The feeling you get when your business lifts off and finally starts growing can be extremely rewarding. However, that tends to carry a higher level of responsibility which naturally comes with more obligations. To handle the additional work, you can bring in more people or change how you do things – which can take away time and valuable resources. As your business continues to grow, you might find yourself struggling to keep everything under control. A few leads might slip through the cracks, or you could experience scheduling conflicts or missed appointments. Here is a definite list of 6 signs that your business needs scheduling software to keep things on track.
1. You use old school methods for everything
You’ll know it’s time to make the switch to online software if you’re still using paper calendars and hard-copy memos. For those of you who are still scheduling internal meetings over the phone, be honest and count how many calls you need to make to set up a team meeting. This doesn’t mean you need to drop all phone communication. You just need to find a way to make collective decisions faster and relay important information to your teammates in a timely fashion. For short info you need to deliver, you can use business SMS since most people constantly have their phones nearby.
2. You need to manually share information with employees
Do you need to manually export or copy files and contacts for your employees? If people need to ask each other for information – it’s one of the most glaring signs that your business needs scheduling software. Your internal systems need to be constructed in a way where employees can access information independently. Don’t make them dependent on you because that just takes up everybody’s time. Most importantly, it relegates you into a notebook or a secretary. As it turns out, you might not even need a person for that position since it can be handled by software. The past year has shown us that most businesses can be moved online. It’s time to use the appropriate tools as well. By using online tools, all of your scheduling can be done through the cloud. Online scheduling gives your employees easy access to all of the contact information they need.
3. Rescheduling is a common occurrence
Occasionally, everyone is going to have periods when they are busier. However, if every week is busy and forces you to reschedule or postpone, chances are that it’s not just the amount of work. It’s okay if you don’t have time for everything, but did you ever stop to wonder why it happens so often. You might not have a good estimate of how much work you are scheduling or how it’s distributed. Use your time more efficiently and avoid such mistakes by using scheduling software.
4. You are using Google Calendar
Although it is commendable you are actually using something that can be accessed online, the Calendar tool is not the end-all for your scheduling needs. As awesome as it is, Google Calendar was never intended to be a business solution. Frankly, the functionality it offers is rather basic, and trying to make something more out of it is just clunky. Integrating Sheets is a pain; however, since you can’t do everything in the Calendar, you’ll probably need them. Moreover, if you need payment solutions, you’ll definitely need to use something else.
We recommend using Google Calendar as just that – a calendar and an online reminder and nothing more. If you keep clinging to that for your scheduling needs, how will your customers even schedule a simple phone call? Instead, you can use widgets, like those available at Convert More, to connect customers with your sales team. This will clear up your schedule and let you tackle simple things like calls directly since that can be handled by the widgets.
5. Decreased customer satisfaction
If you are seeing more customer complaints and lower review scores, those might be signs that your business needs scheduling software to handle those issues in due time. Don’t panic; everyone makes mistakes now and again. What’s important is finding a way to overcome those failures. It’s actually very easy to turn unsatisfied customers around. A key component is timeliness. Basically, all you need to do is hear them out and handle the issues quickly. However, without the use of scheduling software, that might seem like a herculean effort. If you lack a proper schedule, it will take forever to respond to complaints, let alone start resolving them. That will cause you to lag and fall behind even further – leaving everyone involved frustrated.
6. Gaps in employee schedules
Of course, you want your employees to be efficient and spend their time being productive. As it turns out, your employees might be procrastinating not because they want to but because of poor scheduling. If employees are waiting for someone else to finish a report before they start working on those new leads – it’s hardly their fault. Use scheduling software to avoid unnecessary downtime and let people know when specific tasks are due.
Obviously, working from home and procrastination go hand in hand. Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, many companies have closed their offices and sent employees to work from home. Unfortunately, some people need a bit of help to stay structured and stick to the schedule. It’s up to you to help them and provide scheduling software to enable your teams to stay coordinated. You’ll also know when updates are due, when people have requested time off, how many people you need for a shift, and how to fill gaps in people’s schedules.
To summarize
Every business needs a way to keep track of their correspondence, meetings, bookings, and calls. If you have recognized yourself in any of the six signs that your business needs scheduling software, it might finally be time to modernize. Just because you started by jotting down appointments with a pen doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way forever. Get with the times and switch to a modern software solution.