SMS reminders are a highly effective tool for appointment-based businesses. Clients who receive text message reminders are less likely to no-show and more likely to engage with your business in a positive way. SMS reminders are a win-win for both sides!
Of course, the way your appointment reminder is written and structured makes a significant difference in its overall efficacy. Below, we’ll show you how to create and implement SMS appointment reminders that work so you can keep your schedule and business on track.
Why SMS reminders for appointments are so important
Many businesses use appointments as part of their daily operations, including physical and remote healthcare practices, beauty and wellness clinics, auto repair shops, and professional consultations.
When clients don’t show up for their appointments, it can throw off your day’s schedule or worse, negatively impact your finances. Text appointment reminders are a simple and effective way to prevent this from happening—here’s why they’re so important.
Reducing no-shows and cancellations
A major benefit of SMS reminders is that they can significantly reduce the number of no-shows and cancellations. One study at the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that the no-show risk for primary care appointments decreased by 7% when text message reminders were sent.
People are busy, and it’s inevitable that they will occasionally forget a scheduled appointment, especially if they made the appointment a long time ago. Sending a friendly reminder helps your clients plan ahead so the appointment isn’t a last-minute surprise. It also gives them the opportunity to reschedule if necessary rather than canceling at the last minute.
Enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction
Sending an appointment reminder text message also creates a positive experience for your customers. It shows that you value their time and gives them an easy way to confirm or reschedule the appointment with minimal effort.
Today’s consumers are very busy, and appointments are often scheduled weeks or even months in advance, especially in the healthcare field. Clients appreciate receiving a reminder text, as it gives them time to adjust their schedule accordingly. Sending notifications can also make your business appear more professional and trustworthy, which can help increase your client satisfaction.
Reducing costs while improving operations
Sending text message reminders to your clients also helps your business operate efficiently while keeping costs down. No-shows can be particularly costly, especially in healthcare. It’s estimated that missed appointments cost physicians $150,000 or more each year.
Last-minute cancellations and no-shows create a domino effect on your business since you lose out on revenue from that individual with no opportunity to fill the appointment with another client. This may also leave your staff scrambling to get in touch with the client to reschedule, adding extra stress to their day. Text message reminders can alleviate this pressure by allowing clients to reschedule via text.
SMS confirmation texts also reduce the amount of time your staff spends calling and emailing clients about appointments. This can have significant impacts on productivity and ultimately help reduce operational costs for your business.
Example SMS reminder templates to use
When crafting your SMS reminders, it’s important to keep things concise and to the point. You have a small amount of space to work with, so you need to focus on the information that’s most relevant to your clients.
Your reminder text message should include the appointment time, date, and location. You should also include a call-to-action encouraging clients to respond by confirming, rescheduling, or canceling the appointment.
Here are some example reminder message templates to get you started.
- Hi, [patient name], this is a reminder that your appointment with [doctor’s name] is scheduled for [date and time]. Reply YES to confirm or NO to reschedule. We look forward to seeing you!
- Hey [client name], this is a friendly reminder that your appointment at [business name] is coming up at [date and time]. Reply YES to confirm or NO to reschedule. We can’t wait to see you!
- Dear [client name], please confirm your upcoming appointment with [provider name] at [date, time, and location]. Reply YES to confirm or NO to reschedule.
Although appointment reminder messages are short and direct, you can still customize them to align with your industry and reflect your unique brand voice. For example, a hair salon might use a bright, bubbly tone, while a financial services provider would use more serious, professional language.
Additionally, you can personalize text messages with the client’s name and other relevant personal details. Personalization makes clients feel respected and valued and can help improve open rates and response rates. In a study by MessageGears, 66% of respondents said that brands that create a personalized experience are more likely to get their business.
Appointment reminders are just one part of a broader SMS communication and marketing strategy. You can also use SMS messages to schedule follow-up appointments, collect client feedback, and send updates about new products and services.
How to set up effective SMS reminders for appointments
When setting up your appointment confirmation messages, try putting yourself in the client’s shoes to determine the best approach for engaging with them. Here’s how to create and send SMS reminders to minimize appointment no-shows.
1. Craft the reminder messages
The first step in the process is to write your reminder messages. Depending on your business model, you may have one message for all appointment types, or use different messages for different appointments. You might have different message templates for first-time customers and returning customers. You may also consider sending multiple messages in the lead-up to the appointment to ensure every client has an opportunity to respond.
When writing your reminder messages, focus on clearly conveying essential information. Provide clear instructions on how clients can respond, such as “press 1 to confirm, or press 2 to reschedule or cancel.”
Regardless of your industry, keep the tone friendly, polite, and neutral, and proofread for spelling and grammar mistakes. Professionalism is key here—if the message looks too casual or vague, recipients may assume it’s a phishing scam and delete it.
2. Time your SMS reminders appropriately
Once you’ve written your messages, you need to determine the best time to send them. Timing makes a big difference in terms of engagement. If you send the message too early, your clients could still forget about the appointment, but if you wait too long, you risk late cancellations and empty appointment slots.
You also need to consider when your clients are most likely to see your messages. Avoid sending them too early in the morning or late at night, when customers may ignore them.
Remember, you may need to send multiple reminder messages to clients and these should be strategically timed as well. You might send an initial message a week prior to the appointment, with a final reminder 24 hours before.
To be effective, you need to strike a balance between being helpful and being intrusive. If you send too many reminder messages in a short period of time it could end up frustrating your clients.
3. Segment your audience for personalization
Personalizing your SMS messages helps boost engagement and can make your message feel more professional. Automated appointment reminder software makes it easy to add personal details like your client’s name to the message.
To take personalization a step further, you can segment your client base into groups and use segmentation to send personalized messages. One of the easiest ways to do this is to segment customers by appointment type—for example, a patient with a scheduled surgery might receive a different message than a patient coming in for an initial consultation.
You can also segment customers based on their preferences or past behavior. A client who makes weekly appointments might receive a more personal or informal message than someone who comes in just once per year.
4. Create trackable links for the SMS campaign
It’s sometimes difficult to fit all the appointment details you need in a small SMS message. The easiest way to provide more context is to link to a page on your website with more information. This way, you can share details on what to expect from the appointment without having to condense it entirely into a text message.
The best way to do this is with a URL shortener like Bitly, which condenses long URLs into short links that fit neatly into a text message and are trackable, so you can monitor clicks and engagement with ease. Healthcare companies use Bitly to create and send short links en masse, which makes their reminder text messages highly effective.
Bitly also enables companies to create branded short links with a custom domain, which helps increase brand recognition and build trust with recipients. You can also create trackable mobile links, which provide helpful insight into your client’s preferences.
5. Monitor link clicks and engagement
Many SMS platforms are automated, so it’s easy to set up your reminder system and forget about it. However, this could also result in missing out on valuable insights that can help you improve the customer experience.
Instead, monitor the clicks and engagement on the short links in your SMS messages with a tool like Bitly Analytics. This will give you a better understanding of how recipients are responding to and interacting with your text messages. If your SMS platform has analytics capabilities, you can monitor messaging data there as well.
Bitly Analytics shows you when someone clicks on your link, as well as the type of device they are using and where they’re located. With this data at your fingertips, you can refine your strategy and make changes to your messaging as needed. You can also use this feature to track corresponding healthcare technology QR Codes.
6. Analyze the data to refine your campaigns
The data you’ve collected via Bitly and other analytics tools can help you refine your appointment reminders to make them more effective. In particular, look at when recipients are most likely to engage with your short links. This can help you pinpoint the most effective times to send your reminders.
If you’ve segmented your customer base using different reminder messages and short links, you can also use this data to compare your customer segments. For example, you might find that your first-time customers are more responsive than your returning customers, or vice versa, and can adjust your messaging accordingly.
7. Ensure compliance with SMS regulations
Reminder messages fall under the broader category of SMS marketing, so it’s important to comply with local communications laws and regulations. In the United States, this means following the Telephone Consumer Protection Act as well as any state or city laws.
You must get written consent from your customers saying that they want to opt-in to promotional messages. The easiest way to do this is by having them sign an online form when you first collect their phone number. You’ll also need to give your customers a way to unsubscribe from your text messages by responding with a specific word, number, or phrase.
8. Optimize the SMS reminder service
In addition to optimizing your messaging, you need to optimize the SMS service itself. This starts with choosing a reputable SMS provider trusted by others in your industry. Popular options include SimpleTexting, Twilio, and EZ Texting.
Ideally, your SMS provider’s platform should integrate with your existing workflows to help you automate the process. Additionally, make sure you’re editing your contact list regularly to make sure you’re only reaching out to current customers.
Optimize your SMS reminder campaigns with Bitly for better results
Well-timed SMS reminders help cut down on no-show rates while creating a positive experience for your clients. Plus, they can improve your business operations by reducing phone calls and follow-up emails that require manual responses from staff. This additional communication touchpoint enables businesses to share important information and build stronger relationships with clients.
With Bitly, you can maximize the success of your SMS campaigns by adding custom-branded short links, allowing you to share more than just what will fit in a text message and track the results of your SMS efforts.
Sign up for Bitly today to make the most of your SMS reminders and set your business up for success!
