We’ve all heard of smartphones and the apps that you can get for them, be it games, or banking tools. So have you ever considered one for your riding centre?
I’m a great believer in technology helping riding centres but over the years of developing the riding centre computer booking software I have learned some valuable lessons.
Lets start by considering the app and what you would like it to do:
- What is it meant to do?
- Do you want customers to book lessons online?
- Are you able to administer the responses, especially if you are letting people book online?
- How are you going to handle lesson conflicts?
- Are you going to charge your clients to buy or use it?
- Are you going to try and make it yourself or get a professional to make it?
- Are you going to make one for iPhone and Android or just one platform?
- Have you got a budget in mind?
Planning the system on paper first will help you to qualify what you expect of it and if in fact it will deliver any benefit to customers.
Do bear in mind that a website built to modern standards can deliver the same sort of experience so it may be another product that isn’t really bringing anything of real value to the table.
Keeping on top of things.
Putting aside the app you really need to think about your business office environment and how you currently administer the day to day running of the centre. Many centres still run with a paper diary and a few cobbled together spreadsheets. Now you are going to bolt on a piece of technology that sits alone and you are hoping it will improve customer engagement. But will it!
Consider what processes you currently have in place already. Your staff and their office duties and abilities. Training for those duties and the efficiency of those tasks. Most of you are probably scratching your heads here knowing that there are flaws in your processes so before you launch into new technology maybe consider resolving the management issues before plugging in more tech.
