For many businesses and organizations, an online booking tool is going to be applicable to their work in one way or another.
It could be used to organise events public event, activity sessions, consulting times and training programmes, or through the varied other applications to which a flexible tool could be applied.
That said, of course every business is different, and is going to require different functions and features from software. Two big distinguishers here are company size and geography (i.e. working in the UK, Europe or even further afield).
As with every type of business software purchased, and especially for 2019 software is going to play a major role of every business’s functioning, the booking software you choose to install is going to directly reflect the size and scope of your work.
In lieu of writing a blog recommending particular booking software to particularly types of businesses, we’ve overviewed key features of booking software, and have suggested how they might be used by different types of businesses.
Naturally we love our own product, the Booking Live systems – if you feel our product might be up your street, please see our product benefits and features.
A product that’s easy to set up and easy to learn – Good quality SaaS products, like BookingLive’s online booking tool, should be drawing in and serving customers as soon as possible after purchase.
Onsite training will be useful for businesses with large teams, online training will be great for those enterprise with teams dispersed through the UK or further afield, while small, localised teams could utilise offsite trainings (perhaps at the software developer’s office).
Businesses are becoming far more disjointed and decentralized, so flexibility in training and instalment is absolutely crucial.
Help when you need it – Large businesses could have their own dedicated IT staff, and indeed may have created their own bespoke customer engagement software.
As such a Sunday night system breakdown could be less of a threat, provided that the software’s creator is still available on hand! For smaller firms, and for those with spread-out teams, helps needs to be easily hand.
Being able to talk through a problem on the phone is a great solution, but chatbots and other AI mechanisms can be useful for support outside hours.
Secure data storage and GDPR awareness – The General Data Protection Regulation’s adoption is literary just around the corner from being adopted and is going to significantly impact small and large businesses alike.
All businesses that collect data from their customers are going to need to adapt how they operate, but quality software is going to do their part by making sure they are GDPR-compliant, and that they store data in the most secure way possible.
Better customer experience – All good booking software is going to have customer service at its core, making it as easy as possible for customers to access and purchase products. A massive benefit of online bookings, compared to phone or email booking, is the potential for customers to make bookings at any time, from any place around the world.
Good systems will gather marketing information from customers, with their permission and abiding by GDPR’s requirements, while also limiting the amount of time required for accessing a given service. Good software will also make payments easy and secure, and will keep financial information securely stored.
Primarily cloud-based
– There are great benefits to having in-house, bespoke-built booking software, but also plenty of disadvantages – the cost and time spent building and perfecting the system, the need for dedicated staff who can troubleshoot, and the matter of how to securely store and protect all the data gathered from customers.
A cloud-based system helps avoid some of these problems. It will be a tried-and-tested product, its off-site location will keep all information secure from threats (particularly from the ransomware that caused havoc last year), and it will take up minimal memory and space on your hardware.
Digital adaptability and compatibility
The other benefit of using an external, cloud-based booking system, regardless of your business type or size, is that a great amount of time and effort will have gone into keeping it compatible with other tools, and ahead of digital trends.
Good software will be constantly streamlined and improved upon and is going to be accessible to customers no matter what devices they use to make bookings.
It is also going to be designed in a way that merges seamlessly with existing business websites, other software used, marketing and branding. A continually improved and upgraded product will give your team one less thing to worry about.
BookingLive prides itself on delivery a customizable, cutting edge, and secure product. We also believe in being an honest and transparent company, meaning that we’ll work to meet your needs, and will be upfront about whether or not our product will meet your requirements.
Do contact us here or comment below, to find out how we could help your business thrive.
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