  Once upon a time, that was the only choice and people dealt with it as a necessary evil.  Those days are gone!

People can now buy products online at 3am or book complete vacation packages in minutes.  If you do not give your clients the ability to book your services online at their convenience, they will soon find someone who will.  The online scheduling revolution for small businesses has arrived.  It’s here because it’s affordable, it works and it gives both service professionals and their clients complete satisfaction.  Get your clients in the door as quickly and easily as possible and then you can ‘Extend Simple Pleasures to Expand Your Revenue’.  

1.      In order to send clients to your facebook fan page, you need a fan page.  It’s easy to do if you don’t already have one.  Here’s a link from facebook to help you.

2.      Once your fanpage is set up, go to the email marketing section within Schedulicity and click on the ‘Invitations’ section of the email marketing ‘Template Categories’ and choose the ‘Connect Online subtab

3.      To link your clients to your fanpage, you will need to copy the URL or web address that is associated with your fan page.

4.      Once you begin crafting your message, be sure to paste the link to your Facebook fan page so that clients can go directly from your message to your fan  page.

5.      The best part about this invite to your Facebook fan page is that it also includes a ‘Schedule Now’ link that takes your clients directly to your online scheduling page as well.

I have been playing with your system, and so far I am VERY IMPRESSED!  I have tried about 15 different online booking systems, and this is the easiest (and cheapest) one I have found.  Not only has it been easy to set up, it is also very easy to navigate on the user end.  I have tested your system for problems that I have run across in all other systems, and it has passed every test.  I am so excited to be using your service, and I am sure my clients will love it.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 

Sincerely,

Erin Parish, LMT, NCMTB 
Caring Touch Massage, L.L.C.

This email was redistributed with the permission of Erin Parish.

I just recently received this list from Sheri Geyer of Atlanta, Georgia.  She’s a certified life coach who also owns and operates a hair studio.  This is a smart, busy woman who uses online scheduling for both of her businesses.  She was kind enough to allow us to share with you her ’10 Reasons To Offer Online Scheduling To Your Clients’.  So here is part 2 of Sheri’s list:

1.      Burn the Pencil and Appointment Book. In a few years, they will be obsolete.  Customers are going to gravitate to what is new and innovative and that will most likely be the businesses that offer them the convenience of 24/7 online scheduling so they will not be limited to only calling during actual business hours.  We will look back and determine the appointment book to be as useful as a rotary phone is today. 

2.      Stay on the Cutting Edge.  Many businesses are offering the convenience of online scheduling of appointments, even orders.  Imagine the chaos, if we had to go back to booking airline flights with an agent over the phone ~ no way!

3.      Promote a Professional Image.  Many times my clients have commented on the convenience that online scheduling offers them.  They usually say things like “I wish other service businesses would provide this professional service.”  They are glad that I have listened to their needs and made the effort to provide them every reason to remain loyal to me.

4.      Be Intentional In the Moment.  When your customers are conveniently using your online scheduler, you can focus on the client you are serving during their scheduled appointment time.  No more interruptions by the phone. No more concerns that if you don’t answer the phone you will miss a customer.  You can build rapport and really enjoy the time you spend with your clients without fear of loss of business.

5.      Eliminate No-Shows.  The best online scheduler will retain customer emails and phone numbers and build a database for you.  This serves a two-fold purpose.  You have the information necessary to contact your customer if you need to and they are providing you with a “virtual” handshake that they will show up for the appointment they’ve scheduled.  Just by virtue of the fact they have provided their personal information in setting up their account, lets you know they are serious and intentional in their efforts.  They will receive confirmations and reminders and you will receive notifications of their scheduled appointments.

I personally recommend the best I’ve found, and in 30+ years in the hair industry and nearly 6 years of shop ownership, I have heard, tried and seen them all.   You owe it to yourself to check out Schedulicity.  They provide the premium package for service businesses at unbelievably affordable pricing and a free introductory period for you to learn and in turn, educate your clients.  Sign up with Schedulicity, fire your appointment book and get your life and game back on!

I just recently received this list from Sheri Geyer of Atlanta, Georgia.  She’s a certified life coach and she also owns and operates a hair studio.  This is a smart, busy woman who uses online scheduling for both of her businesses.  She was kind enough to allow us to share with you her ’10 Reasons To Offer Online Scheduling To Your Clients’.  So here is part 1 of Sheri’s list:

1.      Cut Loose from the proverbial “ball and chain”.  With offering the option for clients to schedule online, you can be anywhere during your “down time” and have the assurance that your clientele has 24/7 access to your calendar.  They can compare your schedule with theirs and set up a convenient time for their haircut, massage, manicure, etc. anytime they choose.  No more phone tag.  No more calls to see what you have available only to have to call you back in 5 minutes after comparing what they have available and how it can work. 

2.      No more sitting by the phone waiting for you day to line up.  Announce the information to your clients on voicemail where they can go to click on your “Schedule Now” button for their appointments.  If your online scheduler offers an option for email marketing, and it should, make your announcement via email so they will have the link.

3.      When you are off work or on vacation, you can have your online scheduling aka virtual personal assistant work so you don’t have to. It’s awesome coming back from vacation to a full slate of scheduled appointments and happy customers who aren’t frustrated because you were “out of touch” for 8 days.

4.      “Lucy, You Got Some ‘Splaining’ to Do”. [Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy =) ] No more having to explain why you are coming in or leaving at a particular time.  Your online scheduler can provide you with the ability to set up your schedule each day according to what is convenient for you.  You can set it around your appointments, your kid’s soccer game, industry shows you would like to attend, and even, a sit down lunch.  It’s your business, plan as you choose.

5.      Adjust Your Days. If you want to work longer hours and fewer days, you have the choice.  Or maybe, you would like shorter hours on more days.  Maybe you are planning for a week off, work more days and hours the week prior to and after you return.  The sky is the limit in your life when you have online scheduling for your service business.

To learn more, go to www.schedulicity.com

As I am involved with an online scheduling company, I hear stories all the time about the types of phone scenarios that Hair Stylists, Massage Therapists, Personal Trainers, Life Coaches, etc… find themselves addressing almost daily.  From listening to a ringing phone while you’re with a client to returning phone calls in the evening when you would prefer to be with family or friends, answering phone calls while you’re at work is not productive and returning phone calls in the evening is not fun.

I’ve even had service professionals tell me that they end up feeling they should explain why they may not be available while trying to find a time that works for the client.  This is a WASTE OF ENERGY for both the client and the service professional and it always leaves me with the feeling that the service professional is trying to schedule the client.

Give your clients the immediate satisfaction of seeing and booking your available times at their convenience and you’ll be rewarded with:

·         A great experience for your client the moment they decide to book with you.

·         Less phone tag

·         Not having to explain why you’re not available

·         More time with family and friends

·         More energy to do what you love (and get paid for)

·         More business

To learn more about online scheduling, go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info

If you are a service professional and you accept appointments from clients you can now run your business from your iPhone or Blackberry. 

Schedulicity has a mobile web application for its online scheduling platform that will allow you to view your weekly and daily schedule at a glance.  You can also view reservation details as well as create and cancel reservations in seconds.

Your clients can also schedule your services from their iPhone or Blackberry.

So, if you’re a Massage Therapist, Stylist, Personal Trainer, Life Coach, CPA, etc… go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info and sign up for a test drive.  Once you get your temporary username and password, use your smart phone to go to schedulicity.com, log in as a ‘business user’ and check out how easy it is to now run your business from your phone.

I recently had an interesting conversation with the CEO of Schedulicity and one of our executive advisors.  We talked about customer service in various industries and how horrible it’s been for the past 10 to 15 years - and how Social Media is finally changing all that. 

Before e-commerce took over the world, people had face to face business interactions in small towns and big cities all over the world.  Often, there was an actual relationship between buyer and seller that led to a sense of accountability if something went wrong or if the buyer was unhappy.  In these scenarios, a physical presence and/or an existing relationship helped resolve any customer service issues before they became, well, an issue.

When e-Commerce came along, product cost became king.  Companies reduced customer service budgets and personnel drastically in order to remain competitive.  Customer service budgets and personnel were drastically reduced in order to remain competitive.  Customers had to get used to negotiating the labyrinth of 6 different telephone prompts just to leave a message while knowing that the chance of a return phone call was remote, at best. 

All the same, companies didn’t suffer too much from this because unhappy customers didn’t have much of a platform to voice their discontent.

Then along came Social Media to recalibrate that relationship.  Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are allowing unhappy customers to do major damage to some very large brands.  On the plus side, the same platform can elevate brands that provide great customer service: think Zappos. 

Providing such a high level of service requires a commitment from the top.  It requires CEOs, CFOs and COOs to see Social Media as the front line of the service department.  It requires hiring good people, paying them a good wage and treating them like they’re an integral part of the team.  It requires finding people who care – and you can’t teach that!

Providing great customer service is its own reward, both on a personal level and a corporate level.  No one can ever fault you or your business for trying to help people.  And as everyone in our company knows, care, patience and assistance turns your customers into your champions – and that’s invaluable!

I love my home state of Montana and I’m proud to see it progressing in its current direction.  It’s become a hotbed of High Tech while retaining its ranching/cowboy/outdoor roots.  It really is the best of all worlds for me.  It is toward that end that my #vivaviernes (#followfriday) theme is devoted.  Here are my suggestions:   @TechRanchMT – One of the driving forces behind all this new High Tech Development and a huge overall supporter of MT businesses. http://www.techranch.org   @MontanaBusiness – incredible resource for businesses currently in Montana or consumers looking for information about Montana businesses.  And if you’re a business looking to relocate to Montana – This is your site. http://www.mtbusiness.com   @EdibleMissoula – Wonderful resource which celebrates local, seasonal foods.  Every city in the US should have a resource like this. http://www.ediblemissoula.com/content/index.php   @SwapMammas – Anyone who’s ‘on a mission to make GIVING the new vice’ should be followed. (period) http://www.swapmamas.com/   @StudioMontageMT – My last MT biz is a Salon/Spa in Great Falls .  They just started tweeting today and they deserve our support right out of the gate.  They have a beautiful website and a portion of their proceeds goes to fight Breast Cancer.  http://www.studiomontage.net/   To any businesses out there thinking of relocating to our beautiful state - do it.  It’s a wonderful quality of life.  It’s a place where children are too involved in outdoor activities to get in to trouble.  It’s a place that only takes one visit to start preparing your move.  By the way, if you come – contact me!

I love my home state of Montana and I’m proud to see it progressing in its current direction.  It’s become a hotbed of High Tech while retaining its ranching/cowboy/outdoor roots.  It really is the best of all worlds for me.  It is toward that end that my #vivaviernes (#followfriday) theme is devoted.  Here are my suggestions:

• @TechRanchMT – One of the driving forces behind all this new High Tech Development and a huge overall supporter of MT businesses. http://www.techranch.org

• @MontanaBusiness – incredible resource for businesses currently in Montana or consumers looking for information about Montana businesses.  And if you’re a business looking to relocate to Montana – This is your site. http://www.mtbusiness.com

• @EdibleMissoula – Wonderful resource which celebrates local, seasonal foods.  Every city in the US should have a resource like this. http://www.ediblemissoula.com/content/index.php

• @SwapMammas – Anyone who’s ‘on a mission to make GIVING the new vice’ should be followed. (period) http://www.swapmamas.com/

• @StudioMontageMT – My last MT biz is a Salon/Spa in Great Falls.  They just started tweeting today and they deserve our support right out of the gate.  They have a beautiful website and a portion of their proceeds goes to fight Breast Cancer.  http://www.studiomontage.net/

To any businesses out there thinking of relocating to our beautiful state - do it.  It’s a wonderful quality of life.  It’s a place where children are too involved in outdoor activities to get in to trouble.  It’s a place that only takes one visit to start preparing your move.  By the way, if you come – contact me!

After reading a thoughtful article on the Amazon-Zappos merger by Businessweek’s Sarah Lacy, it struck me that this merger was not about making Amazon bigger or Zappos more accessible.  It’s not about products at all.  Zappos owns the service niche and Amazon, who did a good job as well, has now bought that niche. This merger was all about owning the service category because service is the new black. It strengthens relationships and creates brand loyalty. 

So how does that little anecdote pertain to online scheduling.  Well, in the same way that the Amazon-Zappos merger is not about products, online scheduling is not about the calendar – that’s the secret.  Online scheduling is about strengthening relationships. It’s about being respectful to your clients needs.  It’s about giving them 24hr access so that they can book services with you at their convenience.  It’s about allowing them to book from their iPhone or Blackberry without having to make a call.  It’s about making sure that every aspect of your interaction is easy, convenient and professional.

By offering online scheduling, you will not only create undying client loyalty and lots of word-of-mouth references you will also receive fewer phone calls and have more time to spend with friends and family.  If this sounds a bit like a pitch, it is.  But I only pitch it because I know it to be true.

To find out more, go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info

It just hit me yesterday that I follow lots of Smart, Busy Women.  This #vivaviernes is devoted to that theme   @ginidietrich – Smart info, great blog.  Changing Public Relations to Communications – which is what it’s all about. Here’s her website:  http://www.armentdietrich.com/ Don’t miss the ‘Learn about our culture’ video.   @thekaitlin – smart, thoughtful,engaging interactions.  Love the Hippie/Lawyer/Tech/Triathlete combo thing she’s got goin’ on.   @MsLatina – Another smart, engaging, Latin woman who is raising two boys on her own and is ‘On a mission’ to live a full, rich life on a smart, frugal budget.  Great info, Great tips.  Check out her site: http://latinaonamission.com/   @LunaSerena – Just one more smart, beautiful latina whos bilingual tweets keep me engaged, informed and entertained on a daily basis.   @intrmissionmssg – My last smart, busy women is a mobile massage therapist in Manassas , Virginia .  Anyone dedicated to helping people (and driving to their homes or business) deserves notice in my book.  Check out her website as well: http://lila.massagetherapy.com/   Once again, so many others that I wanted to mention but I will save those for next week.

It just hit me yesterday that I follow lots of Smart, Busy Women.  This #vivaviernes is devoted to that theme

• @ginidietrich – Smart info, great blog.  Changing Public Relations to Communications – which is what it’s all about. Here’s her website:  http://www.armentdietrich.com/ Don’t miss the ‘Learn about our culture’ video.

• @thekaitlin – smart, thoughtful,engaging interactions.  Love the Hippie/Lawyer/Tech/Triathlete combo thing she’s got goin’ on.

• @MsLatina – Another smart, engaging, Latin woman who is raising two boys on her own and is ‘On a mission’ to live a full, rich life on a smart, frugal budget.  Great info, Great tips.  Check out her site: http://latinaonamission.com/

• @LunaSerena – Just one more smart, beautiful latina whos bilingual tweets keep me engaged, informed and entertained on a daily basis.

• @intrmissionmssg – My last smart, busy women is a mobile massage therapist in Manassas, Virginia.  Anyone dedicated to helping people (and driving to their homes or business) deserves notice in my book.  Check out her website as well: http://lila.massagetherapy.com/

Once again, so many others that I wanted to mention but I will save those for next week.

In reading Amy Roberts article in Massage Mag entitled Combat Massage Business Lethargy, she states, “the key to a successful marketing system is to have it automated as much as possible”.  I wanted to jump through the screen to let her know that we understand the importance of the relationship between a Massage Therapist and their clients.  That’s why we created Schedulicity.

The combination of online scheduling and email marketing allows both the Massage Therapist and their clients the ‘Me Time’ they both need so desperately.  The Massage Therapist doesn’t have to worry about spending hours in the evening returning phone calls and explaining why they weren’t available and the client gets immediate satisfaction the moment they wish to schedule some ‘Me Time’.

Here’s the best part... Now that you have a system that is keeping track of all your appointments, it’s also keeping track of all the information associated with those appointments.  You can now generate a list of people based on their birthdays, services they’ve booked, keywords, zip codes, etc.. and send them a targeted email message or coupon with just a few clicks.  That email will also include a link for them to book online with your business.  This has an enormous impact on repeat business and strengthening the relationships with your clients.

To learn more about what the combination of online scheduling and email marketing can do for your massage business, go to http://www.schedulicity.com/info

To take a test drive, click here

This is my first blog post recommending people that I enjoy interacting with on Twitter.  I suggest you follow these people for the following reasons:

• @Julito77 – For 3 years I lived and worked in Spain and Cuba.  My brother is married to a ‘Cubana’ and lives in Mexico and my sister is a Spanish teacher in San Antonio so I have some deep Hispano/Latino ties.  So, one day I decided to do a quick twitter search for some spanish words, I was curious about the hispanic presence on Twitter.  Fortunately, I stumbled upon #vivaviernes.  Just the name got me going because it is so much more festive than #followfriday.  I then connected with @julito77, who is the father of #vivaviernes, our interactions are awesome and it made me realize that interactions on Twitter, even when there may be some business involved, are a natural Latin experience.  Let me explain – when doing business in Latin countries, the business part almost always takes place at the end of the meeting, which sometimes may be take hours.  You talk about life, family, sports, weather, news, music, etc... you eat, you drink and then, and only then, once you have made a real connection with the person, you can finish with the business part..  I love that and that’s what I’m rediscovering with @julito77 - Thank you!

• @SarahRobinson – I suppose other people were creating the #ff or #vivaviernes blog post instead of just listing names on Twitter but Sarah’s blog post explaining why she was recommending people was the first I had seen (@julito77 – saw your’s next).  The idea really struck a chord with me as I was trying to find a better way to recommend people that I enjoyed interacting with that wasn’t diluted to the point of irrelevance.  Also, just knowing that I’ll be putting this list together every week makes me read tweets more closely and truly consider all the people that I interact with.  Thanks Sarah

• @lacouvee – New wonderful twitter friend that is fun to read, very engaging and puts me back in touch with a big part of my life – France..  Spent 5 years there and I loved it all.

• @AliciaCaine – A no-nonsense, fresh, frank provider of interesting information and honest feedback.

• @skariann – Bright go getter who has an enormous future – fun to watch it happen

So many others that I wanted to mention but I needed to slow down a bit and holdover some of that exicitement for next week.  Cheers and Thanks to all!