Nigel Wilkinson
Managing Director of Daneswood. Nigel has been in sales and marketing since the 1980's and run digital marketing agencies since 2000.
As the country looks towards opening back up in the near future, following the government’s announcement, there are a few things you can do to help get your business ready.
One of these things is ensuring you have fully optimised your booking system, ahead of time.
Before the pandemic, booking systems were a useful way for customers and businesses to connect and take care of the finer details of a transaction quickly and efficiently. Now, however, booking systems have become a lifeline for some businesses, offering the ability to trade within a world ruled by restrictions.
Booking System Benefits
Booking systems are no longer just for the hospitality sector. During the last twelve months, businesses in industries ranging from retail and finance to zoos and theme parks have been able to trade in an acceptable manner, thanks to the adoption of booking procedures.
Restrictions upon businesses due to the pandemic have meant that the way in which they operate had to be drastically adapted. Rules on the number of people in a building at one time and social distancing requirements meant simply opening your doors as you once did, an impossibility.
By implementing a booking system, you are able to efficiently control these things, without dedicating too many man-hours to it, allowing you to maximise sales whilst also showing customers they can be confident that your business is a safe area to enter.
When things begin to open back up again, hopefully in the coming weeks and months, booking systems will again play an important role in helping businesses generate sales, whilst keeping everyone safe.
So, is your booking system up to scratch and ready for your customers?
Successful Booking Systems
Whilst the booking system you have will depend on your industry and the information you need it to handle, there are certain factors they can all benefit from.
Clearly Signposted on your Website
Make sure your booking system is clearly signposted on your website. This can be through buttons, links, or graphics but make sure your website visitors can easily see that, not only you have a booking system, but also how to access it.
User-Friendly
Don’t overcomplicate it or convolute the process users have to go through. A booking system that is hard to use will likely cause people to give up and then you could lose sales or even worse, drive people to a competitor!
Information Capture
When someone goes through a booking system, they don’t then expect to have to repeat or expand on the information they have provided at a later date. Make sure your system collects all the information you require, then and there, as this not only saves time but so gives a better user experience.
You can also use it to benefit your business in the long term by encouraging newsletter signups, so you can build your mailing list.
Multi-Platform
Times are changing and many users will now be accessing your website, and therefore your booking system, on a mobile device. Make sure your booking system is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices.
Contact Details are Clear Throughout
Technology is a wonderful tool, but there will inevitably be times where something goes awry during the booking process. Make sure it is clear to users how they can get in contact with you throughout, so they don’t abandon the process due to an issue that could likely be easily fixed.
Contact can be via phone, email, or online chat.
Keep the Conversation Going
Don’t go radio silent once someone has finished the booking process. Make sure you have confirmation and reminder emails in place. You could also include follow-up emails to be sent after their visit to help build that customer relationship.
If you are not sure your booking system is quite up to scratch or would like further advice on how to put one in place, contact our team of experts today who will be happy to help.