Get a Customer Retention Boost – and Save Money – with Appointment Reminder Software

Customers can have a variety of reasons for missing an appointment. We’re busy, life happens, we’re disorganized.  The impact of no shows can vary from an annoyance to monumental financial losses.  For instance, a recent report from the UK revealed that patient no shows for hospital appointments alone cost the National Health Services (NHS) close to a billion dollars annually.

Money lost from no shows isn’t limited to health care.  For years, airlines and hotels have charged no-show and change fees, but fees are increasing and the policies are becoming more widespread, at the cost of customer satisfaction.  And satisfaction is the foundation of retention.

But no-shows can be minimized and customer retention improved with automated reminders. This technology can dissuade customers from missing appointments or failing to notify of a change which in turn makes it easier for no show fees to remain intact.

Here’s how: reminders can be set up in appointment software to notify customers in the medium of their choice – email, text message, or phone call – within a certain time frame before their appointment. This lets the customer remember to prioritize the appointment, or at least brings it to mind in the midst of competing commitments.

In conjunction with a clearly stated no-show policy, about which customers are clearly aware, reminders help the customer recall the cost for missing an appointment.  This is often incentive enough for customers to pick up the phone to reschedule, but it also lets them know that it’s about time and commitment, not just money.  And it helps the customer see that the business is doing what it can to provide what the customer asked for.

Appointment reminders are part of a larger strategy to improve customer retention and minimize losses caused by no shows.  And for just that reason, now the NHS is implementing reminders. It’s good business.

David Hill
TimeTrade Blogging Team

Image credit:  InMagine PDEP054036

Posted by TimeTrade Blogging Team