SMS reminders that keep the chairs full

Why reminders work

Reminders are one of the most studied ways of getting people to show up. A Cochrane review of trials in healthcare found that SMS reminders led to higher attendance than no reminder, and that they worked about as well as a phone call, at a lower cost per attending patient (Car et al., Cochrane 2012, summarised in American Family Physician in 2013).

A salon isn't a hospital, but the mechanism is the same: most people who don't show up simply forgot. How big the effect will be for you depends on your clients, so look at your own no-show figures before and after. The reports in NordBooq show cancelled and missed appointments for each period.

Four kinds of messages that send themselves

The client gets a confirmation when the appointment is booked, a reminder before the appointment, a message if the appointment is moved, and a message if it is cancelled. The confirmation can be set up differently depending on whether the client booked online, you booked the appointment at the front desk, or the AI phone assistant took the call.

For each message you choose whether it goes by SMS, e-mail or both. The price is shown next to each switch, so you can see what a message costs you before you turn it on.

You choose when the reminder goes out

The reminder is sent the number of hours before the appointment that you choose. Many choose the day before, so the client has time to cancel and you have time to fill the slot again. Others choose the same morning for short treatments.

If the appointment is moved after the reminder has been sent, a new reminder goes out for the new time, so the client isn't left with two different times.

Your own words

You write the texts yourselves, and the system fills in the client's name, the date, time, treatment, staff member and salon name. If you have several locations, the message can also include the location's address and phone number, so the client knows where to go and who to call if something comes up.

Before you save, you can see how the message will look to the client. If the client needs to remember something specific, for example to come without makeup, just write it in the reminder.

What a good reminder can sound like

Short, with the most important part first, and with a way out if the client can't make it. For example: "Hi {fornavn}. Just a reminder of your {ydelse} appointment at {salon} tomorrow at {tid}. If you can't make it, please call {telefon} so we can give the time to someone else."

The last sentence is the most important one. A client who knows how to cancel will do so instead of simply staying away, and then there is still time for someone else to book the slot.

The appointment in the client's own calendar

The confirmation e-mail has a link, so the client can add the appointment to their own calendar on their phone or computer. That way the appointment sits alongside the rest of their plans, and the reminder isn't the only thing keeping track of it.

Clients decide about their messages

On the client record you can see and change whether the client wants reminders by SMS and e-mail. Service messages about the client's own appointment are not the same as marketing: campaigns are only sent to clients who have given consent to marketing on that channel.

Reminders and deposits together

For most salons the reminder is enough. For long or expensive treatments you can add a deposit rule, for example only on treatments above a certain price. The client sees the amount and your own payment message when booking, and you mark it yourselves when the money has arrived.

What does an SMS reminder cost?

On Basis each SMS costs DKK 0.49, and e-mails are free. Basis costs DKK 59 per staff member per month with annual billing. If a salon on Basis sends 200 reminders by SMS a month, that costs DKK 98 on top.

On Team the reminder SMS are included in the price, no matter how many are sent. Team costs DKK 119 per staff member per month with annual billing, or DKK 159 monthly. Confirmations, reschedules, cancellations and campaigns by SMS cost DKK 0.49 per message on both plans. All prices are excl. VAT.