How to Use Scheduling Software to Manage Foot Traffic Effectively?

Why does any store want to limit or manage the foot traffic at their stores? Well, as it might sound strange, the current pandemic situation has driven stores to impose social distancing norms. These safety measures keep your customers and staff safe and allow you to continue your operations without any disruptions.

While many businesses like boutiques or interior designers have already started using appointment scheduling software for a few years now, there are still many that need to make a transition. Using scheduling software enables you to pay extra attention to each customer, and improve staff productively. Even your staff will find it easy to manage the foot traffic and attend to their tasks effectively.

Using online appointment scheduling software will also come in handy when you have very few team members on a particular day. Additionally, businesses can make clients feel special and exclusive as you provide personalized attention and provide a premium experience to them.

Let us now have a look at how online appointment scheduling software can effectively help manage the foot traffic at your business.

Set up all your appointments online

Like the name says, appointment scheduling software can help you manage your store, clinic, or showroom effectively by scheduling the appointments online. This not only improves the productivity of your team but will also magically improve the sales and income. All you need to get started is to choose the right appointment scheduling software provider.

Businesses that have various locations can enable the option where the client has the flexibility to choose the location they want to visit. The appointment scheduling software also enables businesses to add the available staff members at every location. This way, if a customer has their favorite staff member, he/she can directly make the appointment with that person when available.

Some appointment scheduling software have an option where you can completely switch off the staff selection options. In such cases, the client gets to pick the service and the time slot without needing to choose a staff member.

Once an appointment is booked, both the business and the client instantly get the confirmation about the same.

Why online scheduling is essential for retailers?

Even before the pandemic started, and the social distancing norms were in place, many businesses started using online scheduling software to create appointment slots. Be it shopping or product demos, it helps businesses stay organized and well-prepared.

Mentioned below are a few advantages of using appointment scheduling software for your stores.

Personalize the experience of your customers

When you have a store that has an overrun of foot traffic, you might find it hard to attend to everyone. When a customer misses out on personal attention, they might look for what they need elsewhere, and you are unknowingly turning their business away.

So when a customer uses the appointment software they will know that they will be attended to for sure, and you’ll be ready for any special requests if any.

No more worries about door guarding

With the help of appointment scheduling software, you no longer need to keep track of all the people entering the store or taking down their details. This is very useful when your staff is busy attending to other customers. Well, you could always place a staff member near the entrance, but is that the right use of a resource? Think again!

With the use of appointment scheduling software, you can manage the customer flow, and in-store shopping will be safer for both your staff and customers. As these scheduling softwares come with the feature of reminders, you will always be updated about any changes or new bookings. This way, you can track the busy times and the downtimes, so that you can easily manage administrative tasks in between.

Know and grow

Using an online appointment scheduling software helps you understand your customers well. You as a business not only get to organize your day well but can provide a hassle-free and special shopping experience to all your loyal customers.

The details of the customers are all recorded in the software at the time of booking, and this helps you maintain a digital record with ease. Businesses can know which services are the most liked, how much a customer is spending on average, and the booking frequency. By staying updated on your customer’s preferences, you can easily personalize their shopping experience, and increase sales.

You can easily add a simple Book an Appointment button to your existing website, or even integrate the software with your social media page. With the help of online appointment scheduling, businesses need not just rely on walk-in traffic any more.

Stay ahead of your competitors

Online stores these days are an extension of brick and mortar stores, and they are the face of your brand. While businesses have opened back their stores for the public, they need to recoup the business lost during the past few months.

Online appointment scheduling software allows you to provide a unique shopping experience to your customers, which is not often provided by online stores. Not only can they check-in at a time that’s convenient to them, but receive personalized attention, care, and guidance at the same time.

You can increase brand loyalty by showing your customers that you care and that they are very valued. By using such software, businesses can also understand the peak hours of the business. This, in turn, helps them make informed decisions, and schedule staff accordingly.

Easy to integrate

Appointment scheduling softwares are easy to integrate and can help your business with various functions. You can not only schedule appointments but can accept payments online, send reminders, and also create customized shopping lists for the customers.

Conclusion

If you wish to stay ahead of your competition and provide an unforgettable shopping experience to your customers, you certainly need to take good care of the customer foot traffic. Choose the right scheduling software to take away any hassle or friction.