Reducing no-shows: How to write effective appointment reminder messages

A service I really appreciate is when the business with whom I have an appointment sends me a text message to confirm.  For professional service businesses that charge by appointment like hairdressers, physiotherapists, dentists and beauticians, it makes great business sense to do this.  Not only do you reduce the risk of 'no shows', you demonstrate your commitment to providing customer service.

So how can you make sure that the message you send your customers is as effective as possible?

Let me illustrate with real examples from two of my service providers; my osteopath and my hairdresser.

On the left, the message from my osteopath is perfectly sensible. It explains the reason for the message, date and time.  No surprises here. And they helpfully provide a phone number if I need to change the appointment.

But now look to the right to see how my hairdresser showcases a behaviourally effective text message using three elements;
1. My name - Using names is a great way of personalising the message and the obligation that is contained within it.  It's the equivalent of eyeballing me to get me engaged and now my personal integrity is on the line if I don't turn up.
2. My action required - Asking me to reply 'yes' to the appointment forces me to take action, reinforcing the agreement to turn up at that time.  The osteopath's message on the other hand was passive; there is no confirmation that I have received the message let alone that I have recommitted to the appointment.
3. Fail safe contact - It seems like s small thing, but including the area code with the phone number means that if I am interstate and need to contact them the connection will work, removing a potential hurdle.  This week I received appointment reminders from a business intended for someone else. Whilst they provided a phone number, I had no idea which State they were from so I couldn't (be bothered to) let them know of their mistake.

Reminder messages are no doubt a great technique to use; short, sharp communications that keep both parties committed to the appointment.  As the examples showcase, in the space of only twenty words you can make decisions that will materially benefit the effectiveness of your message, your business and your customer, so get texting.

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Meet Santa, master Behavioural Economist

Just think, a jolly fat man in a red suit gets billions of people to spend billions of dollars on people they may only see once a year to commemorate someone else’s birthday. This guy’s a genius!

If you are looking for an example of behavioural economics, look no further than Santa.  The man himself may be a fiction, but our irrationality is all too real.

Santa, and by Santa I really mean the rituals of consumerism associated with Christmas, influences us to do things that make no rational economic sense such as;

• Buy more food than we can possibly consume

We find ourselves gorging at tables laden with very type of meat and vegetable as hosts delight in showcasing their generosity.  Such is the social construct that serving a normal sized meal just isn’t Christmas.

• Buy Christmas Trees

We drive to a Christmas tree supplier, buy a $30-$60 tree that at any other time of the year we would not even look at and will survive only a few weeks, strap it to the roof of the car, drag it into the house, throw specially bought plastic bits all over, gather around the tree and distribute gifts. The next week, we watch the tree slowly turn brown before cutting it up to fit in the green waste bin.

• Buy Snow

In Australia, in Summer, we (not me of course) buy snow in a can to spray on windows. Brrr!  Meanwhile we listen to special compilation CDs that trill about snowmen, sleigh bells, and white Christmases. Rational on a thirty degree day?

• Buy Wrapping

We buy fancy paper to wrap gifts that are already packaged so that we can watch the wrapping get torn off on Christmas morning.

• Avoid vouchers…unless we really have to

We worry about the stigma of giving cash or a voucher rather than a ‘gift’ even though the voucher may actually be worth more.  Retailers are working hard to de-stigmatize vouchers and experiential gifts like Red Balloon are helping reshape perceptions of these gifts.

• Go to the supermarket…repeatedly

We tend to freak out that the shops close for one day and so pop down to the shops to get extra supplies just in case, forgetting the jammed car park and queues at the check out.

• Boxing Day sales

The news footage should speak for itself but just to remind yourself not to let the thrill of a discount overwhelm your sense of dignity, check out scenes from the Thanksgiving sales in the US where a $2 Waffle Maker provoked a gob smacking, pant splitting frenzy.

Why do we find ourselves behaving this way at Christmas time?

Well, marketing probably has a lot to do with how we behave at Christmas.  "Special" Christmas deals, scenes of harmonious family gatherings and directive suggestions like “buy this TV for your Dad” use reciprocity (give to receive), loss aversion (make sure it’s a fair value exchange by buying expensive gifts), and social norms (everyone is doing it) to incite us to purchase. That our understanding of red-suited and jolly modern Santa is a marketing construct confirms how persuasive marketing can be, but it is more than that.

We are more influenced by how others act; the values and behaviours displayed by our fellow human beings.  That’s why shoppers went into a contagious frenzy for a $2 Waffle Maker, and why the rest of us, from the comfortable distance of our computer screens, feel we can mock them for their irrationality.  But that’s also the great thing about Christmas; a tacit agreement across much of the globe to devote one day to sharing time and tokens with loved ones.  Irrationality at it’s rational best.  Have a good one, and thank you Santa.

Image from: http://www.gdhta.co.uk/wordpress/2009/12/on-the-first-day-of-christmas/laughing-santa/