Tutors, Tutoring Businesses

How to Choose the Right Tutor Scheduling Software for your Business

A tutor using a tutor scheduling software

Ensuring quality customer experience is the ultimate goal of every business, regardless of the service which they provide. But paving the way for a happy customer requires a lot of effort and it’s always better to have a helping hand or two.

For someone in the tutoring business, you would have to take care of things like managing appointments, accepting payments, viewing various business reports, tracking your growth, and a lot more. So how do you handle all of this work without compromising on the quality of service which you provide?

By using a tutor scheduling software.


Is it really necessary to use one?

As a service provider, you cannot afford to devote a lot of your time to your business’ administrative tasks. This is where a scheduling software comes in.

A tutor scheduling software sustains and increases your bookings, can expand your client base, which will in turn improve your business.

As mentioned earlier, it can help you automate many time-consuming tasks, from scheduling appointments to sending out confirmations and reminders, which will help in making your business run a lot more efficiently.

But if chosen correctly, the right tutor booking software can also help you attract more business, provide a good client user experience, and double up as a data analytics and marketing tool for your business.

Now that you know how a scheduling tool can help you with your work, it is also important to choose the right one which is aligned to your needs. Let’s look at the the various factors that you should be considering while choosing the right appointment scheduling software for your business


Ease of use

The entire purpose of an online scheduling software is to improve the efficiency of how you run your business. It is important for both your staff and clients to use the tool without facing any hassle.

It goes without saying that you might need some time to familiarize yourself with any new tool which you use, but if you face difficulties in things like setting up your account or customizing your booking interface, it defeats the entire purpose of having the tool itself.

Most appointment booking software offer a free trial period during which you can get a feel for the system before committing to a paid subscription. Utilize this opportunity to thoroughly evaluate the features you’ll be using.


Customizable options and scalability

When analyzing the various scheduling systems, consider your business’s needs and how well the system’s features satisfy those needs. Create a list of the tasks you intend to use the software for, aside from scheduling, and determine which systems have those capabilities. Look for add-ons and features like:

  1. Customizable notifications
  2. Customizable booking portal
  3. Flexible booking restrictions
  4. Configurable intake forms, etc.

Important – You will also come across many software which will have additional features which you might not want but would be required to pay for. So make sure you’re only paying for the functionality which is useful to you.

Consider your future requirements as well, and make sure the software is capable enough to keep up with your growing business. It is supposed to help you increase the number of appointments you get, expand to more locations, and hire more people. So ideally, it should also be able to manage all of that growing work and data.

It’s possible that you might have to upgrade your plan for accessing certain functionality, but the higher range plans shouldn’t burn a hole in your pocket either.


Business integration

We all use some applications at work to make things easier and ensure smooth functioning. Having to shift from those can be difficult. Many scheduling software have integrations with all the necessary software – calendar apps, payment software, video conferencing apps, etc. Having such apps integrated into your scheduling tool can facilitate many administrative tasks.

For example, you can integrate your calendar app with a scheduling software like Appointy to view all your free/busy hours in one place. You will also be able to use your personal calendar as a function to define your availability in such a way that your clients will only be able to book you when your calendar is free.

Appointy appstore - business integrations

Website integration

Your website will have everything a potential client would want to know about regarding your services. It is like the online version of your physical office/tutoring center. It’s objective is not just limited to providing information to interested clients. (buy ambien in mexico) You need to make sure that your website prompts potential clients to take action and become your actual clients!

Encourage them to book a demo class, consultation, or directly book a class with you. A Book Now button on your website can help you do this!

By adding this to your website, you can ensure that these people do not have to struggle to find a separate link or contact you if they want to book a session with you.

With the right scheduling software, you can add a booking widget on your website which would ensure that your clients have direct access to your services.

Appointy is one such software that can help you add a full page widget, or even a partial overlay on your website for your clients to directly interact with. Also, those who have a website built on WordPress can also integrate the WordPress Appointment Scheduling Plugin using Appointy.


Social media booking

Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook are growing tremendously. Nowadays, the usage of these platforms is not just limited to casual interactions. You can potentially carve out an entire marketplace from them. So why not take advantage of that?

Having an established presence on social media can help you engage with your audience. And it should not just be limited to content interaction.


So what else can you do?

It might come as a surprise to a few readers, but you can add a ‘Book Now’ button right there on your Facebook/Instagram page. This is a great way to direct your organic traffic right to your services.

You could also think – “Hey! Why can’t I just add my website’s URL in the description, wouldn’t it be the same thing?”

Absolutely not.

By adding a ‘Book Now’ button to your social media handle:

  • Your audience will be able to skip unnecessary steps. On clicking the ‘Book Now’ button, the user won’t be taken outside the Instagram app. The booking page will open in the app, and most of the details will be filled automatically by Instagram/Facebook itself.
  • People won’t get diverted elsewhere since it’s not something they’d usually expect to see. And if they’re interested in what you have to offer, they would have the option to directly book a session with you.

While you can add a ‘Book Now’ button only on Instagram/Facebook, you can add your booking link to your profile on other channels, so make sure you have all bases covered.


Reserve with Google integration

Google is the first place people go to in order to find information about anything. Finding a tutor is no exception. So it’s very important for you to list your business on Google. But how do you go about doing that? – Google my Business. It provides you with the ability to list your business location on Google Maps and local search results. You can also provide relevant details like business address, contact number, opening hours, etc.

But just having these details up there isn’t enough to convert the prospects into clients. There is a way to allow others to book a session with you directly from Google. That’s right! Being right there in front of your potential clients as a search result can help you drive so much organic traffic towards your business. So why not utilize this the right way?

Reserve with Google (RwG) allows you to create, cancel, and reschedule appointments directly from a Google search. And the best part is, many tutor management software like Appointy can get you listed on RwG with ease!

So before making any decision, ensure that the scheduling tool you plan to go for is an official partner of Reserve with Google.


Reportability 

It doesn’t matter how well you are doing unless you’re able to understand the metrics of your growth. You should be able to track your business statistics and see how well your business has done over a period of time.

Appointment scheduling software like Appointy can collect and manage your data in the form of reports in a single place. Appointy can also let you look at the important business metrics like sales reports, number of bookings, notification alert reports, and even help you evaluate customer satisfaction. This can help you keep track of your numbers and business growth.

You can print your detailed reports or even get them mailed to you. You can also customize your reports by filtering various parameters according to your preference.


Data security

Advancing technology and threat to data go hand in hand, which is why security should be one of the top priorities for a business. There are many security compliances which should be followed by the scheduling software which you decide to integrate with your business.


Why?

Your booking software will deal with sensitive information like client data and payment details. Protecting it should be a major concern, which is why you should ensure that your scheduling software will keep all the data safe.

Look for a software that provides well protected cloud storage on secure and safe servers so you can be assured that your data cannot be harmed in any way.

We also have a detailed write-up on the importance of security in online learning, which highlights the various aspects of data security for educational services.


Technical Support

While trying to identify the best tool for your needs, it’s extremely vital to thoroughly verify the support offered by each company. It takes time to adapt to new software applications and it’s natural to face some difficulties along the way. And when that happens, you might have to reach out to the support team. If they aren’t responsive enough and take too long to respond to your query, it would affect your experience, along with your day-to-day tasks.

It is important to select a software which, along with great features, has an excellent support staff to help you out in situations where you’re not able to find a way forward.

For example, Appointy is known for its excellent technical support team who ensures that all the customer issues are resolved in a timely manner. Here’s how one of our customers feels about our support services.

Appointy Testimony

Conclusion

There are many great software options available, but choosing the right online scheduling software for your business will need some research. Although this is a time-consuming process, it will pay off in the long run.

Whether you own a small business or a large-scale business with multiple locations, Appointy can be the right choice for you. We offer everything that you’d want in your ideal scheduling software. Plus, we offer affordable pricing plans fit for your business.

You can sign up for Appointy for absolutely free! For the first 2 weeks of your free subscription, you will have access to all the features Appointy has to offer. And the best part is, you do not need a credit card to sign up! You can simply visit our website, register for a free account, and get started right away!

If at the end of your trial you would like to upgrade, great! If not, your plan will automatically be downgraded to the free plan and you can continue using it as you like ?

Do let us know if you found this article helpful in the comment section below.


About Appointy

We at Appointy, help business owners grow and run their businesses with our online scheduling software. This blog was a part of our ‘Manage your Business’ category, where we provide expert tips, and resources, or simply talk about the challenges that small and medium businesses face every day.

If you have any thoughts on this blog or would like to chat about your business struggles and achievements, let us know in the comments below.

We love a good talk!