Booking online is a real timesaver.
As a typical millennial, I appreciate when companies use technology that makes my life easier. In all cases, I prefer the simplest way to get a product or a service. I’m used to buying whatever I need in one click. So why should booking an appointment at my hairdresser’s be any more complicated?b
If you offer services, your older customers may be used to calling, emailing, or sending homing pigeons to schedule time with you — on the condition that they love your company. But for new visitors, not having online booking might be a source of stress or simply a waste of time. They might check out another website that offers easy bookings instead.
So let’s see if your business needs a booking upgrade. Even if you don’t currently offer services, with online booking, it’s much easier to start offering them when you’re ready to do so.
为什么在线预订很重要
Is booking online so drastically different from setting appointments over the phone? On the surface, it might seem that the difference is negligible — either way, you’re scheduling time with customers and furthering your business. But in fact, you get much more from booking online, both as a customer and as a business owner. Let’s review some of the benefits:
Traditional Booking | Booking Online | |
打开 24/7 | – | + |
Collects all required customer information at once | – | + |
Automatically updates availability, preventing double-booking and other mistakes | – | + |
Frees up staff to do other business-related activities | – | + |
Sends automatic confirmation and reminder emails to prevent no-shows | – | + |
Compiles customer email addresses and other data useful for future promotions | +/– | + |
Recommends products/services from your store in appointment emails | +/– | + |
With all of these advantages to booking online in mind, booking appointments and selling events could become a valuable new revenue stream for your business — and maybe even your new favorite thing to sell!
What Services Can I Offer for Booking Online?
基本上, everything you already offer as a bookable appointment by phone will work. Online booking is perfect for:
- DJs
- Caterers
- Babysitters
- Hairdressers
- House cleaners
- Gardening services
- Handyman services
- Interior decorators
- Rental services
If you’ve never offered services in your online store before, there is a wide range of things you can do, based on your specific business.
例如, you can offer different types of events that pair well with your business — from helpful classes and workshops to product demos and tasting parties. All of these services and events help to establish your brand, attract customers, and build customer loyalty. And you’ll also earn more money, 也.
Here are just a few examples of how services can complement some of the products your business offers and give you new opportunities to sell:
产品 | Service |
Handmade furniture | Workshops |
Craft beer | Tastings |
Sport clothes | Training classes |
化妆品 | Beauty consultant/stylist |
Fashion items | Rental service |
电子产品 | Repair |
食物 | Booking tables |
Photography | Photo sessions |
Science books | Lectures |
Honey | Apiary tours |
It doesn’t mean you can only earn from services directly, 尽管. Hosting a free event at a pop-up shop or party likely won’t make you money on its own, but it can increase awareness about your products and lead to sales in the future.
How to Offer Bookings Online in Ecwid
在Ecwid, you can set up a service as a product. 去你的 Control Panel → Catalog and create a new product. Add a calendar and variables with the 产品选项 feature:
Adjust price-modifying options, if any:
Then save your product. If you want customers to pre-pay, enable online payment methods (just like in the tours example above), and if you allow customers to pay at the time of appointment (like for a hairdresser’s, 例如) enable offline payment methods.
People want new and exciting ways to interact with your business. Spend some time “thinking outside of the box” and see if you can come up with some new ways to build customer interest in your business.
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