Online booking: why customers would rather book than call

Your customer thinks of that appointment at ten in the evening. You are closed by then. If they can book at that moment, you have a customer. If they have to call tomorrow, there is a good chance they will forget or end up with someone else.

Calling is a hurdle for many people

A table, a taxi, a treatment, a test drive: people increasingly arrange these on their phone, at a moment that suits them. If you can only be reached by telephone, you miss everyone who decides outside opening hours or simply prefers not to call.

What you gain from it

• Fewer phone calls. Every booking that comes in online is a conversation you do not have to hold while you are busy with a customer.
• No double bookings. A slot that has been booked disappears from the offer straight away.
• Fewer missed appointments. A confirmation and a reminder by email go out automatically.
• A diary that is correct. Every booking is immediately where you need it, without retyping.

Off the shelf or custom?

There are good standard tools for booking appointments. If you sell fixed time slots for a single service, they will take you a long way.

It starts to chafe as soon as your way of working does not fit into such a tool:

• The price depends on distance, number of people, duration or options.
• You work with several employees, vehicles or rooms that cannot all do the same thing.
• You ask for a deposit or full payment at the time of booking.
• The booking has to go straight into your own planning or CRM.
• You want booking to look like your website, not like someone else's tool.

Then a custom booking system is the logical step. For a taxi company we built one in which customers book a ride in their own language and every booking goes straight into the company's CRM.

What to look out for

1. As few steps as possible. Every extra question costs bookings. Ask only for what you really need.
2. Does it work on a phone? That is where the booking happens. Test it yourself, with one hand.
3. Show what it costs. A price that only appears at the end drives people away.
4. Allow changes and cancellations. Otherwise they will call after all.
5. You stay in charge of your diary. You must be able to block slots and adjust bookings yourself.

Start with your telephone

For one week, keep track of why people call. Often it is the same three questions each time: is there room, what does it cost, can I reschedule? Everything you can have arranged online is time you get back. Would you like to know what that looks like for your business? Tell us how you take bookings today.