Grow your business on schedule with appointments software

Introduction

In 2023, 83% of local businesses rely on customer appointments as their primary source of revenue. However, many struggle with streamlining appointment scheduling to avoid last-minute cancellations and no-shows. In this guide, we'll explore modern, innovative solutions to avoid these pitfalls. We’ll also provide a complete understanding of what appointments software is and how it can benefit your business for a healthier bottom line.

What is appointments software?

Appointments software is a digital solution designed to help a business streamline its appointment process. It can be used in medical and professional settings, such as a physician's office, auto shops, and landscaping businesses. Appointments software takes the hassle out of manual scheduling so that business owners can focus on providing quality care instead. This automated system is made up of three main pieces of software: scheduling, reminders, and recall. Let's explore each one thoroughly. 

Appointment scheduling software

Scheduling software allows customers to book their appointments with your company directly online. It eliminates the need for lengthy phone calls and offers the consumer a convenient way to self-book an appointment online 24/7. This will optimize the entire appointment process and help you attract new customers online. With online appointment scheduling software, appointments can be booked anytime, anywhere, giving customers the power to manage their own schedule and freeing up your employees to take care of other tasks.

Appointment reminder software

Appointment scheduling is only part of the appointment process. In order to provide a better customer experience it needs to be coupled with appointment reminder software. This software sends automatic reminders to customers about their upcoming appointments as well as helps the business stay organized and on track. You no longer have to worry about manually sending out reminders, as the software handles all communication. Additionally, this software can help reduce missed appointments, save time and money, and even increase customer satisfaction.

Appointment recall software

To ensure your appointments software is comprehensive and efficient it must also include appointment recall software. This feature is used to remind past customers/patients to book follow-up appointments like annual checkups, tax prep, etc. Customers are more likely to book their next appointment when they're reminded of the importance and convenience of doing so. Appointment recall software is essential for any business that relies on appointments as a primary source of revenue.

The appointment economy

As we mentioned earlier, appointments are a primary source of revenue for a lot of local businesses. Appointments software makes it easier to manage customer appointments and reduces the chance of missed opportunities. Let's take a look at some data for further context.

Appointments by industry

Customer appointments affect different industries in different ways. Some rely on them heavily, while for others, appointments are just one part of their revenue stream.

Appointment purposes

Appointments drive revenue but in different ways depending on your industry. For example, appointments in the healthcare, beauty, wellness, or home services industries provide customers with a paid service, whereas appointments with a realtor or auto dealership are meant to gauge a client's interest in a possible purchase via a home tour or test drive.

Biggest issue with appointments for businesses

Running a business comes with many challenges and risks. This is especially true for appointment-driven companies because those appointments represent their cash flow. Without consistent appointments on the books, your bottom line can be negatively impacted which can lead to downsizing or worse — going out of business.

When it comes to appointments, revenue is typically lost in three ways:

1. No-shows: This is when a customer doesn't show up for a scheduled appointment without any notice. This is a missed opportunity and therefore missed revenue.
2. Last-minute cancellations: In this scenario, the customer notifies the business of the cancellation but does so too close to the appointment time. This gives the business zero chance of rebooking another appointment to fill in that gap.
3. Unfilled appointment slots: These are appointment slots that aren't filled due to mismanagement of your appointments, which is typically caused by a lack of an effective appointments system.

Recent research tells us that in the medical field, no-shows cost the industry approximately $150 billion in lost revenue every year. Outside of increased overhead costs and an inability to maximize profits, no-shows also make it difficult for businesses to take on new customers or use their time more effectively.