Leveraging online booking systems, payment processing tools, professional website builders, and automation, experience owners can efficiently scale their businesses, reduce manual tasks, and enhance customer satisfaction without the need for large teams.
When you first start a workshop business, you're likely managing everything yourself—creating content, handling bookings, running the workshop, and more.
But as your business grows, you need to transition from doing everything solo to using tools and software that allow you to scale effectively without burning out or needing to hire a large team. By leveraging online booking systems, payment processing tools, and automation, you can streamline your operations and keep growing while maintaining a high level of service.
When you started your workshop business it was probably a one brave man/woman business. You were doing everything by yourself:
Customers love this setup because they get what they need from you with a lot of flexibility.
You have to wear all of those hats in the beginning when you don’t have enough margins to outsource those functions at the business.
100% of Monkeybook's customers started their journey the same way. It starts to be interesting when after some time there is some success and the business starts growing.
Congrats on your success! Most people understand a little too late that they need to change something.
The reason for that is that we get used to and are comfortable doing things a certain way, for example doing everything ourselves in our business. When the business grows and starts taking over our life, we need to stop for a second and think about how can we move to the next stage of the business.
Some would hire help. Often the recommendation is to hire for the part you don’t like to do. Someone with the right qualifications, mindset and skills can do way better than you in those tasks.
Honestly, it also creates burnout to do stuff we don’t enjoy doing for extensive periods of time and it’s not sustainable for your business.
I won’t go in depth about who to hire, in what stage and pros and cons of having employees in this blog post.
Instead, I want to suggest a few software tools that will help you scale your workshop business while reducing the amount of work you need to do.
The following are the tools the Monkeybook's customers like to use.Essentially, choosing some of the tools below, can help you scale the business without scaling your team!
Here are two interesting examples from Monkeybook's customers:
1. A customer scaled their sales by 200% while reducing the amount of communication with customers by 90%. This was due to choosing the right tools for them and avoiding hiring anyone else.
2. A customer grew their sales from $30K a month to $100K while maintaining only one employee dedicated to customer service. Using the right tools helped them avoid the need of scaling their customer support team.
This is probably the first thing I advise to implement. It will save you up to 90% of back and forth with potential customers, scheduling questions, pre-workshop communication, questions about pricing etc. It will also unlock many opportunities to be more effective and help you continue growing. For example, the right system will help you with staffing, selling gift vouchers, rescheduling and time limited promotions and so much more.
Recommendations:
Monkeybook's - We built Monkeybook to specifically address the booking needs of a growing workshop or experience business.
Using an online booking tool such as Monkeybook covers you with the payment processing part. But if you are not yet using an online booking platform, you should strongly consider at least start accepting payment online.
It's 2024, you have to take payments online. Many of Monkeybook's customers didn't even charge online for reservations and were a little afraid that switching to online payments would make less people come. Once they started with online payments, the effect they reported was a significant reduction in no shows, cancelations or other undesirable behaviors, like needing to follow up on customers to receive payment after the experience. The mere fact that they shifted to taking payment in full for the experience in advance saved them from a lot of time waste, energy and awkward situations.
Convenience for Customers: Payment processing tools provide a seamless checkout experience, allowing customers to pay quickly and easily using their preferred payment method.
Flexibility: Offering a variety of payment options, including credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers, caters to customer preferences and increases the likelihood of completing a sale.
Automated Invoicing: Payment processing tools often include features for generating and sending invoices automatically, reducing manual work and the potential for errors.
Perceived Professionalism: Using reputable payment processing tools enhances your business's credibility, as customers are more likely to trust well-known payment providers.
Automation: Automating payment processing tasks, such as invoicing and billing, reduces the administrative burden on workshop owners, allowing them to focus on delivering high-quality experiences.
Recommendations:
Stripe - Stripe is one of the most robust payment platforms out there. The products you should consider using in Stripe:
Payment Links: Stripe allows you to create payment links, making it easy to accept payments without needing to set up a full-fledged e-commerce site.
Product Selling: You can set up products and prices in Stripe, creating simple checkouts for your workshops or related products.
No-Code Tools: Stripe offers various no-code tools, such as Stripe Checkout, which provides a customizable, hosted payment page.
Invoicing: Generate and send invoices directly from the platform, making it straightforward to manage customer payments.
Integration: Integrates seamlessly with many third-party tools and platforms, making it versatile for various business needs.
Square - Square is a user-friendly payment processing system designed to be accessible for non-technical users.
Payment Links: Square provides payment links and QR codes, allowing you to accept payments online easily.
Product Selling: Square Online Store enables you to set up an online shop quickly, perfect for selling workshop tickets or merchandise.
No-Code Tools: Square's no-code offerings include a simple drag-and-drop website builder and integrated payment solutions, ideal for workshop owners who prefer not to handle coding.
Point of Sale (POS): Square's POS system is particularly strong, offering robust features for in-person transactions, which can be useful if you sell products during workshops.
Invoicing: Create and send invoices directly from the Square dashboard, streamlining the payment collection process.
Integration: Square integrates with various business tools, enhancing its utility for comprehensive business management.
As an experience or activity owner should I choose Stripe or Square?
Customization: Stripe is highly customizable and developer-friendly, making it suitable for those who want more control and integration capabilities. It is ideal if you plan to scale or need specific functionalities.
Ease of Use: Square is designed for ease of use with no-code tools, making it accessible for workshop owners who want straightforward, quick setups without delving into coding.
In-Person Sales: Square’s POS system is a standout feature, offering extensive tools for in-person sales, which can be beneficial if your workshops include selling physical products on-site.
Online Store: Square’s integrated online store feature is simpler and more user-friendly for setting up an e-commerce presence without needing extensive technical knowledge.
It doesn't matter which booking system you use, if your website is not great, customers will have to continue engaging with you and waste your time on repetitive questions. Your website has to be professional, answer all possible questions specific to your experience. It has to be telling a complaining story about you and your experience. And it has to deliver a message that your experience is fun and worth the money.
When Monkeybook's customers are feeling they still spend too much time on the phone with customers, and ask for advice. I ask them for a week or so to try to write the reasons customers are calling them. There are always the same repeating questions. After adding answers to those questions to the website. The calls and texts lowered. Whenever it starts to be a burden again, another round of improvements is in place. Don’t neglect your website, it’s such a core place for your customer buying decision.
I strongly recommend taking a professional to do your website instead of doing it yourself. It’s such an important piece of your brand, communication and ability to sell your experience you should use a pro to do that.
Recommendations for platforms: (There are a lot of very good options, here are two of my favorites)
Wordpress -
Ease of Use:
WordPress has a steeper learning curve, especially for beginners.
Customizability:
WordPress is extremely flexible and can be used to build virtually any type of website. It supports a vast array of themes and plugins, providing endless customization options.
E-commerce and SEO:
With plugins like WooCommerce, WordPress provides robust e-commerce capabilities, including advanced product management and payment options. It also has powerful SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, which help in optimizing the site for search engines effectively.
Webflow -
Ease of Use:
Webflow offers a visual drag-and-drop editor that is user-friendly but also powerful. It allows for extensive customization without needing to write code.
Customizability:
Webflow provides a high level of customization with its design flexibility. Users can create custom animations, interactions, and responsive designs from scratch. It is ideal for creating unique, visually appealing websites.
E-commerce and SEO:
Webflow includes robust e-commerce features such as customizable product pages, shopping carts, and payment gateways. Its SEO tools are comprehensive, allowing for easy on-page SEO optimization and fast-loading websites.
What will Marketing Automation Tools give you?
Time-Saving: Automate repetitive tasks such as sending welcome emails, follow-ups, and reminders, freeing up time to focus on delivering high-quality experiences and activities.
Consistency: Ensure consistent communication with your customers, maintaining brand presence and engagement.
Scalability: Easily scale your marketing efforts as your business grows without significantly increasing your workload.
Data-Driven Decisions: Utilize analytics and reporting to make informed decisions about your marketing strategies, optimizing for better results.
Recommendations:
Mailchimp - Mailchimp is a leading marketing automation platform known for its ease of use and comprehensive features.
Key capabilities for experience owners:
Email Campaigns: Create and automate email campaigns with drag-and-drop editors and customizable templates.
Social Media Management: Schedule and automate posts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Analytics: Detailed reporting and analytics to track email open rates, click-through rates, and overall campaign performance.
Integration: Integrates with various tools such as Shopify, Stripe, and WordPress, allowing for seamless data flow and management.
HubSpot - HubSpot is a comprehensive marketing, sales, and customer service platform with powerful automation capabilities.
Email Marketing: Design and automate email campaigns.
Workflows: Create complex automation workflows to nurture leads, follow up on abandoned bookings, and re-engage past customers.
Social Media Scheduling: Automate social media posts and track engagement metrics across various platforms.
Reporting: Advanced analytics and reporting tools to measure the success of your marketing efforts and optimize future campaigns.
Maintaining social media presence can be a tough demanding job. It is something that you want to do ongoingly if this is one of the ways customers are getting to know about your experience or activity. Having a tool to control and schedule the content can be super helpful.
What will Social Media Management Tools give you?
Unified Dashboard: Social media management tools offer a centralized dashboard to manage multiple social media accounts in one place, making it easier to monitor and engage across different platforms.
Time Efficiency: Schedule posts in advance, saving time and ensuring consistent content delivery even during peak times or holidays. It will allow you to spend some time dedicated to social media in advance and schedule many posts and just forget about it for some time.
Real-Time Monitoring: Monitor social media channels in real-time to quickly respond to comments, messages, and mentions, fostering better customer relationships.
Content Library: Store and manage all your social media content in one place, making it easier to reuse and repurpose high-performing posts.
Cost-Effective: Save time and resources by automating routine tasks, allowing you to focus on more strategic activities that drive growth.
Recommendations:.
Buffer - Buffer is known for its simplicity and ease of use, making it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses. It provides core functionalities such as scheduling and basic analytics in an intuitive interface. Buffer is more affordable but offers fewer advanced features and integrations compared to Hootsuite.
Hootsuite - Hootsuite offers scheduling, analytics. It's ideal for larger businesses that need detailed performance tracking and extensive integrations. However, its extensive feature set can be overwhelming for beginners and comes at a higher cost.
If you are just starting out with social media marketing and gonna have a team of people dealing with it, go for the cheaper easy to use Buffer
Harnessing the power of technology and the right tools can significantly transform your experience or activity business, allowing you to scale efficiently and deliver exceptional customer service. By integrating online booking and scheduling software, robust payment processing tools, a professional website builder, marketing automation, and social media management platforms, you can streamline operations, reduce manual workload, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Embrace these modern solutions to manage your business effectively, freeing up more of your time to focus on what you love – delivering unique and memorable experiences to your customers.
Ready to take your experience or activity business to the next level? Try Monkeybook today and discover how our comprehensive suite of tools can help you grow and succeed. Visit Monkeybook to get started!
If you need any further assistance or have questions about the best tools for your business, don’t hesitate to reach out.
We at Monkeybook are here to support you every step of the way.
Work less, grow faster