Why you need appointment SMS - and how to get started

What if we told you there was a hack to dramatically reduce missed appointments and no-shows? 🎉

If you operate any type of service-based business, you’ll understand the frustration of when a client or customer fails to arrive. No-shows create issues across numerous industries in all parts of the globe:

• No income, same cost: missed appointments mean that not only are you paying your staff and overheads, no-shows mean lost revenue. It’s a lose-lose situation.
• Missed opportunity: by booking an appointment that results in a no-show, you may have had to turn away other paying customers (who may or may not have returned).
• Waiting around can be frustrating: No one likes feeling like their time is not valuable.

There is a simple, cost-efficient way to dramatically reduce your rate of no-shows. Appointment SMS Reminders.

SMS for appointments: a game-changer

Appointment texts are SMS messages that are triggered based on scheduled events or appointments. They are almost always automated as this allows businesses to easily send messages at scale.

Given the immediacy of text messaging with near-perfect open rates and best-in-class response rates, SMS is the best way to communicate appointment-related messages. Appointment reminders are one of the most popular ways our customers use SMS. Use it to:

• Confirm and remind customers of bookings and scheduled events
• Notify attendees of upcoming appointments, consultations, or events
• Remind clients to make bookings for recurring services or check-ups
• Set up meetings and interviews
• Send information when bookings are changed
• Send roster updates - ensuring that staff are aware of their scheduled shifts
• Follow up after events (eg. to request feedback, provide additional information to get the best out of your product, or seek further information to complete a job.)

...and more.

Examples of SMS appointment reminders

A good appointment reminder text will include:

1. A greeting that includes the recipient's first name,
2. Identification of the sender (either by using an alphanumeric sender ID or within the message body),
3. Information about the date and time of the appointment,
4. Clear instructions for the recipient should they wish to change their appointment.

Typically recipients can change their appointment through a link or via reply message.

Example 1: Using a Link to Cancel/Reschedule

Hi (first name), you have an appointment at (time) on (day) at [Business Name]. Please confirm or reschedule at [Link].

Tip: when using a link in your message, use our link shortener to reduce the number of characters in the message. Some message carriers refuse to send messages containing shortened links from public link shorteners (eg. Bitly).

Example 2: Confirmation by Return Message

Hi (first name), you have an appointment on (date) at (time) with [Business Name]. Reply YES to confirm and NO to cancel.

Allowing customers to respond to your message is a smooth experience for your users, and simpler than it seems to set up! Read on for how to accommodate appointment confirmation, reschedule and cancellations via return message.

Note: if you use a dedicated shortcode or send using an alpha tag (or alphanumeric sender ID), you will not be able to receive replies and should use a reschedule link.

The impact of no-shows

What is a no-show? It is broadly defined as a patient or client who misses their scheduled appointment or cancels it at the last minute.

In the medical industry, the rate of missed medical appointments in the USA can be up to 55%! 😱 In such an industry, not only does this impact the provider, but also the patient, resulting in:

• Disruption to the continuity of care/service
• Prolonged delays
• Hinderance of diagnosis and treatment
• Enormous amount of wasted time and resources
• More expensive care: many providers charge a last-minute cancellation fee or collect a non-refundable deposit to offset some of the cost of no-shows. Even from consistently reliable clients.

So why do people miss appointments they have booked?

Why people fail to attend appointments

The single largest reason for no-shows is that most people simply forget they have an appointment scheduled for a particular date and time.

With a text message appointment reminder, they’d have not missed their appointment. Or if they were unable to attend, they’d have canceled and rescheduled on time so that the provider could fill the time slot with another client. Other common reasons for no-shows include:

• Personal/work-related issues
• Issues with transport
• Illness/too unwell to attend
• Negative mindset or poor executive function (especially related to healthcare)
• Cost concerns
• Opted for another provider
• Did not believe the appointment was important

A study published in the BMJ Open, not only observed that sending a text message reminder reduced instances of clinic no-shows by 25%, but concluded that this reduction could be increased by sending multiple notifications.

Businesses that send automated SMS reminders report:

• Better use of staff resources
• Better available appointment utilisation
• Higher revenue
• Lower no-shows and unfulfilled appointment rates
• Reduced waiting periods for clients

No matter your industry, reduce the incidence of no-shows for your busy appointment schedule with SMS.

Ways to configure automated SMS appointment reminders

Depending on the applications and technology your business uses, there are different ways to configure your text message reminders. This includes:

1. Setting up an autoresponder in the dashboard
2. Using our APIs to create a powerful, fully customised solution
3. No code integrations through booking or scheduling software

Read on for popular ways our clients set up automated appointment SMS.

1. Automate SMS replies within our Dashboard

Within our online dashboard we have a few automations to help you get started with sending triggered text messages:

• time-based: for sending at regular time intervals
• contact-based: for sending based on when a contact is added to the list
• reply-based (or inbound): for sending automated responses

We’ve done a walk-through in our Guide to SMS Automation.

2. Code your own custom solution

If you want a solution that is completely tailored to custom applications or uncommon use cases, we offer flexible and powerful APIs to build SMS functionality (and more) into almost anything!

This option requires a technical resource who is comfortable with coding. If that’s you, check out our API documentation in the Developers Portal.

If not, our no-code integrations are great for setting up text message appointment reminders without the need to engage a developer.

3. No-code integration with your booking software

At ClickSend we offer hundreds of no-code integrations so you can easily connect text messaging functionality into your existing systems. Here are some examples.

Direct Google Calendar Integration - New!

Many employees across all industries use Google Calendar to keep their appointments and meetings organised. With our new Google Calendar SMS Plugin, you can seamlessly send text message reminders to meeting attendees in a few clicks. Don’t believe how easy it is? Check out this video.

Vik Booking plugin – for hotels and accommodation

Vik Booking is a popular Property Management Software (PMS) plugin for Wordpress that allows hotels, villas, apartments, and BnB managers to run their business online. It elevates WordPress websites to add property management-specific features like adding seasonal rates, booking restrictions, or even synchronising with booking comparison sites.

With our direct integration, you can connect this PMS straight to your favourite text message gateway. Then set up notifications that trigger when rooms are booked, a day or two ahead of check-in, and feedback requests after check-out.

Direct Zoho Bookings integration

Zoho Bookings is another scheduling tool that’s popular no matter which industry you’re in. Our direct integrations with Zoho allow you to add text message functionality to Zoho Bookings as well as other products in the sensational Zoho ecosystem.

Indirect scheduling integrations: Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Simplybook.me, Appointlet and more

There are still ways to connect your scheduling tool, even if we don’t have a direct integration for it yet. (If this is the case, you can request or vote for integrations in the Dashboard.)

Using a tool that connects applications together (known as an integration platform), you can connect ClickSend with almost any other software. It’s simpler than it sounds.

Example: SMS when appointment is created in ScheduleOnce (via Make)

Make (formerly Integromat) is a popular integration platform and offers buildable automation recipes. Create your own recipe by connecting triggers and actions, or if you use ScheduleOnce they have built a template for you. Check out how to create a new contact and send messages automatically when scheduling appointments in ScheduleOnce.

Example: Calendly and ClickSend via Zapier

Zapier is one of the biggest names in the integration platform game and it’s fantastic for getting started with automations.

Within the Zapier dashboard, you follow a similar process to above - choose your trigger, choose your action and then add the inputs to create what they call a Zap.

Then all you need to do is set your Zap live and your appointment reminders will be sent via lightning-fast direct routes to your contacts.

Integration platforms like Zapier, Microsoft Power Automate, Piesync, Make, etc allow you to do more than just text messaging. Why not try automating busy work like adding contacts to lists? Or you can also send MMS, automated voice calls, postcards, letters, and more.

Check out our integrations portal for a world of possibilities.

Ready to get started?

Our SMS software enables you to send automated reminders directly to the phones of your patients, clients, or customers. It’s a discreet and gentle way to prompt people to keep their appointments – or to at least cancel or reschedule in an acceptable time frame. There is no better way to save your business time, money, and maximise your opportunities – and boost customer satisfaction at the same time.

Sign up with us now and start reducing no-shows today.