Hybrid Entrepreneurship in 2025

The modern consumer wants two things at the same time:

• Convenience, speed and freedom of choice: being able to book an appointment 24/7 without having to call or coordinate — simply booking whenever it suits them (and of course you).
• Personal attention: feeling that their specific wishes and questions are taken seriously.

A hybrid approach addresses both of these needs.

An entrepreneur in the Beauty & Wellness business using OnlineAfspraken.nl offers customers the ability to book an appointment online for a skin treatment. In the booking, the customer can immediately indicate what her skin type is and whether she has additional wishes or questions for the appointment. During the treatment on-site, this entrepreneur responds to that personally and can give tailored advice.

Thus this company leverages the efficiency and speed of scheduling appointments online, but also adds a strong personal touch when the client comes to the practice for the appointment.

After the appointment, the customer additionally receives an automatic email in which she is thanked for the appointment and given a personal discount code to motivate her to schedule a follow-up appointment. In this way the entrepreneur increases the number of appointments and thus also the revenue.

This is a perfect example of the interplay between the digital and the personal. If the client had had to call first to make an appointment, the threshold would have been higher to schedule one, and the entrepreneur would have missed out on revenue.

1. Let customers schedule themselves, but leave room for customization
   Use online appointments for standard bookings and combine this with personal contact for specific questions or complex services. Optionally ask for extra information during booking, so that you can use this later for an optimal customer experience.
2. Combine digital communication with personal follow-up
   Think of automatic reminders and confirmations by email or SMS, supplemented by a personal message if someone, for example, hasn’t been around in a long time, to encourage them to book an appointment again.
3. Use data as a starting point for conversations
   If you see in your appointment overview that a customer always books the same service, during the appointment you can advise on additional treatments or products that can transform that customer’s experience from good to great.
4. Ensure recognizability and trust
   Customers want to know they are dealing with a real person. For example, add your photo or name in the booking process and confirmation emails, so that the personal feeling remains and the customer knows who they can expect as the specialist during the appointment.

A hybrid approach gives your customers, as said, the best of both worlds:

• Fewer barriers to booking, because it can always and everywhere be done — via mobile, laptop, or wherever the customer prefers to make the booking. No unnecessary phone calls or email traffic just to make an appointment.
• More engagement, because you complement the user-friendly digital process with personal attention and service during the physical appointment.

Hybrid entrepreneurship, in our experience, is not about choosing between digital or personal, but about finding the right balance between these two — essential components of your business in 2025. By using smart online tools and retaining personal contact and personal attention, you build better customer relationships and a future-proof company!