The benefits of a cloud based application for online appointment scheduling

The benefits of a cloud based application for online appointment scheduling

Small and Medium businesses may be missing out on visits from existing customers or new arrivals by not enabling them online appointment scheduling with the most accessible tool today – customer’s mobile device or computer.

The public seems to show a preference for doing many things via the Internet or mobile apps these days. Chalk it up to the convenience factor, as well as the popularity of websites, smartphones and gadgets, which allow us to do so many varying things with the ease of tapping of a screen icon.

Gowizi.com, an online platform for business that allows for online appointment scheduling and online presence, predicts that online appointments scheduling of sports and fitness, health and medical, leisure and professional services appointments is on an upward track.

From recent researches shows that over 30 percent of customers already scheduled an appointment online via a website or app within the last year. An additional 42 percent of customers stated they would have scheduled an appointment online if the businesses shall provide such an opportunity. 

Businesses should offer online appointment scheduling for a number of reasons:

1)    Online appointment scheduling can improve customers’ experience, which will provide your business with a competitive advantage in your market.

2)    By 2018’s end, over 60 percent of U.S. sports & fitness and health & medical will offer digital self-scheduling.

3)     By offering the convenience of online appointment scheduling, businesses can improve the customer experience that can provide them with a competitive advantage in their segment.

4)    The online scheduling reduces no-shows dramatically. Phone-call scheduling, the number of customer that fail to show up for an appointment ranges up to 25 percent. By simply offering online scheduling, which includes emails and app push-notificationsreminders, easy online re-scheduling, statistics reports for businesses about efficiency of working hours and customer history can keep the businesses capacity fuller by reducing the number of no-shows.

5)    No one wants to wait on the phone to schedule an appointment. Customers strongly indicated that they prefer to book an appointment fast with no hassles.

6)    The 18 to 35 year old customers now used online scheduling the most. In addition, this group also shows the highest preference for using online appointment planning. By targeting this demographic group, your business can build on this advantage in reaching the 18 to 35 segment. Overall, online planning should be seen as a major component of a business retention and acquisition strategy. 

7)    Cloud based solution is also a major advantage, there are numerous appointment scheduling packages available on the web, but there is a strong advantage using a cloud based calendar as there is no local computer installation, no maintenance, and no need for backup or local storage.  Furthermore, cloud application are also ensure highest availability, fast downloads and secured storage. A cloud-based online appointment scheduler should be in today’s online environment the preferred tool for both office team and online appointments.

8)    According to last reports, 35 percent of appointments are made online after the closure of the office. This means that by offering the convenience of 24/7 online scheduling, businesses can increase the number of scheduled appointments while reducing any additional pressure on business office team and management.