Online Scheduling Software the Answer for Managing Groupon, ‘Deal-of-the-Day’ Appointments

March 10, 2011 - PRLog -- Scottsdale, Ariz. – Service-based small businesses participating in ‘deal-of-the-day’ campaigns such as those offered through Groupon, LivingSocial, SocialBuy, BuyWithMe and others can quickly become overwhelmed by hundreds or even thousands of new customer appointments and reservations. Thanks to online scheduling software from Appointment-Plus, these businesses can easily manage successful campaigns by completely automating and streamlining their scheduling procedures.  

As a leader in online appointment-scheduling software since 2001, Appointment-Plus (http://www.appointment-plus.com/index.php) understands the challenges scheduling creates for service-based small businesses and has developed the Web-based tools owners, operators and staff need to effortlessly manage new customers and their appointments and reservations. Owners and staff who use it for these campaigns typically experience such benefits as:

• A dramatic reduction in the number of phone calls and e-mails from new customers seeking to book their appointments and reservations.

• Better management of staff time and resources, which can result in much lower operating costs.

• A convenient way for new and existing customers to book their appointments and reservations.

• An “all-in-one” scheduling solution that manages all appointment/reservation and customer information in one centralized location, instead of in multiple files, spreadsheets and folders.

Be Well Pilates (www.bewellpilates.com) in Alameda, Calif., used Appointment-Plus to book over 1,250 appointments from a recent LivingSocial campaign. Owner Minna Fernan says the online scheduler saved her business countless hours and thousands of dollars in staff salaries.

“We owe much of our LivingSocial success to the ease and dependability of your software for us and our customers,” she explains.

Among the features Appointment-Plus provides include: online customer self-scheduling, which allows individuals to book their appointments and reservations 24 hours a day; automated e-mail and text message reminders; online customer payment options; robust record-keeping and reporting; and e-marketing capabilities.

“Deal-of-the-day campaigns are a great way for small businesses to promote awareness of their services and quickly increase sales and their customer base, but they can also create scheduling problems for those unprepared for the sudden influx of new appointments and reservations,” says Bob La Loggia, president and CEO of StormSource Software, the developer of Appointment-Plus. “Our leading online scheduling software helps them effectively manage these new bookings and customer information by automating the entire process.”

Web-based Appointment-Plus is accessible from any Internet connection. Pricing starts at $39 per month with no long-term contracts, along with free set-up assistance with a dedicated coach.

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About Appointment-Plus: Appointment-Plus (http://www.appointment-plus.com) supplies over 4,500 businesses and organizations throughout the United States, Canada and 10 other countries the tools they need to efficiently and accurately schedule appointments and sessions, book rooms, accept registrations and many other services. The flagship product of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based StormSource Software, the online application has scheduled almost 60 million appointments since its launch in 2001. Geared primarily toward small businesses such as medical offices, spas, health clubs and massage therapists, users of the service also include Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, healthcare agencies and facilities, federal and local government, and freight and delivery services.

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Appointment-Plus (http://www.appointment-plus.com) supplies over 4,500 businesses and organizations throughout the United States, Canada and 10 other countries the tools they need to efficiently and accurately schedule appointments and sessions, book rooms, accept registrations and many other services. The flagship product of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based StormSource Software, the online application has scheduled over 60 million appointments since its launch in 2001. Geared primarily toward small businesses such as medical offices, spas, health clubs and massage therapists, users of the service also include Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, healthcare agencies and facilities, federal and local government, and freight and delivery services.