This one comes from something we saw with a client that stuck with us.
The business was busy. Genuinely busy. Booked out around seven weeks ahead, with a good flow of enquiries coming through. On the surface, everything looked fine.
But when we looked closer, something wasn’t right. The calendar was full, but not with the right work. Smaller, lower-value jobs were getting booked just as fast as the bigger projects the business actually wanted more of. When a good job came along, there was often no room for it.
The problem was the booking system.
Customers could go online and pick a time straight from the calendar. Easy for them. But it meant every job was treated the same, no matter how big or small. The business had no way to filter what was coming in before it was already locked in. And when people looked at the calendar and saw no gaps, most of them just moved on. The business never even knew they’d been interested.
The fix
For that service, we switched from direct online booking to a short enquiry form.
Instead of picking a time straight away, customers answered a few quick questions about what they needed. That came through to the team first. They could then reply personally, choose which jobs to take on, and find time when the right work came in.
Same amount of interest coming in. Much more control over what actually got booked.
The bigger point
Your booking or enquiry process is part of your marketing. It shapes the kind of work you end up with. It’s worth asking whether your current setup is working for you, or just making it easy for everyone else.
Want to think through how your enquiry process is set up? Get in touch.