How to Make Smarter Business Decisions by Utilizing Trafft’s Dashboard

It’s not enough to just gather data. While it’s important to do it properly, you also need to know how to use the data you’ve gathered to supercharge your business growth. Data-driven decisions are great, but they are not easy to come up with.

Before the overwhelm gets the best of you, let me tell you that we’ve got some amazing business strategies you can implement right away. And the only tool you need to analyze data that’s vital is Trafft – scheduling software for service industry. Specifically – Trafft’s insightful dashboard. 

The focus is to increase customer loyalty, improve retention, and consequently increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). The best thing about it? You don’t need countless data sources and dozens of metrics. All you have to do is put our ideas into action. 

P.S. Have I already mentioned that you’ll also increase your revenue?

Analyze New vs. Returning Customers

The main focus of scheduling software for the service industry is, of course, to take care of the bookings. But that’s hardly everything you as a service provider and business owner need, right? There is already so much on your plate, and what you need is a true digital business partner. 

Trafft’s scheduling software for service providers is exactly what you need. And its insightful dashboard will give you just enough data to make smarter business decisions and supercharge your growth. Let’s start with New vs. Returning Customers insight and give you ideas on how you can use it:

• Tailor your marketing efforts

Do you struggle to make a loyal client base? Or do you have many returning customers but fail to attract new ones? Use data about new vs. returning customers to adjust your marketing strategy. For instance, if you have a high percentage of new customers, you might want to focus on retaining existing customers by running email marketing campaigns. 

If you have loyal customers but fail to attract new ones it’s time to get the word out by utilizing acquisition campaigns. It can be anything from Instagram and Facebook posts to Google Ads.

• Utilize customer segmentation

You can also use this data to create different groups of customers and categorize them based on their status through effective customer segmentation. After you do that, customize your services and promotions for each group. It’s also not a bad idea to consider personalized offers.

• Increase customer retention

Consider creating loyalty programs to encourage customers to come back and refer your services to their friends and family. Discounts are also a great way to boost your sales, and personalized service recommendations can go a long way in encouraging repeat business. 

• Collect feedback

Asking your customers for feedback is always a great idea. What you can do is to ask new customers about their experiences and preferences, but also what will encourage them to come back again. When it comes to returning customers, your focus should be on finding out WHY they keep coming back. 

And where does Trafft’s scheduling software come in? 

You can create coupon codes to send out to customers based on the criteria you choose. It can be based on the amount of money they’ve already spent on your services, or based on the number of appointments they’ve booked. You can also manually select customers who’ll get coupons.

Trafft’s amazing integrations with popular marketing tools such as Acumbamail, SendFox, Mailchimp, and Google Analytics let you run marketing campaigns tailored to your target audience. 

And what better way to make sure your customers keep coming back than allowing them to book recurring appointments? That’s right! Your customers can choose frequency, and you can count on them to increase your revenue. It’s a win-win. 

Optimize Processes by Analyzing Occupancy 

What’s worse, having too much work on your plate, or those idle periods where you’ve got nothing to do? You don’t have to answer that because analyzing your business occupancy in Trafft will help you strike a perfect balance between working and relaxing. Let’s see how you can optimize processes with this useful feature: 

• Optimize staff scheduling

To avoid idle periods and working too much, you should analyze peak and off-peak hours. And you can do it directly from your Trafft’s dashboard. When you’ve gathered the data, it’s time to organize employee’s schedules to ensure efficiency. You’ll boost employee satisfaction; allowing them to provide high-quality services all the time while getting your business a much-needed influx of revenue. 

• Tailor your pricing strategy

By analyzing your occupancy rate, your business won’t only benefit from added productivity. It can directly influence your revenue if you do it right. You can implement dynamic pricing during high occupancy periods to maximize revenue, but also create special offers for idle periods. 

• Forecast demand

Want to proactively resolve issues before they arise? You can predict future occupancy trends based on historical data and external factors such as holidays. But what can you do with this information? 

• Allocate resources accordingly

Historical data about occupancy is great when it comes to giving more resources when it’s needed, where it’s needed. It will make sure you always have enough employees and the right equipment during specific times of the day, week, or even a year. 

Get Ahead of Cancelled Appointments

While some customers think that when they cancel an appointment last minute, you get much much-needed coffee break – you as the business owner know better. You know how much harm last-minute cancellations do to your business and so does every responsible employee. How can you get ahead of canceled appointments? 

• Reduce no-shows

Identify patterns and take measures to reduce no-show appointments. Don’t worry, we’ve already got ideas that work:

• Calculate no-show rate

By dividing the number of no-show appointments by the number of all appointments, you’ll get your no-show rate. Once you know that, you can utilize different strategies to minimize the effects no-shows have on your business. One great strategy is to utilize overbooking. 

• Tailor your appointment reminders (channel, tone)

If you’ve implemented appointment reminders, but customers still don’t show up for their appointments, there are still things you can do to encourage them to show up. Make sure to send appointment reminders on channels they prefer (Trafft offers SMS, WhatsApp, and email reminders to satisfy even the pickiest customers). 

Another great way to encourage customers to show up is to tailor the tone of reminders to their preferences and personalize it as much as you can. Trafft can help with this because you have appointment reminder templates you can customize as much as you’d like. 

Last but not least, analyze the frequency of your appointment reminders and when is the best time to send them. Usually, 24 hours before appointments works great. 

• Implement cancellation policy

Creating and communicating a clear appointment cancellation policy will remove the headache you get from running your business. Or at least part of it! You can include terms and conditions, but also any fees for last-minute cancellations and no-shows. 

• Evaluate staff performance

Evaluate employee performance related to canceled appointments. You should look for patterns and find out whether specific employees have a higher cancellation rate. If necessary, you should provide them with additional training and support. The least you can do is ask them for feedback and talk to them about it. 

• Analyze reasons for cancellations

Wouldn’t you like to know what goes on in customers’ heads when they simply decide to cancel the appointment or not show up? Ask them! Create a short survey and determine the reasons behind cancelled appointments. It’s usually some sort of scheduling conflict, unforeseen circumstances, or customer dissatisfaction. Once you know the reasons, address these issues to reduce future cancellations. 

Analyze Performance per Employee

Your employees are vital to your business, right? Keeping them satisfied is easier said than done, though. How can you use Trafft’s dashboard to achieve two important business goals: increase employee satisfaction and productivity?

• Establish performance benchmarks

Use performance data to recognize and reward top-performing employees in order to boost morale and motivation.

• Implement training programs

Talk to employees who struggle with keeping up by identifying areas for improvement together. Once you know that, it’s time to offer targeted training to improve their performance.

• Offer incentives

Customers aren’t the only ones who need incentives. Take care of your staff, too. Implement incentive programs that reward high-performing employees based on their performance metrics and motivate them to excel further.

• Identify top performers

Use performance metrics to identify who are the top performers, and then figure out WHY. Once you do that, train other employees to work with customers in a way that top performers do.

Take Advantage of the Most Popular Services

• Find power in knowledge

By taking advantage of the “Most popular services” feature on Trafft’s dashboard, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to further develop the services that bring you the most revenue. Whether you’ll hire more people specializing in that service, or buy new equipment to satisfy the demand of your customers, when you know what to focus on, it’s easier to grow your business. It is crucial to always meet customer demands, and this feature aims to help you with that. 

• Shift your marketing focus

It never hurts to get the extra edge on your competitors by promoting your most popular services in your marketing materials. Highlight them and let your potential customers know what they’ll get once they book an appointment with you.

• Implement service bundling

It’s a great idea to package your most popular services together and create value-added bundles that encourage customers to try related services. Your revenue will thank you! P.S. You can do it directly with Trafft, by adding “Extras” to every service you want to.

• Cross-selling and upselling

Why not train your employees to recommend complementary services, products, or upgrades to increase average transaction value? Cross-selling and upselling are popular techniques and for a reason.

Experience the Full Power of Scheduling Software for Service Industry

As you’ve already seen, Trafft is more than mere scheduling software for service industry. It acts as your digital partner devoted to helping you grow your business and increasing both customer and employee satisfaction. It all leads to repeat business, greater revenue than ever, and high CLV.  

As a true partner to your business, Trafft offers tailored pricing plans to satisfy every budget. Did you know that besides signing up for Trafft’s forever-free plan, you can also experience every powerful feature in a 14-day free trial with zero risk? That’s right! It’s time to take your business seriously and implement these ideas into your everyday life to boost your revenue, growth, and customer and employee satisfaction. 

Find your perfect plan and don’t miss out on these powerful features aimed to take your service business to the next level.