One of the biggest challenges of running a successful massage practice is scheduling clients. It is unprofessional to answer the phone during an appointment. Changing sheets and room preparation doesn’t allow much time for responding to voice mails between sessions. We would all love to hire a receptionist to handle our bookings for us, but that simply isn’t affordable.
Luckily, there is an alternative that is both easy to implement and extremely affordable. Massage appointment scheduling is a service that allows your current and potential clients to book an appointment directly through your website. One popular online massage scheduling company, Schedulicity.com, claims 41% of their bookings occur during non-business hours. That statistic suggests there is a good chance you’re taking a lot of calls during your free time, or you’re returning a lot of calls the following morning.
Most massage scheduling software companies, like Schedulicity, offer a “Schedule Now” button that can be integrated into your website. Adding a scheduling button to your website typically takes less than five minutes. Here’s a video that shows just how easy installing this feature can be.
(You can also watch Adding a ‘Schedule Now’ Button on YouTube.)
Don’t have a website? Is a lack of technical skills or the cost of hiring a web designer holding you back? You can get a great looking website for free at wordpress.com. There are a number of free web hosting platforms, and most can be customized to serve as a business website. However, it has been my experience that wordpress.com is the easiest to alter from a blog look to a professional website appearance. They also seem to have the biggest selection of themes to choose from. Using wordpress.com requires exactly zero technical skill, as you can do just about everything from the user interface dashboard.
Not sure if online scheduling is the right fit for you? Most services offer a free trial period, typically between 30 and 45 days. Why not try it out? You can set up a free website, with a “Schedule Now” button included, in less than 20 minutes. Choose a couple of your loyal clients, and ask them to schedule their next massage through your website as a favor to you. Let them know you’re trying the service out, and you would like feedback from your best customers. Listen to what they say, and determine whether their experience would likely apply to the rest of your client base.
