Goodbye No-Shows: 9 Benefits of SMS Appointment Reminders
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Ever wish your clients could effortlessly remember every appointment, eagerly open your messages, and actively engage with your business? Enter SMS appointment alerts!
Let's face it: your clients likely have a jam-packed schedule and an overflowing email inbox. 
Save your client from the email fatigue headache (and possible tears) by sending a text instead! A simple SMS reminder can make all the difference, ensuring that important meetings stay top of mind without adding digital clutter.
SMS reminders improve communication, boost client satisfaction, and reduce no-shows. They're the secret sauce for busy businesses aiming to outshine the competition and deliver exceptional client experiences.
Are you ready to say goodbye to missed meetings and hello to a more efficient, more profitable business? Then let’s dive into the power of appointment reminders.
What are the benefits of SMS reminders?
1. High likelihood of getting seen: For better or worse, people are on their phones A LOT. As you can see from the image above, over 73% of people check their text messages 6 or more times a day. With such high engagement, sending your reminder via text is a surefire way to ensure it gets noticed quickly.
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🪅 Fun fact: According to Pew Research, almost 99% of Americans aged 18-64 own a smartphone. |
2. Preferred communication channel: Many people prefer receiving important notifications via SMS rather than email or, the most dreaded of all, phone calls.
3. Set it and forget it: With today’s top SMS apps, you can easily automate text reminders. All you need to do is set them up once, and they’ll send automatically.
4. Important messages won’t get lost in a sea of emails: Raise your hand if you’ve got a pretty crowded email inbox 🙋♀️An SMS appointment alert is less likely to get lost amidst a flood of other messages.
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🪅 Fun fact: Esendex found that text messages have a 94% open rate, a statistic that’s basically unheard of in email marketing. |
6. Reduces no-shows: SMS reminders are highly effective in reducing no-shows for appointments, reservations, and events.
“I love using SMS for meeting confirmations and reminders. Not only does it have significantly higher open rates, but it’s also been really instrumental in reducing no-shows.”
- Bridget Harris, CEO of YouCanBookMe
7. Makes life easier: Text reminders will make your customers’ lives easier by helping them stay organized and informed of upcoming appointments.
8. Simple and accessible: Most people are familiar with texting and find it easy. There's no need to download apps or navigate complicated interfaces—just open the text and get the info you need!
9. Faster response time: SMS appointment alerts come with a sense of urgency, leading to quicker responses/actions from your customers.
"Including SMS reminders has actually increased our meetings attended ratio by about 20%. A lot of people just don't check their email! So we send a text message 60 minutes before the meeting."
- Deepak Shukla, Founder of Pearl Lemon Leads
Email vs. SMS appointment reminders
Can't decide between email or SMS for appointment reminders? Let our comparison chart below be your guiding light! We've broken down seven key factors to help you make the best decision for your business.
Category 👇 |
SMS Reminders 📲 |
Email Reminders 📩 |
Winner 🏆 |
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Deliverability & speed |
SMS messages are delivered instantly to your clients’ phones, ensuring they promptly receive appointment reminders. |
Emails might get buried in spam or promotional folders, potentially causing reminders to be missed. |
SMS 📲 |
| Accessibility | Customers can access texts on any mobile device with a cellular connection. | Emails require access to an email account and an internet connection. | SMS 📲 |
| Open rates |
SMS messages have an average open rate of 94% and are often read within minutes of receipt, making them more effective for time-sensitive reminders. | Emails have a lower open rate (averaging at around 34%) as they may go unnoticed in a crowded inbox. | SMS 📲 |
| Personalization |
While less customizable than email, you can still personalize SMS messages with the recipient's name and relevant appointment details. | Emails offer more dynamic customization options, allowing you to create more personalized and engaging experiences based on your customer’s trackable behavior. | Email 📩 |
| Engagement | SMS messages are concise and immediate, creating a sense of urgency that captures recipients' attention effectively. | Despite containing more details and visuals, emails may not grab immediate attention due to inbox clutter, spam filters, and longer content. | SMS 📲 |
| Automation | SMS reminders can be automated using specialized platforms or appointment scheduling software, simplifying sending reminders. | Like SMS, emails can be automated through email marketing software, online scheduling tools, or CRM systems, allowing you to send reminders automatically. | Tie |
| Cost | Despite the higher cost per message, texts usually generate better engagement rates, resulting in higher returns on investment for time-sensitive reminders. | Generally, sending emails is cheaper than sending SMS, especially for businesses that send large volumes of appointment reminders. | Email 📩 |
When should you use SMS vs. email for appointment reminders?
The answer is…it depends! But don’t worry, there are three steps you can take that’ll help you decide which one is best for you and your customers.
1. The first thing to consider is the handy chart above!Take a look at the factors we compared and decide which aspects matter most to your business. Then, see whether SMS or email is the winner.
2. Ask your customers how they’d prefer to receive reminders.
Some prefer SMS, some prefer email, and some want both! At the end of the day, you’ll want to deliver the most exceptional customer experience for your clients. Communicating via their preferred channel is one way to do just that. Consider adding a custom field to your booking form to collect that data from the very first booking (and let automation take care of the rest).
3. When in doubt, test it out!
Try sending both email and text reminders and see if there’s any difference in engagement and no-shows. What works best for one audience might not work best for all, so it’s always a good idea to test it out yourself.
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👉 Struggling to kickstart your SMS reminder strategy? Grab some inspiration from these appointment reminder text message examples. 👉 Prefer to go the email route instead? These meeting reminder email templates will be your ticket to success. |
What types of businesses are SMS appointment reminders great for? How appointment-based businesses use SMS
Whether it's financial consultants, coaches, or salons, SMS reminders can help keep clients on track with their appointments, reducing no-shows and ensuring a smoother scheduling process.
Here are a few examples of appointment-based businesses and how they can benefit from text reminders:
💰 Financial services
Financial advisors, banks, and credit unions can use SMS to remind clients of upcoming meetings, loan application deadlines, or important financial milestones, helping them stay organized and informed.
📁 Tax consultants
Tax season can be overwhelming and stressful for many people. Tax consultants can use SMS reminders ahead of the busy tax season with a call-to-action for clients to book time with them to go through taxes. Not to mention, by sending SMS meeting reminders, tax consultants can easily ensure clients don’t miss important tax planning sessions or filing deadlines.
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💡Pro-tip: Ready to start sending text reminders? Explore these SMS best practices to ensure your messages hit the mark. |
👩🏻💻 Accountants
Accountants use SMS meeting reminders to confirm appointments with clients, ensuring they're ready for financial consultations, tax preparation sessions, or budget reviews. This helps maintain a smooth workflow and strengthens client relationships.
💅 Beauty salons and spas
Beauty salons, spas, and hairdressers can send SMS reminders to clients to confirm appointments, notify them of any changes or cancellations, and promote special offers or discounts, enhancing the client experience, reducing no-shows, and encouraging repeat visits.
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💡Pro-tip: To pave the way for smoother appointments, consistent service, and happy clients, consider implementing solid booking policies in your salon. |
🖋️ Tattoo studios
Similar to beauty salons, SMS meeting reminders help tattoo artists stay organized and ensure clients don't forget their appointments, allowing artists to plan their schedule efficiently and create incredible artwork without any last-minute surprises.
🩺 Healthcare
Whether you're a doctor, dentist, or run a clinic, patient care is your top priority. SMS meeting reminders help patients remember appointments, so you can provide the best care possible without worrying about no-shows or scheduling conflicts.
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🚨 Live booking page example: Dental hygienist Carolina Traviglia gives her clients to option to receive a message if an earlier appointment becomes available. This allows her to keep her calendar is full and her customers happy! |
📚 Education
Schools, colleges, universities, and tutoring centers can use SMS reminders to remind students of upcoming classes, exams, assignment deadlines, and advising appointments, helping them stay organized and on track.
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💡 Pro-tip: Want to save yourself and your students time and hassle? See how education scheduling software can benefit admissions teams, student services, and faculty. |
🎯 Coaches
Life coaches, fitness coaches, and business coaches can send text appointment reminders to clients to confirm coaching sessions, provide motivational messages or tips, and track progress toward their goals, enhancing accountability and client satisfaction.
🤝 Consultants
Consultants can use SMS reminders to confirm meetings, remind clients of deadlines, and update them on project progress. Regular SMS communication boosts project efficiency, reduces no-shows, and fosters stronger client relationships.
“Appointment reminders are phenomenal. Before I turned them on, I had almost 20% of appointments canceled. After turning them on, that went down to less than 1%.”
- Greg Schwartz, Generative AI Consultant
Text reminders: Your behind-the-scenes assistant
Most of your clients are juggling a million things: work, family, hobbies, and an overstuffed calendar.
Instead of assuming they’ll remember your meeting, send an appointment reminder alert—they're quick, they’re personal, and they make sure your clients never miss a beat.
Whether you're a coach, salon owner, or tax consultant, text reminders will help keep your business and clients on track without being intrusive. They’ll slash your no-shows, boost client satisfaction, and even let you sneak in a promo or two. In short, they’re a win-win for everyone involved.
Ready to elevate your business with SMS appointment reminders? Try YouCanBookMe today to start sending timely notifications that keep your calendar full and your clients happy.
FAQs about YouCanBookMe's SMS appointment reminders
How can I send an appointment message through YouCanBookMe?
YouCanBookMe allows you to automatically send SMS reminders to every client who has scheduled a meeting with you. First, you’ll need to purchase SMS credits. The next step is to add a phone number field to your booking form, requiring your clients to enter their number to book a meeting with you. Next, you’ll need to go to your notifications and add an SMS reminder to your booking page. There, you can select when you want the text reminder sent and what you want the message to say.
How much do text reminders cost via YouCanBookMe?
Both free and paid accounts can purchase SMS credits on their YouCanBookMe account page. One SMS credit (which includes 160 characters) costs 7¢ (USD) / €0.07 (EUR) / £0.05 (GBP). If you purchase more than 200 credits, you’ll get a discount.
Try YouCanBookMe today
Create your free booking page today. No credit card required.
Written by
Gabriela Lefanowicz
Gabriela is an (everything bagel) seasoned copywriter who has written for industries ranging from gaming and e-learning to fintech. She loves writing about products she believes in and spending as much time as possible outdoors.
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