Now you can have your customers book meetings and visits online through Google Calendar
By Enrico GiubertoniUpdated 5 minutes to read
Through Google Calendar you can have your clients book appointments independently by showing your clients when you are free, and allowing them to book online via website, Facebook and Whatsapp.
Now you can do this without any special technical knowledge using the appointment slots feature of Google Calendar (with all the advantages this brings in the post-Coronavirus era).
With Google Calendar, the calendar already on your Android smartphone, which you can also use on an iPhone, you can:
Manage all your cosmetic business appointments
Allow your clients to book their own appointment when convenient.
Automatically, with everything always updated and synchronised.
Book Appointments: How to use Google Calendar for my Beauty Center and Hairstyle Shop
Using Google Calendar for your Beauty Center or Hairdressing Shop is very simple. Just follow these steps:
You mark your availability in time slots whose length you decide: do your appointments last 30 minutes on average? Then you can enter 30-minute slots.
This way you allow your clients to book their appointment online at any time at their preferred time.
How to make my clients book Appointments via Google Calendar
Click on the point in the calendar where you want to create an appointment slot.
In the event pop-up window that appears, click Appointment slots.
Specify the details of the appointment space in the following fields:
What: enter a short title for the appointment(s), for example “Roberta Rossi Beauty Centre: appointment”.
Calendar drop-down menu: Choose the calendar in which you want to create the appointment space.
Propose as a single appointment: select this button to reserve the entire space for a single appointment.
Subdivide into smaller spaces: select this option if you want to allow several appointments to be scheduled within the space. Simply select the option and indicate the duration of each appointment (in minutes) in the text box on the right.
IMPORTANT: click Edit Details.
Fill in and describe the interval of your appointments
On the Edit Details tab, copy your calendar address and enter it on your website, or on Facebook or Instagram.
Share public appointments in Google Calendar
Where can I enter the Appointments Calendar?
You can place your Google appointment booking system in several ways:
Put it on your website.
Share it with your customers via WhatsApp
Insert it into your Facebook page using the action buttons
Here’s what the Book Appointments button on your Facebook Page looks like.
What do your clients have to do to book an appointment?
To book an appointment, visitors simply have to:
Open the link you sent them via WhatsApp, or the one they find on your website or Facebook page
Select the available spaces
Save the appointment
You’ll be notified and they’ll see their appointment on their calendar.
What do the participants see, what do you see and how do you manage this system?
Your customers only see the free spaces and for this reason there is no danger of them booking at the same time.
You as a cosmetic shop owner can make your appointments and all free spaces will be updated and synchronized in real time.
Your clients can cancel their appointments by deleting or rejecting the event in their calendar:
In your calendar, in this case, the event appears as rejected and the appointment becomes bookable by future visitors to the appointment page.
The advantages of the online booking system via Google Calendar: customers will be notified of the appointment
With Google Calendar appointment slots you can now let people know when you are available, and everyone can finally book at any time via your website, WhatsApp or Facebook.
For your clients the advantages are considerable. You make booking easy for them:
You make them independent
You don’t force them to call you and risk finding you busy
You let them book appointments even when you are closed.
For you the advantages are:
Booking appointments at your beauty salon or hair salon becomes more convenient
You avoid interrupting your work to take a booking
You focus more on the customers in the store
This is an additional option that complements traditional booking systems (telephone, voicemail, other) allowing you to capture additional customers, as it can be done at any time.
By offering more booking systems you will have more chances to increase your income
Frequently asked questions
How can clients book appointments online with Google Calendar?
With Google Calendar appointment slots you show clients when you are free and let them book on their own, without special technical knowledge. You create appointment slots in your calendar, copy the booking page address and share it on your website, on Facebook or via Whatsapp; clients select a free slot and save it, and you are notified.
How do I set up appointment slots in Google Calendar for a beauty centre or hair salon?
Log in at calendar.google.com, click where you want the slot and choose Appointment intervals. Enter a short title, pick the calendar, then either reserve the whole space for one appointment or split it into smaller slots of a set length, for example 30 minutes if that is your average appointment. Finally, in Edit Details, copy the calendar address to share it.
Can two clients book the same time slot?
No. Clients only see the free slots, so there is no risk of double booking. When you add your own appointments, the free slots are updated and synchronized in real time; if a client cancels by deleting or rejecting the event, the slot appears as rejected in your calendar and becomes bookable again.
What are the benefits of online booking for a salon?
Clients become independent: they do not have to call and risk finding you busy, and they can book even during closing time. You avoid interrupting your work to take bookings and can focus on the customers in the store. It complements phone and voicemail bookings and helps capture additional customers, because booking is possible at any time.
