One of the most significant shifts in the salon and spa industry over the last few months has been the increased demand from clients and staff for contactless features and solutions.
While some businesses may focus only on the in-store experience, the contactless journey actually begins when clients book their appointment.
By offering Online Booking to your clients through your salon or spa software, you can meet their new expectations from their first interaction with your business – all while helping to improve the contactless experience later on in the journey.
Here are four ways online spa booking software and Meevo 2 can enhance your touch-free capabilities, minimize lost revenue, and help boost booked appointments.
1) Clients Can Book Their Services Anytime, Anywhere
Perhaps the most well-known reason to offer online booking is to let clients schedule appointments without contacting the front desk at your salon or spa. Clients can schedule appointments from anywhere, with their cell phone, tablet, or computer – a convenient experience overall.
Because online booking eliminates the need for clients to call or visit your salon to schedule an appointment, it helps create a “deskless” front desk” at your business. Staff are freed up to focus on their customers while minimizing physical interaction and keeping up with social distancing guidelines.
2) Collect Client Data for Marketing, Communications, and Confirmations
When clients book appointments through Online Booking software, they are asked to provide basic personal information such as their name, mobile number, and email address. Some salon and spa software providers can require clients to provide this information.
Obtaining this data upfront can help salons and spas in many ways, but especially around client marketing and communications.
Businesses can send appointment confirmations through email and text via the information collected during Online Booking. Meevo 2 can be set up to include digital Intake Forms and service-related documents such as a COVID-19 Policy form. Additionally, you can add clients to marketing campaigns about special promotions, upcoming events, business news, and more to help drive future bookings.
And with one of the exciting features coming to Meevo 2 in July, users can now sync their Online Booking to Google Analytics to further improve their data collection and better understand their website demographics. This will help salons and spas provide more targeted and personalized marketing communications to clients, increasing the likelihood of engagement with your messaging.
3) Store Credit Card Information
Client email and phone numbers aren’t the only important information you can collect through Online Booking. Configure your business management software to prompt clients to add a credit card at the time of booking. With Meevo 2’s integrated payments, salons and spas can adjust settings to collect credit card information and then securely store this data on file.
Requiring a credit card during Online Booking enables you to enforce your no-show policy, which is incredibly important for maximizing revenue potential with limited appointments and social distancing practices in place during today’s new normal.
Additionally, securely storing credit cards creates the ability to provide a contactless chairside checkout. Clients can choose to use their credit card on file to pay for their services, improving the touch-free experience for both clients and staff. And with one of Meevo 2’s new contactless features, Self Pay, clients will soon have the option to either use their credit card on file or pay securely via their mobile device using any card they’d like.
4) Increase Booking Efficiency & Drive Revenue with an Automated Wait List
Given the limited occupancy and social distancing practices many salons and spas are enacting across the country in response to COVID-19, filling your appointment book as close to the current allowable occupancy is extremely important. This is where an automated Wait List can be invaluable to business owners.
Through Online Booking, clients can add themselves to your salon or spa’s Wait List. Meevo 2 scans your appointment book every 5-minutes for openings or schedule shifts, then automatically texts Wait List clients to fill the slots. All a client needs to do is respond to the text message that they are interested in the available appointment, and then Meevo 2 will update your appointment book accordingly.
An automated Wait List helps your business book new appointments when cancellations occur or schedule changes are made, ensuring you avoid potential lost revenue.
Don’t Overlook the Importance of Online Booking When Going Contactless
The contactless experience begins when clients book their appointment at your salon or spa, which is why Online Booking is such a critical step in the touch-free journey. By utilizing salon and spa software that fully supports contactless capabilities, owners can provide a safe experience for clients and staff that leads to more booked appointments.
One of our clients has seen this happen first hand: “Meevo 2 has been great for our staff to improve rebooking as well as collecting client credit card information, which wasn’t as easy in the past,” says Dawn Panfil, Owner of Hair & Body Solutions Salon and Spa. “This has been a very valuable feature for my business.”
Meevo 2’s Online Booking, and the features that come with it, can help your business enter the contactless world to deliver on the expectations of your clients and staff.
