Times have changed. Have you?
The way that customers are connecting and communicating with local small businesses has changed dramatically in the last few years. As the world evolves around us, business life is getting busier and busier with new demands stacking up for the small business owner. And while the years come and go like the resolutions that are set every January, 2015 is the year to take back control, let things go, and put your effort into working smarter, not harder in your business and personal life.
A while back, I conducted a study in my salon of all incoming calls to my front desk. To my surprise, 50% of those calls were existing clients who were rescheduling the appointments they had already made. I was paying a front-of-house person to manage those appointment changes. My business life was certainly getting busier and more expensive, and it wasn’t a sustainable business model.
So I decided to make some changes.
I realised that working smarter means adapting to the circumstances, rather than expecting them to conform to you. If we look at how and when the modern client wants to communicate, manage her life, and sort appointments these days, we’ll find that convenience is at the top of her priorities.
The modern working woman’s life is busy! She gets up before everyone else and makes breakfast, then rushes frantically from school to work, nails it at work, sorts the kids and goes back home to cook the evening meal. When she finally sits down at the end of the day to watch her favourite sitcom, which is after 8pm at night when most salons are closed, she checks her tablet or phone and starts to think and plan tomorrow, her holiday, or her hair and beauty appointments (and a touch of Facebook of course). Her Uni-student daughter ONLY communicates online through Facebook Messenger, text message, and of course Snapchat.
Read about marketing on Snapchat here.
Salon owners are starting to wonder why their daytime marketing activities don’t get results – well this is why! Where is your business at that crucial time of night – or the few minutes or hours where potential customers could be paying attention to you? Are you online? Are you there for your customers when they need you?
What is needed in small business these days is a radical shift in the way we communicate to our customers. I recently read that Coca-Cola has ditched voicemail entirely. A risky move, for sure, but a study showed it was an outdated way for their staff and customers to communicate. It was a cost they were paying that had become redundant. They now ask staff and customers to use an alternative method to contact a person if they can’t get through. While they didn’t make it compulsory, only 6 % of Coca Cola’s workers choose to continue to have voicemail.
This sentiment is not new. Voicemail is out as new communication mediums take its place.
“People north of 40 are schizophrenic about voice mail,” says Michael Schrage , fellow at Massachusetts Institute Sloan School of Management, “and people under 35 scarcely use it.”
It has served us well in the past, but relying heavily on telecommunications in your business is not the way forward.
I know; I hear you muttering about the personal touch, about talking to humans and keeping real relationships. That’s absolutely essential, I agree! But you have that luxury when your clients is in your chair. Perhaps it’s time to think about how your client and the world has evolved and how you and your business can rise to the occasion and meet the needs of the busy, time poor modern client.
Here are 6 suggestions you can use to save you time, money and energy in your business, all while responding to the needs of your modern day client.
Online bookings:
We book travel, dinner reservations, and events online. We’re in a time now where being able to book online is expected.
You may be thinking that you don’t want your clients fishing around in your appointment book, which will cause you to lose control of your time schedule. I promise, with Timely online booking you are in total control of your appointments. Clients don’t see into your appointment book at all, and you can confirm each ‘penciled’ appointment after giving it a quick check first.
Apart from the convenience that comes with booking a Brazilian wax from the privacy of your laptop, as opposed to a muffled phone call from the office, research shows that people are more likely to make bookings online after 9pm. They’ll pick a time that suits them, and this will often happen when you’re on your first glass of wine after a busy late night in the salon. With online bookings, you’re never closed and always in control.
Here are four guaranteed ways to ensure you increase your appointment appointments with online booking:
1. Place your online ‘Book Now’ button on your Facebook page.
It’s quick, easy, and convenient for clients. You can also create an inviting facebook post ‘Book Now’ photo, and link it to your online booking page, and post it a few times a week when your business is closed. Check when your Facebook fans are Online by going to Insights > Posts on your Facebook page.
Read about working with Facebook insights here.
2. Ensure your ‘Book Now’ button is on your website’s home page as well as the contact page.
3. Ensure your online booking address is on EVERYTHING! This includes business cards, answer phone message, and email signatures.
4. Ensure your online booking service is:
- Mobile Optimised: Can your clients use it without having to squeeze and pinch? A booking page should respond to the device it’s being viewed on. Remember, around 60% of people who are on the web are on a mobile device so make it easy for them.
- Can your clients book, reschedule and cancel? To maintain her loyalty you have to provide her with the flexibility to manage her own time. You’ll also save yourself many interruptions with less incoming re-scheduling phone calls.
- Ease of use – is it simple and easy to navigate for your clients? Avoid clunky user experiences, it reflects badly on your brand.
To learn more about building a website, read this.
Two- way SMS reminders:
Most of you use SMS reminders to lower no–show rates, but make sure you enable two way text reminders so your clients can converse with you as well.
Facebook Messenger:
Its here, like it or not, and your clients or your potential clients will be reaching out to your business on Facebook Messenger. The expected response time is instant or they’ll move on. Make sure you’re not the only one who has access to this service in your business. Your front of house staff and the rest of your team should be able to secure appointments instantly.
Emails:
My experience with making appointments through email is that it’s a long and tedious, and not very efficient. However, 57% of smartphone and tablet owners check email while watching a TV program.
Add your online booking link to your first email response and let the client take control of their appointment times. Make sure you put your online booking links on all your email signatures. Save the workload at your front desk and give the client what she wants – convenience… hers not yours.
Hair and Beauty web directories:
The days of daily deals are over and hair, beauty, and business web directories are here to stay. Clients who are looking for a new salon or spa service like the convenience and ease of everything being in one place, and the odd deal doesn’t hurt them either. Unless you’re fully booked ALL the time, you might like to consider getting your business amongst one in your local area.
Web form:
While online booking allows you to get on with looking after clients in your chair or managing your team, don’t forget the good old web form. Sometimes a potential likes to send you a message, and covering all your options is a good thing!
I’m not suggesting you disconnect your landline or voice mail service but that you engage in many ways for your client to get in touch with you. It’s great for your client, it makes you stand out among the crowd, and it helps you work smarter, and not harder, in business.
A version of this article was originally published in Headway Magazine.
