The COVID-19 epidemic has dramatically changed how the service industry deals with customer relationships. As people are spending increasingly more of their time online, service businesses must act quickly and innovate to provide customers with digital-led online support services or risk losing them. Using a custom-built online booking system technology is the fastest and most cost-effective strategy to provide the digital customer support that your business needs to stay competitive.

Service businesses that work with a technology provider to develop the best online experience have an opportunity to dramatically improve credibility and customer loyalty. Using a custom-built online booking system can connect your business and the customer on the same digital platform and enable the following digital-led online support services.

Communicate with your customers

With the evolving Covid-19 crisis it has never been more important to keep your customers informed.

  • Design the online booking page to highlight the health and safety measures that your business offers in its service delivery. Each customer that makes an online booking can read that your business has health and safety as a priority. Immediately update in any changes.
  • Communicate information by text and email reminders by selecting from a broad range of email templates and tailoring the message. This will continually inform clients of all the necessary information.
  • Update your business hours and booking availability on your online booking page. Set your new operating hours for each of your service business locations to let customers know when you have reduced hours or are closed. You can adjust your booking availability to prevent new appointments from being booked when you are unavailable.

Build confidence and loyalty

The look and feel of your company website will determine if certain customers wish to engage with your business, it is the virtual shopfront to the world. The quality of the user experience of your online booking system if just as important as it demonstrates your understanding and care for your customers.

The best way to build customer confidence in your business is up-to-date and relevant customer data. The more your staff know about your customer and their specific preferences the quicker trust can be created and reinforced. Collect customer data and insights throughout the online booking processes and share this up-to-date information with service staff and management to produce a better overall service.

  • Design the online booking page so you can request customer information. Through this, you are also able to select the type of input best suited for your requirements – these may be in the form of text, dates, dropdown menus or checkboxes.
  • Have service staff request information from the customer within the face-to-face service booking then have them update the customer information in the online booking system.

Customer Online Account

Using a custom-built booking system can connect your business and the customer on the same digital platform. Each customer can access a dedicated online account that is linked to your business and can provide:

  • Booking information
  • Electronic invoices
  • Promotions and discounts
  • Direct messaging
  • Reports
  • Service employee profiles
  • Health and safety information
  • Make announcements

Contactless payment options

To make sure that you have as little contact as possible enable online customer payment options.