Online booking systems are nothing new, but if you haven’t made the switch yet you may be wondering whether an online booking system is actually worth it for your business. We’re here to give you the answer.

To highlight just how much your customers prefer to book online, we ran a survey. It turns out that 69% of customers are more likely to book with a company that has an online booking system. Not only that, but if you don’t have an online booking system, 59% of customers will go to a competitor that does instead and 50% simply won’t book at all. With that in mind, not offering online bookings could actually harm your business.

 



It’s a generation thing


Our survey also found that younger generations value an online booking system more than older generations. In fact, 83% of Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to book with a company that has an online booking system. So if you market courses and classes for students, or perhaps you run parent & baby classes, it’s clear to see that your prime demographic want to book online.

In a separate survey carried out by Bank My Cell, 81% of Gen Z and Millennials admit that they experience anxiety when speaking to someone over the phone. Offering these customers the option to book their course, class or appointment online means that they can book whenever suits them without needing to work up the courage to dial your number.

That’s not to say that older generations don’t value an online booking system. 58% of customers aged 45+ agreed that they are more likely to book with a company that has an online booking system. So whilst it’s less of a priority, the majority still sit in favour of online booking.

 

Location, location, location


So, is this opinion the same across the country? Not exactly. Our data showed that Londoners cared most about whether a company has an online booking system, with a whopping 90% stating that they would be more likely to book with a company that does. With a huge abundance of choices when it comes to where to eat, drink, get a haircut or do a spin class, businesses that don’t offer online bookings to their London-based customers are very likely to lose them to a competitor that offers a more convenient way of booking.

On the other hand, less than half of customers (44%) surveyed in Northern Ireland said they were more likely to book with a company with an online booking system over one that didn’t, proving that they just don’t find it that important.

The message is loud and clear; your audience is telling you they want to book online! You are losing thousands of pounds in new customers, bookings and income by not offering this experience, handing over market share and customers to your competitors.

But don’t panic! At BookingLive we’re here to help. We can get you set up and taking online bookings while you sleep... for free! With plenty of tailorable options available to choose from, you can use BookingLive to maximise your business potential and ensure the best value for money with our tiered pricing structure.

Click here to get started on our award-winning, completely free booking solution for small businesses. If you’d like to chat with our expert team to learn more, call 0800 1310 342 or email sales@bookinglive.com.

The data:
Link to raw data