• Choosing an SMS Appointment Reminder Service
• How Effective are SMS appointment Reminders?
• When to send SMS Reminders

Choosing an SMS Appointment Reminder Service

Executive Summary

(This is the brief version of this article. The full version is here.)

Personalization of the messages

• The whole point of sending reminder messages by e-mail or SMS is to get the client's attention so that they will remember the message and attend the appointment. The best way to do this is to use their name.
• Don't bother considering a system which can't personalize every reminder it sends.

Integration with an existing appointment, billing and management system.

• If you have a practice management system then don't forget to check out the capabilities of its reminder system. It might do everything you need, at an acceptable price.

Reply handling

• Some systems handle SMS replies to mark appointments as confirmed or cancelled. Use this with caution.
• There have not been any studies into the usefulness of this, but from a sales-cycle perspective it would be better to have the user call in and be given the opportunity to reschedule, rather than sending an SMS saying just "NO".

Software

• Microsoft Outlook Calendar with or without a plug-in is common, but usually least flexible.
• Online systems will allow you to access your appointment diary from anywhere on the Internet. The best online systems do most of the work in your browser, so they work well even on slower Internet connections. Online systems will be backed up by the service provider, so they'll look after disaster recovery issues.
• Standalone software usually won't give you the everywhere-accessible feature that is important for people on the move, or who work in multiple locations.

Ease of Use and setup

• Make sure the common things are easy to use - create a new client or appointment. You will do them multiple times a day, so they must be easy.
• Don't worry if the initial setup is a bit hard. Extra effort in personalizing messages will be worth the investment.

Documentation

• Unless the system is trivially simple, you'll probably need documentation to get the most out of it, especially if it is rich with configurable features.
• The documentation should be available either before you sign up, or during a free trial period. Make sure you look at the documentation provided and ensure that it is thorough and easy to understand.
• If there are training videos available, even better.

Multiple language support

• This is personalization taken to the next level. If you can send messages to your clients in their own language, you are going to get a better result.
• Particularly important in countries with multiple major languages, whether official or de facto - USA, Canada, South Africa, Belgium.
• Don't forget to check the date and time formats supported, to make sure yours is.

Multiple Message Support

• Can the reminder system send multiple messages per appointment?
• When appointments are made far in advance, two reminders will work better, at 1 week and 1 day before the appointment.
• It's also nice to say thank-you. See if the reminder system can send messages after an appointment as well. Post appointment messages can be used to say thank-you, or to encourage a rebooking eg 6 monthly dental reminder at 5 months after last appointment.

Multiple Types of Message

• Don't forget e-mail and voice messages as well as SMS. Not everyone has a mobile phone, or pays attention to SMS messages.

Group reminder messages

• How does the system handle sending to all participants in a group appointment? Is it even possible? If you make appointments for families, couples or other groups, ensure that group reminders are covered.

Ad Hoc messages

• You might want to send a message to someone immediately. Some appointment reminders services provide this, and some don't. In particular the web-based online services are more likely to provide it, while the Outlook Calendar-based ones might not.

Price

• When you look at the business case for sending reminders by SMS, you are likely to get $100's or $1,000's of dollars in benefits, for a small fraction of that in expenditure.
• Make sure you choose a service because of the features and ease of use, not just because it is cheap.

Conclusion