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Category Archives: appointment scheduling software
2009
Enhancing Customer Experience with Online Scheduling
Sometimes it seems customer care improvement is at odds with streamlining operations. Financial Services Technology made the point beautifully with a script for an imaginary TV commercial about a surgeon who calls a helpline and gets put on hold: one humorous example of how some technologies make businesses choose between customer care and efficiency. Voice mail is another example of this; how many customers like reaching a voice mail tree?
But there are other technologies that deliver both improved customer care and operational efficiencies. Appointment scheduling software is one great example. Hard ROI numbers aside (and there are plenty of them), appointment scheduling software gives businesses the flexibility to work with customers when most convenient for the customer.
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Tagged: appointment scheduler improve customer service, appointment scheduling, appointment scheduling software, customer care, customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer service, efficiency, improve customer service, interactive features, online scheduling
2009
Appointment Scheduling Software + Personal Courtesy = Customer Satisfaction
Appointment scheduling software helps maintain customer loyalty through automation, so employees can focus on the personal courtesy side of good service.
An appointment is a reservation for service, both the service performed by the business and the personal attention received from employees. A satisfied customer needs to feel both aspects of customer care are handled well.
A Beagle Research White Paper, Improving Service Businesses with Appointment Scheduling, illustrates this. The CRM analyst firm found that “significant numbers of people believe that appointments should start exactly when or very near when they are scheduled — with virtually no waiting at all.”
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2009
Five Growing Markets For Appointment Scheduling Software
I like having an appointment, and I hate waiting. Both my doctor’s office and day spa get this and thus have appointment scheduling software to serve and satisfy customers like me.
However, such software is also being used in other markets on an increasing scale. Here’s a look at five vertical markets that are rapidly adopting appointment scheduling, and why appointment scheduling software makes sense for them:
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2009
Get a Customer Retention Boost – and Save Money – with Appointment Reminder Software
Customers can have a variety of reasons for missing an appointment. We’re busy, life happens, we’re disorganized. The impact of no shows can vary from an annoyance to monumental financial losses. For instance, a recent report from the UK revealed that patient no shows for hospital appointments alone cost the National Health Services (NHS) close to a billion dollars annually.
Money lost from no shows isn’t limited to health care. For years, airlines and hotels have charged no-show and change fees, but fees are increasing and the policies are becoming more widespread, at the cost of customer satisfaction. And satisfaction is the foundation of retention.
2009
Help!!! Our Customer Care Needs a Makeover
If you’re in a service industry such as a salon or spa that is heavily dependent on customer appointments, it may be time to seriously consider investing in appointment software that can provide customer reminders as part of customer care improvement.
The recent recession has hit the beauty industry hard, although recent signs indicate that the industry as a whole is improving: the Professional Beauty Association said in August that its new Salon/Spa Performance Index rose in the latest quarter. While things may be looking up, customers are more scrutinizing than ever and stretched thinner for time as they try to juggle all the demands in their lives.
Appointment reminders help customers be prompt, which contributes to their satisfaction with services as well as providing a calmer and more organized environment for everyone. In addition, it can help reduce the amount of cancellations and no-shows. A business that reaches out to help customers where they are shows them that you care about more than profits.
David Hill
TimeTrade Blogging Team
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakecaptive/ / CC BY 2.0
2009
Personal Appointment Software May Just Save Your Job
In the face of close to 10% U.S. unemployment, employees may be wondering what they can do to increase their value. Online appointment software may just be the answer. It is a tool to manage two resources that often are poorly handled: time and relationships. With more companies watching what employees do, it may be time to seriously consider a change in how you go about your job.
Setting appointments with online appointment software allows you to be organized with your time and communicates to others (including your boss) that both your time and the time of others is something that you value. Aren’t supervisors looking for employees who are focused, organized, efficient, and place a value on the company’s best interest?
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2009
Going High-Tech Improves Customer Care: Don’t Be Left Behind
For businesses faced with mandatory cost reduction, the challenge is looking for ways to realize savings without compromising customer satisfaction.
Take a look at “Customer Service Champs”. This Business Week ranking of winning companies highlights companies working smarter in tough times. They’ve been successful in finding innovative ways to reduce costs while having minimal impact on customer service.
How are they doing it? Business Week devoted an entire issue to this topic, “Extreme Customer Service,” earlier this year.
- Maintain Customer Satisfaction. Balance employee cutbacks with the convenience of instant or self-service options for customers.
- Keep the Front Lines Strong. Forrester Research (FORR) reports about half of 90 large companies it surveyed are trying to avoid cuts to their customer service budgets.
- Push for Innovative Ideas. Forrester also recommends creative ideas that serve the customer. For example, try “proactive chat” software that engages buyers online. Another idea – Web communities where customers can help each other solve customer problems.
By implementing advanced customer service technology solutions now, businesses can position themselves ahead of the curve and do better than merely survive the recession.
Pamela Taylor & Lisa Letchworth
TimeTrade Blogging Team
Image credit: InMagine BCN54188
2009
How Online Software Saves Big Money
The challenge: Identifying the proper tools to reduce costs without sacrificing critical customer care.
One company reporting success in this effort is Bosley, the Beverly Hills-based men’s hair restoration subsidiary of the $850 million Aderans Holding Co.. A Computerworld article reports that Bosley’s IT Director, Mark Davenport says the company’s previous Siebel system had “gaping holes” that created double bookings, angering customers and forcing the company to revert to a semi-manual process. When Bosley adopted the SaaS tool, TimeTrade, Bosley’s consultants and medical personnel could input their available times at all 19 surgical offices. Customers were able to view available slots and set appointments convenient to their schedules — and no overlap occurred. Bosley chose a logical cost reduction tool — something effective, inexpensive, and simple.
Other ways online software saves money:
• Increases operational efficiencies
• Slims down staff overhead
• Reduces staff training expenses
• Offers quick implementation & fast application
• Frees you up from capital spent on computer & office equipment
Before you consider cutting back on necessary enterprise building tools like advertising and good customer service, consider eliminating items that are not required for you to stay in business. The idea is to cut any unnecessary expenses, not sacrifice efficiency or professionalism. Using a proven SaaS tool can help.
Pamela Taylor & Lisa Letchworth
TimeTrade Blogging Team
Image Credit: InMagine EV204040
2009
Low Tolerance for Error When it Comes To Customer Retention
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Nineteenth century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli once said, “Never complain, never explain.” The sentiment may be hundreds of years old, but I witnessed a customer exercising that bit of wisdom just today. I was sitting at a tire store, waiting with another customer to have winter tires put on my car. The wait was ridiculous, and the other customer and I said as much to each other. There was no communication from the company, no explanation as to why something they told us would take 20 minutes was now spilling into hour two. After flipping through an outdated magazine for the third time, I watched as my silent companion walked to the desk, calmly asked for her keys, and left.
2009
Five Ways Health Care Wastes Time and Money
I can think of few more maddening ways to spend my time than waiting for medical attention. I, for one, have switched doctors due to inept appointment scheduling in the past, and the scrutiny the health care system has taken of late in the media further illustrates the problem – we are wasting time and money in doctor’s offices and emergency rooms.
According to CNNMoney.com, more than $1.2 trillion spent on health care each year is wasted. Let’s take a look at some causes and present some possible solutions. Continue reading after video >>
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