Having a reliable reminder system in place is essential for any business that relies on appointments. It not only helps ensure that clients remember their upcoming appointments, but it also helps build trust and loyalty—two essential components of customer retention. 

Unfortunately, many businesses still rely on paper reminders or manual phone calls, both of which are time-consuming and can lead to costly missed appointments. Fortunately, businesses have access to a variety of online resources that can automate the appointment reminder process. 

Here are the top three ways businesses can effectively and efficiently remind their clients of their upcoming appointments. 

1. Reminder Calls

A reminder call is a great option for businesses that have clients who prefer to be reminded by phone. Although some clients may be apprehensive about having their appointments called out, a reminder call can actually increase engagement. 

A study by the Marketing Policy Review found that customers who receive appointment reminders by phone are significantly more likely to show up and less likely to reschedule than customers who receive their reminders via paper or email. 

No matter what type of business you operate, you can use a customer engagement platform to schedule automatic phone calls to your clients about their appointments. You can also use this type of system to call clients who have missed their appointments to see if there was an issue or if they would prefer to reschedule.  

2. Text Reminders for Appointments

Text reminders for appointments are another great option for businesses that have clients who prefer to be reminded about their appointments via their phone. 

The great thing about text message appointment reminders is that they provide businesses with the option to include more information and details about the appointment than is normally possible with a standard text message. This can include your client’s name, the appointment time, and time and date (if you have them). 

3. Appointment Reminder Integrations

By integrating your customer engagement platform with your scheduling platform or appointment booking software, you can automatically send out reminders to clients with upcoming appointments. 

This is an efficient option, especially if you use multiple types of scheduling tools. You can take advantage of built-in customization features that allow you to personalize your reminder messages based on the client’s name, the appointment date and time and any previous communications between you and the client. 

If your scheduling or appointment booking platform does not offer any type of reminder integration (or if you want to use a combination of reminder methods), you can use a customer engagement platform to send automated, personalized appointment reminders to your clients.

In Conclusion

Running a successful business means more than just providing a great product or service—it’s also about building relationships with clients and keeping them coming back again and again. 

One of the most important things to ensure a strong and reliable client base is to remind clients of their upcoming appointments. As you have seen, this can be done in a variety of ways, from emails to text messages to automated phone calls. By using these methods, businesses can help keep their clients on time and make sure that appointments are being remembered and kept.