As it happens more often than not that, your clients fail to come back for check ups on a scheduled time. This can be a big deal for you with your tight schedules. Hence, it is advisable to remind clients beforehand about their appointments. Usually, your receptionist would call up the clients reminding them about coming in for the checkup. But, with the advent of Shop Management Software (or ERP Software), this job has become easier than never before. Sending reminders to clients is just one click away, and most of the time this can be automated. Isn’t that cool?

Why don’t clients show up ?

  1. No Time
  2. To Save Money
  3. Forget Schedules

#1 No Time

When there isn’t an emergency it is very easy to push something off till another day.

#2 To Save Money

There is always something else to spend the money on. When something is giving trouble, it is very easy to push off the scheduled check up

#3 Forget Schedules

This is the most common reason why clients don’t show up for the checkup. This happens mostly when businesses give reminder over the phone about annual checkup that is due. Clients acknowledge the call yet forget to note down the schedule. And, as a result, they don’t show up . These days, follow up emails & SMS are found effective after a reminder call. Also, sending invitations over calendar can also be very helpful.

Ways to remind your clients about a scheduled Checkup

  1. Email
  2. SMS
  3. Calls

There are multiple ways to remind your client about the checkup. It is advisable to send reminders through multiple channels(e.g. Email, SMS, Call) for better results. Here is a list of the channels that can be leveraged to send appointment reminders:

#1 Email

This is the easiest channel to target for the purpose of communication with clients. Emails are easy to automate, and should be integrated with your Shop Management Software. Also, emails get synchronized directly with the calendar of the client which is a great advantage. Emails never restrict you in terms of the size of the content & allow you to put as much information you want inside an email.

#2 SMS

SMS is another crucial channel which is not to be ignored. The open rate of SMSes is considerably higher than emails. Perhaps, that is why all financial transactions are linked to SMS alerts.

#3 Calls

Calls give a personal touch to conversations. Business conversation is incomplete without a personal touch. So, after email & SMS reminders, following up with a call would be the best thing to do.

Interesting methods to increase client show-up rate

  1. Schedule reminders within 24 hours of the initial call. If you are scheduling something for the next day, the likeliness for clients to show up will be the highest. The alternate way here is to remind clients about the appointment 24 hours in advance.
  2. Ask clients for the preferred time slot for an appointment. Give clients at least three times slots to choose from before fixing appointments.
  3. Prepaid Appointments: Allow clients to prepay for their future appointments by giving incentives for prepaid appointments. When clients commit money to something, they are more likely to show up.
  4. Reschedule: If clients miss appointments, contact them right away, enquire the reason for No-Show & ask if they would like to reschedule the appointment.
  5. Multiple Reminders: Multiple reminders through multiple communication channels are really beneficial when it comes to reminding appointments
  6. Waiting Time: People will value your time if you value their time. Hence, a wise idea would be to reduce the waiting time for clients in the waiting room. If there is any constraint in waiting time, then try to engage your clients & patients in some routine activities
  7. Appreciations & Rewards: Acknowledging & Thanking the clients for the effort to show up on time is a great way to motivate them. Adding on to that, a discount on the bill for showing up in time can also be a way to incentivize those efforts.
  8. Allow clients to book appointments online. Clients are not likely to miss something that they themselves have scheduled.
  9. Client Satisfaction: Keep your clients happy and keep their pets healthy.

5 Appointment Reminder Templates

  1. Dear XYZ, This is a reminder you have an Appointment with ABC on DD/MM/YY. Please reply with Yes to confirm.
  2. Hi XYZ, your next app with ABC is on DD/MM/YY. Please reply with YES to confirm or call [BUSINESS-PHONE] if unable to attend.
  3. Hello XYZ, you have an appointment booked with Vet ABC on DD/MM/YY. Please text YES to confirm.
  4. Thanks for Servicing your vehicle with ABC. Your vehicle is due for servicing on DD/MM/YY. Call [BUSINESS-PHONE] to schedule your service.
  5. Hello this is friendly reminder of your appointment tomorrow starting at HH:MM @ ABC

Since the advent of Shop Management Software, organizing your business has become easier & simpler. If you have appointment no shows, you would like to increase business with automated reminders, we advise you to follow best practices & start using a Shop Management System. If you are wary of spending big bucks on large ERPs or Shop Management Software, then try Turbo Inventory’s 60 Days Exclusive FREE Trial with no contracts. no obligation. Upgrade, downgrade, cancel anytime.