Emails are a familiar and widely used channel for communication. You can achieve many business processes through email, including scheduling appointments and setting up meetings with internal or external stakeholders.
But is there a better alternative?
When it comes to scheduling and managing appointments, emails only help to an extent. They can take too much time and demand manual effort, which leads to a poor scheduling experience and lower productivity.
Most importantly, using emails for scheduling meetings can increase your cost per meeting due to the back-and-forth communication and repetitive tasks involved. This may lead to an inefficient scheduling process that accommodates fewer meetings than otherwise possible. This is where an appointment scheduling software can bridge the gap.
Let's delve into the benefits of scheduling software and explore why making the switch from conventional email-based scheduling would be beneficial.
Why do I need scheduling software?
If you're using emails to set up meetings and are considering the switch to scheduling software, you may have a few questions. Below are answers to some FAQs that may help you with your decision.
1) My team members collaborate well through email. How will scheduling software benefit us?
Your team can schedule meetings with multiple people through email. They can check the availability with customers, share meeting links, and send reminders and notifications. But they need to spend considerable time to accomplish this.
For instance, consider business development representatives that spend more time on scheduling meetings than preparing for the actual meeting. Slowly, they will lose focus on hitting the target revenue.
Every meeting needs to be customized according to what the customer or client needs. With a good appointment scheduler like Zoho Bookings, you can streamline the process, manage your different meeting types, customize the meeting flow, and make the meetings goal-driven. Plus, unlike emails, it won't consume your time or energy.
2) Scheduling through email is simple and convenient. Why use an appointment scheduling software?
This is true, but only partially! It might be convenient for customers if they don't mind spending more time scheduling a meeting. However, customers usually prefer setting up appointments quickly and with as few touchpoints as possible. Scheduling through emails will play a spoilsport here.
But, with scheduling software, your customers will have a unique scheduling journey that sets you apart from your competitors. You can streamline and customize the entire process, from picking time slots to making payments. Plus, you can use integrations to sync data with other apps in your tech stack and automate the scheduling process.
3) We only have a few client meetings a week. Why should we go for an appointment scheduling solution?
It can take a number of emails to schedule just one meeting. If you have different departments, think about how many meetings you'll have to organize with them. It could become quite overwhelming!
If you have enough time to handle behind-the-scenes administrative tasks like scheduling, follow-up, and reminders, emails may be the way to go. Unfortunately, everyone will not have that luxury.
Scheduling apps can ease these burdens by automating and streamlining the end-to-end scheduling process. You can meet your clients without any effort from your end when it comes to checking availability, fixing slots, sending reminders, and so on.
4) I am a solopreneur and manage appointments myself. Why do I need appointment scheduling software?
As a solopreneur, you can manage appointments single-handedly when you have limited meetings. But, if you start receiving many appointment requests, it's important not to miss any of them. As your business thrives and grows, the number of appointments and clients will undoubtedly increase, leaving you exhausted.
Hiring a personal assistant for managing emails may sound like a good idea. But it's not easy on your pocket. A scheduling app works around the clock and manages all your appointments without any supervision. It's also more cost-effective than hiring a human assistant. This way, you can focus on your core business activities, ensuring your calendar is well organized and efficiently managed.
5) Scheduling appointments through email is free. Why should I switch to appointment scheduling software?
Online scheduling software will be a perfect choice if you need to offer meetings with great customer experience.
Like email, scheduling apps also offer freemium plans. These apps streamline the scheduling process, enhancing professionalism and reducing the administrative burden. Scheduling apps like Zoho Bookings can cater to sales, customer success, consultations, interviews, education, and any other meeting type. Undoubtedly, they deliver a better value than scheduling appointments via email, even in the free version, as they are specifically designed to provide a customer-centric scheduling experience.
6) Will emails no longer be required to schedule meetings with my clients?
You can still use emails to communicate with clients and schedule appointments. The advantage of using scheduling software alongside email is that you can place meeting links in your emails. This way, you can get booked with your clients without back-and-forth conversations.
This adds professionalism and enhances the overall scheduling experience. You can make emails your preferred communication channel while the scheduling software does the scheduling heavy lifting for you.
See what Zoho Bookings can do for your business
An appointment scheduler is the preferred choice for scheduling, with 61% of companies reporting faster, easier, and more accurate scheduling. With features such as two-way calendar sync, custom booking pages, and automated reminders, Zoho Bookings helps you set up an efficient process for customer meetings in no time.
Take a closer look at how Zoho Bookings can make your scheduling smoother.
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