SMS reminders
SMS Reminder Best Practices for Appointments
SMS reminders work because they are short and land where customers look. The trade-off is that a poor message is noticed just as quickly, so wording and timing matter more than volume.
Time reminders around the appointment
A reminder about a day before gives customers room to reschedule. A second, shorter message on the morning of the appointment handles last-minute memory. Two well-placed messages usually do more than four poorly spaced ones.
Keep the message short
One or two sentences is enough. Put the business name first so the customer knows who is messaging, then the date and time, then a link if they need to change anything.
Include the essentials
Anything that reduces confusion belongs in the message itself.
- Business name at the start
- Date and time of the appointment
- Service or appointment type
- Address, if customers sometimes go to the wrong place
- Manage-booking link for changes
Send within reasonable hours
Avoid early morning and late evening messages, especially for appointments several days away. A morning-of reminder should arrive at a sensible hour rather than before dawn.
Be clear about opt-outs
If a customer asks to stop receiving messages, honour it promptly. For reminders tied to an existing appointment, explain which messages they will still receive and which they will not.
Keep marketing out of reminders
Reminder messages should contain appointment information only. Mixing offers into reminder texts makes future reminders feel like advertising, and customers stop reading them.
Watch the credit cost
SMS is priced per credit, so a sensible reminder rule keeps costs predictable. Credits are bought in bundles, such as 100 for £25, and topped up as the diary fills.
Clean the contact list
Remove or correct numbers that repeatedly fail to deliver. Sending to dead numbers wastes credits and hides which reminders are actually reaching customers.