Automatic appointment reminders are very effective when used correctly. They are both efficient, to save your staff time, and convenient for your patients. Appointment reminders increase communication with patients, which is why it’s important to keep your appointment reminders short & sweet. This is especially true for SMS messages.
According to Techipedia, 98% of text messages are opened by the recipient. 83% of those texts are opened within the first three minutes! Talk about effective. So here are some quick tips on how to use SMS appointment reminders.
Be conscious of the time
SMS appointment reminders make communication very convenient but you need to make wise decisions about when you send out these reminders. No one likes to hear their phone go off in the middle of the night. Many people won’t look at their phone while they are having dinner, while most do look at their phone while they are eating lunch. While all of your patients have a different schedule it is important to consider the right time to send out your SMS message.
Keep them short & sweet
Only send out pertinent information in an SMS message. The patient doesn’t need to know all of the details, just enough so they can respond if that’s what you need them to do, or inform them.
Reduce general info calls
A quick SMS can send general information to your patients instead of calling them. Even though a phone recording can do the same thing, you never know if you’re calling someone at a good time.
Collect feedback, opinions, or surveys
Encouraging your patients to text your business gives them the option to provide on-the-spot feedback about your office, staff, or business. You can even set up an automatic response once receiving this information from your patients. Text powered polling is also a powerful system that allows you to engage with your audience while also collecting pertinent information.
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