Small businesses drive our nation’s economy˳ They employ tens of millions˳ They’re important neighbors in our cities, towns and communities˳ And they provide the services we rely upon˳
Economic conditions during the past few years, however, have negatively impacted the operations of many these proprietors˳ Results of the 2009 edition of The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President, compiled by the U˳S˳ Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, paint a troubling picture of our nation’s economic woes:
• More than half of the 763,000 jobs lost in the first two quarters of 2008 occurred in small firms, while unincorporated self-employment fell from an average of 10˳4 million in 2007 to an average of 10˳1 million in 2008-9˳6 million by November and December˳
• Small businesses continue to face challenges in the current climate: accessing capital in the midst of financial instability, the cost and availability of health insurance, attracting a quality work force, meeting global competition, and perennial concerns about regulation, taxes and government procurement opportunities˳
• Surveys show that owners are less willing than in previous years to expand their small businesses, hire additional workers, invest in new plant and equipment and borrow money˳
Given the current economic conditions, small business operators are looking to do more with less and at a lower cost˳ One function many are looking at is how they set their patient, customer, client and student appointments˳
ONLINE SCHEDULING IDEAL FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Online appointment scheduling is what’s commonly known as a Software As A Service (SaaS) program, where a business provides an application to customers for use as a service on demand˳ Like most SaaS programs, online scheduling services are typically housed online on a secure server, eliminating the need for the small business owner to purchase costly hardware components for his or her network˳ Additionally, some scheduler services also offer the conveniences of online accessibility, which does not require the business operator to install the program on his or her computer˳
Online appointment scheduling software offers numerous beneficial features for small businesses, including:
• Self-scheduling for clients, customers and students˳ Individuals simply access the company’s appointment registration, typically through its Web site, select a date, time and location, and book his or her appointment˳
• Internal scheduling˳ Some businesses prefer to have their staff schedule their patient and client appointments˳ The software makes this task much easier and efficient than electronic calendars and the traditional pen-and-appointment-book approach˳
• E-mail and text reminders˳ Many online scheduling software programs feature these reminders, which eliminate the need for staff to make reminder phone calls and send reminder e-mail messages, which have been shown to cut down on “no-shows” by 50 percent˳
• Online Payments˳ Collect service payments from clients online and automatically process their credit card transactions˳
• Reports˳ Businesses typically rely on accurate reporting to get a snapshot of their operations and judge the effectiveness of their service and their trainers, instructors and other professionals˳ Online scheduling software providers typically offer accurate report-generating functionality˳
• Record Keeping˳ Businesses can acquire, maintain and store contact information securely on their clients˳
• Marketing Resources˳ Use reporting functionality, if available, to build a list of customers, clients, students and patients, along with their contact information, to send special offers and newsletters˳
WHAT SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ONLINE SCHEDULING
Recent surveys conducted by Appointment-Plus, a provider of online appointment-scheduling software, show the real need small business operators have for an alternative to their appointment-setting procedures˳
• Before using appointment software, over 72 percent of small business owners and their receptionists manually took appointments by phone˳
• Business owners chose to utilize an online appointment scheduling system for two main reasons: expand the ability of their clients to schedule appointments via the Internet (56˳5 percent) and the amount of time they and their staffs were spending on scheduling appointments (53˳2 percent)˳
• Appointment software has helped business owners reduce their “no-show” rate by almost 50 percent˳
• Fifty-six percent of businesses saw their business increase since they began using online appointment scheduling software˳
Appointment-Plus also gathered survey results from businesses who currently do not utilize an online scheduling service˳
It found that over 30 percent still use an appointment book (planner), while over 20 percent relied on Microsoft Outlook programs and over 10 percent chose the Google Calendar˳ Those seeking an online alternative cited a need for a more efficient process (33˳3 percent), followed by their desire to have clients self-schedule online (29˳3 percent) and the ability to send e-mail and text reminders of upcoming appointments˳
The survey results clearly show how the positive impact an online scheduling system can have on small business operations˳ With economic conditions unseen in over seven decades, these entities must streamline their operations and cut costs at every opportunity to stay afloat˳ Scheduling software can free up staffers, reduce the number of “no-shows”, provide a seamless way of scheduling appointments, and give you, the small business operator, the piece of mind that your appointment-setting needs are met in an efficient, cost-effective and automated manner˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Scheduling-Software-A-Cost-Effective,-Proven-Solution-For-Small-Businesses&id=3877988
