Online Customer Service Forms: An Alternative Method for Consumer Engagement

Not everyone who visits your website is ready to book. Some have questions or may be planning an event and are looking for information.

In this case it’s important to offer online visitors alternatives other than picking up the phone or clicking off your site. Partywirks provides those alternatives in the form of our Online Customer Service forms.

 You can create any number of online forms for just about any purpose. Popular examples include:
- Gift Cards (yes, you can sell gift cards/certificates/memberships through Partywirks and collect payment at the same time)
- Group Event Inquiries
- Fund Raising Inquiries
- Join our Birthday Club
- Membership Sign-ups
- Party to Go inquiries
- Customer Satisfaction Surveys
-Donation Requests
-Employment Applications

These online forms save time and money for you and your customer, allows you to collect better information, and turns the online browser into a new sale or lead. 

Consider these benefits:

Save time

Instead of answering time-consuming routine calls customers will start the inquiry process online by completing the appropriate form. You get the information you need to make decisions and they get the ability to share all their needs with you quickly and conveniently.

More Accurate Information

• Each form is customized with exactly the questions you want answers to before you respond to the customer’s request. After people complete the online form, their answers are emailed to members of your staff who will then have the detailed information needed to respond.

More Qualified Group Leads

• Having better information and giving your online visitor an easy way to communicate their needs to you is a significant competitive advantage over the next party venue in her Google search bar where all they offer is a voicemail option.
• With all the details your staff can respond with the right information at the right time which is an important part of the group sales process.
• People on the hot seat to plan group events want to off-load some of their responsibility onto your shoulders, letting them fill out an online form is a great way to do that. It makes them feel good that you have such a detailed process set up and this gives them confidence that this is a reflection of how their event will go. This moves you another important step forward in the sales process.

Sell New Things Online
• Not selling gift cards, gift certificates, memberships or online? You can be! It’s easy with Partywirks and your customers will like the convenience!

If you would like to be interviewed for an article on our Partywirks blog or, have an idea for an article please let us know!  Email larry@partywirks.com

 

Personal Touch vs. Personal Choice: What’s the difference?

At Partywirks, we believe Personal Touch begins the moment your customer walks in your door and Personal Choice begins the moment they land on your website. 

Definitions:
Personal Touch – answering each call with a well-trained, warm and friendly staff person.
• Pro’s – it’s a great time to make a good first impression
• Con’s – customers have no choice but to wait until they can speak to someone who has the information they need. In many cases the right staff person with the right information is not available when the customer calls and instead of a nice personal experience, they are offered voicemail which can be just the beginning of phone-tag, emails and lost orders.
• Con – you cannot scale up your ability to answer more calls every time you run an ad or do a promotion. Most of the time instead of generating more sales, promotions generate more voicemails.

Personal Choice – giving your customer online options - think ATM’s, self-service checkouts or online bill pay.

• Pro’s – making a great impression today begins for many on your website. Offering online conveniences such as online booking shows your business is up-to-date and that online visitors are important to the business.
• Con’s – you’ll have less voicemail, less paperwork and less time on the phone spent answering routine questions. I guess if you like all the above this could be considered a con.

And the best part of Personal Choice? People who want to call still can!  However over 50% to 95% of your customers will make the personal choice to do their business online.

Online conveniences are the Gold standard for today’s modern consumer.  What you may have considered personal touch in the past is really just an inconvenience for your customer today.  They want information and then they want to make their plans while reading detailed descriptions and viewing photos.  Now that’s the personal choice your customers really want!

Add-On Sales Are Up 75% at Color Me Mine Canada!

While traveling in Encino, California five years ago Joe Akl visited a Color Me Mine ceramics studio with his son, Kayan who was just a year old at that time.  Joe was inspired by the vision of his young son’s handprints and footprints on their ceramic project.  In fact, he was so enchanted with the experience he called Color Me Mine headquarters as soon as he returned home to Calgary, Alberta, to inquire about opening a studio in Canada.  Not only did Joe open a studio, he bought the entire franchise rights for Canada!  Joe knew that Color Me Mine would be a wonderful business in Canada.  With the colder climate he thought this would be a great way to bring families together and provide a business that creates joy. He has found this market to be so receptive that in just five short years, Joe is getting ready to open his 8th studio!

 Joe is adamant that he wants his customers to have an excellent experience which is the reason that led him to utilize Partywirks online booking service.

  “Our staff is busy during the day taking care of our parties and our customers are also very busy.  We don’t like our clients to feel rushed during a phone call and also they aren’t able to see our entire offering, learn of our policies, and see our add-on items.  We have absolutely all of our party information on our website and this eliminates mistakes, miscommunications, and we allow our customers to create their own personalized party.”

There is no denying that this business choice has proven successful for Color Me Mine in Canada.  Joe says that his party bookings are up 10-20% and his add-on sales are up 75%! 

 “When customers can take the time to view pictures of the add-on items on our website they are able to create a customized party for their child.”
In fact, since utilizing Partywirks Color Me Mine Canada has gone paperless.  They do not print out fliers or other brochures instead; all their party information is on their website.  In this way, their clients are all receiving the same accurate information, all the time, with no more disputes or miscommunications.

 “We do all of our advertising now on our website because this is the way the world operates and we wanted to be on board.”

“When a mother brings her child in for their birthday party they want it to be memorable and we want it to be awesome. We want them to enjoy an excellent experience.”  Now, that’s inspirational!
Color Me Mine Canada
http://www.colourmemine.ca/

Broken Arrow Roller Sports: With Online Booking Add On Sales up 75%!

Let Partywirks Online Booking help you increase your add-on sales revenue!

When Owner Darrin Johnson opened Broken Arrow Roller Sports five years ago, he was fulfilling a lifelong dream.  Darrin considered himself a “rink rat” growing up because he and his friends spent so much time in roller rinks.  Not only was he able to fulfill his dream it also allowed him more time to be with his children.  Only 10 and 15 years old when he opened the business, his children both now work in the company and he likes that this keeps his family together.
As a busy owner Darrin found himself with not enough hours in the day to operate and market his business.  He was answering 40-50 phone calls per day related to his party packages and this was taking up valuable time.  He was reluctant at first to switch to an online party booking system because he wanted to maintain the customer interaction.  A friend and fellow rink owner told him about Partywirks and their positive experience and Darrin decided to make the shift in his scheduling process.  And, he is very happy about his decision.

His daily phone calls regarding parties decreased from 50 to 10 and this solved an enormous amount of problems and gave him time to market his business as well as tend to other management details. 

A big surprise for Darrin has been the increase in add-on sales of 75%.

The software now does the selling for him!  He has also seen a big revenue increase in off-peak events which he did not really have the time to market in the past.  One event in particular which caters to the 30-40 year old crowd for late night parties has really taken off!

With Darrin’s decision to offer his clients the ability to book online at their convenience he not only increased his customer service he has increased his revenue!  Now that’s a good way to get a party started!

Broken Arrow Roller Sports
551 W. Oakland
Broken Arrow, OK 74012
1.918.251.6200
http://brokenarrowrollersports.com/

Is it time to automate your booking syste

When Erica Collins began working for Skyborn Skateland six years ago she did not know that she would one day become the owner but, that is just what happened!  In fact, she became the third owner of Skyborn, which first opened its doors to skaters in 1956.
Since taking over the helm a year ago, Erica focuses her energy and attention towards management and marketing.  She is especially pleased that her staff has been with her for five years.  “I don’t hire and I don’t fire.  I treat my employees with respect and they in turn treat our customers with respect.”  A consistent and long term staff is one of the reasons that Skyborn is ahead of the competition.  Erica says she gives her staff the tools they need and she spoils them when she can. “And, I really spoiled them with Partywirks!”

Erica knew she needed to do something to automate her party booking system. 

It was usual to have people show up and they had no record of the party.  Or, she would have a party booked with no deposit and the customer would not show up leaving her to cover the cost of the cake and other food items ordered because she had not collected a deposit.  The old notebook and clipboard method of party booking and management were costing her money and was not good for customer service either.  It was a full time job managing upcoming events which hurt staff productivity and took away valuable marketing time.

A search led Eric to Partywirks and the benefits to her business have been far more encompassing that she ever imagined. 

“I used to ask the same questions of every person that booked a party over the phone and yet we still made mistakes.  “We could not remember all the questions so how could we remember to ask them?”  Now the software asks all the questions and consistently.  “The system does not forget to obtain all the information we need, it provides all of our policy information, and it takes the credit card information for deposits. “   Erica says that Partywirks has changed everything and in her opinion it is revolutionary!

Where she once used to receive phone calls at 2:00 or 4:00 a.m. with party request information, she now hears her smart phone give a little beep with an email confirmation that a party has been booked online!

Where people used to skip out and not pay her she now has their credit card on file.
Where people used to once sneak food in they must click to confirm that they have read the policy that no outside food is allowed.
Where her staff used to hand write a list of the upcoming parties they now print out a spread sheet from Partywirks that has the child’s name (spelled correctly), age, party package name, add-ons, number in party which allows her to prepare for the parties in advance!

Erica says that 90% of all her parties are now booked online and the other 10% are booked either over the phone or in person. 

However, the information is inputted into Partywirks and not written down with paper and pen.  She has found that her party business is up in the 6 months since she has been using Partywirks and that people are ordering the higher end packages.

Erica says that “it is expected in today’s world that customers call and ask if they can order online.” 

In keeping with her allegiance to top notch customer service, she now gives her customers the choice to book online and also has automated her booking system thus increasing revenue and making her staff more productive.
Not only has Partywirks allowed Erica and her team to become more efficient, she is looking forward to the time when she can run her first year end reports.  This is when she gets focused on marketing for the upcoming year.  “I can run reports that have the child’s name and email address and reach out to them and offer discounts for early party bookings.  I can offer summer discounts or when the party season is slow.”
For the past year, Erica’s sole means of advertising has been on Facebook.  She found that print ads were not fruitful at all and kids don’t want paper they want to check social media from their cell phones.  If she is having a slow evening she posts a message with a discount on Facebook and her rink fills up earning her revenues she could not have otherwise realized!
Along with the automated party booking platform she takes advantage of the group inquiry feature and requests for donations which used to take up a great deal of time.

“I love Partywirks and I have nothing but good things to say about the product!”

Skyborn Skateland
5309 Haddix Road
Fairborn, OH 45324
937.878.4800
Skybornskateland.com

Still Partying like it’s 1980?

Still using one of the most unpopular services around testing customers patience and putting business at risk?

Voice mail, which gained popularity in the 1980′s, is now over 30 years old!  Once a hot new idea it’s now one of the least popular customer options around.

Still, calling many party venues is like calling the Amtrak station! Lots of “press 1 for this and press 2 for that” with most people hanging up in frustration!

Do you really want to treat customers to this in 2012?
Studies show you have about 2.7 seconds to capture peoples attention online.

With  iPads, Laptops, Google and SmartPhones it’s all about instant gratification and people just don’t wait like they used to….ah, those were the days!

The key to online success in 2012 is to offer immediate “calls to action” like BOOK NOW, SCHEDULE NOW or INQUIRE NOW options that capture and engage the fickle online visitor.

The good news – Partywirks Online Scheduling & Sales Software is the proven alternative to the frustration of voice mail and delivers the instant gratification online consumers want and expect.

Partywirks benefits your customers and your business with:
1. Higher revenues from more add-on sales
2. Improved competitive appeal with 24/7 service
3. A modernized booking process less reliant on paper and pen
4. Fewer errors with more consistent and correct information
5. Fewer missed sales from hang-ups and short fused prospects!
6. Improved security over client credit cards with our PCI Compliant product
Partywirks – we may just have that missing link your business needs and your customers prefer!

THE 5 MOST FREQUENTLY REPORTED BENEFITS FOR YOUR PARTY & EVENT BUSINESS (as reported by actual party venue owners/managers/staff)

21 Jan Posted by Larry in Partywirks Booking Blog |

THE RESULTS ARE IN AND THEY ARE GREAT!
Fewer Errors!  Less Stress!
I used to cringe when I overheard incorrect information being given out to customers! With all the package descriptions, policies, procedures, pricing and details it’s easy to slip up and give out the wrong information OR, write down the wrong information!

With Partywirks online processes everything is in writing and easy to read and the details have never been easier to document. This makes training new staff a breeze as well as customers are now better informed with fewer conflicts.
Partywirks Built-In Online Customer Service Forms Save A Ton Of Time!
I cannot believe how much staff time we spent answering routine questions about donations, handling calls for group information, fund raiser inquiries or sending follow-up information to everyone who applied for a job or bought a gift card.
Now, with Partywirks Online Customer Service forms the customers themselves answer our questions online and Partywirks software sends the complete follow up email! This has reduced the time staff spends on the phone while providing better, faster and more convenient service to our customers and prospects. For this reason alone I love what Partywirks has done for my business.
More Add-On Sales, What A No-Brainer!
Can you hear it in a customers voice when you are going over the list of add-ons and they start getting edgy or impatient?  That’s no fun for me or them.
People don’t like to be sold over the phone but they do like to customize their party or event order. They do this most consistently, and at a much higher rate, when they have the time to look at color pictures and read complete descriptions of the add-on items online without pressure to make quick decisions.
Now we are selling more add-ons then we ever have which means the bottom line revenue per party is going up and that’s why we are in business right?
Less Reliance On The Phone
Yes, it is 2012. Online booking is not new for many. In fact people do like to do things for themselves.
Have you noticed the popularity of online services and self-service options everywhere from the bank to the grocery store or airline check-in kiosk?  My customers want the same thing and now I am giving it to them.
More Control!
I had thought I would be giving up control by offering online services but a surprising benefit is how much more control I have with Partywirks!
With everything online I can decide what and when, who and where. Customers get the information I want them to get, every time. It’s more consistent and user friendly as well.