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Spring News for iBooking Customers – Are you ready?

  • Posted by: Marcus
  • Category: iBlog

This newsletter was sent to all iBooking customers in March 2016

You haven’t heard from us for a while so we thought it was time to give you an update on what’s happening at iBooking. More importantly, what are we working on that can help you have a great 2016. With Spring here [or perhaps just around the corner], now is a great time to make sure your web site and booking platform are in the best possible shape.

Making sure your booking engine is ready for the year ahead
Sightseeing tour company, bus company, or activity provider, your customers are booking online more than ever – from their desktop, or from their mobile device. Make sure your iBooking Ticket account is ready to sell. With powerful selling tools in every iBooking Ticket account make sure your seasonal settings are up to date, ticket prices correct, and promotions or discounts live and tested. Even if your season hasn’t started yet, don’t show customers a “we’re closed” sign. If you need any help to manage your availability or any other aspect of your booking engine please let us know. We’re always on hand to help from http://support.ibooking.com

Our new V3.5 interface and why it’s better
You should automatically have been updated to our new V3.5 booking engine. This version is easier to use than ever before and works like a charm on all screen sizes. We’ve optimised every screen based on customer feedback and are seeing better conversion rates across all account types. We’ve also rebuilt the interface for all types of voucher sales. You can now let your customers buy any of your products as a gift voucher they can send to a friend, or easily configure fixed value vouchers that can easily be redeemed online. It’s all automated and designed to increase sales but reduce workload. If you need any help to configure voucher sales please just ask. Please also make sure your web site is optimised for mobile. If you’re late to the party we’d be happy to point you in the right direction. It’s very likely that more than 50% of visits to your web site will now be from mobile devices so don’t delay any longer – you WILL be losing business to competitors. We posted an article on this last year – https://ibooking.com/are-you-converting-your-share-of-mobile-customers/

All new management screens for coach and bus companies just around the corner
We’re about to release the biggest upgrade we’ve made in years for coach and bus companies. We’ve listened to your feedback on how complex it can be to manage route networks with multiple pickup points and have redesigned all the journey and schedule management screens. These now use an intuitive matrix structure that shows at a glance all stops on a route. You can switch on or off every route combination, set custom prices for journey links, and manage capacities across every point in a route. This is just the first step in a much bigger upgrade being rolled out over the next few months. We’ll be in touch soon to let you know when these changes are going live and how to navigate the new screens.

We’re moving to Azure. What does that mean and why does it make a difference?
Keeping it simple, we’re migrating all services to Azure. Azure is a Microsoft product offering what’s called Cloud Hosting. So what? All it means for you, our loyal customer, is that your booking engine will be faster to load, more stable, and completely scalable. It will bring the booking engine closer to you and your customers, for better performance and stronger conversions. It’s a completely secure solution so your valuable data is both protected and backed-up securely. The switch to Azure is expected to be seamless but if there is any service interruption as we make the transition we’ll be in touch to let you know. If you’re really keen to know more about Azure read about it here – https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-azure/

More payment partners = more choice
We’re always working to make online payments easier and more reliable. A reminder of the payment partners we now support, with more being added on a regular basis.

PayPal, Realex Payments, SagePay, Cybersource and more…

If you want to migrate from your current payment solution to an alternative contact us – you may be able to get a better deal on payment processing fees. Our newest partner is Checkout.com. They have a great interface for both staff and customers and we highly recommend them. Read more here – https://ibooking.com/our-newest-payment-partner-checkout-com/

As always, we love your feedback. If there is anything we can help with please don’t hesitate to contact me – marcus@ibooking.com

 

Author: Marcus
Marcus founded iBooking in 2003. He currently juggles the CEO role alongside various other investments and early stage digital startups. He looks after all aspects of product development and is passionate about helping customers generate more sales, with greater efficiency.