System and method for online marketing, scheduling and booking of services

Abstract

Disclosed are systems, methods and computer program products for online marketing, scheduling and booking of service appointments. In one example, the system for scheduling and booking of service appointments includes an inventory database containing schedules of booked and available service appointments associated with a plurality of service providers. The system further includes a calendar-based service provider interface for creating a schedule of services provided by the service provider and storing the schedule in the inventory database. The system further includes a calendar-based service user interface for displaying schedules of available service appointments and booking one or more service appointments.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for searching and scheduling service appointments, the method comprising:
 receiving through a service provider interface, provided by a server, service data for services offered by a service provider, wherein the service data comprises a service, a practitioner, a price of the service, and a rule set by the service provider;   determining a discount price of the service based on the rule set by the service provider, wherein the discount price for a user is based on the user's behavioral data;   storing the received service data in a database on the server;   accessing, using a dedicated application program interface (API), a service provider application;   retrieving from the service provider application through the API information about available appointment dates and times for the service based on the service data;   storing the retrieved information in the database;   generating an offer for the user based on the available appointment dates and times for the service;   automatically adjusting the discount price of the generated offer based on the rule set by the service provider, the price of the service, and one or more of a number of times the user viewed the service, booked the service, indicated an interest in the service, or returned to the service provider;   electronically sending an advertisement including the generated offer and the discount price to the user interface; and   sending through the API to the service provider information about which of the available appointment dates and times from the schedule of services has received an indication of acceptance through the user interface.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting through the processor to the service provider the received indication of acceptance or issuing through the user interface an electronic promotional certificate for the service.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the electronic promotional certificate can be redeemed only during certain business hours. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the services are selected from the group consisting of salon, spa, barber, and fitness services. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the salon services comprise hair services, body waxing services and eyebrow services, wherein the spa services comprise nail services, skin services and massage services, wherein the barber services comprise men's hair services and shaving services, and wherein the fitness services comprise personal training services, instructed class services and club membership services. 
     
     
         6 . A method for marketing service appointments, the method comprising:
 receiving by a server through a network from a service provider computer, service data comprising a type of service, a date, a time, a practitioner, a price, a rating and a discount, and storing the received data in a database on the server;   accessing the database by a user computer through the network and searching the service data for available appointments based on search criteria, and storing a search history in the database;   displaying by the server on a user interface of the user computer the available appointments and corresponding service data; and   receiving an indication of acceptance from the user computer for one or more of the displayed available appointments.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising marketing the available appointments through an online marketplace accessible through the network, the online marketplace being in communication with a service provider application on the service provider computer and a user application on the user computer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 receiving by the service provider application from third party scheduling software through a dedicated application programming interface a scheduled of booked appointments.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising the step of:
 receiving by the server through the network from the service provider computer, historical data comprising a number of appointments booked as a function of time of day and an average amount paid for the service; and   adjusting the discount based on the historical data.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the discount is for a time period having a low number of scheduled appointments. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 receiving from the service provider computer a rule for adjusting the discount based on one or more of the remaining service data.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 receiving from the service provider computer a rule for adjusting the discount based on user behavioral data.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein behavioral data is based on one or more of the search history, available appointments accepted by a user, or the service data associated with the available appointments accepted by the user. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 adjusting the discount by the server based on a number of times a user returned to the service provider.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 increasing the discount by the server if a user is a new client for the service provider.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 adjusting the discount by the server based on a number of available appointments for the service related to a particular day and time.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 increasing the discount if the number of available appointments indicates a low number of scheduled appointments for the related day and time.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 receiving by the server from the user computer a last minute booking for the related day and time.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 receiving by the server from the user computer a same day booking for the related day.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 increasing the discount by the server based on a user's history of using the service; and   electronically sending a targeted offer including the increased discount to the user computer.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 adjusting the discount by the server based on a number of available appointments for the service; and   electronically sending a targeted offer including the adjusted discount to the user computer.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 receiving from the service provider computer a rule for adjusting the discount for a group of users.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the services are selected from the group consisting of salon, spa, barber and fitness services. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the salon services comprise hair services, body waxing services and eyebrow services, wherein the spa services comprise nail services, skin services and massage services, wherein the barber services comprise men's hair services and shaving services, and wherein the fitness services comprise personal training services, instructed class services and club membership services.