Honest, consistent communication is a pillar of any happy relationship—in life, love, and especially in business, right? Right. Through Connect by Vagaro, the newly released 2-way messaging app accessed via the Connect App or Vagaro Desktop — direct, clear communication with both clients and employees is possible anytime, anywhere. That means delivering a personalized and seamless customer experience while also enhancing productivity and collaboration among your team, all in real time.
Perhaps best of all, with a dedicated channel for business-related communication, you’ll no longer have clients and employees blowing up your personal device with requests and questions (boundaries, after all, are another pillar of successful relationships). Connection is key, and we’re going to illustrate exactly how Vagaro Connect can be a gamechanger for managing your professional relationships.
1. What is Vagaro Connect?
The Connect app is an extension of the Vagaro Pro apps that provides a seamless, intuitive platform for both client and employee communication. Connect enables 2-way client chat and team chat through Vagaro Pro on desktop and the downloadable Connect App. Full functionality is enabled by adding Vagaro’s text message (SMS) feature.
[For Your Convenience: This quick support article gives simple directions on how to start chats with clients with Vagaro Connect]
You may be thinking: “But, I already communicate with my clients and team members.” Okay, but how? Emails, phone calls and text messages coming through to your personal phone all have their drawbacks, which we’ll dive into below. The question is: Does the way you connect with clients and employees now facilitate streamlined, reliable & personalized conversation—in real time? If not, you should continue reading.
2. Turn Conversations into Conversions
Converting positive interactions into actionable revenue isn’t something only good salespeople do, especially when a client is already sold on your business. Communicating with your clients directly with Vagaro Connect enables you to seize the moment and get an appointment, follow-up appointment or potential upsell service in the books right away. Connect enables you to text clients an appointment link that goes directly into a service provider’s calendar. In fact, you can message clients directly from your Calendar screen inside the software (more on that below).
The combination of personalized attention, fast response time and seamless booking doesn’t just help you lock in near-certain revenue, it also streamlines and simplifies the client booking experience. In other words, you’re doing them a favor and they’re going to love you for it in the end.
3. Acquire Client Information Quickly & Easily
With a dedicated 2-way chatting platform like Connect, you and your clients can engage with each other immediately. With Vagaro’s text marketing feature enabled, you are given a dedicated phone number that clients can text, starting direct communication with service providers. By downloading the Connect app, you can continue this communication on your mobile phone. This eliminates the need for calls or emails, which can be time-consuming, confusing and impersonal. That means getting client information you need on the spot, while letting clients know they’re important enough to communicate with directly.
With the added feature of leaving internal client notes (more on those below) in your message history for reference, you and your team can stay current on a client’s details, preferences and appointment updates.
When every second counts, playing phone, text & email tag with clients can feel like chess by mail. You simply don’t have time for that. Business is a real-time game, and what’s at stake is a calendar booked with satisfied, repeat clients.
4. Clear Communication Across Platforms
As we said, clients can start chatting with you anytime and anywhere in Connect, and thanks to the Vagaro message button, you’ll always know when they’re reaching out! Half the beauty of Connect is that you can spot this message icon and start chatting back anywhere in the Vagaro app, and on any platform, including:
- Your Marketplace listing
- Your Branded App
- Your MySite
Of course, we know that not all conversations start and end in one uninterrupted stream. What’s more, everything is subject to change, from appointment times to service preferences. One hallmark of a strong connection is being able to pick right back up where you left off with someone. Even though they are one of many, this is the kind of treatment clients expect. Connect makes continuing interactions and tracking customer chats easy. Quick access to your message history and the Internal Notes feature mentioned above keeps your entire team informed on a client’s details.
You shouldn’t wonder if you were supposed to get back to a certain client with some information, nor which one was supposed to get back to you. Now, with Connect, you don’t have to!
5. Improved Team Communication
Whether you own the business, or have a manager’s role, it falls to you to make sure that team members are on the same page as far as processes, best practices and any manner of things, such as:
- Changes to payroll
- Call outs
- Scheduling shifts
- Inherited clients
- New inventory
- Team trainings
- Upcoming events
- Daily Deals & other promotions
Anything can happen on a given day, which is why Vagaro Connect gives you the option to engage in 1:1 chats with specific employees or start group chats with multiple team members. Connect additionally links directly to employees’ Vagaro calendar activities, so you have a real-time view of their status (e.g., PTO, in a meeting, etc.) and availability (e.g., available, after hours, etc.). Questions are answered fast, and employees stay informed about important things that pertain to them.
This goes a long way toward employee satisfaction and running an efficient, error-free business. Clarity, contentment and efficiency lead to a better customer experience & culture, and, ultimately, more revenue.
6. Better Work-Life Balance
We know that you love what you do, and that your job is a big part of your life & identity. But responding to clients and employees at all times of day, or night? Not the best for your mental health. Juggling conversations with them and one with your parent, child or spouse from your personal phone number or email address? That’s risky. We’ve all sent messages to the wrong person at one point or another in life, so having personal conversations on the same device or app as your professional ones is an embarrassing mix-up waiting to happen.
Also, again, boundaries. Connect helps you draw a much-needed line between your work and personal life, while keeping relationships with clients and employees professional.
This is a healthy thing to do, no to mention more professional. Rescheduling requests, questions from team members about paying booth rent, or any number of inquiries can easily get lost in a sea of personal texts & emails. Using Connect prevents this from happening by keeping client and employee-related threads out of your private inboxes.
Like the Vagaro Pro App, Connect is always with you, but it also provides a much-needed boundary. You can send messages and respond when you see fit, all while keeping your personal contact information personal. Now, that’s balancing work & life.
Quick, clear and effective communication is necessary for the daily management of businesses, large and small. To this end, a dedicated 2-way messaging platform, like Vagaro Connect, is a tool you shouldn’t be operating without. It improves communication efficiency, enhances customer service, and fosters stronger client relationships while elevating team communication, collaboration and efficiency. All it takes is downloading the Connect app and activating Vagaro’s text messaging feature. Of course, it’s just the latest way Vagaro helps you cut through all the noise to run a better, more efficient business at any step of your professional journey. Start your FREE 30-day trial and experience it for yourself!