Welcome to Unlimited Reminders

3 Ways to Make Your Appointment Reminders More Effective

If you own or manage a business that relies on client appointments, then you understand the importance of keeping your day on schedule. A single late client can cause a ripple effect that negatively impacts the rest of your customers. And they won’t blame your late client. They’ll blame you.

Or consider the number of no-shows that you may have in a year. The amazing thing about no-show clients is that 62% of them are the result of forgetfulness. And every no-show has the potential to become a never-show. Plus, if they reschedule, they can fill up a schedule that would otherwise be available for new customers.

That’s why effective appointment reminders are so valuable for appointment-based businesses. They cut down on the number of latecomers and no-shows. They streamline the rescheduling process. And they drastically improve business efficiency.

To put it simply, appointment reminders can revolutionize the way you do business. But if you’re going to get the most of them, you’ll need to keep these four points in mind.

Send Your Effective Appointment Reminders at the Right Time

Appointment reminders can come in several varieties, including text messages, phone calls, and e-mails. And while each of them has its pros and cons, you can’t treat them all the same. Since people use these tools differently, making effective use of them requires you to send out reminders at different times of the day.

Generally, text messages do best when sent out around 6 PM. This is probably because most people are off work by this time and either headed home or just arriving home. They likely have their phones with them and aren’t overly busy, so they can immediately confirm with a simple text.

Phone calls should be sent around 3 PM for maximum effectiveness. Voice calls are becoming less and less popular, but clients will be most likely to answer and respond when the workday is beginning to wind down and people are looking forward to clocking out.

E-mails should be sent at 5 AM. Most people check their e-mail first thing in the morning, so if you send out an e-mail reminder early, it will be sure to be the first thing your client sees.

Keep these times in mind when sending your appointment reminders and you’ll find a far greater response and confirmation rate.

Send Multiple Appointment Reminders

While a single appointment reminder is good, two or three is even better. With Unlimited Reminders, you can send out an initial confirmation when your client has booked an appointment, another reminder a day or two before the appointment, and a final message on the day of the appointment. This will ensure you remain on your clients’ minds – and it will drastically minimize the number of no-shows and latecomers.

Only Include the Necessary Information

If you want your clients to respond to your appointment reminders, don’t clutter them with unnecessary information. Instead, focus on the things that matter most…

  • Date & Time of the Appointment
  • Name of the Business
  • Confirmation/Reschedule Request Response

Depending on the type of appointment, you may also want to include…

  • Appointment Address
  • Instructions for the Appointment
  • Service Type

Try to keep everything between 140-180 characters if you’re sending a text. For e-mails, you’ll want it to run between 50 and 125 words. And for a voicemail, don’t go over thirty seconds. By keeping your messages within these bounds, you’ll make your appointment reminders that much more effective.