There are over 65,000 such service providers in Switzerland. These include sectors such as beauty, health, sport and other service providers such as trustees and lawyers.

Meanwhile, the customer needs of service providers are exerting pressure and forcing them to gradually enter the era of digitalization. This is shown by a study conducted by Doodle. 81% of online-savvy customers of service providers want to be able to make appointments online (see Doodle survey).

Digitalization is primarily intended to solve existing problems and needs on the part of providers and end customers when coordinating appointments.

At the moment, service providers need a lot of time, as appointments are traditionally made by email or telephone. Furthermore, most providers lack the additional online channel on which they are available 24/7. On the other side are the service providers' customers, who also have to spend a lot of time finding a suitable appointment. Privacy is also severely affected, as people are reluctant to make appointments by phone in an open-plan office, for example.

Digital appointment solutions address precisely these problems and offer online booking options that allow customers of service providers to book appointments online. Using the latest technology, service providers create added value for their customers.

Using digitalization and creating added value for customers

Let's imagine a practical scenario. Anna, the owner of a hairdressing salon, serves her customers all day, but is constantly interrupted by walk-in customers and telephone inquiries. With her paper agenda, it is difficult to coordinate appointments. In the evening, the business is closed and therefore no longer available for her customers who want to book an appointment at 8pm. This poses a major problem for business availability. Most providers also lack awareness of the digital market. Without a digital presence, Anna cannot reach a large proportion of potential customers, or only with difficulty.

Not only service providers, but also their customers are encountering difficulties due to the lack of digitalization. Let's take Max as an example. Max is one of Anna's customers and works as a bank employee in an open-plan office. Privacy is very important to him, which is why he doesn't want to make his private appointments for hairdressing, massages or doctor's appointments by phone. In addition, he is too busy all day to organize private appointments. He would have enough time in the evening or at the weekend, but can no longer make appointments because all the hairdressing salons are closed.

These two everyday scenarios describe the daily problems that can occur without an online booking system.

Why a software solution for appointment management?

With the help of an e-appointment solution, appointments can be booked 24/7, quickly, easily and online. Service providers also have the option of integrating a booking page into their own website. Thanks to this digitalization, providers can also be found online and can therefore expand their customer reach. Another advantage is the responsive design of the software. This means that the software can be operated cleanly and clearly on any device such as smartphones, tablets or computers.

By digitizing services, an e-appointment solution creates added value not only for providers, but also for their customers. For example, appointments can now be made quickly and easily online from anywhere. This means that privacy is no longer compromised. The streamlined booking process enables efficient appointment coordination within seconds. No more time is lost on unnecessary phone calls. When booking, customers also have the option of sending certain preferences, such as the desired hair color, directly when confirming the online booking.

Independent registration

With Calenso, for example, service providers can create their own account in just a few minutes with the help of a step-by-step wizard. Once created, employees, customers, services and working hours can be defined. After configuration, a booking page is automatically created, which can be integrated into your own website in the form of a booking widget. Furthermore, favourite calendars can be synchronized with the booking solution. This makes it possible to coordinate appointments on the private calendar. The service provider's customer can now select the desired employee online, enter the date and time, click on the preferred service and finally book the appointment. The booking solution then automatically checks all available appointments in the background and suggests them to the customer. As soon as an appointment has been made, the appointment appears in the calendar and in the customer administration. It couldn't be simpler!

The advantages at a glance:

• Synchronization with your favourite calendar
• Appointments independent of opening hours
• Flexibility
• Uncomplicated and fast appointment scheduling
• Innovative customer service

In conclusion, it can be said that the potential of online booking solutions is very high from an information systems perspective. Service providers can not only increase their turnover and efficiency with such innovative software, but also increase customer satisfaction many times over.